Canon Canon 35mm f2.8 Heritage

Overview

The Canon new FD 35mm f/2.8 is a compact, budget-oriented wide-angle prime from Canon's FD lens system. According to phillipreeve.net, Canon made only two 2.8/35 lenses in FD mount: this small new FD version and a much larger, more expensive Tilt/Shift lens (the Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS, released in 1973 as the world's first Tilt/Shift lens for the 35mm format). This lens is the modest sibling in that pairing. The review frames it as an affordable, practical option, noting it 'offers really good image quality for very little money' and calling it 'a very good solution for most budget oriented Sony Alpha 7 users.' No nicknames or community jargon are established for this lens in the reviews. Its appeal is straightforward value: a light, inexpensive, competent 35mm for adapting to mirrorless cameras. There are at least three versions of Canon's 2/35 and one 3.5/35, but those are described as totally different lenses.

Verdict: The Canon new FD 35mm f/2.8 is a small, light, and inexpensive wide-angle that punches above its price, making it an ideal budget entry point for Sony Alpha 7 (or other mirrorless) shooters who want a competent 35mm without spending much. Its handling feels a touch cheap and it's soft up close wide open, but with good flare resistance and manageable vignetting it delivers genuinely good results for the money. It's a pragmatic value pick rather than a character lens.

Optical Character

Bokeh

Some nice background blur possible at close focus but a bit softer up close, with no bubbles or swirls described.

Sharpness wide open

Good overall image quality, a bit soft at close focus wide open (f/2.8), improving when stopped down to f/4.

Flare resistance

Flare resistance is quite good.

Vignetting

Notable but not excessive at f/2.8, only slightly reduced by f/4 and effectively invisible from f/5.6.

Community Insights

What people love

Excellent value: really good image quality for very little money (roughly $35-60 used)
Small and very light (165g), very well balanced on a Sony Alpha 7
Reasonable focus throw (about 80 degrees from 0.35m to 1m, plus ~20 degrees to infinity)
Quite good flare resistance
Vignetting that is notable but not excessive wide open and cleans up by f/5.6

What people dislike

Build feels a bit cheap compared to other manual lenses, with a plastic aperture ring and front plate
Focus ring is a bit too loose, lacking sufficient resistance
Aperture ring requires too much force to move and the clicks aren't distinctive enough, making it hard to select stops by feel
A bit soft up close at f/2.8, requiring stopping down to f/4
FD flange-focal-distance means DSLR adapters either degrade image quality or lose infinity focus; best used on mirrorless

Pro Tips

Stop down to f/4 for close-focus shots to overcome the slight wide-open softness
Use it on a full-frame mirrorless body like a Sony Alpha 7 with a simple (non-optical) FD adapter to retain image quality and infinity focus
Avoid DSLR adapters with corrective optical elements or you'll lose quality or infinity focus
For critical work, close to f/5.6 to render vignetting effectively invisible

Sources (1)

Web-grounded synthesissecondary

The Canon new FD 35mm f/2.8 is a compact, budget-oriented wide-angle prime from Canon's FD lens system. According to phillipreeve.net, Canon made only two 2.8/35 lenses in FD mount: this small new FD version and a much larger, more expensive Tilt/Shift lens (the Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS, released in 1973 as the world's first Tilt/Shift lens for the 35mm format). This lens is the modest sibling in that pairing. The review frames it as an affordable, practical option, noting it 'offers really good image quality for very little money' and calling it 'a very good solution for most budget oriented Sony Alpha 7 users.' No nicknames or community jargon are established for this lens in the reviews. Its appeal is straightforward value: a light, inexpensive, competent 35mm for adapting to mirrorless cameras. There are at least three versions of Canon's 2/35 and one 3.5/35, but those are described as totally different lenses.

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-canon-new-fd-35mm-12-8/https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-canon-fd-35mm-2-8-ts/