Now we have all done digital...

Well I guess most of us have.. I was wondering how many of our gathering were still coupling up the film type lenses. As they seem to be around for very little money. What are the better purchases of this type of lens ?

A common question. Many people still use old manual lenses, myself included.

The best deal to start with is undoubtably the M 50mm f/1.7. It can be had for 20 quid or less and has superb IQ. Manual focus takes some getting used to on a DSLR though.

Imho nothing can beat the feel of a good quality manual focus lens I use quite a few of them one of my favourites is the k55/f1.8 which can be had for not a lot.As for focusing on digital live view focus peaking helps.

I've still got my original M20-f4, M28-f2.8, M50-f1.4, M100-f2.8 and M200-f4 from the late 70s - early 80s. They perform very well on my K5 and the build quality and feel is second to none. Even better than my 300DA*

I have a lovely Pentax 50mm 1.7 but although great for portraits and of high quality, it's too long for my tastes. My current favourite lens is a Pentax 28mm 3.5 which is a permanent fixture on my K100.

I actually find critical focusing easier, as the automatic focusing lenses often pick the "wrong" point, so you have to fuss about correcting it. Setting hyper-focus distances to ensure maximum depth of field is easy too, as old lenses have proper distance/aperture markings on the barrel. I also like to set apertures on the lens rather than through buttons on the camera, it seems more intuitive to someone brought up in the bad old film days.

And as for build quality... well, let's just say I have an autofocus Pentax 35mm 2.4 lens. It has a plastic mount.

I picked up a couple of M lenses when I first started out a couple of years ago and still use them occasionally, just depends what I am shooting. Still look for "Bargains"

If you are patient then sooner or later one of these will crop up on eBay for next to nothing, especially if attached to an old film body ...

SMC Pentax M 135m f3.5
SMC Pentax M 75-150mm f4
SMC Pentax M 50mm f1.4

etc. ...

I'm not new to this style of lens. I love them. I have a manual 50mm M 1.7.SMC A 35-70 and recently won a camera club competition with a auto focusing SMC F 35-80 which I picked up on ebay for a mere 99p. I do a great deal of gig photography in very low light conditions and find an old Vivitar 28mm 2.8 invaluable.

Interesting comment..

I will look out for examples..

I have seven A and M series lens and one Tokina PKA zoom. All bar the Tokina owned since my 35mm days. Some get more use than others but they are all good. I've recently 'rediscovered' my SMC-A F4 35-70mm on digital and it's an excellent perfomer, particularly at the long end. It was used on the last six pictures in my Gallery and it's very good for close ups that don't go into macro territory.

Plus there are some fine Russian M42 fit lenses if you get good copies where the grease hasn't dried up. Unfortunately the prices have risen quite a lot over the last year or two for some of these. Additionally if your eyes are sharp and fingers nimble it's an interesting exercise to dismantle and, hopefully, reassemble them if you end up with one which needs a re-grease!

Helios 44-2 58/2
MIR-1 37/2.8
Industar 61 L/Z 50/2.8
Jupiter 9 85/2