The Canon nFD 2.8\/35\u00a0<\/strong>offers really good image quality for very little money. I think it is a very\u00a0good solution for most budget oriented Sony Alpha 7 users.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Canon new FD 35mm 1:2.8 usually sells for around $35-60 at ebay.com <\/a>(affiliate link).\u00a0<\/em> Canon made\u00a0only two\u00a02.8\/35 lenses with FD mount.<\/p>\n The new FD 2.8\/35 which this review is about and a much bigger and expensive Tilt\/Shift lens.<\/p>\n There are at least three versions of their 2\/35\u00a0and one 3.5\/35 but those are totally different lenses.<\/p>\n You can use the lens on a wide range of old Canon FD-mount\u00a0film-cameras<\/strong> like the Canon A1 or AE-1.<\/p>\n Because of the flange-focal-distance of Canon FD\u00a0lenses all adapters for DSLR cameras\u00a0<\/strong>either contain an optical element which will reduce image quality a lot or you lose infinity focus. I wouldn\u2019t bother to use one of those adapters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Mirrorless cameras<\/strong> have a much shorter flange focal distance and \u00a0you can buy adapters for Fuji-X, Sony-E, Micro Four Thirds and Samsung NX\u00a0which won\u2019t degrade image quality or lose infinity focus<\/p>\n I usually recommend Sony Alpha 7<\/a>-series cameras for the use with older manual lenses because they are the only ones with a fullframe sensor<\/strong> and in my experience most lenses work best on the larger sensor.\u00a0In my eyes there is little reason to use this lens on a APS-C camera, 18-55 Kit lenses will give better results.<\/p>\n Here are links to adapters to\u00a0mount the\u00a0Canon FD\u00a02.8\/24 to Sony E mount cameras<\/strong>: Amazon.com<\/a> |Amazon.de<\/a> (affiliate links). Build quality is good by today\u2019s standards but if you compare it to other manual lenses the lens feels a bit cheap.<\/p>\n The lens is mostly metal but some parts like the aperture ring at the front plate are made from plastics. All the markings are engraved.<\/p>\n Size, Weight and Handling The Canon FD 2.8\/35 is a small and very light lens and\u00a0it is very well balanced on my Sony Alpha 7.<\/p>\n The focusing ring<\/strong> travels 80 degrees from 0.35m\u00a0to 1m and a further 20 or so degrees to infinity. I think that\u2019s a very reasonable focus throw. I would have wished for a little more resistance though, it is a bit too loose.<\/p>\n The aperture ring\u00a0<\/strong>has half-stops from f\/2.8 to f\/22 but it requires too much force to move it and the clicks aren\u2019t distinctive enough so it can be a bit hard to\u00a0select the right aperture stop just by feel.<\/p>\n All in all operation works well enough but other lenses handle a bit more pleasant while the Canon new FD 2.8\/35 feels a little bit cheap. I don\u2019t own the original lens hood, it\u2019s name is \u201cBW-52A\u201d.<\/p>\n 0.35cm is a usual close focusing distance\u00a0for a 35mm lens and you can get some nice background blur. It is a bit softer up close and it makes sense to stop down to f\/4.<\/p>\n Notable but not excessive at f\/2.8. Only slightly reduced by f\/4\u00a0and only visible for very critical applications from f\/5.6.<\/p>\n Quite\u00a0good for a lens of this age. There is a\u00a0little contrast loss and only\u00a0minor\u00a0ghosting.<\/p>\n There is some barrel distortion. For critical applications you can correct it very well with a LR setting of +5.<\/p>\n There is very little lateral CA and you can\u00a0get by without software correction most of the time.<\/p>\n Bokeh is good with smooth backgrounds and it does\u00a0deteriorate only a little at longer distances.<\/p>\n The Canon nFD 2.8\/35 only has 5 aperture blades. So from f\/4 out of focus highlights take on the shape\u00a0of a pentagon.<\/p>\n The cat-eye effect can be a little annoying at f\/2.8.<\/p>\n The Canon creates 10-pointed-sun-stars which are not very well defined.<\/p>\n Contrast is very good from f\/2.8 and\u00a0improves a little if you stop down to f\/4.<\/p>\n The Canon nFD 2.8\/35 is very sharp in the center from f\/2.8, stopping down to f\/4 makes the center excellent and it becomes softer again from f\/11.<\/p>\n The midframe region is good from f\/2.8 but benefits from stopping down to f\/4 as well from were it is very good.<\/p>\n The corners show good\u00a0resolution at f\/2.8 but very low contrast, for very good results it makes sense to stop down to f\/5.6 and they are best at f\/8.<\/p>\n Canon nfD 2\/35 –<\/b> I owned one some time ago and it is a decent performer very similar to the nFD 2.8\/35. Advantages are mainly the faster speed and 8 aperture blades.<\/span><\/p>\n Sony FE 2.8\/35 –\u00a0<\/b>I have never used this expensive lens but some tests suggest that it\u00a0isn\u2019t any sharper. It is quite a bit smaller.<\/span><\/p>\n Minolta MD Rokkor 2.8\/35 – <\/b>Both lenses are very simliar in size and performance. I prefer the Minolta’s build quality but the Canon has more effective coatings.<\/p>\n Sony FE 4\/16-35 ZA OSS<\/a> – <\/b>Much bigger, much more expensive. At f\/4 the nFD is sharper. Stopped down to f\/8 the Sony FE comes close to the Canon.<\/p>\n Voigtl\u00e4nder 1.7\/35 VM<\/a>\u00a0–<\/b>\u00a0It is\u00a0a much more exciting lens because it has exceptionally good bokeh, it isn’t any bigger but built more solid. Downsides are vignetting, field curvature and price.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Canon_nFD_35mmf2p8-6\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Canon_nFD_35mmf2p8-6.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSample Images<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/h1>\n
\u00a0Specifications<\/h1>\n
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\nIn Germany\u00a0you can buy it for 40-70\u20ac\u00a0at Amazon.de <\/a>(affiliate link)<\/em><\/p>\nVersions<\/h1>\n
Compatibility<\/b><\/h1>\n
\nI use an expensive Novoflex adapter<\/a> (link to my review) but the cheaper ones usually work well enough.<\/p>\nBuild<\/strong> Quality<\/strong><\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nLens Hood<\/h1>\n
Close Focusing Distance<\/h1>\n
<\/a>Image Quality<\/h1>\n
Vignetting<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nFlare Resistance<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Distortion<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Chromatic Aberrations<\/span><\/h1>\n
Bokeh<\/h1>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Sun Stars<\/h3>\n
Contrast<\/h3>\n
Sharpness<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nCompared to<\/span><\/h1>\n
Conclusion<\/h1>\n