Canon FD 135mm F2.5 S.C.
A lens with lots of charming “character” flaws…
Canon FD 135mm F2.5 on my EOS R @ F2.5
This was a lens that I would have probably never added to my kit if it wasn’t for my purchase of a Full Frame Mirrorless camera (my EOS R). For the simple reason that I started out just focused on making moving pictures so I chose the tools that were best suited for that task. At the time of my film school education cameras like the Panasonic GH series, and shortly afterwards BlackMagic Cinema Camera 2.5K, offered the best overall image quality for making moving pictures so I chose to invest in those cameras with their M4/3 sized sensors. With that sized sensor format, the 135mm focal length was not only impractical for framing but also impossible difficult to keep anything in focus with when your talent is moving through the frame. Because of this I never considered buying long lenses.
When my mother gifted me her Canon AT-1 kit on my 17th birthday it contained a “New FD” (nFD) 135mm F2.8 lens along with the 50mm F1.8 S.C. It’s safe to say that with my focus, I rarely touched the the 135mm F2.8. When I got my Fuji XT-2 in 2016 I did find myself occasionally doing some portraits with the nFD 135mm F2.8 but found that it was still a bit long for my taste, I found myself more often reaching for my nFD 85mm F1.8.
In late 2018 when I decided to upgrade to my first digital Full Frame camera strictly for photography work I bought a Canon EOS R. It was only after shooting full frame for a little that I really felt any considerable enjoyment shooting with a 135mm lens; I started to appreciate compression and shallowness it provided.
Canon FD 135mm F2.5 on my EOS R @ F2.5
After moving up to Full Frame with the EOS R and the “Kit” Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L Zoom lens I found myself often at the end of the zoom range and often adapter my nFD 135mm F2.8 lens to shoot on my EOS R. While stuck in quarantine I found myself browsing the web and coming across the mention of FD 135mm F2.5 S.C. which I admit I had forgotten about most likely due to my general aversion toward the S.C. coated FD lenses.
After a drink or two and some subsequent browsing on eBay I came across a mint condition 135mm F2.5 S.C. I would not advise anyone who considers themself a “lens enthusiast” - or perhaps a better term is “lens hoarder” - go browsing eBay for a lens they don’t yet have in their connection in a slightly inebriated state. Before I knew it, I had purchased the mint 135mm F2.5 S.C. for just under $100 including shipping. A fair price...
What drew me to this specific lens was its remarkably fast aperture (for a vintage telephoto) of F2.5. I enjoyed the idea of being able to compress and obliterate backgrounds but also having the ability to shoot in very low light conditions without having to raise my ISO too high. I was also intrigued to see how much of a difference the S.C. coating would make compared to my nFD 135mm F2.8 and the the rest of my S.S.C. coated collection.
Canon FD 135mm F3.5 S.C. on my EOS R @ F2.5
Then lens arrived as described, with no optical issues and in great physical condition. The lens is heavy, but well built with a study metal construction. It has a basic optical construction of 6-elements in 5-groups, this is fairly common for a basic fast vintage telephoto. What is somewhat unique is that this lens was one of only possessed the basic “S.C." - Spectra Coating” in the FD line up. The others all seemed to make sense, they were far more “entry level” options, the: 50mm F1.8 S.C. 35mm F3.5 S.C. & 135mm F3.5 S.C. They were all “starter” lenses as the most commonly purchased additional focal lengths by amateurs at the time. A time before kit zooms became the norm. Most people usually wanted a wider and a longer focal length to accompany their often 50mm F1.8 “kit” lens that came with their camera. So for this both the 35mm S.C. & the 135mm F3.5 S.C. made sense. But why not the far more expensive 135mm F2.5 lens, after all it was the fastest 135mm lens Canon made until about a decade later in the 1980’s when they would introduce the nFD 135mm F2 lens? Well my theory is that because the lens has only 6-elements therefore fewer air-to-glass surfaces for light to travel through and bounce around between; that it might received the S.C. coating due to the less possibly of ghosting artifacts due to its basic construction. Another possibility could have to do with desire to maximize the light transmission and that the S.S.C. coating perhaps might have had a less desirable effect on the promise of a very bright lens with a such a wide aperture that an S.C. coating was chosen. (Canon knows)
The lens does feature an impressive 8-aperture blades but an unremarkable close focus of 5” (compared to 4’6” on the nFD 135mm F2.8). It has a built in lens hood just like the nFD 135mm F2.8. (both don’t stay in place)
Canon FD 135mm F2.5 S.C. on my EOS R @ F2.5
The first thing I noticed about this lens after I looked through the EVF was “Wow, this is shallow but man these transitions are just kinda rough”. This is how the seemingly “optical” dual-personality that the FD 135mm F2.5 S.C posses make me feel. There is so little little in focus wide open but the transitions from in-focus to de-focused areas of the image are pronounced; they draw your eye’s attention. This is due to the lens suffering from some rather severe Spherochromatism, a form of Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration that results in magenta fringing before the plan of focus and green fringing past the point of focus. This lens, as can be very clearly seen in the bright rendering of the aberration in the photo above of the electrical pole. This rendering is distracting to say the least. A more complex optical formula might have corrected aberrations like this but would have also, no doubt, decreased the total light transmission through the lens (T-Stop) and would have added considerable weight and cost to an already large and pricey lens. However, at the narrow point of pin-sharp focus the lens renders good resolution and detail. It is surprisingly “sharp” wide open at the point of focus for such a vintage lens. It does suffer from “Cats-Eyed” bokeh as to be expected from a large aperture telephoto lens with a relatively small front diameter. There is little to no micro-contrast to be found here; the lens can easily suffer loss of contrast with just a mild flare hitting it, this results in on overall veiling glare effect..
I can’t really say this lens is a good choice for most people; optically it is far inferior to the smaller and lighter nFD 135mm F2.8 and posses a longer close focus than that lens. To others the advantage in light gathering potential of almost half-a-stop from F2.8 to F2.5 might be worth the penalty of easy flaring and distracting chromatic aberration especially noticeable around bright highlights. Although I don’t completely regret my purchase of this lens, considering the price I paid, I will say it’s not one I can recommend to someone for more than $100. That bringing said if you want a vintage telephoto lens with unashamedly “vintage lens” flaws, then the 135mm F2.5 is it!
