Budget Friendly Canon AE-1 Lenses

The Canon AE-1 uses FD lenses.

There are lots of great choices. However, keep in mind, the FD-mount was discontinued in 1987. All of the lenses available are 30-40 years old.

Lens condition is an important consideration.

You don’t want to end up with a lens that has fungus, haze, has oily aperture blades, or smells like cigarettes.

The most popular lenses were targeted at consumers that wanted small, lightweight, easy to use, and fun lenses. These are still easy to find today in good condition. They’re also my recommendations.

Lenses targeted towards professionals are harder to find. They are more expensive and most importantly, heavier. That’s bad, because it makes them less likely to be used. No one likes lugging heavy things around.

The AE-1 needs a 4SR44, 4LR44, or PX28A. If you don’t know how I have instructions on how to load 35mm film and how to rewind and remove it once you captured all your images.

The magazine can be viewed on Google Books.

Buying Used Lenses

The most popular lenses are easy to find in good condition. Here are my tips to avoid problems.

• Buy from someone/somewhere that specializes on camera gear.
• Make sure there is at least a 30 day return policy.
• Test the lens as soon as you get it.

FD vs new FD Lenses

I recommend getting new FD lenses whenever possible. They are newer, so they are more likely to be in good condition.

People were getting the original FD lenses stuck on their cameras due to the design of the breech lock. This was from either tightening the collar too tightly, or cross threading it.

Canon revised the design due to criticism. The entire new FD lens rotates to lock onto the camera and they have a button to unlock the lens.

Sometimes you will see new FD lenses referred to as FDn lenses.

There is no compatibility differences. Both will work on any camera with an FD mount.

Telling FD and FDn Lenses Apart

Canon FD and new FD lenses can be visually identified. New FD lenses will have a red button on the barrel of the lens, near the mount.

The older FD lenses have a metal ring that needs to be rotated after the lens is mounted to lock it into place.

FL Lens Compatibility

The Canon FL mount preceded the FD mount. FL lenses can be used on FD mounts, and FD lenses can be used on FL mounts.

Canon FL lenses don’t have auto stop-down metering. This means the lens will need to be stopped down with the depth-of-preview switch in order for the light meter to display an accurate reading.

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Kit Lens and Standard Primes

Canon FD 50mm f/1.8

The best first lens is the 50mm f/1.8 because so many of them were made. They are as common as a 18-55mm on a entry level DSLR.

What’s nice is the f1.8 aperture is suitable for low light. The angle of view is similar to that of our eyes, making it easy for new photographers to learn to frame shots visually.

Great for travel, street, portraits, landscapes, architecture, snapshots, and casual everyday photography. It should be the easiest FD-mount lens to find and among the most affordable.

Canon FD 50mm f/1.4

The Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 is 2/3 of a stop faster. I don’t think it is worth the additional weight and size.

If you’re having trouble focusing in low light with a f/1.8 lens, this would be a good lens. If you haven’t shot much with the AE-1, get the f/1.8 version.

Images shot at f/1.4 aren’t going to be sharp and the depth of field will be shallow. Stopped down, there isn’t a big difference between it and the f/1.8.

There are 4 different versions of the 50 f/1.4. The “new FD” version is the newest of the bunch and is the one to try to get.

Canon FD 50mm f/1.2

The 50mm f/1.2 was a “halo lens”, built for bragging rights and marketing purposes. Good luck trying to get anything in focus at f/1.2. The lens is also soft unless it is stopped down, at which point it is similar to other 50mm lenses.

Massive optical elements make these lenses large and heavy. Not the most enjoyable shooting experience.

Purchasing one can make sense if you also have a mirrorless digital body to adapt the lens onto. Focus peaking and/or magnification are much easier to focus with than a split prism. It’s also not expensive to take multiple shots to make sure at least one is in focus for a given composition.

Alternative Standard Lenses

Here are some mostly 35mm alternatives. Expect to pay more than you would for a 50mm lens of comparable speed.

• 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

It’s the cheapest widest lens that’s reasonably available. The small size makes it great for street and travel photography.

There is a f/2.8 version, but it isn’t that much different. I would suggest looking for a lens that is in very good condition. They are common enough to where that should be possible to find.

28mm is a good focal length for architecture and landscapes.

Alternative Wide Angle Lenses

The wider the focal length, the more expensive the lens will be. Faster versions also go for significantly more.

Weights will vary based on the characteristics of the lens. Broadly, you’ll find lenses weighing between 170g and 500g. Faster apertures results in larger and heavier lenses.

• 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

The 85mm focal length wasn’t as popular in 1976 when the AE-1 was released. 100mm or 135mm focal lengths were more popular as they were less expensive than 85mm.

Canon FD 100mm f/2.8

Inexpensive and small is a hard combination to beat. You can easily carry this lens with you and pull it out when the situation calls.

This isn’t a lens that is likely to be left on the camera for general photography. I would suggest getting it after a 50mm or 28mm lens.

Alternative Telephoto Lenses

An alternative, the Canon FD 135mm f/2.8 is one of the cheapest prime lenses you can buy.

Canon FD 135mm f/2.8 ~$100. There are lots of third-party 135mm f/2.8’s. Avoid the third-party lenses as they are soft, have noticeable distortion, and have a cheap build quality.

There are 85mm lenses. The most expensive is the Canon FD f/1.2L lens, which will not be worth it. A more affordable option is the Canon FD 85mm f/1.8 lens, but it is expensive for the image quality compared to the Canon EOS EF 85mm f1.8.

• 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

Zoom Lenses

Canon FD 35-105mm f/3.5 & Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5

The convenience of pairing the Canon AE-1 with a zoom lens is appealing. Having a range of focal lengths available without needing to switch a lens is great.

Unfortunately, vintage zoom lenses have not aged well. It doesn’t matter what manufacture made them either. Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Kiron, Komine, Sigma, Tokina, or Tamron tend to have the following problems:

• 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

Keep in mind the drawbacks vintage zooms have.

1. Image quality will not be good when shot wide open.
2. One or both ends of the focal range may suffer from a large amount of distortion.
3. Zoom lenses are larger and generally heavier than primes.

Alternative Zoom Lenses

Most zooms are going to be cheap to buy. Look for lenses that are clean and in good condition. (Good luck!)

• Canon FD 70-210mm f/4
• Canon FD 80-200mm f/4L
• Canon FD 28-85mm f/4

Macro Lenses

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.

Both of the recommended macro lenses were made by Komine. The lens was also sold under the following brand names:

• Elicar
• Quantaray
• Panagor
• Spiratone
• Rokunar

Both are also ideal lenses for adapting on to digital cameras. Achieving critical focus is easier with manual focus lenses.

For shooting at macro magnification (1:1), the 90mm lens is going to be the better choice. It has the greater working distance.

The 55mm lens is excellent for table-top and close-up photography. It makes capturing detailed images easy.

There is a Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review and a Vivitar 55mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review.

Alternative Macro Lenses

The Canon FD macro lenses requires an extention tube to achieve 1:1 macro magnification. The lenses will still be usable without the extention tube. They will be limited to 1:2 magnification.

• Canon FD 50mm f/3.5
• Canon FD 100mm f/4
• Canon FD 200mm f/4