Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 S.S.C

Introduction

When Canon decided to release their modernized and future proof EOS camera mount, they abandoned the idea of keeping any sort of compatibility with their previous FD mount, unlike other camera makers of the era such as Nikon or Pentax. This made owners of FD mount glass furious, as support for the mount they had spent so much money on was no more, and soon they were going to have to get rid of it, especially if they were professionals.

Throughout the 90's and 00's, FD glass strongly depreciated in value on the used market, as not only was the mount not supported anymore, but it was impossible to adapt the lenses onto any other camera system as the Canon FD mount had one of the shortest flange distance (the distance between the lens base and the sensor/film) of all systems, meaning it was impossible to use them with proper results.
This was the time I should have invested into FD glass. When it was still cheap. During the 2010's, as camera makers started releasing mirrorless cameras, with their very short flange distance, it now became possible to mount every vintage lens ever made on them. Noticing this, mirrorless camera users, eager to try out vintage lenses flocked en masse to the FD lenses as they had been up to that point unusable, and thus very cheap. However, as demand for these items exploded, so did the prices. The various versions of the FD 35mm f/2.0 lenses go for 350-1000€ online as of 2022, and the 28mm f/2.0 goes for up to 2,500€.

So when I was casually looking the items in a photo shop in Paris, and I saw this lens for "just" 200€, I knew I had to get it.

Let's take a closer look at this lens, and see if it's worth it's online price.

Indifference

Having heard good things about this lens, and the low price I found it for got me to buy it on a whim. But, i had never seriously consider that lens before and i had alternatives for it already. I already had the Laowa 35mm f/0.95 for digital shooting, and the Tokina AT-X 35-70mm f/2.8 on FD mount, so at I didn't use it much for some time, not really knowing what to do with it, and considering selling it at some point.

But, I still bought it for a fifth of a thousand euros, so it would have been a waste not to use it, and I was still curious about it, what can have it be this expensive ?
Everytime I used this lens, i was pleasantly surprised by it's looks, it seemed to be pretty sharp, with a nice bokeh and just an overall very pleasant lens. It's weird to say, but the lens renders image much in the same way the lens itself looks. Mellow, smooth and easy going. Could it prove to be a main shooter lens ?

A crazy rendering

The more I shot this lens, and the more it seemed like a perfect lens. Sharpness is very good, bokeh is lovely, at least for my taste, with a good mix between soft and bubbly, and it's one of those lenses that has a medium format like rendering. Colors are usually something I don't pay too much attention to in a lens rendering, but the colors coming out of this Canon strike me as being pleasantly warm.

At close focus, sharpness stays high, and out of focus areas turn softer. This lens being as sharp as it is is a very welcome sight for a vintage lens that was released pre 1978.

You probably noticed by now that every single picture in this review was shot wide open at f/2.0, which I know is not ideal, but I can't help it. The out of focus areas look perfect, not being too out of focus, thanks to the f/2.0 maximum aperture on a wide standard lens. But they also look soft enough that the rendering looks very pleasing to the eye. The relatively fast aperture also helps a lot in darker situations, for example night photography. In short, this lens really shines wide open.

So close and yet so far

When I think about the FD system, it's generally not the camera bodies that come to mind, quite the opposite actually as many are actually gimped with a lack of features that would be obvious on a camera of it's class. Instead, it's rather the lenses that comes to mind. I don't know what canon did back in the day or who they hired to make the optical formula for their lenses, but every canon FD lens I have tested have been rather splendid.

However, out of every FD lens I have tested, this Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 S.S.C might just take the cake as the one I love best. That comes with it's issues though. I already have the Laowa 35mm f/0.95 for digital, and deciding which lens to pick when shooting 35mm can be tricky, as i love both of those lenses very much, but the Laowa still mostly wins as the night shooter. Second is my newfound love for FD glass that hits a brick wall when seeing the price that Canon glass goes for nowadays.

Moral of the story: it's hard succumbing to GAS.