can anyone recommend a 50mm prime with manual aperture?

C

cameraoperatorsydney

Active member
Hi all,

I have a slowly building collection of lenses and im not sure whether to sell and start again or keep going with regards to mounts.

I have an fs700 with the kit lens. Also about 15 months ago i bought an A77 for a cycle doc in which i needed a super light weight kit with no rig etc. The camera suited this so i bought a couple of lenses to go with it...

16-50mm 2.8 SAL A-mount lens
11-16mm Tokina A-mount
Cheap Tamron f4-5.6 70-200 A-mount lens

So at the moment i am using these lenses to shoot with both the A77 and the FS700 using the Sony Lea-2 adaptor.

Basically i am looking to get some nice 35 and 50mm primes for interviews and finer shots to add to my collection.

I prefer to use manual aperture to be able to silently adjust iris on the fly as well as i prefer to use the lens rather than try and find the little wheel on the FS700. I am conscious of future proofing as well and don't think staying with the A-mount is a good idea.

I would ideally be able to use these new primes on future cameras which i think will probably be something like a sony F5 in about a years time (obviously this could change).

I have heard that all nikon lenses are reverse focusing? Is this true? Probs looking to stay away from that as it will confuse the hell out of me with switching between lenses!

I have seen the SLR Magic hyper prime 0.95 but i think for the price of about $1200 i'd rather get two good quality lenses at about F1.4 for the same price.

So in summary i am looking for manual iris F1.4 or similar primes to fit the FS700 that could possibly work with the short flange distance on the soon to come out sony F5. Does such a lens exist?

Thanks for your help in advance and i hope my question makes sense!

Paul
 
Zeiss ZFs are really good. Excellent mechanics and Long focus throw and since its Nikon mount and manual aperture makes it pretty future proof. As for the reverse focus, it does not bother me at all. You just make a mental note of it and its easy as pie.
 
+1. The Nikon mount is about the most portable lens mount in terms of taking your lenses to other cameras -- like whatever camera you buy in future. And the ZF / ZF.2 lenses are very good. I don't get people buying EF lenses for the FS cams, as EF lenses are about the most non portable.

cameraoperatorsydney said:
I prefer to use manual aperture to be able to silently adjust iris on the fly as well as i prefer to use the lens rather than try and find the little wheel on the FS700.
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Bear in mind that most still camera lenses will have clicky apertures -- though you can get them de-clicked.
 
Nikon 50mm 1.2 AIS would be my choice.

Check out ALL of the Nikon AIS primes, lovely IMHO. The F1.8 version is at bargain basement prices and is a good lens too. I understand the 1.4 version is the one to avoid.

NB, a good quality NEX/NIK adapter like the Novoflex will have an aperture wheel for smooth aperture control.
 
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Leica summilux or summicron 50 R are great lenses, declicking them is really easy, they have a large focus throw and render beautifully. Leitax makes a NEX mount, which you can easily install yourself. they can be found reasonably priced...
 
Thank you everyone for your thoughts, i think i will go for the nikon f1.2 with the novoflex adapter. Seems like a nice combo plus it will work on the f3 and f5 (with another adapter) when the need comes.

cheers
 
I have a set (25,35,50,85) of Zeiss Contax C/Y manual lenses that focus the correct way, are extremely sharp and easily adaptable. Paid about $1500 for the four from different dealers - a great alternative to Nikon glass. Check KEH, CraigsList and eBay - think it would be worth your while to check it out.
 
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Zeiss ZF.2, you could get the 50mm with the Duclos "Cinemod" for around $1150 I think. Cinemod de-clicks and adds filter thread for 77mm filters.
 
I have a set (25,35,50,85) of Zeiss Contax C/Y manual lenses that focus the correct way, are extremely sharp and easily adaptable. Paid about $1500 for the four from different dealers - a great alternative to Nikon glass. Check KEH, CraigsList and eBay - think it would be worth your while to check it out.
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I have one contax zeiss 135 f2.8 and one zeiss zf 100f2 I am thinking to get more prime lens ,and I do not sure which way to go :
Contax zeiss
or
Zeiss zf
Contax zeiss focus goes the correct way ,and I like it .
How much better ,improve zeiss new line of zeiss over contax zeiss ??
Is contax zeiss adaptable easily like new line ZF ?????
 
jpardon said:
Zeiss ZF.2, you could get the 50mm with the Duclos "Cinemod" for around $1150 I think. Cinemod de-clicks and adds filter thread for 77mm filters.
Click to expand...

zeiss 50mm f1.4 is soft, even compared to non L canon ef 50mm f1.4 (that canon is much much sharper - there is clip on youtube where both are compared)

nikon 50 f1.2 was very tempting untill i saw the tests on youtube .... aberration and similar issues...
 
anatusa said:
zeiss 50mm f1.4 is soft, even compared to non L canon ef 50mm f1.4 (that canon is much much sharper - there is clip on youtube where both are compared)

nikon 50 f1.2 was very tempting untill i saw the tests on youtube .... aberration and similar issues...
Click to expand...

Yes be careful with older f1.2 lenses, I had an old Nikon 55mm f1.2 that was basically useless wider than f2, due to vignetting, CA, and softness. The last 1/2 stop was a gimmick, hardly increasing exposure except a little bit only in the center. That was an pre-AI nikon that had been AI'ed, though, so a bit older than AIS. The issues were very visible to me, even on a 7D and even with images viewed at under 2MP.

Anyway, I got rid of that lens.
 
I would advise when purchasing any manual lens used to try it out in person

For example I have a nice 50 1.8 and my 50 1.2 is rubbish because it needs regreasing or something..

S
 
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