The 5 Best Canon T70 Camera Lenses
The T70 is a superb analog camera.
This post will talk about the top 5 lenses to use with the T70 camera.
Additional details are further down, but if you are in a hurry, below is the list:
- Kit Lens - Canon FD 50mm f/1.8 (eBay)
- Wide Angle Lens - Canon FD 28mm f/3.5 (Amazon)
- Portrait Lens - Canon FD 100mm f/2.8 (Amazon)
- Zoom Lens - Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 (eBay)
- Macro Lens - Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 (eBay)
Kit Lens and Standard Primes
Canon FD 50mm f/1.8
The Canon FD 50mm F/1.8 lens was the “kit Lens” often sold with the T70. The 50mm f1.8 is widely available used, has terrific picture quality, and is low-priced.
- The “classic” setup as it can be considered the original kit lens.
- Unbeatable value.
- Light and compact.
- Widely available and easy to find in good condition.
- Uses 55mm filter threads.
Check a variety of places to find the best condition and price.
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For a 50mm lens of photography, a 50mm lens is an ideal choice. The areas of photography encompass portraits, street, architecture, travel, casual use, and landscapes. This is the most frequently found focal length that is combined with the T70.
It is a small, well balanced, and light lens. The lenses weigh anywhere from 170-305g, with older versions being heavier. The new FD version, which was the last to be released, is the lightest.
In addition there are Two faster versions of the 50mm lens in a Canon FD camera mount.
Canon FD 50mm f/1.4
The Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 is 2/3 of a stop faster, but that comes at the cost of additional weight. It is slightly more expensive than the f1.8.
- Excellent image quality.
- Optical multi-coatings.
- Fairly easy to find in good condition.
- Larger and heavier than the f/1.8.
The 50mm f/1.4 comes in 4 versions. The “new FD” version is the newest and lightest of the bunch.
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A big, hefty, and very hard to focus lens. Do not expect sharp images when shot wide open. Stopped down, you are not going to see a big difference between it and the f/1.8 or f/1.4.
Both versions of the lens are expensive. Optical superiority is not why the lens is expensive. People want to have the lens stemming from rarity and collectibility.
Alternative Standard Lenses
If you want other focal lengths, here are a few other possibilities. Expect to spend additional money than you would for a 50mm lens of comparable speed.
- Canon FD 35mm f/2 SSC
- Canon FD 35mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 35mm f/3.5
- Canon FD 55mm f/1.2
Wide Angle Lens
Canon FD 28mm f/3.5
A popularly accepted focal length for street photography is 28mm. However, the most common use for wide-angle lenses are architectural and landscape photography.
- Great combination with a 50mm lens.
- Optical multi-coatings.
- Inexpensive and widely available.
- Small and light.
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My recommended choice is the Canon FD 28mm f/2.8 mainly because of the low price, wide availability, and impressive optics.
Alternative Wide Angle Lenses
In terms of price, the correlation is straightforward. The larger the field of view, the higher priced the lens will be. Larger apertures also go for a whole lot more.
Weight will vary based primarily on the characteristics of the lens. You will see lenses from 170g to 500g. Faster apertures will also mean that those lenses will be bulky and mess up the weight balance of the camera.
- Canon FD 7.5mm f/5.6 Fisheye
- Canon FD 14mm f/2.8L
- Canon FD 15mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 17mm f/4
- Canon FD 20mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 24mm f/1.4
- Canon FD 24mm f/2
- Canon FD 24mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 28mm f/2
- Canon FD 28mm f/2.8
Portrait & Telephoto Lens
Canon FD 100mm f/2.8
The 85mm lens wasn’t as widely used when the T70 was initially released. Instead, the 135mm focal length was the go to portrait lens.
- Excellent portrait lens.
- Less expensive 85mm alternative.
- Great value.
- Inexpensive.
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If you want to capture portrait photos with the T70, there are a number of short telephoto lenses to select among. The 100mm f/2.8 lens is one of the most inexpensive selections obtainable.
An 85mm lens will have the highest price, with 135mm lenses making up the middle of the price bracket.
As all of the Canon FD telephoto lenses will be manual focus, they are smaller sized than modern versions. Needless to say, something like the Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L has to be heavy and large because of the amount of glass in the lens.
Expect very affordable prices for the Canon FD 100mm f/2.8. There’s also a 100mm f/4 macro version of the lens. It will be more expensive and is not a good choice for portraits as the lens should be stopped down.
Alternative Telephoto Lenses
Another alternative, the Canon FD 135mm f/2.8 is just about the most affordable prime lenses you can acquire. You will need to search through a multitude of results for thirdparty 135mm lenses that are not going to be anywhere close to as good as a Canon lens.
You will find many 85mm lenses to choose from. The best is the Canon FD f/1.2L lens. A more inexpensive pick is the Canon FD 85mm f/1.8 lens, but it will be significantly higher priced when compared to the various telephoto lenses described.
- Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L
- Canon FD 85mm f/1.8
- Canon FD 100mm f/2
- Canon FD 135mm f/2.5
- Canon FD 200mm f/2.8
- Canon FD 200mm f/4
T70 Zoom Lenses
Canon FD 35-105mm f/3.5 & Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5
The advantages of pairing a T70 along with a zoom lens is appealing. Having the ability to use a range of focal lengths with no need to switch a lens is great.
Note that that all these are older zoom lenses.
- Haze and or Fungus
- Large amount of dust in the lens
- Loose or tight zoom ring
- Loose or tight focus ring
- Oil on the aperture blades
- Decentered lens elements
Additionally, you need to keep in mind the drawbacks the lenses have even when in excellent condition.
- Image quality will not be good when shot wide open.
- One or both ends of the focal range may suffer from a large amount of distortion.
- Zoom lenses are larger and generally heavier than primes.
Alternative Zoom Lenses
Regarding prices, just about all older zoom lenses will likely be low priced.
- Canon FD 70-210mm f/4
- Canon FD 80-200mm f/4L
- Canon FD 28-85mm f/4
Macro Lens
Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 & Vivitar 55mm f/2.8
- My favorite vintage macro lens.
- Available in multiple lens mounts.
- Incredible value.
- Sharp corner-to-corner at f/8.
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- My second favorite vintage macro lens.
- An excellent choice for close-up photography.
- It does not need an extension tube to reach 1:1 magnification.
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The two recommended macro camera lenses were made by Komine in Japan. The lens was also released under several brand names. Panagor, Spiratone, Rokunar, Elicar, and Quantaray are brands you can see on a copy of the lens.
There is a Vivitar 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review and a Vivitar 55mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review.
For taking pictures at lifesize magnification (1:1), the 90mm lens will probably be the better choice due to the fact that it has a greater working distance.
The 55mm focal length lens is awesome for table-top and close-up photography.
Alternative Macro Lenses
- Canon FD 50mm f/3.5
- Canon FD 100mm f/4
- Canon FD 200mm f/4
Used FD Camera Lens Prices
Price ranges change constantly. For the past several years, the desireability of film photography has been rising. As a result, prices have slowly increased.
To end up with the best price, viewa lot of websites. Immediately buy a great deal when you find one mainly because the best deals sell the quickest.
What Lens Mount Does the Canon AE-1 Use?
The T70 works with the Canon FD lens mount. Canon used the FD mount for film cameras manufactured from 1971-1992.
Here is a list of all the cameras that have a Canon FD mount.
The Canon FL lens mount was preceded by the FD mount, which was used between 1964 - 1971. FL mount lenses can be used with the T70, but you should be prepared to use stopped down metering.
Standard Lens Cap Size
The standard lens cap and filter ring thread diameter for Canon FD lenses is 55mm.
Employing a standardized filter thread size is good due to the fact that you just need to obtain and carry a single set of filters.
Some zoom and telephoto lenses have bigger filter ring thread diameters as they have large front lens elements.
FD vs FL Lens Mount
The Canon FL mount was made prior to the FD mount. You are able to use FL lenses on the FD lens mount, and FD lenses can be used on the FL lens mount.
What Canon FL mount lenses lack is the ability to do auto stop-down metering. Therefore the lens will need to be stopped down by pressing the depth-of-preview switch in order for the T70’s light meter to show an accurate value.
FD vs new FD Lenses
The whole new FD lens rotates to lock onto the camera. While original FD lenses have a breech-lock ring at the rear of the lens that needs to be tightened to be able to secure a lens to the camera.
FD and new FD lenses are interchangeable with each other. There will be no compatibility issues.
Occasionally you will find new FD lenses referred to as FDn lenses.
The modification in the design of the breech-lock ring was caused by complaints. A minority of users endured lenses getting jammed on a FD camera mount.
If you are unfamiliar with mounting an FD mount lens to a camera body, don’t be anxious. Simply take the process slow and don’t force anything.
Telling FD and FDn Lenses Apart
You can without difficulty tell new FD and FD lenses from one another. New FD lenses are going to have a silver button located on the barrel of the lens, near the mount.
The older FD lenses have a metal ring that is required to be rotated in order to lock the lens to the camera mount.
More Canon AE-1 Camera Resources
That finishes the best T70 lenses. Once more info on the camera is published on Outside the Shot, you will be able to find links here.