# Ok, I can take it... How much is it worth?



## LCARSx32 (Oct 1, 2011)

A friend of my father's had this lens given to him.  He doesn't do photography more than to take snapshots at family events, so he has no use for it.  I'm going to talk with him today about buying/trading for the lens and I want to go with at least an idea of how much it's worth.  My best estimate so far is in the $8,000 range.  Yikes.  But it is L glass.  I was hoping some of you fine folks would have a more definite answer.  Here's some pictures and the specs:

Specs:

Manufacturer:  Canon
Focal Range: 800mm Prime
Maximum Aperture: 1:5.6
Aperture Range: 5.6-32
Mount: Canon FD

And now, the pictures:


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## analog.universe (Oct 1, 2011)

I'm not sure what's it worth, a bunch  

The thing is it's FD mount however..  so you'll not be able to achieve infinity focus if you attempt to mount it to your Rebel with a mechanical adapter.  You'll need an adapter with an optical element which certainly will degrade the quality from this ridiculous lens.  The FD mount depends on a shorter sensor to lens distance than the minimum distance available on an EOS mount.  You would be able to easily adapt this to a mirrorless camera however.


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## LCARSx32 (Oct 1, 2011)

Thanks a.u.  I'm aware of the limitations of using FD glass on EF cameras.  In the near future (if I can work out a deal), I plan on getting one of the cheap glass-less adapters and using it for "closer" (lol) subjects.  I wonder if I could focus the moon without infinity focus? hmmm.  Has anyone ever tried one of the optical adapters to see just how much IQ is lost?  Thanks again for the input.


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## 412 Burgh (Oct 1, 2011)

Sorry I'm useless, but that is HUGE..

Go ahead....say it...




*that's what she said*


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## tirediron (Oct 1, 2011)

If I saw it in a store with a ~$7500 price tag, I would think that was reasonable.


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## analog.universe (Oct 1, 2011)

One sold on eBay for ~$1500 recently apparently.  FD lenses have depreciated especially fast because the demand is so low these days.


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## jake337 (Oct 1, 2011)

Buy an older film camera and mount it to that!


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## analog.universe (Oct 1, 2011)

Or a Micro 4/3... 1600mm with the crop factor!


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## tirediron (Oct 1, 2011)

analog.universe said:


> One sold on eBay for ~$1500 recently apparently. FD lenses have depreciated especially fast because the demand is so low these days.


  Wow!  I guess I don't know enough about Canon glass.


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## gsgary (Oct 1, 2011)

One for sale in London for £1100 so it's not worth as much as you think


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## Ron Evers (Oct 1, 2011)

I can mount it, I can mount it.  

But I am a bottom feeder & only pay up to $100 for a used lens.


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## jake337 (Oct 1, 2011)

Just keep it, well I would.  When I think 800mm focal length these are what come to mind.....

Flickr: Fstoppers' Photostream


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## LCARSx32 (Oct 1, 2011)

OMG OMG OMG  I just stole this lens!!  All he wanted was a laptop for his wife to use when they go on long trips.  I had just a Dell M5030 about 2 months ago new for $275.00.  I had it with me, so I showed it to him and he said "let's trade". DEAL.


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## tirediron (Oct 1, 2011)

LCARSx32 said:
			
		

> OMG OMG OMG  I just stole this lens!!  All he wanted was a laptop for his wife to use when they go on long trips.  I had just a Dell M5030 about 2 months ago new for $275.00.  I had it with me, so I showed it to him and he said "let's trade". DEAL.



I. HATE. YOU. 





. Awesome score.


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## Overread (Oct 1, 2011)

I HATE HIM TOO!

That said weren't there some official high grade FD to EOS adaptors made by canon and sold in limited numbers? For a big of glass like that I'd consider it worth hunting around to try and find one (as I recall they get a bit expensive when they do appear).


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## jake337 (Oct 1, 2011)

Overread said:


> I HATE HIM TOO!
> 
> That said weren't there some official high grade FD to EOS adaptors made by canon and sold in limited numbers? For a big of glass like that I'd consider it worth hunting around to try and find one (as I recall they get a bit expensive when they do appear).



He should find that and some nice 1.4T and 2T teleconvertors!


Also I have a laptop, can we do the same trade?


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## Ron Evers (Oct 1, 2011)

Add me to the Hate list.

I would have traded my wife's laptop ($450+) for that lens.


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## Compaq (Oct 1, 2011)

:hail:


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## Trever1t (Oct 1, 2011)

The fact that it is stamped with US NAVY gives it somewhat of a rarer status I'd wager.  Hang onto that thing and find the correct avenue if you decide to part with it. People just love militaria


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## LizardKing (Oct 1, 2011)

Ron Evers said:


> Add me to the Hate list.
> I would have traded my wife's laptop ($450+) for that lens.



I would trade my girlfriend for that... 

By the way, congratulations!


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## DennyCrane (Oct 2, 2011)

Nice score! And as has been suggested, go get an FD-mount camera and really put that lens to use! You got such a great price on it, you really have no excuse NOT to find a decent used FD body now! Me, I'd get an AE-1 or an AE-1 program.


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## molested_cow (Oct 2, 2011)

Where's the "hate" button when we need it most?

Now tell us exactly "who" are you gonna use that lens on???


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## 2WheelPhoto (Oct 2, 2011)

Congrats!


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## tirediron (Oct 2, 2011)

Okay, so granted this is an older lens, but why is it so inexpensive?  I assume that Canon, like Nikon has always produced excellent lenses, and even a 25+ year old 400mm 2.8 will still fetch ~$3000 without any problem.


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## LuigiVN (Oct 2, 2011)

As someone already said, buy a FD mount camera and give that bad boy a good use. Damn! Or just keep it under your bed in case some strangers try to rob your house.


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## Overread (Oct 2, 2011)

tirediron said:


> Okay, so granted this is an older lens, but why is it so inexpensive?  I assume that Canon, like Nikon has always produced excellent lenses, and even a 25+ year old 400mm 2.8 will still fetch ~$3000 without any problem.



Probably because its FD mount and thus limited totally to film gear (and all film gear has depreciated a lot). The only adaptors out there for FD to EOS appear to be cheap make ones only with only a handful of those proper high quality canon adaptors out there. So the potential market for a professional grade FD lens is smaller. The new mirrorless hybrids might however result in a rise in second hand lens prices because of the ease of making non-glass requiring filters, but how high that is depends on how the market treats the new cameras and if indeed people want them (a Olympus Pen on that lens would probably get lost )


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## GooniesNeverSayDie11 (Oct 2, 2011)

One went for about $1500 on ebay a couple of days ago. It was also from the US NAVY. Nice find though.


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## Geaux (Oct 2, 2011)

test shots?


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## enzodm (Oct 2, 2011)

LCARSx32 said:


> I wonder if I could focus the moon without infinity focus?



The moon is the object closest to infinity you could find, thus no.

And yes, I hate you  .


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## LCARSx32 (Oct 3, 2011)

You're going to hate me even more   I took it apart to convert it to EF.  But the way I did it is 100% reversible.  Below is my first test shot to make sure I could focus to infinity with the new mount.  Keep in mind, my tripod is woefully inadiquite for a lens this size, so it was moving around quite a bit.  I can't stop down the aperture just yet because I haven't fitted new linkage to the internal mechanism.  But I'm happy with it for half a days work.

The moon - 50% Crop, straight from camera.  I know it's OOF


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