Canon AE-1

ygb · Jan 20, 2015

Battou said:
I have bought many lenses on E-bay, the trick is to read. Generally sellers will mention all that stuff in the description. But they don't all ways, so you should also check the images. I like to see sellers who take a picture of the lens looking through it, usually if it has bad case of fungus it will be visible that way however some slight cases of fungus may not. A slight case of fungus won't hurt your images noticably so if you end up with a little it is not a big deal at this point. $50 for a 135 f/2.8 is not too bad a price, just look the listing over carefully.

I was just flipping through the E-bay listings looking for the lens you mentioned and I found A Canon FD 135 f3.5 for $55 and with my buying experience I would buy it my self if I needed it but I don't so I'll pass it along.

I did see that one. as well. there is this one:
Canon FD 135 mm F 2 8 1 2 8 Lens w Caps | eBay

Battou · Jan 20, 2015

I don't like the way you can't see through the lens. my experience is telling me that it would be better bet to give the extra five bucks to the guy who is not afraid to show you through the lens.

ygb · Jan 20, 2015

Battou said:
I don't like the way you can't see through the lens. my experience is telling me that it would be better bet to give the extra five bucks to the guy who is not afraid to show you through the lens.

I completely understand that, except this one is f2.8 and another one is f3.5 . I would like f2.8, or you think it's not a big difference?

ygb · Jan 20, 2015

Battou said:
I don't like the way you can't see through the lens. my experience is telling me that it would be better bet to give the extra five bucks to the guy who is not afraid to show you through the lens.

also what is S.C means on the lens?
I saw some 135 FD S.C f2.5, mouch more expensive though

ygb · Jan 20, 2015

Also, this might be a dumb question, but can you change the lens while there is film in the camera or you have to shoot the roll with whatever lens you have on?

Battou · Jan 20, 2015

At the point you are at, don't fret over lens speed. yeah, the 2.8 is faster but being new to film it is simply not really worth the risk of getting a bad lens if there is a reasonably clean looking 3.5 for a couple bucks more. Right now you are exploring film, if you were sure you were going to shoot film more predominately it would be a different story.

The S.C. designation is the coating on the lens, at that point Canon ran two different coatings on their glass, Spectrum Coating and Super Spectrum coating. At this point, I wouldn't even worry about it.

Yes, you can change lenses while the camera is loaded.

*edit*
I also have a Canon FD 135 f/2.5, it is expensive for a reason

LakeFX · Jan 20, 2015

ygb said:
Also, this might be a dumb question, but can you change the lens while there is film in the camera or you have to shoot the roll with whatever lens you have on?

You can change lenses whenever. The shutter will block light from reaching the film while the lens is off the camera. You want to be somewhat careful not to get dirt inside the body while changing lenses through. It can make it hard to see through the viewfinder and can also muck up the shutter.

ygb · Jan 20, 2015

Battou said:
At the point you are at, don't fret over lens speed. yeah, the 2.8 is faster but being new to film it is simply not really worth the risk of getting a bad lens if there is a reasonably clean looking 3.5 for a couple bucks more. Right now you are exploring film, if you were sure you were going to shoot film more predominately it would be a different story.

The S.C. designation is the coating on the lens, at that point Canon ran two different coatings on their glass, Spectrum Coating and Super Spectrum coating. At this point, I wouldn't even worry about it.

Yes, you can change lenses while the camera is loaded.

Thank you so much for all the help!!

Battou · Jan 20, 2015

No problem

LakeFX said:
You can change lenses whenever. The shutter will block light from reaching the film while the lens is off the camera. You want to be somewhat careful not to get dirt inside the body while changing lenses through. It can make it hard to see through the viewfinder and can also muck up the shutter.

FX makes a point here. Dirt particles on your mirror can get to being a pain when they get bad. Contrary to popular belief no novice should ever attempt to clean the mirror. The angle of the mirror is imperative to the cameras functionality and improper cleaning could shift the mirror, it is best to simply try to avoid getting dirt and crab in the body.

dxqcanada · Jan 20, 2015

eBay tip ... look at the Sellers feedback.

... and yes, read the description, any dispute will come down literally to what the Seller has stated.

Check the return policy.

Note: that you might find some Canon FD lens prices being jacked up because of all these Mirrorless people (like me) are buying them up.

Note: the Canon FD 300mm f/4 is an awesome lens ... I used one for many years.

The Canon FD 135mm f/2.8 was good also.
The FD 50mm f/1.4 has better IQ than the f/1.8

SoulfulRecover · Jan 20, 2015

I don't think it was mentioned, but when you get your film developed, you can have them scan them as well so you can use them just like a digital image from your dslr. biggest challenge is typically spot removing dust.