Going Pawn Shop hopping, what lenses should I be looking for..?

T

truehuss

Well-known member
I've recently been checking out threads where guys have found nice success using some Russian lenses (Helios, Jupiter 9, etc..) on there T2i and theres a ton a pawn shops in philly so I figured I'd go check and see if I can find some Hidden Gems among them. I went to a pawn shop started looking through a box of lenses the owner pulls out from the back but it was at that point I realized I didnt know what I was looking for..!!?? lol

so my question is, I guess I know that the m42 to eos adapter is cool for the russian lenses to attach to my T2i & work, but what else should I be looking for? I know I should stay away from the older FD lenses but I guess I just want to know what am I looking for to be compatible with a T2i and what isnt.

hope that makes sense, any help would be appreciated.
 
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=219889

That thread has a couple of links in it to lists of lenses that can be adapted to the canon eos mounting. Some lists show glass that can be mounted with and without glass. You want to avoid anything that will require glass to mount it because it can degrade the image. I got myself a couple of Leica R lenses (24mm f/2 and 60mm f/2 macro) and i am absolutely in love with them The two of them in great shape for $700. I don't know if i will go back to canon lenses anymore after being spoiled with these two.
 
Don't forgo the still cameras when out and about looking in pawn shops. If there's a Pentax Spotmatic, chances are it has a sweet Takumar lens on there. That's how I found a great deal on my current Super Takumar 50mm 1.4 for only $50. You'd be surprised by how much you can save by buying a used film camera with a sweet lens attached.

Looks like you've found quite the treasure trove of lenses at that one pawn shop. If it were me, I'd offer to buy the whole lot for $100 and hope for the best. There's bound to be some gems in there and what you can't use, you can flip on Ebay.

Lastly, here's a link to some pics of lens mounts that you might want to print out. It might be helpful in identifying which lenses should work.

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-99.html

Myself, I try to stick with M42, Olympus OM, Contax/Yashica, and Nikon lenses. Best of luck and beware of LBA.

Chris W
 
Anything anamorphic :D

Maybe you'll score and find a sankor, kowa, singer, agfa, iscomorphot, iscorama for dirt cheap ;)
 
damn, now you guys got me wanting to go hitting the pawn shops. Screw buying a bike to get around, i think i need more lenses
 
You could bring an m42 adapter with you to be sure the threads are not T-thread. Watch your back if you're headed into Kensington!
 
I only was searching for m42 lenses but now i would take any f1.4 lens cause i can convert any lens to eos mount myself.Especially if its bought for not much.I found once 55mm f1.4 and and 300mm f5.6 for 6 GBP with some filters and stuff.Its like 10 bucks ?
 
Jordan_S said:
You could bring an m42 adapter with you to be sure the threads are not T-thread. Watch your back if you're headed into Kensington!
Click to expand...

Haha.. My studio is right off of kensington & allegheny. And yeah I know about philly, was raised in north philly. Thats also why I'm licensed to carry a firearm! I keep my 40 cal glock with me at all times.

Thanks for the tips fellas.
 
Chris Watson said:
Don't forgo the still cameras when out and about looking in pawn shops. If there's a Pentax Spotmatic, chances are it has a sweet Takumar lens on there. That's how I found a great deal on my current Super Takumar 50mm 1.4 for only $50. You'd be surprised by how much you can save by buying a used film camera with a sweet lens attached.

Looks like you've found quite the treasure trove of lenses at that one pawn shop. If it were me, I'd offer to buy the whole lot for $100 and hope for the best. There's bound to be some gems in there and what you can't use, you can flip on Ebay.

Lastly, here's a link to some pics of lens mounts that you might want to print out. It might be helpful in identifying which lenses should work.

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-99.html

Myself, I try to stick with M42, Olympus OM, Contax/Yashica, and Nikon lenses. Best of luck and beware of LBA.

Chris W
Click to expand...
great info from that link bro.. appreciate it.. btw, what is LBA?

and if I got this right, mostly any lens will fit the T2i with somekind of adapter except FD? per that link "
Canon EOS film and digital SLRs can, on the other hand, accept almost anything BUT a Canon FD lens with adapters: Nikon, OM, Pentax M42 Screw, and Leica SLR lenses can all be adapted. "
got some treasure huntin to do!!
 
I would stay away from Canon FD, Minolta, Konica and other lenses which have a shorter registration distance than the Canon EOS system. You'll need a glass adapter and as treynolds said upthread, it degrades the final image. Here's a link with the lenses that can be adapted with no problem to the Canon EOS system......

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/eosfaq/manual_focus_EOS.html

Best of luck!

EDIT: LBA stands for Lens Buying Addiction. It's especially bad after you realize how good these old lenses are!
 
truehuss said:
Haha.. My studio is right off of kensington & allegheny. And yeah I know about philly, was raised in north philly. Thats also why I'm licensed to carry a firearm! I keep my 40 cal glock with me at all times[...]
Click to expand...

I guess you're not too close to the El; it's impossible to concentrate on anything with that racket. I hated taking it when I worked downtown until Septa acquired some new trains with AC. When I was teaching in that area, I used to visit the thrift and pawn shops whenever I had lunch and prep periods back-to-back.

Now, I visit Philly once a year and I like to stop in those stores. They're almost always open to offers. And I wouldn't be surprised if most of them didn't know much at all about lenses. I suggest you play dumb. I do recall one rather large shop with a Russian owner who definitely knew his stuff.

It's good you have a gun. Stay safe.
 
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