Member-only story

Vintage Lens Review | Canon 200mm F2.8 (new) FD Mount

A concise review, after a few months (with sample images)

Oliver Bush / Photography
6 min readOct 17, 2024

Author Note: Discover why I highly recommend these vintage lenses for your collection! This review series focuses not on technical specs, but on the lens’ unique character, quirks, and my personal experiences with each.

Logic behind purchase:

My newly acquired Nikon ZF (a modern mirrorless system with a retro styled body) was lacking a telephoto. I already really enjoyed adapting my grandfather’s vintage Canon 50mm F1.8 and Soligor 28mm F2.8 to the Nikon, so I figured I’d look for another Canon FD mount lens. The Nikon’s fantastic in body image stabilization (IBIS) also made the manual focus 200mm focal length more approachable. I found the 200mm F2.8 and did a bit of research, found one for a good price, and tried it out.

Impressions:

I was plesantly supruised with how easy it is to nail focus on this lens. Even wide open at F2.8 it’s easy enough to get sharp photos. Obviosly at F4+ it would be easier as well, and it is. The entire expereince however is made possible…

Create an account to read the full story.

The author made this story available to Medium members only.
If you’re new to Medium, create a new account to read this story on us.

Or, continue in mobile web

Already have an account? Sign in

Oliver Bush / Photography
Oliver Bush / Photography

Written by Oliver Bush / Photography

Top Writer in Photography on Medium.com | Sharing insights, vintage lens reviews, and photo stories. | IG @oliverbush.makes

Responses (1)

Write a response

What a cool story about playing with a vintage lens! For me, this is particularly timely because I've been on the hunt for lenses to play with - but on the cheap.
I've found myself yearning to pull the trigger on something like a Minolta MD 135mm…