[Review & Sample Photos] Canon New FD 85mm f/1.2 L | The Streets of Shinjuku Captured with a Fast Lens, and a World of Beautiful Bokeh

Walking through the streets of Shinjuku, there are moments when you find yourself wanting to point your camera even at scenery you would normally pass by without a second thought.

Clothes lined up in a show window, light and shadow decorating the buildings, people coming and going, and cranes reaching into the sky.

The lens that turns such everyday scenes into striking images is the one we introduce here: the "Canon New FD 85mm f/1.2 L."

It is a fast medium-telephoto lens from Canon released in 1980. With an 85mm focal length and a bright f/1.2 maximum aperture, it lets you enjoy expressions with a heavily blurred background.

In this article, along with six sample photos taken in Shinjuku, we introduce the appeal of this lens and the fun of capturing the city at 85mm.

Canon's Fast L Lens, Born in 1980

The Canon New FD 85mm f/1.2 L is an FD-mount manual focus lens released in March 1980.

It bears the "L" name that symbolizes Canon's high-performance lenses and adopts a very bright f/1.2 design.

Canon had released the "FD85mm F1.2 S.S.C. ASPHERICAL" in 1976, and the New FD 85mm F1.2 L is a model that carries on the history of that fast 85mm lens.

The lens construction is 8 elements in 6 groups. Its optical design incorporating an aspherical element is a key feature, allowing you to bring out the presence of the in-focus subject while enjoying large bokeh.

The lens weighs 680g. It is by no means a light lens, but with its large front element and hand-operated focus ring, you can feel its appeal as a tool that differs from modern autofocus lenses.

How the 85mm Focal Length Changes the Way You See the City

85mm is a medium-telephoto focal length often used for portraits.

Compared with a 50mm standard lens, the field of view is narrower, allowing you to capture subjects at a slight distance large in the frame.

Rather than photographing the whole city broadly, it is suited to shooting that focuses on a single subject, such as a person who catches your eye, part of a building, or a spot where the light falls.

And a major feature of this lens is its f/1.2 brightness.

Opening the aperture wide makes the depth of field shallow, letting you heavily blur what lies in front of and behind the point of focus.

Even in the city, where backgrounds are cluttered, you can make the subject you want to show stand out.

Sample ① | Clothes in a Show Window and Light Falling on the Street

The first shot is a photo of a white coat and a pink coat lined up in a show window.

The clothes lit by the warm lighting of the shop, and the city scenery reflected in the glass.

The white and pink colors are striking, giving a sense of elegance within a calm atmosphere.

Also worth noticing is the sidewalk in the foreground.

The soft light falling on the ground overlaps with the brightness of the show window, creating different expressions within a single photo.

Even the front of a shop that you would normally pass by casually looks like a small story of the city when you capture a part of it at 85mm.

Sample ② | The Straight Lines of Architecture and the City's Light and Shadow

A shot taken looking up at a high-rise building in Shinjuku.

Regularly arranged windows and a reddish-brown exterior wall fill the frame.

The linear structure of the building and a large shadow cutting across the wall.

In the bright areas the color of the exterior looks vivid, while in the shadow the bluish windows are striking.

Unlike photos that make use of large bokeh, this sample lets you enjoy the building's form and repeating patterns.

85mm lenses may give a strong impression of portraiture, but they also show their appeal when photographing architecture like this.

By capturing part of a building from a distance, you can discover new compositions within a streetscape you are used to seeing.

Sample ③ | A Small Subject Found in the Middle of the City

The streets of Shinjuku, lined with high-rise buildings.

A single bird is perched on top of a signboard in front of them.

Most of the frame is occupied by a large building with regularly arranged windows.

The bird, appearing small within it, serves as an accent in the photo.

The 85mm angle of view is also handy for finding subjects a little way off like this.

Rather than photographing only the bird large, combining it with the surrounding architecture creates a scene unique to the city.

Sample ④ | Street Snapshot Capturing People Coming and Going

A scene from everyday life, taken on a sidewalk in Shinjuku.

A person in a pink jacket, a person in a green coat, and cars and buses running along the road.

A variety of colors and movement are contained within a single frame.

The space in the foreground where the people are, and the busy road stretching behind them.

Because the vehicles in the background are softly blurred, the people in the foreground naturally stand out.

The large pillar in the center of the frame, adding variety to the composition, is also striking.

When photographing people in the city, you do not necessarily need to capture their faces large.

Just the way people stand, their clothing and their distance from their surroundings can preserve the atmosphere of the city in a photo.

Sample ⑤ | Cranes Reaching into the Sky and the Beauty of Negative Space

This is a photo of two cranes reaching toward the sky.

The red-and-white steel frames stand out against a pale sky.

It is a very simple composition in which the sky occupies most of the frame.

The large crane on the left, and the crane standing a little apart on the right.

The difference in their size and height creates a natural rhythm in the photo.

When walking around the city, we tend to look at buildings and people, but just raising your gaze a little can lead you to completely different scenery.

Boldly cropping the subject and composing with negative space.

That kind of shooting is also one of the expressions you can enjoy with an 85mm lens.

Sample ⑥ | A Shot Like a Portrait, Drawn in Calm Light

The last is a mannequin in a suit displayed in a show window.

A black jacket, a white shirt, a deep red vest.

The calm color combination and soft light make this a striking photo.

Gentle gradations of light and dark appear on the white face, while deep shadows remain on the black jacket.

In portrait photography, the light falling on the face and clothing greatly changes the overall atmosphere of the photo.

This sample is not of a real person, but it is a shot you can enjoy with the feeling of taking a portrait.

Making the subject stand out while keeping the background tidy: it is a photo that lets you feel the appeal of the 85mm focal length.

The World of Vintage Lenses with the Canon New FD 85mm f/1.2 L

Looking at these six sample photos, you notice that the appeal of the Canon New FD 85mm f/1.2 L is not just the large background bokeh.

From show windows and people to architecture.

Seen through the 85mm focal length, the familiar city starts to look a little different.

On the other hand, at f/1.2 wide open the in-focus range is extremely shallow, so focusing requires care.

Since it is a manual focus lens, the photographer operates the focus ring and focuses themselves.

Compared with modern autofocus lenses, there may be situations where shooting takes more time.

Even so, the time spent focusing yourself and releasing the shutter while thinking about the direction of light and the background holds a pleasure unique to vintage lenses.

In addition to film SLRs compatible with the FD mount, you can also enjoy shooting with some mirrorless cameras by using a compatible mount adapter.

Being able to combine an old lens with a modern camera and explore new expressions is another attraction.

Lens Used

Summary | Turning Everyday Moments into Striking Images

Although the Canon New FD 85mm f/1.2 L was released in 1980, it is a lens that still lets you enjoy a wide variety of photographic expressions today.

Photos of show windows, photos capturing the forms of buildings, photos of people going about the city.

Even when shooting with the same 85mm lens, the photos come out with completely different atmospheres depending on how you choose your subject and light.

Finding a shot that is yours alone within ordinary scenery.

It is a lens that reminds you once again of the pleasure of walking around the city.

Five Star Camera carries used cameras and vintage lenses from a variety of manufacturers, including Canon.

You can also see products in person at our Shinjuku and Toyama stores, so if there is equipment that interests you, please feel free to contact us.

We not only sell used cameras and lenses but also buy them.

Why not find a favorite lens and the new joy of photography?