Canon FL 50mm f/3.5 Macro

Superb, inexpensive lens from the Heyday of 35mm Photography. Currently most people getting into photography use digital cameras or cell phones. A few graduate to Nikon,Canon or Pentax Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras. (DSLRS). That advantage of SLR cameras has always been the ability to swap out lenses. Need a wide angle or Close Up lens? Just change it! The great thing about DSLRs is the fact that with simple, cheap adaptors they can actually use old lenses. This Canon Macro lens was designed during the pinnacle of 35mm film cameras; the mid 60's through the mid 70s. This lens is ALL metal and glass. It's heavy and rugged. users of current plastic lenses will be surprised at the tank-like build quality of the FL Macro. But they will also be surprised at how astonishing the image quality is! Canon FL lenses have always been, and continue to be among the most highly regarded lenses in history. You can focus very close on flowers, plants, insects and small things. It's perfect for photographing textures, or even to portraits of loved ones. Many current photographers make the mistake of assuming these old lenses are somehow inferior to new ones. This is a huge mistake. The mathematical formulas for creating great optics are at least 100 years old. Lenses have been coated to reduce flare for over 60 years. Best of all, these older 60's & 70's lenses are CHEAP! I never spend more than $50 on a lens. So whether you shoot film or digital give the Canon 50mm FL Macro a 2nd look. You'll get a unique "Retro" look to your images, and some outstanding resolution too.Read full review

Canon FD 50mm f3.5 Macro Lens This is a super fun lens to use, will work just as a 50mm with a slow aperture, still sharp (totally suitable for most photography) but the benefit of 1:2 Macro ratio. Close focus is really neat, add the Canon FD25 U Macro Extension / teleconverter and its WAY up close, and super crisp with a perfect depth of field for small things, like flowers, water droplets, eyeballs, insects, dog noses or whatever.

Substantial, well made, heavy duty lens. The Canon FL 50mm f/3.5 Macro lens is a heavy duty dinosaur from the late '60's that was designed for the Canon FT camera. This lens is made from glass and steel and is heavy! This lens will focus down to about 8" and is great for reptiles, amphibians, wildflowers, etc. The FL Life Size adapter is great for entomology and is frequently available on eBay in the $20 price range. This is a manual lens that I use on older Canon cameras and can also be used as a prime lens.