The Vintage Lens Thread

[Chris Watson]

Don't think I'll be hitting the thrift store/pawn shop/antique dealer circuit any time soon. Finding old lenses at those places is like hitting the lottery. Looks like Craig's List and Ebay for me!

Chris W

[shaocaholica]

Its less of a lottery if you examine it before you buy. I can pretty much tell how messed up a lens is just by eye and touch without even mounting on a camera.

[Chris Watson]

Just posted a clip entirely shot with vintage lenses.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=203620

[astigmatic]

keh has good prices on contax ziess lenses, specifically the 50 f/1.4 and f/1.7.. under 300 usd for the 1.4 and under 200 for the 1.7.

the cy zeiss is a great lens for the 7d.. it's currently my fave zeiss right now and it was the cheapest one to boot.

Also, you can easily adjust inifinity on the old CY Zeiss lenses by losening some the focus barrel screws. That way you can buy cheap adapters and fine tune the lens to work with the adapter.

[jonE5]

i just won a vivitar 70-210 f3.5 macro nikon mount lens. I hope this is a decent lens, i needed a zoom, and wanted constant aperature.

Comming from my old sigma 70-300 macro 4-5.6 im hoping this is a stepup.

Any tips for working with an adapted lens? Just have to adjust the aperature manually on the ring? Is there a trick to it?

[shaocaholica]

Any tips for working with an adapted lens? Just have to adjust the aperature manually on the ring? Is there a trick to it?

No tricks. Just don't plan on zooming while shooting with these lenses. Did you get the 67mm filter thread version?

[jonE5]

i just won a vivitar 70-210 f3.5 nikon mount lens.

Desperately needed a zoom, so hopefully this fits the bill for cheap.

Id like ot add an 85mm 1.8

[Postmaster]

I swear by Zeiss Jena medium format primes of the 1960s/early 1970s.

Best glass Zeiss ever made in my book. Amazing cinema focus throw, no breathing at all and a extremely cinematic look and bokeh.
I use them religiously on the HVX200/Letus Adapter combo and on the 5D now.

Best of all, they are dirt cheap (at least here in Germany) you can score them in mint condition between 100 and 170 Euros on German Ebay. Look for “PENTACON SIX Zeiss”

Frank

[FixMix]

Question: the focal length of the medium format primes: how does it compare to a FF or APS-C camera's focal length?

[shaocaholica]

Question: the focal length of the medium format primes: how does it compare to a FF or APS-C camera's focal length?

You're thinking too hard. Cameras don't have focal length, only lenses. A 50mm medium format lens will look exactly the same as a 50mm FF lens when mounted on a FF or APS camera. Medium format lenses produce a larger image circle but you'll never see any of it with the smaller FF and APS sensor.

Or are you talking about how they actually look when using a medium format sensor?