Originally posted by jcdoss How do Canon FD lenses compare to the Pentax K and M series? I've always been curious about FD lenses.
I just got done with a little controlled shootout between my normal lenses (Minolta MC 50/1.4 & 58/1.2, Canon nFD 50/1.4), the only Pentax 50(ish) I have is the M50/1.7 and I didn't even bother including it.
I just took a few extra snaps with the FD50/1.4 and the M50/1.7 (100% center crops, no PP except for white balance and a bit of sharpening - identical for all shots of course):
nFD50/1.4 @f/1.4 | M50/1.7 @f/1.7: nFD50/1.4 @f/2.8 | M50/1.7 @f/2.8:
I can't speak from personal experience (yet) but from what I've read, there are a number of very good performers in the FD lineup, especially the manual "L" glass and the earlier S.S.C. "Aspherical" lenses.
Quite a few are said to be better than any of their AF successors (e.g. the FD85/1.2 "Aspherical" & nFD85/1.2L).