Data sheet: Canon FL 55 mm f/1.2

Pekka Buttler, 08/2022

Specifications

The table below summarizes the lens’ key specifications:

Brand:	Canon	Lens name	FL 55mm 1:1.2
Focal length(s)1	55 mm	Angle-of-view2	43 °
Maximum Aperture	f/1.2	In Production	1968-1970
Lens mount	Canon FL	Subfamily (if applicable)	––
Length3	55,0 mm	Diameter4	68,4 mm
Filter ring diameter	58 mm	Weight	456 grams
Lens element count	7	Lens group count	5
Aperture blades (S/R/C)5	8 S	Focus throw	180 °
Minimum focusing distance	60 cms	Maximum magnification	1:9,2
Has manual aperture ring	YES	Has Manual focus ring	YES

Further notes:
• Canon FL lenses typically have their aperture control ring mounted at the front of the lens.
• This lens entered the Canon FL lineup relatively late, and came in to replace the earlier FL 58 mm f/1.2
• This lens is second generation Canon FL lens, meaning that it does not have a preset ring (such as the FL 35/2.5), but instead sports an Auto/Manual switch. When used in auto, the lens needs to be stopped down to the selected aperture by the camera body (or an adapter), while in manual mode the lens’ diaphragm always reflects the aperture selected on the aperture ring.
• Users and prospective owners may be calmed by knowing that this is not one of those Canon FL lenses that are difficult to adapt as it does not have ‘the bulge‘
• The S-60 is the dedicated lens hood for this lens.

History of Canon FL lenses

Canon is undoubtedly one of the great names in 35 mm SLR photography. Ever since the 1959 introduction of the Canonflex – Canon’s first interchangeable lens SLR – Canon has constantly focused on being at the forefront of Camera innovation. Often this has necessitated taking stock and redesigning both cameras, lenses and lens mounts. Unlike its archival Nikon, Canon has not tried to integrate all novel features in the same lens mount, but has instead repeatedly launched new, modified mounts to facilitate new features, while still often (but not always) managing to maintain a decent degree of backwards compatibility.

In short (a longer version is here), the development of Canon SLR mounts can be traced as follows:
• 1959–1963: R-mount ⁶. Canon’s first SLR lens mount. Breech lock-type mount with aperture automation (camera is able to stop down lens for taking the shot.
• 1964–1969: FL-mount. Breech-lock type mount, physically similar mount as Canon R-mount, but camera-to-lens communication linkages somewhat different. Cannot communicate selected aperture to body (stop-down-metering only).
• 1970–1978: FD-mount. Breech-lock mount. FD lenses compatible with FL-cameras and vice versa. Manual focus lenses that communicate aperture information to camera, hence opening the door for automatic exposure (both shutter priority and aperture priority possible)
• 1979–1986: new FD-mount (a.k.a. FDn). Bayonet mount, backwards compatible with FL and FD mounts. Otherwise, as FD mount.
• 1987–today: EF-mount. Electronically controlled autofocus lenses that use an internal focusing motor. Compatible with previous mount lenses only using an adapter with optics.

While many see the Canon FL mount lenses as risky oddities compared to the subsequent FD and FDn lenses, Canon’s lineup of FL lenses is not to be frowned at as, in many ways, the FL lenses laid the groundwork for the subsequent success of the FD system. Granted, the coating technology is decidedly dated, and the need for stop-down metering is decidedly a hassle on Canon FD bodies, but especially when adapting lenses on mirrorless cameras, Canon FL lenses offer an interesting value proposition

Adapting

NOTE! Unless noted otherwise, the following applies to all Canon FL lenses:

This lens cannot be used natively on any current SLR or dSLRs. To use it in its native environment, you will need a Canon FL or FD-mount film body.

Thanks to being a fully manual lens (manual aperture, manual focus), the lens can be adapted to all mirrorless cameras using a suitable adapter. However, to be able to stop down the lens, you will need to take one of two routes:

1) Acquire a Canon FD adapter and use its ability to engage the FD/FL lens’ aperture control lever, to make sure that the diaphragm’s opening always reflects the aperture ring’s selection.

2) Acquire a Canon FL adapter (or modify a Canon FD adapter by removing its aperture control lever) and instead engage the FL lens’ manual setting.

Moreover, a large range of special adapters (helicoid adapters, tilt/shift adapters, speed boosters) for using Canon FD (And, hence, Canon FL) lenses on most mirrorless systems are available.

Using Canon FL lenses on dSLRs is a possibility, but is not problem free. Thanks to the relatively short flange focal distance of the Canon FL/FD mount (at 42,0 mm, clearly shorter than that of any full-frame dSLR mount), any adapter will necessitate some optics to achieve infinity focus. Again, a Canon FD adapter should work…

Footnotes

¹ Focal length is (unless stated otherwise) given in absolute terms, and not in Full-frame equivalent. For an understanding of whether the lens is wide/tele, see ‘Angle-of-view’.

² Picture angle is given in degrees and concerns the diagonal picture angle. Rule of thumb:
> 90 ° ==> Ultra-wide-angle
70–90 ° ==> Wide-angle
50–70 ° ==> Moderate wide-angle
40–50 ° ==> ‘Standard’ or ‘normal’ lens
20–40 ° ==> Short tele lens
10-20 ° ==> Tele lens
5-10 ° ==> Long tele lens
< 5 ° ==> Ultra-tele lens

³ Length is given from the mount flange to the front of lens at infinity.

⁴ Diameter excludes protrusions such as rabbit ears or stop-down levers.

⁵ S=straight; R=rounded; C=(almost)circular at all apertures.

⁶ The Canon-R mount should possibly be renamed to (or referred to) as the Canonflex mount to avoid confusion with the modern mirrorless mount that is sometimes also referred to as the Canon R mount.