Canada Post is literally giving me an Ulcer - Ed Mika

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Hey thanks Harley, thats a really good tip I never thought of. I figured the manual/auto switch was going to be the vestigial appendix like carryover from the previous camera system but this makes it really useful.

Harley said:
A tip for anyone using the converted FL 55mm f/1.2 lens...

You probably already know the switch for automatic / manual focusing has to be set to "M" for the aperture ring setting to engage. With narrow apertures the viewfinder can darken significantly. I have had some success using the A / M switch to open up the lens for composing and focusing, then quickly switching back to the aperture I want for metering and taking the shot.
 
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I had a similar thought about the "vestigial appendix" when I first started using it. Then a few days later I had a eureka moment while I had it stopped down. I bumped the switch while focusing and the viewfinder brightened up and an AF point flashed.

Essentially this switch allows you to manually do what current EF lenses do automatically by design, right? Pretty cool. I love this lens!
 
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I might go ahead and make the jump to some FD / FL glass...maybe not the ultrawides though.

I had the post office eat something a few weeks ago - I got a refund before I even knew what was going on though since they tracked it through the system. Ironically, I was able to get an exact replacement from a seller shipping with Canada Post. Arrived with no problems. I think that actually the only times I've ever had something get eaten by a postal system it was the domestic US one (although that has been very rare).
 
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Edwin Herdman said:
I might go ahead and make the jump to some FD / FL glass...

Well, if you do, the FL 55mm is something special. The focal length is very usable -- 88mm equivalent on my 7D. I haven't removed it from the camera since I got it!

The lens renders light a little differently than anything else I have used. It's a little warmer, but not distractingly so; it's very subtle. It doesn't flare too easily but when it does you get this great diffraction that can be really beautiful. The quality of the bokeh is similar -- it's creamy wide open but it has this viscocity to it -- and depending on the light source and aperture you can get a lot of different character from the out of focus highlights.

Shooting an f/1.2 is a real pleasure. Although it can be hard to nail the focus occassionally when wide open, I can shoot most anything, even handheld at night, with a quick shutter and low ISO. The lens is a great size and feels so much nicer and more significant than an EF lens. The focus ring is the smoothest of all my lenses.

Here's a couple more shots from a wedding this weekend. These are straight out of the camera -- no flash or special lighting and no post processing.
 

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...a couple more to show different apertures and lighting.
 

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Ed,
The larger screws for my "pre-30k serial number" FL 55 arrived today. I replaced all three smaller screws. The smaller screws had worked and two of the three held fine before, but all three larger ones bit and its feels a little more solid all around. You were right about the tighter fit to the camera mount after installing the bigger screws. After taking the lens off and putting it back on a couple of times it smoothed out. Thanks for all your follow-up.
 
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Thanks for the feedback Harley, and all the great images helping show just what a unique lens this really is. I've since modified the brass machining program to accommodate the slightly larger screws and only ship the larger screws as well, I think it will now perfectly handle both versions of the FL55 1.2. -Ed Mika


Harley said:
Ed,
The larger screws for my "pre-30k serial number" FL 55 arrived today. I replaced all three smaller screws. The smaller screws had worked and two of the three held fine before, but all three larger ones bit and its feels a little more solid all around. You were right about the tighter fit to the camera mount after installing the bigger screws. After taking the lens off and putting it back on a couple of times it smoothed out. Thanks for all your follow-up.
 
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Hey there Ed. After years of not shooting, I am about to make the leap to digital. I have the 800mm and shot surfing with it attached to an F1. Not having any experience with digital and reading some of your comments about using live view for best focusing results, I was wondering if you think it will be possible for me to shoot action such as surfing using a 7D through the viewfinder in combination with the 800mm and your converter? Sorry for showing such ignorance about digital as it is all new to me....Thanks for your time.
 
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It would be possible but to improve my critically in focus rate I would either also buy one of those aftermarket split prism focus screens for the 7D or I would try to stop the lens down as much as possible to give me a better fudge factor by giving me a greater depth of feild. I replaced the focus screens on both my 1D4s and depend on them more than either the focus confirmation chip or personal vision focus perception. Though with digital you can shoot many more pictures and with action you may be eyeballing more than anything so just feel and overshooting your way through it would probably work too.
 
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Harley said:
Well, if you do, the FL 55mm is something special. The focal length is very usable -- 88mm equivalent on my 7D. I haven't removed it from the camera since I got it!
Those are some great preview shots, thanks! 50/55mm (Fujinon 55mm f/2.2) is one of my preferred focal lengths on APS-C; I started with 50mm. Your samples have a look distinct from the EF 50mm f/1.4 and also from the Fujinon M42 lens (a non-multicoated version). I have seen a couple other sample images which highlight some of the possibility of somewhat odd renditions with this lens, but in your samples you've definitely brought out the good in the lens. The somewhat orange tint to some of the pictures also resists being classified as "dated," instead looking like just a great photo.

It does seem like out-of-focus backgrounds can have a sort of "spherical" look to them (as seen here) but it's probably no big deal.
 
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Edwin Herdman said:
Those are some great preview shots, thanks! 50/55mm (Fujinon 55mm f/2.2) is one of my preferred focal lengths on APS-C; I started with 50mm. Your samples have a look distinct from the EF 50mm f/1.4 and also from the Fujinon M42 lens (a non-multicoated version). I have seen a couple other sample images which highlight some of the possibility of somewhat odd renditions with this lens, but in your samples you've definitely brought out the good in the lens. The somewhat orange tint to some of the pictures also resists being classified as "dated," instead looking like just a great photo.

It does seem like out-of-focus backgrounds can have a sort of "spherical" look to them (as seen here) but it's probably no big deal.

Thanks! Glad to know those were helpful to describe the lens.

Yes, the out of focus backgrounds can have a spherical, slightly intensified or differently-colored edge to them, almost like the beginnings of a coffee stain. It seems to pretty much go away by f/1.4 or f/2. It's not a hard and fast rule. Some subjects bring it out and some don't. Anyway, most of the time I find the effect can be rather pleasing.

I created another forum post under "Image Gallery \ Lens Gallery \ Canon FL 55mm" with some more photo samples.
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,1758.0.html
Hopefully some other people will post theirs as well.

ontarian said:
I'd get a katzeye based on the limited research I've done.
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/881589/
Thanks, the Katzeye is what I had been leaning towards getting installed. I suspect having a good split prism focusing screen could be the final key to making this lens really perform.
 
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FYI, I just sent the 7D out to get a Katzeye focusing screen installed. I'll let people know what the verdict is when it gets returned, but I suspect this will be just the ticket for the EdMika converted FL 55mm f/1.2 lens.
 
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