7D Has anyone used Vintage Lenses for weddings, quinceneras, sweet sixteens etc.

bboyswoosh87

bboyswoosh87

Member
I was wondering if anyone on here has used vintage lenses for weddings or etc. If so my question is how do I avoid lens flares. I use the Super takumar 50 1.4 for close ups indoors and I occasionally get a few unwanted lens flares. I can't imagine using the super takumar outdoors. If anyone could help me with this it would be great.

From what I have read on here the Nikkor Ai or Ais have a better coating to stop lens flares would that be a better solution.

This has been a really great forum I've been reading a lot these past weeks I finally decide to join today because its been bothering me for a long time.

Thanks in advance guys!
 
You could try getting a lens hood, but it's also possible you've got a bad copy of that lens. I use the 1.4/50 Super-Tak frequently, indoors and out, and haven't had any serious flare problems, and certainly not when I'm using a hood.
 
if you can't find the original one (I don't even know if it exists), you can try a screw-in generig hood from ebay
 
I have several AIs Nikkor manual lenses (probably 1970's vintage) and use them in all sorts of situations - but I do shoot with a matte box and adjustable flag unless I really want a flare (say, music videos, etc).

The only real difference I see is the focus is so much better damped than an AF lens. Really a joy to turn the FF and feel that "just-right" resistance. I try to avoid a more modern lens if there's a rack focus move to really nail.
 
Hood will help, matte box will help more, but it's still going to be an issue sometimes. Those lenses have a very primitive single coating. They are going to flare more than a modern lens.
 
Do you have a UV filter on it? I've noticed that I have to remove my UV Filter(basically a cover) because it creates a nasty flare. Just a thought :)
 
^ no.. I mean, do you have it on when you are shooting? Try taking it off as it MAY be the cause for your flare.
 
One problem with APS-sized sensor cams using older (full frame) lenses is that the larger lens circle can just pour veiling flare onto your shots - you won't see specific flare elements, but your footage can look flat and washed out. Take a black card and try different positions while you look at the screen - if you find a sweet spot where you shadows suddenly get dense and your colors go deeper, that's where you need a hood, or a flag on a stand, etc.

And any flat glass in front of the lens - a screw-on filter or a 4x4 in a matte box - can really amp up flare troubles and will need some kind of flagging if you see it - a hood, matte box, or flag. If funds are tight, invest in a few cheap rubber screw-on hoods in wide and tele sizes. You can usually take a tele hood and "roll" the rubber back to vary the depth. And - they look pretty cool.
 
If you get flare and haze indoors it's most likely your lens has lost the coating on the front element. In this case, a hood or a flag won't eliminate the problem I'm afraid, although it will help a lot. A well looked after copy of that lens will have no problems with flare at all - the coatings are excellent. Sadly those fragile few microns of vulnerable front coating have a big impact on the image quality. After 40-50 years of occasional over zealous cleaning most lenses from that era don't perform as new.
 
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