Canon FD lenses are underrated.

Canon FD lenses are underrated, and the reason is a cinema lens you've probably heard of: the Canon K35.

The K35 primes are Canon's cine lenses from the 1970s, and people love them for their warm, soft rendering. They are loosely based on the FD optical design, so some of that character is already in FD lenses, which are much easier to find. I say "loosely" on purpose. A K35 isn't an FD lens in a different housing, and no two old lenses are identical anyway.

I shoot four FD lenses on my Nikon Z6: the 28mm f/2.8, the 50mm f/1.8, the 50mm f/1.4 SSC and the 50mm f/3.5 Macro. What I like is their charm. The character is understated, but present enough. Optically they're completely sufficient, even today, and the way they render highlights and out-of-focus areas is simply more pleasant to me than newer lens designs.

How K35 and FD relate

The FD mount arrived in 1971 together with the Canon F-1, and Canon replaced it with EF in 1987. The 55mm f/1.2 AL, introduced in 1971, was the first lens with an aspherical element on any 35mm SLR system.

The K35 optics build on the FD designs, but Canon tuned them for cinema, with cine housings and its own refinements. They were designed for Super 35. Even so, the 24mm, 35mm, 55mm and 85mm cover full frame, and only the 18mm vignettes there. If you shoot on a full-frame camera, that is good news.

Why FD lenses are fun today

The flange distance of the FD mount is short, so you can adapt the lenses to most mirrorless cameras with a simple adapter, no extra glass needed. That's a big part of the appeal. A used FD prime usually costs far less than a rehoused K35, and on a mirrorless body it gives you manual focus, an aperture ring and a rendering that modern lenses don't have.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Old lenses vary. Condition, haze and fungus matter more than the name on the barrel.
• Some FD lenses, including the 55mm f/1.2 AL, contain thorium glass. It's slightly radioactive and can turn yellow with age.
• Adapted lenses don't communicate with the camera. You focus and set the aperture by hand.

Where I'd look first

If you want the focal lengths of the K35 set that cover full frame, look for FD lenses at 24mm, 35mm, 55mm and 85mm. The FD 24mm f/1.4 L, the 35mm f/2, the 55mm f/1.2 AL and the 85mm f/1.2 L are well known examples. I'm not promising a K35 look from any of them. My own lenses aren't on that list either: my 28mm sits between the K35's 24mm and 35mm, and my 50s are close to its 55mm. Test a lens before you commit, and check it for haze.

What lenses don't do

A lens gives you a rendering: sharpness, flare, how out-of-focus areas look. The color is a separate decision. If you want the cinematic color too, my cinematic presets are built for that, for example Classic Vision 3, which covers Kodak Vision 3 in five variants.