50mm f/1.8 Canon FD

Canon made the 50mm f/1.8 FD lens in several versions across its manual-focus era, beginning in 1971 with the “chrome nose” breech-lock version, progressing through the SC (Spectral Coating) breech-lock version in 1973, and ending with the New FD bayonet-mount version introduced in 1979. All versions share the same six-element, four-group optical formula. Having owned and shot all three versions, I can’t tell the difference in output among them. Buy whichever one you find. The lens renders color in a way I’d describe as categorical rather than atmospheric. Bold colors — reds, blues, yellows — come out vivid and punchy, with a candy-like intensity. Neutral tones go flat and slightly cool. What’s missing is any sense of light interacting with surfaces; the lens tells you what color something is without telling you what the light was doing when you made the photograph. Film stock plays a big role, of course. Pair it with Kodak Gold 200 and you get a postcard-like palette that some…