The 5 Best Canon FT b-QL Camera Lenses
The FT b-QL is a wonderful 35mm film camera.
The best 5 lenses to use with the FT b-QL will be talked about below.
More information is further down, but here is the list of lenses if you are in a rush:
- Kit Lens - Canon FD 50mm f/1.8 (eBay)
- Wide Angle Lens - Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 (Amazon)
- Portrait Lens - Canon FD 100mm f/2.8 (Amazon)
- Zoom Lens - Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 (eBay)
- Macro Lens - Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 (eBay)
Kit Lens and Standard Primes
Canon FD 50mm f/1.8
The Canon FD 50mm F/1.8 lens was the “kit Lens” often sold with the FT b-QL. The 50mm f1.8 is budget-friendly, widely available used, and has superb image quality.
- The “classic” setup as it can be considered the original kit lens.
- Unbeatable value.
- Light and compact.
- Widely available and easy to find in good condition.
- Uses 55mm filter threads.
Check a variety of places to find the best condition and price. Copies of the lens can be found on eBay, Amazon, KEH, and Adorama.
For the 50mm focal length of photography, the 50mm focal length is a fantastic choice. The aspects of photography consist of landscapes, portraits, street, architecture, casual use, and travel. This is the most common focal length that is used with the FT b-QL.
It is a small, well balanced, and light lens. Depending on the version of the lens, it will weigh between 170-305g. The new FD version, which was the last to be manufactured, is the lightest.
Canon also designed two faster 50mm lenses for the FD lens mount.
Canon FD 50mm f/1.4
At the additional cost of weight, the Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 is 2/3 of a stop faster. It is more expensive than the f1.8, but the difference is not huge.
- Excellent image quality.
- Optical multi-coatings.
- Fairly easy to find in good condition.
- Larger and heavier than the f/1.8.
The 50mm f/1.4 comes in 4 versions. The “new FD” version is the newest and lightest of the bunch.
Copies of the lens can be found on eBay, Amazon, KEH, and Adorama.This lens is large, heavy, and tough to focus lens. Do not expect sharp photos when shot wide open. If you stop the lens down to f/1.8 or f/1.4 you will not notice much of a difference between it and the other lenses.
Both versions of the lens are expensive. Optical performance is not why the lens is high-priced. People yearn for the lens due to rarity and collectibility.
Alternative Standard Lenses
If the 50mm focal length isn’t what you like, here are some other options. Expect to pay more than you normally would for a 50mm lens with a equivalent aperture.
- Canon FD 35mm f/2 SSC
- Canon FD 35mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 35mm f/3.5
- Canon FD 55mm f/1.2
Wide Angle Lens
Canon FD 28mm f/3.5
A 28mm focal length lens may be used for street photography. However, the most prominent use for wide-angle lenses are architectural and landscape photography.
- Great combination with a 50mm lens.
- Optical multi-coatings.
- Inexpensive and widely available.
- Small and light.
My recommended choice is the Canon FD 28mm f/2.8 because of the cheaper price, wide availability, and top notch optics.
Alternative Wide Angle Lenses
In terms of cost, the correlation is straightforward. The wider the field of view, the more expensive the lens ıs going to be. Larger apertures also sell for a whole lot more.
Weight will vary based primarily on the qualities of the lens. You will see lenses from 170g to 500g. Faster apertures will also mean that those lenses will be bulky and mess up the weight balance of the camera.
- Canon FD 7.5mm f/5.6 Fisheye
- Canon FD 14mm f/2.8L
- Canon FD 15mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 17mm f/4
- Canon FD 20mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 24mm f/1.4
- Canon FD 24mm f/2
- Canon FD 24mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 28mm f/2
- Canon FD 28mm f/2.8
Portrait & Telephoto Lens
Canon FD 100mm f/2.8
The 85mm lens wasn’t as significant when the FT b-QL was first made. Rather, the 135mm focal length was the first choice for a portrait lens.
- Excellent portrait lens.
- Less expensive 85mm alternative.
- Great value.
- Inexpensive.
If you want to take portrait photos with the FT b-QL, there are a few short telephoto lenses to select among. The 100mm f/2.8 lens is one of the most affordable possibilities available.
An 85mm lens will have the highest price, with 135mm lenses making up the middle of the range of prices.
Since all of the Canon FD telephoto lenses will be manual focus, they are smaller than EF versions. Needless to say, something like the Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L is going to be hefty and enormous with the quantity of glass in the lens.
Anticipate affordable prices for the Canon FD 100mm f/2.8. There’s a 100mm f/4 macro version of the lens. It will certainly be more expensive and is not the best choice for portraits as it needs to be stopped down.
Alternative Telephoto Lenses
Another alternative, the Canon FD 135mm f/2.8 is among the cheapest prime lenses you can purchase. You will have to search through a great number of listings for thirdparty 135mm lenses that are usually not anywhere close to as good as a Canon lens.
There are a number of 85mm lenses to choose from out there. The most lusted after is the Canon FD f/1.2L lens. A more affordable alternative is the Canon FD 85mm f/1.8 lens, but it will be appreciably higher priced as opposed to the numerous other telephoto lenses in this article.
- Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L
- Canon FD 85mm f/1.8
- Canon FD 100mm f/2
- Canon FD 135mm f/2.5
- Canon FD 200mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 200mm f/4
FT b-QL Zoom Lenses
Canon FD 35-105mm f/3.5 & Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5
The flexibility of partnering a FT b-QL with a zoom lens is enticing. Getting to use a range of focal lengths with no need to switch a lens is great.
Be mindful that all of these are older zoom lenses.
- Haze and or Fungus
- Large amount of dust in the lens
- Loose or tight zoom ring
- Loose or tight focus ring
- Oil on the aperture blades
- Decentered lens elements
Additionally, you need to keep in mind the drawbacks the lenses have even when in excellent condition.
- Image quality will not be good when shot wide open.
- One or both ends of the focal range may suffer from a large amount of distortion.
- Zoom lenses are larger and generally heavier than primes.
Alternative Zoom Lenses
With regards to pricing, nearly all vintage zoom camera lenses will be inexpensive.
- Canon FD 70-210mm f/4
- Canon FD 80-200mm f/4L
- Canon FD 28-85mm f/4
Macro Lens
Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 & Vivitar 55mm f/2.8
- My favorite vintage macro lens.
- Available in multiple lens mounts.
- Incredible value.
- Sharp corner-to-corner at f/8.
- My second favorite vintage macro lens.
- An excellent choice for close-up photography.
- It does not need an extension tube to reach 1:1 magnification.
Komine built the two suggestted macro lenses in Japan. The lens was also sold with several brand names. Spiratone, Rokunar, Elicar, Quantaray, and Panagor are brands you might find on a copy of the lens.
There is a Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review and a Vivitar 55mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review.
For capturing pictures at macro magnification (1:1), the 90mm lens is going to be the better choice because it has a larger working distance.
The 55mm focal length lens is excellent for close-up and table-top photography.
Alternative Macro Lenses
- Canon FD 50mm f/3.5
- Canon FD 100mm f/4
- Canon FD 200mm f/4
Used FD Camera Lens Prices
Price ranges change continuously. For the past 3-4 years, interest in film photography has been growing. Subsequently, prices have gradually risen.
To get the best price, reviewseveral websites. Instantly pay for a fantastic deal when ever you come across one simply because it can be a long time before more comes up.
What Lens Mount Does the Canon AE-1 Use?
The FT b-QL makes use of the Canon FD lens mount. Canon used the FD mount for film cameras manufactured from 1971 until 1992.
Here is a list of all the cameras that have a Canon FD mount.
The Canon FL lens mount was preceded by the FD mount, which was implemented between 1964 - 1971. FL mount lenses are compatible with the FT b-QL, but you will need to use stopped down metering.
Standard Lens Cap Size
The standard lens cap and filter ring thread diameter for Canon FD lenses is 55mm.
Making use of a standardized filter thread size is good due to the fact that you just need to acquire and bring a single set of filters.
Some telephoto and zoom lenses have larger filter ring thread diameters as they have enormous front lens elements.
FD vs FL Lens Mount
The Canon FL lens mount was made before the FD mount. You can use FL lenses on the FD lens mount, and FD mount lenses can be used on the FL lens mount.
What Canon FL lenses are unable to do auto stop-down metering. As a result the lens stopped down with the depth-of-preview switch to ensure that the FT b-QL’s light meter to display an accurate value.
FD vs new FD Lenses
The whole new FD lens rotates to lock onto the camera. In contrast to original FD lenses have a breech-lock ring at the rear of the lens that must be rotated to be able to secure a lens.
New FD and FD lenses are interchangeable with each other. There will be no compatibility issues.
Sometimes you will find new FD lenses referred to as FDn lenses.
The modification in the design of the breech-lock ring was because of complaints. A small number of camera owners experienced lenses getting stuck on a camera mount.
If you are unfamiliar with putting on an FD mount lens to a camera body, don’t be concerned. Simply just take the process slow and don’t force anything.
Telling FD and FDn Lenses Apart
You can without difficulty tell new FD and FD lenses from one another. New FD lenses have a silver button on the outside of the lens, near the mount.
Older FD lenses have a metal ring that is required to be rotated after the lens is put on the camera to lock it into place.
More Canon AE-1 Camera Resources
There is no more additional information on best FT b-QL lenses. As soon more info on the camera is published on the site, links will be right here.