Canon FD lenses are some of the easiest vintage glass to find and adapt. Listings mix up two mechanical generations, the original breech-lock FD and the later New FD, often shortened to FDn. Both fit the same cameras and the same adapters. They differ in how they lock on, how they're marked and how big they are. Here's how to tell them apart from the photos, and what actually matters when you buy one for a mirrorless body.
Where FD came from
Canon introduced the FD mount in March 1971 with the Canon F-1. It replaced the earlier FL mount, and it stayed Canon's SLR system until the EOS cameras arrived in 1987 with the electronic EF mount. The last FD camera, the T60, came out in 1990. Because Canon made a clean break with EF, there's a large supply of FD lenses on the used market, and they all focus manually.
FD added full-aperture metering and automatic exposure signals to the mount. None of that matters on an adapter, but it explains the extra pins and levers you'll see on the back of the lens.
The breech-lock, and why it's there
Original FD lenses use a breech-lock. You set the lens against the camera without turning it, then turn a silver ring at the base to clamp it on. Wikipedia explains the reason. The lens and body mating surfaces never rub against each other, so there's no wear to change the precise lens-to-film distance. The downside was a slower lens change than a bayonet.
Wikipedia describes three versions of the breech-lock lenses, and the differences show up in photos.
- Chrome nose, about 1970 to 1973. A chrome filter ring at the front and a green o at the end of the aperture scale. The coating type isn't marked on the front.
- Second version, about 1973 to 1976. A black front engraved S.C. in white or S.S.C. in red, and a chrome lock button on the aperture ring.
- Third version, 1976 to about 1980. The green o became a green A and the lock button turned black. The FD 50mm f/1.8 got a plastic front barrel at this point.
New FD
New FD lenses arrived at the end of the 1970s. Wikipedia gives 1978 in one place and 1979 in another, and camera-wiki says 1976, so we'd treat the exact year loosely. You mount a New FD lens by twisting the whole lens like a bayonet, but the mating surfaces at the back stay still, so Canon kept the breech-lock's advantage.
The easy tell in a photo is the base of the lens. A breech-lock lens has a silver ring around the mount. A New FD lens has a black mount with a small metal release button. New FD lenses also dropped the coating marks from the front ring.
Wikipedia says lenses sold in both generations were usually smaller and lighter as New FD, and usually took smaller filters. It also says the two are completely interchangeable on any FD camera.
What S.C. and S.S.C. mean
You'll read that S.C. means single-coated and S.S.C. means multi-coated. Wikipedia says both were multi-coatings, sold as two quality grades. S.C. stood for Spectra Coating and S.S.C. for Super Spectra Coating, and in the second breech-lock series most lenses got S.S.C. while S.C. was mostly kept for the cheaper ones.
New FD lenses carry neither mark. Canon's documents, as Wikipedia reports them, said every New FD lens had S.S.C. coating except the New FD 50mm f/1.8. So a New FD 50mm f/1.8 and an FD 50mm f/1.8 S.C. share the S.C. grade, while the FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. has the better one.
L lenses and other labels
Canon's premium lenses used aspherical surfaces, fluorite or ultra-low-dispersion glass. The breech-lock versions were labeled AL, Aspherical or Fluorite on the front. The New FD versions used a single L and a red ring. That red ring carried on to Canon's autofocus L lenses.
You'll also see FL lenses offered alongside FD ones. FL was the mount before FD. Wikipedia says FD cameras can use FL lenses with stop-down metering, and that almost all FD and FL lenses adapt to short-flange mirrorless bodies. An FL lens is still a different, older lens, so check the name ring says FD if that's what you're paying for.
Putting either one on a mirrorless body
For an adapter, the generation doesn't matter. Both lock onto an FD adapter the same way they lock onto a camera. FD has a short 42mm flange distance, so it needs a body with an even shorter one, and every current mirrorless system qualifies. Wikipedia notes that FD lenses work on mirrorless cameras through simple mechanical adapters with no glass in them.
Skip adapters with glass inside. FD lenses can't focus to infinity on Canon's EF DSLR mount without a corrective element, and Wikipedia says aftermarket FD-to-EF adapters with glass lose a lot of image quality, especially at wide apertures. If you shoot Canon mirrorless, use a direct FD to RF adapter, not an FD-to-EF adapter stacked on an EF-to-RF one. Other common pairings are FD to Sony E, FD to Fuji X and FD to Micro Four Thirds.
Which to buy
Pick the lens first and the generation second. Many focal lengths were sold in both generations, and the New FD version was often a smaller, lighter lens, so check the page for the exact lens you're considering. Our Canon FD mount page lists them all.
Some people prefer the metal feel and the silver ring of the breech-lock lenses. Others like the quick twist and smaller size of New FD. On a mirrorless body the mount mechanism is a minor point. The condition of the glass and the feel of the focus ring matter far more.
- In the photos. Look at the base for a silver ring or a release button, and at the front ring for S.C., S.S.C. or nothing.
- Ask the seller. For a breech-lock lens, ask whether the ring turns smoothly and locks. A ring that's stuck makes the lens hard to mount.
- On arrival. Check the aperture moves when you turn the ring on your adapter, and that the focus ring is smooth.
The rest of what to check is in our guide on how to check a used vintage lens. For everything Canon made, see the Canon brand page.
