In need of a better description of how to use a manual lens, specifically the Canon FL-mount 50 f/1.8 that I just received as a gift from my uncle along with a Canon FT QL body. Not sure what some of the markings mean. The camera user manual I downloaded is a little vague.

Thanks in advance! Kevin

Well.....blast from the past...I had two of those bodies when starting out as an art student...and still have them..and they still work perfectly!!

I had the FD lenses however...I believe the FL lenses had to be stopped down manually whereas the FD lenses did that automatically.

You probably have to be more specific with your questions however as your open ended Q could take pages of answers. There is a lot of stuff on the web ..so do some research with Google.

Lovely cameras....serious bits of engineering...those were the days...and I say that as a 1V HS owner....

The FL mount used a "breech lock". Those lenses can be used on the later cameras contemporary with FD lenses, because the camera side of things didn't change much, if at all. You just turn the collar to lock the lens in place, whereas with the FD mount you rotate the whole lens a fraction of a turn and it locks with a click (and requires a button press to release).

Most FL lenses (including yours) do have auto diaphragms.

Anthonygh, thanks for the response and encouragement that this still may be a great camera!

I've been learning through the somewhat vague owner's manual I downloaded and google, of course. I learned how to determine exposure and figured out the shutter speed/aperture/ASA just by looking at the numbers, but I don't know what ASA actually stands for or how closely it relates to ISO. Also, what do the markings (numbers) mean that are just in front of the mount that do not rotate?

I.e.-16, 11, 8, 4, orange hash mark, 4, red letter "R", 8, 11, 16

I finally found that the A and M on this manual lens is for aperture auto or manual, but there's not a separate white indicator for the auto aperture method. It appears to be straight up manual, I set the aperture and it doesn't move when the shutter button is pressed.

Since you owned two of these, can you share any experience or wisdom with me that might help that I may not find through an internet search?

Thanks again! Kevin

Photon wrote:
The FL mount used a "breech lock". Those lenses can be used on the later cameras contemporary with FD lenses, because the camera side of things didn't change much, if at all. You just turn the collar to lock the lens in place, whereas with the FD mount you rotate the whole lens a fraction of a turn and it locks with a click (and requires a button press to release).

Most FL lenses (including yours) do have auto diaphragms.

Not having a release for the lens threw me off a bit as there's no lock at all. I wonder if anyone had problems with these lenses coming off accidentally.

What is an auto diaphragm? Are you referring to the auto-aperture setting

I remember liking the breech-lock lenses better than the "new" ones.....

ASA and ISO are the same thing, i.e. 800 ASA=800 ISO. Technically ISO combines ASA and DIN (another method of expressing film speed), so 800 ASA = 800 / 30 ISO, (the 30 is the speed in DIN) but just ignore the second number.. The numbers in front of mount are the depth of field scale. Here is a decent explanation of how to use them.

Auto diaphragm refers to not having to manually stop down the aperture for metering, it 'automatically' opens and closes for exposure and metering, and opens for focusing. Leave the lens set on 'A' for easier focusing, unless you want to preview the DOF.

I find FL lenses pretty secure as long as you remember to tighten them. Good luck!

Also, what do the markings (numbers) mean that are just in front of the mount that do not rotate?

I.e.-16, 11, 8, 4, orange hash mark, 4, red letter "R", 8, 11, 16


Depth of field markings. The region between 4s, or 8s, or 11s, etc, indicate the zone of sharp focus (indicated by the distance scale aligned with it on the rotating part) at those apertures (f/4, f/8, f/11, f/16).

dirb9 wrote:
ASA and ISO are the same thing, i.e. 800 ASA=800 ISO. Technically ISO combines ASA and DIN (another method of expressing film speed), so 800 ASA = 800 / 30 ISO, (the 30 is the speed in DIN) but just ignore the second number.. The numbers in front of mount are the depth of field scale. Here is a decent explanation of how to use them.

Auto diaphragm refers to not having to manually stop down the aperture for metering, it 'automatically' opens and closes for exposure and metering, and opens for focusing. Leave the lens set on 'A' for easier focusing, unless you want to preview the DOF.

I find FL lenses pretty secure as long as you remember to tighten them. Good luck!

dirb9- Great link, thank you! Makes sense now and can't wait to apply what I've learned using this lens and with my DSLR as well!

Your last statement about FL-mount lens security reminded me of something my uncle always used to say when I was a kid. "It will stop hurting when the pain goes away." Haha

Kevin

* The red letter R within the depth of field scale is an infrared focus compensation mark. Ignore it unless and until you decide to shoot some infrared film.
* The A setting on the lens aperture ring is for cameras that offer shutter priority auto exposure. You set a shutter speed and the camera sets an appropriate aperture. I don't think your FT QL offers that. Set the aperture to what's needed for proper exposure. You won't see the diaphragm close down when you move the dial from f/1.8 to, say f/11, but if you watch the front of the lens while tripping the shutter, you should be able to see the aperture rapidly close down to a small circle. If you set a slow shutter speed like 1/4 sec., it should be easy to see. A good way to check for a sticky diaphragm, btw.

no_surrender wrote:
Also, what do the markings (numbers) mean that are just in front of the mount that do not rotate?

I.e.-16, 11, 8, 4, orange hash mark, 4, red letter "R", 8, 11, 16

The numbers are the depth of field scale. If you were for instance shooting at f16, the distances shown between the two 16's is what would be in focus (meaning if the distance scale at one 16 was 6 feet, and 100 feet at the other, everything from about 5 feet to 100 feet should be in focus).

The red R is most likely the focusing indicator for using infrared film. You'd focus normally, see what the indicated distance was (which is most likely the orange hash mark), and then move the lens so that distance lines up with the red R.

This might help: http://photo.net/canon-fd-camera-forum/00M9BN

and this: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/fllenses/

If you don't feel like shooting film get yourself a Sony NEX or m 4/3 and these old film lenses suddenly become digital!!

Here's my old FD 50 1.4 @ f/2 on a NEX 5N....