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Canon 50mm 1.4 & 50mm 1.4 ssc Differ?
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I have had my 50mm 1.4 Canon lens (breech) for many many years now and shoot it with my old F-1. I absolutely love the lens. A couple of days ago I saw a very good deal on a 50mm 1.4 ssc (breech) and bought it. It hasn't arrived as of yet and I was doing some research and read a few things that some fellow users sent me, but can't actually find a reference to this lens not being coated w/ the ssc. As I know this exsists because it is on my camera, I'm wondering if I just bought the exact same lens only it has the red "ssc" stamp on it. Can someone help please?
Thank You
Posted at 9:55PM, 8 July 2009 PDT
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I'm not sure I get your question, but I know there were two different coatings used on FDs: SC and SSC. I think you'd be hard pressed to see a difference in them in day to day shooting.
Posted 35 months ago.
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does your new lens have the silver coating where you screw on the lens? If so i think it's the SSC version - much heavier than the non-SSC version, but much of much when it comes to picture quality. I had both, but got rid of the SSC, simply because my camera around my neck felt alot heavier with it on
Posted 35 months ago.
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A Canon lens list I have shows there are three 50mm f/1.4 breech-mount lenses.
50mm f/1.4 - produced starting 3/71 - weighs 370g
50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. - produced starting 3/73 - weighs 350g
50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. - produced starting 6/73 - weighs 305g
(Do a Google search on how to tell the dates of Canon equipment.)
I have a 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C made in 8/76. It is marked S.S.C. (Super Spectra Coating) on the front ring of the lens (as I think any of them made after 3/73 are). If you have on that is made before 3/73 I may not be marked with the S.S.C. but I think Canon still used the S.S.C. on the 50mm f/1.4 lenses. Some, many, all (?) of the 3/71 lenses were what they called 'Chrome Nose' lenses. That is, the front end of the lens where the filter and hood attach is silver or chrome, not black. Also they had an 'O' instead of the 'A' for the automatic aperture setting.
And, of course, the more research you do, the more confusing it all gets. Just remember that any of the 50mm f/1.4 breech-mount lenses are very good lenses. They are solid, and they are fast. For comparison, price out a Canon 50mm f/1.4 EF USM lens (around $300 USD on ebay).
Posted 35 months ago.
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Thanks all.
MadArtistPhoto, The dating site I found doesn't seem to help too much, but I can tell you it does have the "O" for the automatic aperture, It has the "chrome nose" which is a 55mm and also a outer Bayonet for the lens hood (?). The site with dating refers to a code on the back, (there ex. UR0902) Mine is much smaller and is M109 and just in front of the breech lock ring is the number 10880.
Posted 35 months ago.
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Ah, more research and a visit to the Canon Museum (via web site) reveals that they are calling this lens just "FD50mm f/1.4" I weighed it and it is very close to the 370g, at least a lot closer than to 350g.
Posted 35 months ago.
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From BobAtkins ...The first letter tells the year the camera was manufactured: in this case, 1980. It's an alphabetic code; A = 1960, B = 1961,....T = 1979, U = 1980, and so on up to Z = 1985. The next 2 numbers tell you what month the camera was made, in this example, November. (the leading zero for the month code is sometimes omitted, so an A-1 with a code of "Y362" would have been manufactured in March, 1984, for instance.) The following 2 numbers are an internal code that is irrelevant for determining age, but year and month is close enough anyway.
Based on this website your lens was probably made in January 1972. At least that would be my best guess on reading and interpreting some of these sites.
The 55mm is the thread diameter for a screw in filter. The 10880 is the serial number. And you are right, the outer 'bayonet' mount is for a lens hood. It takes a BS-55 hood - always a good investment - you can find them often on ebay.
The 'Chrome-Nose' lenses are considered to be among the best lenses Canon made. They even border on being 'collectible'. Though, as you found out, they are a bit heavy. But, personally, I think the little extra weight adds a bit of heft to the camera and makes it a bit more stable.
Check out Canon FD Lens Info for a complete(?) listing of Canon FD lenses and info about the individual lenses.
Posted 35 months ago.
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The Canon 50mm SSC f1.4 lens has become my absolute favorite lens. I really love it!
Desktop cow lit by household bulb
Shot w/ Canon FTb
Canon 50mm S.S.C. Lens
Kodak High Definition 400
Posted 35 months ago.
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