New uses for old lenses
Posted 17/01/2010 - 13:06
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There are a few of us! I rather line the 85mm Jupiter-9 hefty sold me and the SMC-K 135mm f/2.5 I picked up on ebay after a recommendation from someone on here (??iceblinker). The manual focus forum has many enthusiasts.
K.
K.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
Posted 17/01/2010 - 13:58
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K. Do you find the Russian lenses of a good quality? 85mm is quite an unusual focal length and could be useful. I see lots of Helios 58mm lenses for sale and have wondered... Thanks for the advice about the manual focus forum.
A.
A.
Best wishes,
Andrew
"These places mean something and it's the job of a photographer to figure-out what the hell it is."
Robert Adams
"The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE."
Ernst Hass
My website: http://www.ephotozine.com/user/bwlchmawr-199050
http://s927.photobucket.com/home/ADC3440/index
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78898196@N05
Andrew
"These places mean something and it's the job of a photographer to figure-out what the hell it is."
Robert Adams
"The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE."
Ernst Hass
My website: http://www.ephotozine.com/user/bwlchmawr-199050
http://s927.photobucket.com/home/ADC3440/index
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78898196@N05
Posted 17/01/2010 - 14:25
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I have:
Pentax-A 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.7 and 200mm f4
Pentax-M 50mm (several, both f2 and f1.7 as I keep buying mouldy ones and cleaning them), 135mm f3.5, 80-200mm f4.5
Pentax-K 55mm f1.8
Also a Takumar bayonet 28mm f2.8, although I don't use that much if at all. I try to stick to A series primes now as they work with all exposure modes on a DSLR, however I do keep an eye out for any more original K series. The 55mm looks very good on a DSLR and produces excellent images, although I prefer the A 50mm for ease of use.
Prices do seem to be rising for manual lenses, especially in the last few months.
Pentax-A 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.7 and 200mm f4
Pentax-M 50mm (several, both f2 and f1.7 as I keep buying mouldy ones and cleaning them), 135mm f3.5, 80-200mm f4.5
Pentax-K 55mm f1.8
Also a Takumar bayonet 28mm f2.8, although I don't use that much if at all. I try to stick to A series primes now as they work with all exposure modes on a DSLR, however I do keep an eye out for any more original K series. The 55mm looks very good on a DSLR and produces excellent images, although I prefer the A 50mm for ease of use.
Prices do seem to be rising for manual lenses, especially in the last few months.
Matt
Shooting the Welsh Wilderness with K-m, KX, MX, ME Super and assorted lenses.
Shooting the Welsh Wilderness with K-m, KX, MX, ME Super and assorted lenses.
Posted 17/01/2010 - 15:48
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I agree - I have various MF lenses ranging from the easily-available but still very good 50mm f1.7 (M), 135 f3.5 (M) through the slightly easier to use SMCA 28mm f2.8 (perfect length on APSC) plus a couple of Tamron's - the 500mm SP (great if you use it with care) and possibly the sharpest lens in my bag - the 180 SP f2.5. The latter is a fantastic lens, but hard to find.
By the way - if you like these old lenses but want to get new equivalents, the Voigtlanders in PKA fit are brilliant and a well-priced alternative to Pentax limiteds. The Nokton 58mm f1.4 would be a keeper even if I had to get rid of just about everything else.
By the way - if you like these old lenses but want to get new equivalents, the Voigtlanders in PKA fit are brilliant and a well-priced alternative to Pentax limiteds. The Nokton 58mm f1.4 would be a keeper even if I had to get rid of just about everything else.
Posted 17/01/2010 - 16:18
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The main appeal for me is the quality of the old manual primes. I can't afford new primes, in fact the only new lens I've ever owned was the 18-55mm that came with my K-m. The 55mm f1.8 cost me £8.50 and is superbly sharp even wide open.
Wear and tear really doesn't seem to be a problem with the old manual lenses, providing that they haven't been abused. My 55mm is still superbly smooth focussing even though it dates from 1975-77. My 80-200mm has a bit of paint wear around the aperture ring and lens hood but works perfectly. I plan to put it on my MX and try it on film at some point, as it doesn't see much use on digital due to my owning the 200mm prime and a couple of AF zooms covering the same range.
Just bought a cheap Pentax-A 28-80mm. I'm not expecting wonders from it, hence waiting for a £12 example to come along rather than spending £30+. However, I've never found a Pentax lens that made me wonder why I bought it - even the Pentax-F 35-80mm f4-5.6 that I've seen described as "a poor paperweight" in one review!
Wear and tear really doesn't seem to be a problem with the old manual lenses, providing that they haven't been abused. My 55mm is still superbly smooth focussing even though it dates from 1975-77. My 80-200mm has a bit of paint wear around the aperture ring and lens hood but works perfectly. I plan to put it on my MX and try it on film at some point, as it doesn't see much use on digital due to my owning the 200mm prime and a couple of AF zooms covering the same range.
Just bought a cheap Pentax-A 28-80mm. I'm not expecting wonders from it, hence waiting for a £12 example to come along rather than spending £30+. However, I've never found a Pentax lens that made me wonder why I bought it - even the Pentax-F 35-80mm f4-5.6 that I've seen described as "a poor paperweight" in one review!
Matt
Shooting the Welsh Wilderness with K-m, KX, MX, ME Super and assorted lenses.
Shooting the Welsh Wilderness with K-m, KX, MX, ME Super and assorted lenses.
Posted 17/01/2010 - 18:17
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I agree about the superiority of "A" lenses from a handling point of view: others are manual exposure only and a bit hit and miss. Not that "M" lenses or even M42 lenses where you don't even get focus confirmation are a huge problem, as with digital each shot is instantly reviewable and exposure errors can be easily adjusted. The trouble is,"A" lenses command a price premium which, in some cases, isn't always justifiable since one of my chief reasons for buying old lenses is economy. (Still cheaper than new ones, though. How can amateurs afford them?)
Best wishes,
Andrew
"These places mean something and it's the job of a photographer to figure-out what the hell it is."
Robert Adams
"The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE."
Ernst Hass
My website: http://www.ephotozine.com/user/bwlchmawr-199050
http://s927.photobucket.com/home/ADC3440/index
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78898196@N05
Andrew
"These places mean something and it's the job of a photographer to figure-out what the hell it is."
Robert Adams
"The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE."
Ernst Hass
My website: http://www.ephotozine.com/user/bwlchmawr-199050
http://s927.photobucket.com/home/ADC3440/index
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78898196@N05
Posted 17/01/2010 - 18:39
Link
I have half a bag of manuals and really like them. The haptics are lovely.....and the image rendering is very different, which is great when you've got to know it.
Bret
Bret
my pics: link
my kit: K3, K5, K-01, DA 18-55, D-FA50 macro, Siggy 30/1.4, 100-300/f4, 70-200/2.8, Samsung 12-24/f4, Tamron 17-50, and lots of other bits.
my kit: K3, K5, K-01, DA 18-55, D-FA50 macro, Siggy 30/1.4, 100-300/f4, 70-200/2.8, Samsung 12-24/f4, Tamron 17-50, and lots of other bits.
Posted 17/01/2010 - 19:20
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got a decent selection of older to newer... love 'em all!
Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.
Posted 17/01/2010 - 19:55
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My two favourite manual lenses that I own are Pentax-M 100mm f2.8 and smc Pentax-K 135mm f2.5. I like the big apertures.
I would prefer AF and AE, but I'd have to pay megabucks to get that with the same optical quality.
I would prefer AF and AE, but I'd have to pay megabucks to get that with the same optical quality.
~Pete
Posted 17/01/2010 - 20:23 - Helpful Comment
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bwichmawr wrote:
K. Do you find the Russian lenses of a good quality? 85mm is quite an unusual focal length and could be useful. I see lots of Helios 58mm lenses for sale and have wondered... Thanks for the advice about the manual focus forum.
A.
I used to sell Russian lenses but not many 85mm, So I don't expect there are many around,the 135 Jupiter and Mir 37mm being far more popular. But I do remember picking up in 1970 a shop soiled 85mm for the Zenith 3m (39mm thread) which was easily converted by a simple adaptor to M42 for my Zenith B and served me well for many years.
K. Do you find the Russian lenses of a good quality? 85mm is quite an unusual focal length and could be useful. I see lots of Helios 58mm lenses for sale and have wondered... Thanks for the advice about the manual focus forum.
A.
Chris
Pentax K20 18-55, 55-300. Metz 48 flash. Pentax Optio 230,Olympus FTL, Miranda, etc.
Pentax K20 18-55, 55-300. Metz 48 flash. Pentax Optio 230,Olympus FTL, Miranda, etc.
Posted 17/01/2010 - 20:37 - Helpful Comment
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I use a lot of Russian lenses and find for the price they are very hard to beat. Generally they are very sharp and have excellent colour rendition and are very solidly built. The only downside is occasionally poor quality control so one man's world beater is a lemon- having said that I have never had a bad one . If in doubt try a Helios 44-2 2/58mm they can be got cheap and can give superb results, others I would recommend are the Jupiter 37A 135mm, its a close relative to the Carl Zeiss Sonnar and the Mir-24 2/35mm which makes for good standard lens on a Pentax dslr
Posted 17/01/2010 - 21:09 - Helpful Comment
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I ended up with the Jupiter 85mm because I wanted a 77mm Ltd or a 85mm f/1.4 but was unlikely to have the money for either! Hefty kindly sent me the Jupiter to try out and I love it although I probably don't use it as much as it deserves. The folks on the MFF seem to rate the Helios 44-2 f/2 58mm highly and I am tempted to get one to try. I was hoping to build up a set of SMC Takumars to go with my H2/S1a/SPII/ES but the prices have rocketed over the last year. There seems to be a real revival of interest in class older glass.
K.
K.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
Posted 17/01/2010 - 23:59 - Helpful Comment
Link
The Helios 44 is also available in K mount as the Helios 44k-4 works just like a Pentax 'M' lens- there are quite a few Russian lenses in k mount if you you don't want to go down the m42 route
Posted 18/01/2010 - 00:12 - Helpful Comment
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womble wrote:
The folks on the MFF seem to rate the Helios 44-2 f/2 58mm highly and I am tempted to get one to try.
Do it - great lenses! Don't pay eBay prices though, car boot sale season will be back soon and you should be able to get them for well under a fiver.
The folks on the MFF seem to rate the Helios 44-2 f/2 58mm highly and I am tempted to get one to try.
Joining the Q
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3447 posts
16 years
Somerset
I've always loved using my K100 D Super with the kit lens, but slotting on a sub £10.00 bargain off e-bay and enjoying the almost forgotten delights of a nicely weighted focusing ring making the bright view-finder image slide in and out of view, the reassuring balance of a metal lens and the wonderful results (to me, anyway) has reinvigorated my photography.
I particularly like the primes: 28mm, 52mm, 135mm (before small sensor conversion) but my Sigma 70-210 is a joy to use, too. (Thank goodness for body-based vibration correction!)