<50mm prime lenses

S

-Sandro-

Well-known member
Hello,
I currently own a 550d with canon 50mm f1.8.
I was looking for something similar but with shorter focal length cause 50mm is too long in some situations :(

There's the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 which looks great but it's not cheap. Do you know if there's something "cheap" like vintage primes of that range?

Nothing below f/2 cause I shoot a lot at night. I will use the lens for videos :)
 
I have a 35 f/2.0 SMC Takumar which is pretty damn good, and it wasn't too expensive.

Going faster and wider will cost you, exponentialy with width and speed (Esp speed).

Dave
 
I know about those, but have my doubts.
The results posted at photozone.de esp for the 20 1.8 are a bit dodgy, also as AF lenses the focus throw that I could see was a bit short.

Both my Leitz 21 f/ 4 and Zeiss 20 f/ 2.8 have 330 degree throws.

Dave
 
You should be able to pick up a nikon AIs 24mm f2.8 for around $100 and use it with a $20 adapter from photodiox.
This is a very clear sharp manual wide and it will be a good match if not better than your current eos lens.
Word of warning tho - there is a similar lens that is more expensive but it is not as good and that is the nikon manual 24mm f2 - avoid that one.
 
Those Sigmas are all the same price as the 30mm 1.4 so I don't see the point. The Nikon looks nice but I think 2.8 is not enough. The 35 f/2.0 SMC Takumaris looks doable!

Do you know any online stores in EU that trade and sell vintage or used lenses or something that won't ask me $55 for shipping to EU like KEH.com?

Is there an equivalent vintage lens for the Nikon 35mm f/1.8? I would use that with an adaptor if I could control the aperture. It's cheap!
 
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try here
http://www.leicashop.com/

I have a leitz elmarit-r 35mm f/2.8 and it rocks; f/2.8 is plenty enough for me in most situations; for portraits, where I want my shallowest DOF, I use my czj pancolar 50mm f/1.8 anyway (and, still, I usually set it at f/2.8, since, as it happens with most lenses, including your canon 50 f/1.8 II, it loses quite a lot of sharpness wide open)

you can check out my "one dollar resolution chart" sharpness tests here; I've tested a canon 50mm f/1.8 II, so there's a good point of reference for you there:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsa.html
 
My advice is to look at the old vintage Olympus line. You can get good lenses at F2, Olympus 21mm, 24mm and 28mm. The C/Y Zeiss 35/1.4 is brilliant as well.

Forget the Sigmas, crap for the most part.
 
Don't forget the Russian Mir 24-m 35mm f2.0 m42 or Nikon mount. A very good lens that pops up here and there sometimes on eBay. Good even wide open.
Then for wider there are the vivitars 24 and 28 f2.0 by Kiron or Komine that you may find in Olympus OM mount. Dreamy and flat wide open but good for video, sharpen up and more contrasty from 2.8.
 
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I'm interested in the Mir 24-m 35mm f2.0 cause I saw a video and its amazing. But I can't find it anywhere except from ONE for $199 on ebay but people say they can find them for 100!
I couldn't find the others
 
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-Sandro- said:
I'm interested in the Mir 24-m 35mm f2.0 cause I saw a video and its amazing. But I can't find it anywhere except from ONE for $199 on ebay but people say they can find them for 100!
I couldn't find the others
Click to expand...

You have to be patient and check back eBay often. However, you have to be a bit lucky to get one for $100. A couple of days ago there was one for sale that ended up around $150-$160.
As for what is the "best" lens between this and the Takumar I don't know. I expect them to be similar apart from the Super Takumar being a bit more "dreamy" wide open. The Mir also focuses down to 0.24 meters which is good for macro shots and the focusing ring turns for about 300 degrees from minimum focus distance to infinity.
 
Thank you all, I'm kinda convinced with mir24 , the macro focus is also nice. Have you got any other stores or a list of them? I don't know if I searched well but none had those lenses. I don't want to spend to much for an old and used lens, otherwise I'll better off buying a new sigma 30mm f/1.4 with camera control over aperture and autofocus
 
I know you may not want to spend the money on the sigma 30mm, but it really is worth it and it will hold it's value.
 
Yes m42 mount, I use this lens all the time now, this and my Nikon 50mm 1.4. The two of them are great lenses and cheap.
 
Will focus confirmation (used in modern af lenses in mf) work with those manual lenses with adapters? (canon t2i) is it possible to enable it even without lens attached?. How does it work for pictures? Will my canon meter on the "actual" light coming in or based on the aperture that will be set to zero anyway so metering will not work?
 
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I've never tried focus confirmation, I just peak in 10x and focus manually, it's actually a bit more precise than autofocus (I think it's because my 550D/t2i doen't support AF micro-adjustment)

as for metering, it works fine: my M42 and leica-R lenses close the iris when I turn the iris ring (on auto lenses, the iris is only closed when you take a picture or press the DOF preview button), thus letting less light get to the sensor; the light meter reacts adequately (and the LCD gets darker)
 
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