Product image from current catalog dataProduct overview
Canon FD 50mm f/1.8: What to Know
The Canon FD 50mm f/1.8 was made in enormous numbers as the kit lens for the AE-1 and A-1, which is exactly why it is the value pick: there are simply more of them in circulation than almost any other standard prime, and the price reflects supply rather than quality.
The optical formula is stated and is the orthodox one for this class: six elements in five groups, which the listing describes as giving a good balance of aberration correction across the focusing range. Maximum aperture is f/1.8 and minimum f/16, with a 55mm filter thread reported in the detail table as 5.5 centimeters. At four ounces it is the lightest lens in this guide.
The mount is Canon FD, and this is the one thing to understand before buying. FD is a breech-lock and later bayonet mount that Canon abandoned completely in 1987 when it moved to EF, and the FD flange distance means FD lenses cannot be adapted to Canon's own EF DSLRs without corrective glass that degrades the image. On mirrorless bodies, which have a much shorter flange distance, a plain FD adapter works perfectly on Sony E, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds and Canon's own RF. The irony is that an FD lens is easier to use on a Sony than on a Canon SLR.
Two honest notes. The coating field reads Super Integrated Coating, which is Nikon's term; Canon's own designation for this era is S.C. or S.S.C., so that field is wrong. And the detail table's camera-lens field reads 50 month, which is garbage rather than a specification.
Key Listed Features
Six elements in five groups, the orthodox formula for a standard prime of this class
f/1.8 to f/16, manual focus, 55mm filter thread, four ounces, the lightest here
Made in very large numbers as the kit lens for the Canon AE-1 and A-1, which keeps the price low
Adapts with a plain adapter to Sony E, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds and Canon RF
