The Canon FD lens mount

Lens mount

A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is confined to cameras where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the single lens reflex type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge...

 is a physical standard for connecting a photographic lens

Photographic lens

A camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.While in principle a simple convex lens will suffice, in...

 to a single-lens reflex camera

Camera

A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...

 body. The standard was developed by Canon of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and was introduced in March 1971 with the Canon F-1

Canon F-1

The Canon F-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Canon of Japan from March 1971 until 1976's introduction of the mildly updated F-1n, while in 1981 a New F-1 was launched. The new Canon FD lens mount was introduced along with the F-1, but the previous Canon FL-mount lenses were...

 camera. It was the primary Canon SLR lens mounting system until 1987 when the cameras from the Canon EOS

Canon EOS

The Canon EOS autofocus 35 mm film and digital SLR camera system was introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650 and is still in production as Canon's current DSLR system...

 series were first produced using the new EF lens mount

Canon EF lens mount

Introduced in 1987, the EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens...

. The last camera in the FD system was the Canon T60, from 1990. The FD mount replaced Canon's earlier FL mount

Canon FL

Canon FL refers to a lens mount standard for 35mm single-lens reflex cameras from Canon. It was introduced in April 1964 with the Canon FX camera, replacing the previous Canon R mount. It was in turn replaced in 1971 by the Canon FD lens mount...

 (which in turn had replaced the R mount); FD-mount cameras could use FL lenses in stop-down metering mode. There is no known meaning for 'FD', and Canon has never disclosed what, if anything, it stands for.

Although the Canon FD system enjoyed huge popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, the mount system--with no provision for auto-focus--is now obsolete, and Canon FD cameras and lenses are available for low prices on the second-hand market. This makes the system very attractive to 35mm film photographers who demand the highest optical quality, but who do not need auto focus capability.

Background

The FD lens mount

Lens mount

A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is confined to cameras where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the single lens reflex type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge...

 is a breech-lock

Breech-lock

A breech-lock is a system for mounting camera lenses to camera bodies. The lens is attached to the camera by means of a rotating ring which is used to tighten the lens to the camera by friction....

 mount. The advantage of this type of mount is that the contact surfaces between the body and lens do not rotate against each other when the lens is mounted. This prevents any abrasion, which could conceivably reduce the very precise lens-to-film distance. The disadvantages include slower lens changes; later FD ('New FD') lenses mounted more like bayonet-mount lenses in that the photographer twisted the lens body to mount and unmount, even though the actual mount surfaces remained fixed. Canon chose a bayonet-style mount for its new EOS

Canon EOS

The Canon EOS autofocus 35 mm film and digital SLR camera system was introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650 and is still in production as Canon's current DSLR system...

 system's EF lenses

Canon EF lens mount

Introduced in 1987, the EF lens mount is the standard lens mount on the Canon EOS family of SLR film and digital cameras. EF stands for "Electro-Focus": automatic focusing on EF lenses is handled by a dedicated electric motor built into the lens...

.

Like its FL

Canon FL

Canon FL refers to a lens mount standard for 35mm single-lens reflex cameras from Canon. It was introduced in April 1964 with the Canon FX camera, replacing the previous Canon R mount. It was in turn replaced in 1971 by the Canon FD lens mount...

 predecessor, the FD mount system allowed automatic aperture function, but in addition, a new indexing pin supported full-aperture metering. Together with a signal pin for the "auto" setting of the aperture dial, this enabled integral auto-exposure. The first camera to utilize this was the Canon F-1

Canon F-1

The Canon F-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Canon of Japan from March 1971 until 1976's introduction of the mildly updated F-1n, while in 1981 a New F-1 was launched. The new Canon FD lens mount was introduced along with the F-1, but the previous Canon FL-mount lenses were...

, when equipped with the Servo EE Finder, in 1971. Later, the Canon EF

Canon EF camera

This article is about an FD-mount 35mm SLR camera from the 1970s. For Canon's electrical autofocus lens mount introduced in the EOS series, see Canon EF lens mount....

 from 1973 had automatic exposure built-in, as did the very popular Canon A-series

Canon AE-1

The Canon AE-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex film camera for use with interchangeable lenses. It was manufactured by Canon Camera K. K. in Japan from April 1976 to 1984. It uses an electronically controlled, electromagnet horizontal cloth focal plane shutter, with a speed range of 2 to 1/1000...

 cameras (save the AT-1

Canon AT-1

The Canon AT-1 is a 35mm FD-mount single-lens reflex camera manufactured by Canon of Japan from December 1976. It was produced purely for export and was never sold in the home Japanese market. It was a version of the popular AE-1 but without the shutter-speed priority auto-exposure mode of that...

) beginning in 1976. The FD mount has no support for the lens-body communication, electrical or mechanical, required for autofocus

Autofocus

An autofocus optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus fully automatic or on a manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system has to be done manually until indication...

 (the AC FD lenses, described below, are an exception), which was a primary reason for its retirement. While Canon could have adapted its mount to support auto-focus, as did other manufacturers, instead the company chose to make a clean break with the past and design a completely new interface with support for electrical signaling.

Lens coatings

The earliest breech-lock Canon FD lenses (1971-1973) are recognizable by chrome (silver) bayonet-ring at the front (this ring is used to mount appropriate bayonet-type hood). In these 'chrome nose' lenses, Canon used two new proprietary lens coatings, designated "S.C" (Spectra Coating) and "S.S.C." (Super Spectra Coating). These were both multi-coatings, but indicated two quality grades. In the chrome nose series, only the large-aperture 55mm f/1.2, 50mm f/1.4 (regular and 'AL'-type) and 7.5mm Fish-Eye lenses used S.S.C. coating. On these lenses the breech ring can be rotated freely without mounting it on a camera body.

The second series of breechlock FD lenses (1973-1979) lenses is inscribed "S.C." in white or "S.S.C." in red on the front of the lens mount. S.S.C. coating was extended to most lenses in this series. The basic S.C. coating was, for the most part, limited to the more inexpensive lenses. According to Canon literature, the selection of S.C. or S.S.C. coating was made based on the lens's requirements for flare control, etc. This second series has two different ranges. In the earlier range the Auto-Exposure remained a green "o" as did the chrome nose lenses. In addition, the breech ring could be rotated without mounting the lens on a camera. The later range used a green "A" to indicate that the lens was set for AE operation, and on these lenses the breech ring cannot be turned unless a small catch pin is pressed (mounting the lens on the camera does this). Additionally, pressing this range of lenses onto the camera causes the breech ring to rotate a few degrees, making it somewhat easier to mount the lens by having it partially secured as soon as it is pressed onto the camera body.
There are exceptions to this rule, though, as for example the FD 300 mm f/5.6 S.C. has the later type of breech ring but still has a green "o" for the automatic aperture position. It has a built-in hood, though, so there's no bayonet mount in the front.

In 1978, with the introduction of the 'New FD' or 'FDn' series, the coating type was no longer specified on the lens front. All these lenses received S.S.C coating (with the exception of the 50mm lens).

Aspherical or 'L' lenses

A separate (and expensive) range of FD lenses was available for photographers who required the highest optical and mechanical performance. These used a variety of special technologies, including aspherical surfaces, fluorite optics, and low-dispersion glass. The earlier versions of these lenses are designated "AL", "Aspherical", or "Fluorite" on the front of the lens mount. The post-1979 'New FD' versions are designated "L" (said to indicate 'luxury' or 'asphericaL'). The "L" designation, and the famous red ring around the lens front, have continued in the current EOS autofocus lenses.

FD autofocusing

FD lenses were nearly all manual-focus lenses. In the mid-1980s, Canon did, however, manufacture four unusual autofocus lenses for the FD mount standard.

The first, the FD 35-70mm 4 AF, contained a lens-integral autofocus system and was the world's first autofocus zoom lens. The autofocus system was triggered by a button on the side of the lens, and involved no communication with the camera body. It was reasonably accurate with still subjects, but was too slow to be a practical solution for moving subjects such as sports.

Further development into autofocusing produced the AC derivative of the FD mount. Three AC lenses were manufactured, the AC 50mm f/1.8, AC 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5, and AC 75-200mm f/4.5. All were released in April 1985 alongside the Canon T80

Canon T80

The Canon T80 is Canon's first autofocus 35mm single-lens reflex camera. It was introduced in April 1985 and discontinued in June 1986 and is part of the T series of FD mount cameras, and is not compatible with Canon's later EOS system and its autofocus EF-mount lenses. Instead, three special...

 camera, which was the only camera ever manufactured to take advantage of the AC lenses' AF capabilities. The lenses communicated with the T80 via electrical contacts and lacked an aperture ring, but were otherwise identical to the FD mount and could be used on those FD-mount cameras that could control the aperture, only without the AF capability. The AC lens-line proved to be a dead-end development, as Canon would abandon the capability in the two remaining FD-mount cameras it produced, the T90

Canon T90

The Canon T90, introduced in 1986, was the top of the line in Canon's T series of 35 mm Single-lens reflex cameras. It was the last professional-level manual-focus camera from Canon, and the last professional camera to use the Canon FD lens mount...

 and T60

Canon T60

The Canon T60 was the last manual focus FD-mount 35 mm single-lens reflex camera sold by Canon; it was introduced in 1990, three years after the introduction of Canon's incompatible EOS system of autofocus SLRs and their EF lenses. It was the final camera in Canon's T series.It was introduced...

, and later introduce the EF lens mount.

Using FD lenses on other mounts

The 42mm flange focal distance

Flange focal distance

For an interchangeable lens camera, the flange focal distance of a lens mount system is the distance from the mounting flange to the...

 of the FD mount is shorter than that of most other lens mount

Lens mount

A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is confined to cameras where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the single lens reflex type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge...

s. Although FD lenses can be mounted on most other types of camera with the appropriate adapter, the lenses cannot focus to infinity unless the adapter contains an optical correction element. FD lenses can however be mounted on Canon rangefinder cameras or other Leica screw mount

M39 lens mount

The M39 lens mount is a screw thread mounting system for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily rangefinder Leicas. It is also the most common mount for Photographic enlarger lenses....

 cameras using the Canon lens mount adapter 'B', but rangefinder-coupled focusing is lost. FD lenses can also be mounted without optical correction on the Micro Four Thirds system

Micro Four Thirds system

The Micro Four Thirds system is a standard created by Olympus and Panasonic, and announced on August 5, 2008, for mirrorless interchangeable lens digital cameras and camcorders design and development...

, which has a flange focal distance of only 20mm. The 2x Crop factor

Crop factor

In digital photography, a crop factor is related to the ratio of the dimensions of a camera's imaging area compared to a reference format; most often, this term is applied to digital cameras, relative to 35 mm film format as a reference. In the case of digital cameras, the imaging device would be a...

 of the Micro Four Thirds system means that the Field Of View is halved.

Following the introduction of the EOS camera line, Canon briefly marketed an adapter which enabled FD telephoto lenses to be used on EOS bodies. The adapter contained high-quality corrective optics and functioned as a mild tele-converter; it could not be used on normal and wide-angle lenses. The adapter was produced in limited numbers, with the intent of easing the initial cost of conversion for professional users with expensive FD telephoto lenses. These adapters are now scarce and highly valued, selling for around $1000 on the second-hand market. (The original 'new' price was $250). Other inexpensive aftermarket FD to EOS adapters are available and can be used at the cost of greatly reduced image quality, particularly at large apertures.

Mechanically skilled photographers and technicians have successfully retrofitted FD lenses with alternative mounts, including the EOS mount. Some Pentax users have had great success adapting FD lenses for use with Pentax "K"-mount

Pentax K mount

The Pentax K mount, sometimes referred to as the "PK mount", is a lens mount standard for mounting interchangeable photographic lenses to 35 mm single-lens reflex cameras. It was created by Pentax in 1975, and has been used by all Pentax 35 mm and digital SLRs since...

 cameras.

It should also be noted that in 2011, FD to Sony NEX E video camera mounts are now appearing. This means that wide and ultra-wide FD lenses (especially their F2/F1.4) variants have become usable for video photography.

FD cameras

• Canon F-1
  Canon F-1
  The Canon F-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Canon of Japan from March 1971 until 1976's introduction of the mildly updated F-1n, while in 1981 a New F-1 was launched. The new Canon FD lens mount was introduced along with the F-1, but the previous Canon FL-mount lenses were...
  
   (1971)
• Canon FTb
  Canon FTb
  The Canon FTb is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera manufactured by Canon of Japan from March 1971. It features a Canon FD lens mount, and is also compatible with Canon's earlier FL-mount lenses in stop-down metering mode...
  
   (1971)
• Canon FTb
  Canon FTb
  The Canon FTb is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera manufactured by Canon of Japan from March 1971. It features a Canon FD lens mount, and is also compatible with Canon's earlier FL-mount lenses in stop-down metering mode...
  
  n (1973)
• Canon EF
  Canon EF camera
  This article is about an FD-mount 35mm SLR camera from the 1970s. For Canon's electrical autofocus lens mount introduced in the EOS series, see Canon EF lens mount....
  
   (1973)
• Canon TLb
  Canon TLb
  The Canon TLb is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera introduced by Canon in September 1974. It features a Canon FD lens mount, and is also compatible with Canon's earlier FL-mount lenses in stop-down metering mode. The TLb was a cheaper version of the Canon FTb for the export market, as was...
  
   (1974)
• Canon TX
  Canon TX
  The Canon TX was a 35mm single-lens reflex camera manufactured by Canon of Japan from September 1974. It featured a Canon FD lens mount, and was also compatible with Canon's earlier FL-mount lenses in stop-down metering mode. The TX was a cheaper version of the Canon FTb for the export market, as...
  
   (1975)
• Canon F-1n (1976)
• Canon AE-1
  Canon AE-1
  The Canon AE-1 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex film camera for use with interchangeable lenses. It was manufactured by Canon Camera K. K. in Japan from April 1976 to 1984. It uses an electronically controlled, electromagnet horizontal cloth focal plane shutter, with a speed range of 2 to 1/1000...
  
   (1976)
• Canon AT-1
  Canon AT-1
  The Canon AT-1 is a 35mm FD-mount single-lens reflex camera manufactured by Canon of Japan from December 1976. It was produced purely for export and was never sold in the home Japanese market. It was a version of the popular AE-1 but without the shutter-speed priority auto-exposure mode of that...
  
   (1977)
• Canon A-1
  Canon A-1
  The Canon A-1 is an advanced level single-lens reflex 35 mm film camera for use with interchangeable lenses. It was manufactured by Canon Camera K. K. in Japan from April 1978 to 1985. It employs a horizontal cloth-curtain focal-plane shutter with a speed range of 30 to 1/1000 second plus bulb...
  
   (1978)
• Canon AV-1
  Canon AV-1
  The Canon AV-1 is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera with a FD lens mount, introduced by Canon Inc. in 1979. The AV-1 was very similar to the 1976 AE-1 but provided aperture priority autoexposure rather than the AE-1's shutter speed priority AE...
  
   (1979)
• Canon New F-1
  Canon New F-1
  The Canon New F-1 replaced the F-1n as Canon's top-of-the-line 35mm single-lens reflex camera in 1981. Like the earlier models, the New F-1 takes FD-mount lenses. Although no date has ever been confirmed, it is thought that the last New F-1 was made in 1992...
  
   (1981)
• Canon AE-1 Program
  Canon AE-1 Program
  The Canon AE-1 Program is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera that uses Canon's FD mount lenses. It was introduced in 1981 as the successor to the Canon AE-1, five years after that camera's introduction. The major difference was the addition of the Program AE mode first seen in the A-1...
  
   (1981)
• Canon AL-1
  Canon AL-1
  The Canon AL-1 was an FD mount, 35mm single-lens reflex camera introduced in March 1982. Its main feature was the "Quick Focus" focus-assist system that was aimed at those who had trouble focusing through the viewfinder—either novices, or those with poor eyesight—and was intended to...
  
   (1982)
• Canon T50
  Canon T50
  The Canon T50, introduced in March 1983 and discontinued in December 1989, was the first in Canon's new T series of 35mm single-lens reflex cameras compatible with Canon's FD lens mount. SLR sales were falling in 1983 from the market's 1981 peak, and Canon chose to try greater automation to revive...
  
   (1983)
• Canon T70
  Canon T70
  The Canon T70 was a 35mm FD-mount single-lens reflex camera introduced in April 1984 as the second in Canon's T series. The T70 started with the concepts explored in 1983's T50, took them further, and applied them to a more sophisticated camera...
  
   (1984)
• Canon T80
  Canon T80
  The Canon T80 is Canon's first autofocus 35mm single-lens reflex camera. It was introduced in April 1985 and discontinued in June 1986 and is part of the T series of FD mount cameras, and is not compatible with Canon's later EOS system and its autofocus EF-mount lenses. Instead, three special...
  
   (1985)
• Canon T90
  Canon T90
  The Canon T90, introduced in 1986, was the top of the line in Canon's T series of 35 mm Single-lens reflex cameras. It was the last professional-level manual-focus camera from Canon, and the last professional camera to use the Canon FD lens mount...
  
   (1986)
• Canon T60
  Canon T60
  The Canon T60 was the last manual focus FD-mount 35 mm single-lens reflex camera sold by Canon; it was introduced in 1990, three years after the introduction of Canon's incompatible EOS system of autofocus SLRs and their EF lenses. It was the final camera in Canon's T series.It was introduced...
  
   (1990)

FD lenses

The original generation of FD lenses featured a silver locking ring at the base. Only that locking ring turns to lock the lens to the camera body; the lens body remains still.

Fisheye

• 7.5mm 5.6
• 7.5mm 5.6 S.S.C.
• 15mm 2.8 S.S.C.

Wide-angle

• 17mm 4
• 17mm 4 S.S.C.
• 20mm 2.8 S.S.C.
• 24mm 1.4 S.S.C. Aspherical
• 24mm 2.8
• 24mm 2.8 S.S.C.
• 28mm 2 S.S.C.
• 28mm 2.8 S.C.
• 28mm 3.5
• 28mm 3.5 S.C.
• 35mm 2
  Canon FD 35mm f/2
  The Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 lens was manufactured by Canon for the FD lens mount. It was sold in a number of variations over the years, and was the fastest Canon lens in the 35mm focal length before the debut of the EF 35mm f1.4...
  
  
• 35mm 2 I
  Canon FD 35mm f/2
  The Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 lens was manufactured by Canon for the FD lens mount. It was sold in a number of variations over the years, and was the fastest Canon lens in the 35mm focal length before the debut of the EF 35mm f1.4...
  
  
• 35mm 2 II
  Canon FD 35mm f/2
  The Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 lens was manufactured by Canon for the FD lens mount. It was sold in a number of variations over the years, and was the fastest Canon lens in the 35mm focal length before the debut of the EF 35mm f1.4...
  
  
• 35mm 2 III
  Canon FD 35mm f/2
  The Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 lens was manufactured by Canon for the FD lens mount. It was sold in a number of variations over the years, and was the fastest Canon lens in the 35mm focal length before the debut of the EF 35mm f1.4...
  
  
• 35mm 2 S.S.C. I
  Canon FD 35mm f/2
  The Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 lens was manufactured by Canon for the FD lens mount. It was sold in a number of variations over the years, and was the fastest Canon lens in the 35mm focal length before the debut of the EF 35mm f1.4...
  
  
• 35mm 2 S.S.C. II
  Canon FD 35mm f/2
  The Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 lens was manufactured by Canon for the FD lens mount. It was sold in a number of variations over the years, and was the fastest Canon lens in the 35mm focal length before the debut of the EF 35mm f1.4...
  
  
• TS 35mm 2.8 S.S.C.
• 35mm 3.5
• 35mm 3.5 S.C. I
• 35mm 3.5 S.C. II
• 35mm 3.5 S.C. III

Normal

• 50mm 1.4
• 50mm 1.4 S.S.C. (I)
• 50mm 1.4 S.S.C. (II)
• 50mm 1.8 (I)
• 50mm 1.8 (II)
• 50mm 1.8 S.C. (I)
• 50mm 1.8 S.C. (II)
• Macro 50mm 3.5 S.S.C.
• 55mm 1.2
• 55mm 1.2 AL
• 55mm 1.2 S.S.C.
• 55mm 1.2 S.S.C. AL
• 55mm 1.2 S.S.C. Aspherical

Telephoto

• 85mm 1.2 S.S.C. Aspherical
• 85mm 1.8 S.S.C.
• 100mm 2.8
• 100mm 2.8 S.S.C.
• Macro 100mm 4 S.C.
• 135mm 2
• 135mm 2.5
• 135mm 2.5 S.C.
• 135mm 3.5
• 135mm 3.5 S.C. (I)
• 135mm 3.5 S.C. (II)
• 200mm 1.8L
• 200mm 2.8 S.S.C.
• 200mm 4
• 200mm 4 S.S.C.
• 300mm 2.8 S.S.C. Fluorite
  Canon FD 300mm f/2.8 S.S.C. Fluorite
  Lens Construction 5 Lens Construction 6 No. of Diaphragm Blades 9 Minimum Aperture f/22 Closest Focusing Distance 3.5 meters...
  
  
• 300mm 4 S.S.C.
• 300mm 4L
• 300mm 5.6
• 300mm 5.6 S.C.
• 300mm 5.6 S.S.C.
• 400mm 4.5 S.S.C.
• 500mm 4.5L
• Reflex 500mm 8 S.S.C.
• 600mm 4.5 S.S.C.
• 800mm 5.6 S.S.C.
• 800mm 5.6L
• 800mm 3.8 Mirror
• 2000mm 11 Mirror
• 5200mm 14 Mirror

Zoom

• 24-35mm 3.5 S.S.C. Aspherical
• 28-50mm 3.5 S.S.C.
• 35-70mm 2.8-3.5 S.S.C.
• 80-200mm 4 S.S.C.
• 85-300mm 4.5 S.S.C
• 100-200mm 5.6
• 100-200mm 5.6 S.S.C.

Macrophoto lenses

These lenses could only be used attached to a macro bellows; since they can't mount to a camera directly, they are not properly FD lenses, but are listed here because they are part of the whole system.

• Macrophoto Lens 20mm f/2.8
• Macrophoto Lens 35mm f/2.8

External links

• Canon FD Lens Specifications
• Extensive FD Reference Page at Photography in Malaysia.
• Canon FD FAQL.
• Canon FD Camera and Lens reviews