Canon 35-70mm f2.8-3.5 S.S.C. Lens for Canon FD

The Canon FD 35-70mm f/2.8-3.5 S.S.C. is a historically significant standard zoom lens built for Canon’s original breech-lock FD-mount 35mm film SLR cameras, released in December 1973 as the world’s first short zoom lens starting from a wide-angle 35mm focal length. It’s a pioneer within Canon’s zoom lens lineup, remembered for the two-lens-group zoom design that achieved image quality rivaling fixed focal-length lenses at a time when zoom lenses were generally considered optically inferior.

Optically, the lens covers a 35-70mm focal range with a variable maximum aperture of f/2.8 at the wide end narrowing to f/3.5 at telephoto, a genuinely fast aperture for a zoom lens of its era, well suited to general everyday photography as well as lower-light shooting. The optical construction consists of 10 elements in 10 groups, and Canon’s Super Spectra Coating (S.S.C.) is applied to individual elements to suppress internal reflections, ghosting, and flare, improving contrast and color fidelity, particularly under strong or backlit lighting. An 8-blade aperture diaphragm contributes to the lens’s background rendering.

A notable feature for its time is the lens’s built-in macro shooting capability, allowing close-up photography down to a minimum focusing distance of 0.3m (about 1 foot) at the wide-angle setting, extending the lens’s versatility well beyond standard shooting distances. As a fully manual lens, focus and aperture are controlled entirely by hand via the lens barrel, with no autofocus or electronic communication with the camera body, consistent with the FD-mount SLR bodies of its era.

Build quality reflects Canon’s original FD-series construction, with a durable all-metal barrel and mount using the original breech-lock mounting system, distinct from the later New FD (FDn) bayonet-style redesign that would eventually replace it. The lens measures approximately 120 x 69mm and weighs about 575g.

Key Features
– 35-70mm standard zoom for Canon FD mount (original breech-lock version)
– Maximum aperture f/2.8-3.5 (variable)
– 10 elements in 10 groups optical construction
– Super Spectra Coating (S.S.C.)
– 8-blade aperture diaphragm
– Built-in macro capability (0.3m minimum focus at wide-angle)
– Fully manual focus and aperture control
– All-metal barrel and breech-lock mount construction
– Compatible with Canon FD-mount 35mm film SLR cameras