Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

FD 200mm f/2.8

Canon · Canon FD · 1975

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: Canon FD 200mm f/2.8 · FD 200mm 1:2.8 S.S.C. · Canon FD 200mm f/2.8 S.S.C. · New FD 200mm f/2.8 · Canon nFD 200mm f/2.8 · FDn 200mm f/2.8 · New FD 200mm f/2.8 IF · Canon FD 200/2.8 · キヤノン FD 200mm F2.8 · キヤノン New FD 200mm F2.8

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
FD 200mm f/2.8 S.S.C. (breech-lock) · 5 elements in 5 groups, whole-lens helicoid focusing Canon FD 1975–1979 — No production figure or serial table has been published for any version¹
New FD 200mm f/2.8 (1979, same optics) · 5 elements in 5 groups, whole-lens helicoid focusing, unchanged from the S.S.C. Canon FD 1979–1982 — No production figure or serial table has been published¹
New FD 200mm f/2.8 (October 1982, rear-group focusing) · 7 elements in 6 groups, rear-group (internal) focusing Canon FD 1982 — No production figure or serial table has been published¹
  1. Canon published no serial tables for FD lenses and no production totals for this family. None of the sources consulted (Canon Camera Museum, mir.com.my, Canon Classics, Wikipedia) prints a serial range or a count for any version, so none is given here.
  2. Minimum aperture of the June 1979 New FD lens: the Canon Camera Museum and Canon Classics both say f/32; Wikipedia's table says f/22 for both the S.S.C. and the 1979 New FD. The f/22 figure is certain for the S.S.C. (Canon's own table); the page follows Canon for the 1979 lens and notes the disagreement.
  3. Filter thread of the 1982 rear-focus lens: Canon's museum table, Canon's spec sheet as transcribed on mir.com.my, and Canon Classics all give 72 mm. Wikipedia's table gives 52 mm, which is contradicted by every other source and is treated here as an error.
  4. The three list prices (¥90,000 in 1975, ¥92,000 in 1979, ¥97,300 in 1982) rest on the Canon Camera Museum alone. No second source prints them.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Three lenses, two optical designs. The 1975 breech-lock S.S.C. and the 1979 New FD share the same five-element glass and the same 78 × 140.5 mm, 700 g barrel; the October 1982 New FD is a new seven-element computation with rear-group focusing in a shorter, thicker 735 g barrel.
  • Quickest test between the two New FD lenses: focus it. If the front extends and the closest distance on the scale is 1.8 m, it is the 1979 lens; if the length stays fixed and the scale reaches 1.5 m, it is the 1982 lens.
  • 72 mm filter and f/2.8 on every version; only the S.S.C. stops at f/22 rather than f/32

FD 200mm f/2.8 S.S.C. (breech-lock):

  • Breech-lock: a chrome locking ring at the rear that the user turns; the lens itself does not rotate on the body
  • S.S.C. engraved in red on the front ring, in the manner of the 1973 to 1979 black-front breech-lock lenses
  • Minimum aperture f/22, where both New FD versions stop down to f/32
  • Barrel 78 mm across and 140.5 mm long, 700 g, 72 mm filter, closest focus 1.8 m; the front group moves and the barrel changes length on focusing

New FD 200mm f/2.8 (1979, same optics):

  • New FD mount: the whole outer barrel is turned to lock and a square release button sits at the base of the lens; no chrome breech ring
  • No coating engraving on the front ring; the S.S.C. lettering disappears with the New FD series
  • Minimum aperture f/32 on Canon's own table, though Wikipedia gives f/22²
  • Same 72 mm filter, 78 × 140.5 mm, 700 g and 1.8 m closest focus as the breech-lock lens; the front still extends on focusing

New FD 200mm f/2.8 (October 1982, rear-group focusing):

  • Length does not change on focusing: only the rear group moves, so the front stays put and the balance holds
  • Closest focus 1.5 m on the distance scale, where the earlier versions stop at 1.8 m
  • Shorter and fatter: 81.2 mm across and 134.2 mm long, 735 g, against 78 × 140.5 mm and 700 g
  • Still a 72 mm filter and a built-in sliding hood; f/2.8 to f/32; 8 blades³

Specifications

Formula
5 elements in 5 groups, helicoid focusing (1975 to 1982); 7 elements in 6 groups, rear-group focusing (October 1982 on)
Construction
5 elements / 5 groups
Aperture range
f/2.8–f/22
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
1.8 m
Dimensions
78 × 140.5 mm
Weight
700 g
Filter
72 mm
Years manufactured
1975
Country
Japan
Coating
S.S.C. (Super Spectra Coating) on every version; engraved on the 1975 lens only, unmarked on the New FD lenses
Original price
¥90,000 (1975); ¥92,000 for the New FD of 1979; ¥97,300 for the rear-focus New FD of 1982 (today ¥184,000)

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Chromatic aberration
strong wide open

History

Canon put a 200mm f/2.8 into the FD line in March 1975, at ¥90,000, and the museum’s own description says why: press photographers wanted a bright 200 that handled like a slow one. The answer was a five-element, five-group lens in a 78 mm by 140.5 mm barrel weighing 700 g, with a 72 mm filter, eight aperture blades, f/22 at the small end and a closest focus of 1.8 m. It wore the black front ring and red S.S.C. engraving of the second breech-lock generation, and it locked to the body with the chrome ring that the whole FD line used until 1979.

In June 1979 the same glass reappeared as the New FD 200mm f/2.8 at ¥92,000. Wikipedia states plainly that the 1975 lens is identical to the first New FD version except for the mounting hardware, and the tables agree: 5/5, 72 mm, 78 by 140.5 mm, 700 g, 1.8 m. What changed was the mount, now the rotating outer barrel with a square release button that Canon introduced across the range that year, and the coating lettering, which the New FD lenses dropped from the front ring. Canon’s table also gives f/32 as the minimum aperture, one stop past the breech-lock lens’s f/22; Wikipedia keeps f/22 for both, and the page follows Canon while noting the disagreement.

The real second lens arrived in October 1982 at ¥97,300. Canon recomputed it as seven elements in six groups with rear-group focusing, so only the group behind the diaphragm moves and the lens stays the same length from infinity to its new 1.5 m close limit. The barrel grew to 81.2 mm across, shrank to 134.2 mm long and gained 35 g. The filter stayed 72 mm, a point on which Canon’s table, Canon’s spec sheet as transcribed on mir.com.my and Canon Classics all agree against Wikipedia’s 52 mm. Sellers call this version the IF or II, neither of which is engraved on it; the way to know one is to turn the focus ring and watch the front stay still.

Reviewers who have used both designs prefer the later one. Chase Hagen found the 1975 lens soft at the edges and at close range and hard work to turn, and the rear-focus lens better in resolution and contrast across the whole frame. The MFlenses thread, from an owner who bought one new in 1985, calls it somewhat soft at f/2.8, very good by f/4 and sharpest by f/8. What every reviewer agrees on, for both designs, is the longitudinal colour error: green and magenta fringes on high-contrast edges at wide apertures, which stopping down reduces and which one Canon Classics reviewer suggests living with by shooting black-and-white. None of the reviews consulted reports on vignetting or distortion in any detail.

Buying one: check that the New FD mount locks and releases cleanly, since the rotating-barrel mechanism can be stiff or fail to seat; extend the built-in hood and make sure it holds; and confirm the version by the focus behaviour rather than by the listing title. Canon Classics’ ratings for the 1975 S.S.C. and the rear-focus lens are both above nine of ten, so the older design is not to be dismissed, only bought for less. No serial table or production total exists for any of the three, and the three list prices come from the Canon Camera Museum alone; Casual Photophile’s review and the Photrio and DPReview threads could not be read from this container and are not cited.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo taken with the FD 200mm f/2.8
Rock campion, Finland — Canon FD 200mm f/2.8 on an APS-C body, version not stated (Tero Karppinen) — Tero Karppinen, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Sample photo taken with the FD 200mm f/2.8
Road in fog at night, Lieto, Finland — Canon FD 200mm f/2.8, version not stated (Tero Karppinen) — Tero Karppinen, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Sample photo wanted — shot with a FD 200mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $160 across 46 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-18 (middle half $130–$200). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Show 88 more listings

Listings updated 2026-09-18. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: FD 100mm f/2 · FD 135mm f/2 · FD 300mm f/2.8 Fluorite / L · FD 85mm f/1.8

Sources (10)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.