Intro lens into Vintage realm

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djre4orm

Member
Browsing here a couple threads caught my eye as far as vintage lenses as well as a link to this site: http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/News/Feature/Vintage-Lenses-in-the-DSLR-Age-68120.htm

Although I am a little unsure which combos work, which have the best quality, etc. Another concern concern is the mount, looks like the FD & Minolta MD mount can cause quality issues when converted. As of now I shoot mainly stills, video could be an option later down the road. I am trying to find something for a Canon T2i and the two gaps in my lens selection are:

1) super fast, sharp, and amazing bokeh
2) fast but versatile zoom pushing telephoto range

From what I have seen on the web these look interesting:
Takumar SMC 50mm f/1.4
Nikkor 50mm 1.2
Vivitar 28-105mm f/2.8-3.8
Vivitar 70-210mm f/3.5

Anyone have any experience with these or a good starting place for me?

Thanks,
Chris
 
Hey Chris,

Those are pretty much the lenses that rise to the top if you're just getting into classic glass specifically the Takumar 50mm 1.4. It's sharp, fast, and has awesome bokeh. Another one of my all time faves is the Helios 44M which produces gorgeous imagery and some of the most amazing bokeh of any lens I've tried. It's a 58mm f/2 and you have to get it shipped from overseas but well worth the trouble.

I don't have the Vivitar 28-105 2.8-3.8 but Mark Von Lanken who posts on here seems to like it. I have the 28-90 2.8-3.5 and it works pretty well but can be a little soft on the telephoto end. Otherwise a great walk around lens. The Vivitar 70-210 3.5 is a great lens. I have two of them and love them both.

I don't have the Nikon but many folks on here seem to really like them.

As for lens mounts, you can't go wrong with Nikon, Olympus, C/Y, and M42 mounts. I would definitely stay away from FD and MD glass due to image degradation from having to use an adapter with a glass element. Hope all this helps!

Chris Watson
Chris Watson Studios
www.chriswatsonstudios.com
 
tbh not that many interesting lenses, usually the same that pops up in discussions. Vintage has higher value for video than stills (otherwise they wouldn't be cheap...), taken some stills with my vintage range (the better ones) and frankly it's quite uninteresting, if not bad, but again taste question i guess.........

djre4orm said:
fast but versatile zoom pushing telephoto range
Click to expand...

begin with some primes, vintage zoom expectations should be kept realistic. They are usually heavy and greatly varied condition and i haven't seen anything of interset, own a Vivitar 70-210, honestly rather use my cheapest 150 buck modern zoom...
 
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Hmm good to know, thanks for the info guys!

Just realized the Nikon is quite pricey for an intro lens. Reasonable for 1.2, but I think I am leaning towards the Takumar or the 44M to start off under $100.

Seems like there are 8 different version of the Takumar:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-02-11-24.shtml
Any thoughts on quality differences?

As with the 44m. After some reading I gathered the 44m-7's have the higher optical resolution?
 
Just my view here, but I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment. It sounds like you are insterested in sharp glass and "optical resolution". Vintage glass is vintage, because it has been superseded optically many times over by modern glass. This is not it's forte. People who love vintage glass love it because it is NOT super sharp. It's flawed. Some is yellowed, some have chromatic abberations or barrel or pincusion aberrations. We like them for video because we are shooting with the equivalent of 2MP. A modern iPhone has similar resolution in stills mode to a T2i in video mode.

I am not saying you won't like these lenses, they are terrific. But it sounds like you are expecting them to be something they are not.
 
My favorite walkaround is my Vivitar Series 1 28-90 f2.8-3.5 (Made by Kiron, 67mm thread size)

Overall favorite is Nippon 55mm f1.2 then Tokina 11-16 :)
 
Comments below are for the 1.6 crop of the T2i/7D/60D etc.

For stills, I would say the SMC 50/1.4 is as good as most modern lenses. The main difference I see is the contrast and "look". For a 50/1.2, the choices in this area is so limited, that sharpness won't be your main concern anyhow.

For zooms, chromatic aberration will be more of an issue, especially towards the long end. Just try not to have your subjects heavily backlit.

In both cases, video is fine. The resolution is reduced, and lower contrast lenses help with the moire issue. The trick is finding a good sample... 20-30 year old lenses can have a lot of variance due to use/abuse.
 
I would like to get into vintage lenses too. Right now, I'm in Japan and there's just so many little shops that sell old lenses. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell what to buy and what a good price is for a particular lens. It's a bit overwhelming, honestly.

Is there anyone with a cheat sheet or a list of value lenses? This forum has a list of EOS lenses stickied, but it'd be nice if anyone could narrow down the quality vintage ones, as well.
 
GHK said:
I would like to get into vintage lenses too. Right now, I'm in Japan and there's just so many little shops that sell old lenses. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell what to buy and what a good price is for a particular lens. It's a bit overwhelming, honestly.

Is there anyone with a cheat sheet or a list of value lenses?...
Click to expand...

Well I have to say, I'm a little jelous of you. I wish I had access to shops that had old lenses around here. 10-15 year ago they were at all of the pawn shops but almost nothing today. I have done some research and watched the market for the last 9 months. This is what I have observed.

Most lenses can easily be adapted to EOS. The two exceptions are Minolta and Canon FD. Those two lens mounts can be adpated, but not as easily or sucessfully to Canon EOS. With the popularity of the new Panasonic GH2 and AF100 the Canon FD lenses can be adapted, so really there are a couple of different markets to look at. Canon EOS and Micro 4/3 for the two Panny's I mentioned. Since the Pannys have a 2x crop factor, anything wide and fast will be highly sought after.

So on the EOS front, Nikon's are very popular, but so are Takumar/Pentax, Olympus or anything with an M42 mount. If you are looking at lenses to resell, I would focus on fast lenses. 85mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.2, 35mm f/2.0 , 24mm f/2.0. Additionally wide lenses, 16mm-20mm could be a good investment, especially in the 2.0-2.8 range. Again if you are looking to resell the lenses, 50mm 1.4 lenses were typically the kit lens, so they are not as rare, but a 50 1.2 is a much more rare lens.

Another example is in the Nikon 24mm range. I have noticed the f/2.8 version that sold for $75 9 months ago now sells for around $150, but a 24mm f/2.0 that sold for $150 9 months ago now sells for $350-450. That's why I said you can't go wrong with wide and fast, especially with 1.6 and 2.0 crop factor cameras.

For zoom lenses I really like the Vivitar Series 1 70-210 and 28-105. They are usually faster than similar lenses from Nikon or Takumar.

I really like Zeiss lenses, but since you are in Japan and vintage Zeiss lenses were made in Germany, you may not see many.

A good place to see what lenses are selling for is www.KEH.com. If you want all of the specifics of what lenses are easily adpated to EOS check out Chris Watson's article.
http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/News/Feature/Vintage-Lenses-in-the-DSLR-Age-68120.htm
 
Thanks for the great post, Mark.

One more question, when looking at vintage lenses, is it alright to look based on speed/focal length? Or are there noticeable differences in the quality of glass within a specific manufacturer?

For example, if I were to use a modern day example, is there anything equivalent to the L glass versus the normal Canon glass that buyers should watch out for?
 
Hi GHK,

You are welcome. When I am looking at vintage lenses, I first consider the speed and focal length. Since I am currently shooting with the 60D, I am then looking for about any type of mount but Canon FD or Minolta. That could all change because the GH2 looks very interesting...for that matter so does the AF100. Since I am keeping my options open, when looking at newer glass, like the Tokina 11-16 or any of the wider, fast Sigma glass, I have opted to go with the Nikon mount over the EOS mount. That way I can use the lens with a Nikon to EOS adapter, but if I want to use the same lens on a GH2 or AF100 I have a cost effective alternative. Its the same line of reasoning when people are buying new Zeiss glass. You can get the new Zeiss glass with the EOS mount, but if you buy it with the Nikon mount you kind of future proof your investment.

I don't know all of the ins and outs with every brand, but with the Nikon vintage lenses for example. You have a choice of the non AI, AI and AIS lenses. The older non AI lenses to not have modern coatings, so they are more likely to flair, however there are some non ai lenses that do have better coatings. For example a 50mm non AI SC (SC stands for Super Coated). Some people prefer the look of the older non AI lenses, so it comes down to personal preference, as with most things. I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the vintage Nikon lenses as long as you stay away from the E lenses.

With Vivitar, their Series 1 lenses have a very good reputation, but the standard Vivitar lenses do not carry the same reputation. With Zeiss there are several different models, but I do not know enough about them. I really like the Planar T series, but that's just what I have. With Zeiss, the older Contax mounts are cheaper than the modern Zeiss lenses and that's the route that I went.

If you are looking at the Helios 44 lenses, there are about 9 different models and the vary quite a bit between the best and worst. I don't know that the QC was as high in Russia during the time span they were making the Helios lenses.

With the Takuamar/Pentax lenses, there are several different versions of the 50mm 1.4, but I am not an expert on Takumar Pentax. If you search the net for a forum that is dedicated to just Nikon or Pentax or manual focus vintage lenses, you will find much more information from people that know much more about vintage lenses than I do.
 
Remember the crop factor issues too - on a T2i, 28mm is a "normal" lens, 50mm is a "portrait" lens and 80mm is a "telephoto" lens. The good news is if you go to FF like the 5D, you'll be golden.
 
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