Canon FD 300mm F/4L
Super telephoto prime lens • Film era • Discontinued
- Announced:
- · December 1978
- Production status:
- ● Discontinued
- Country of design:
- · Japan
- Original name:
- · CANON LENS FD 300mm 1:4 L
- Class:
- · Slow full-frame super telephoto prime lens
- · Professional model
- System:
- · Canon FD (1971)
Abbreviations
| FD | The lens is designed for Canon 35mm film SLR cameras with the Canon FD mount. |
| L | Professional lens with high quality optics and robust build. Meets the highest standards and provides excellent performance and flawless image quality unachievable with traditional optical technologies. |
Model history (2)
| ■Canon FD 300mm F/4L | A | 7 - 7 | 3.00m | -- | 1978 ● | |
| ■Canon FDn 300mm F/4L | A | 7 - 7 | 3.00m | -- | 1980 ● | |
Specification
| Optical design: | |
| 35mm full frame | |
| 300mm | |
| F/4 | |
| 7 elements in 7 groups | |
| 2 UD | |
| Internal focusing (IF) | |
| Canon FD [42mm] | |
| 8.2° (35mm full frame) | |
| Diaphragm mechanism: | |
Diaphragm type: | Automatic |
Aperture control: | Aperture ring (Manual settings + Auto Exposure setting) |
| 9 (nine) | |
| Focusing: | |
| 3m | |
| 1:9.1 | |
Focusing modes: | Manual focus only |
Manual focus control: | Focusing ring |
| Physical characteristics: | |
| 1100g | |
| ⌀85×208mm | |
| Accessories: | |
| Removable front filters are not accepted | |
Additional features: | Drop-in filter holder (34mm) |
| Built-in telescopic round | |
| Canon Extender FD 1.4X-A → 420mm F/5.6 | |
| Canon Extender FD 2X-A → 600mm F/8 |
Sources of data
- Canon FD interchangeable lenses booklet (PUB. IE01-075) (May 1979).
- Canon FD lenses instructions (PUB. II01-061I) (July 1979).
- Canon FD Lenses in a Nutshell booklet (PUB. IE-1033Q) (April 1979).
- Canon Products Guide (PUB. CE01-114B) (July 1979).
Manufacturer description #1
Despite of its fast speed, this lens has a compact and lightweight design due to the Canon Rear-group focusing system incorporated. Since focusing is accomplished by shifting only a part of the rear lens group in the interior of the barrel, the overall length of the lens remains the same during focusing with no effect on balance. This feature comes in very handy in shooting action photography when mobility is a must. Another advantage is that aberration fluctuations which often occur with changes in shooting distance are rarely noticeable. As indicated by the "L" in this designation, this new telephoto lens is designed to deliver extra high-quality performance.
Manufacturer description #2
This is a high-performance telephoto lens utilizing new optical glass with a low refractive index, low dispersion and anomalous dispersion.
The special dispersion of the new optical glass is used to effectively compensate for chromatic aberration, offering excellent images at maximum aperture of the large aperture.
Furthermore, by reducing the telephoto ratio taking advantage of the characteristic of a low refractive index and the adoption of a rear focusing system, the lens is made lightweight and compact despite being super telephoto, in addition to offering high operability.
Other super telephoto prime lenses in the Canon FD system
| ■Canon FD mount (19) | |||||||||
| Canon FD 300mm F/5.6 | A | 6 - 5 | 4.00m | ⌀58 | 1971 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 300mm F/5.6 S.C. | A | 6 - 5 | 4.00m | ⌀58 | 1973 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 300mm F/5.6 S.S.C. | A | 6 - 5 | 3.00m | ⌀55 | 1977 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 300mm F/5.6 | A | 6 - 5 | 3.00m | ⌀58 | 1979 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 300mm F/4 S.S.C. | A | 6 - 6 | 3.00m | -- | 1978 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 300mm F/4 | A | 6 - 6 | 3.00m | -- | 1979 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 300mm F/4L | A | 7 - 7 | 3.00m | -- | 1980 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 300mm F/2.8 S.S.C. Fluorite | A | 6 - 5 | 3.50m | -- | 1975 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 300mm F/2.8L | A | 9 - 7 | 3.00m | -- | 1981 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 400mm F/4.5 S.S.C. | A | 6 - 5 | 4.00m | -- | 1975 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 400mm F/4.5 | A | 6 - 5 | 4.00m | -- | 1981 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 400mm F/2.8L | A | 11 - 9 | 4.00m | -- | 1981 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 500mm F/4.5L | A | 8 - 7 | 4.00m | -- | 1979 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 500mm F/4.5L | A | 8 - 7 | 5.00m | -- | 1981 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 600mm F/4.5 S.S.C. | A | 6 - 5 | 8.00m | -- | 1976 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 600mm F/4.5 | A | 6 - 5 | 8.00m | -- | 1981 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 800mm F/5.6 S.S.C. | A | 6 - 5 | 14.00m | -- | 1976 ● | ||||
| Canon FD 800mm F/5.6L | A | 7 - 6 | 14.00m | -- | 1979 ● | ||||
| Canon FDn 800mm F/5.6L | A | 7 - 6 | 14.00m | -- | 1981 ● | ||||
Lenses with similar focal length
Comments (1)
this is a great astro-photography lens with pin-point stars across the crop sensor. use high iso ans short exposure and “stack”. really nice stopped down for daylight use.