General My article in EventDV regarding Vintage Lenses

Just got my Mir 24 in. I thought I loved my Helios but now I've fallen all over again. Thanks, Chris for the lead on these amazing lenses. I can't even bring myself to shoot with my Canons and other lenses anymore.
 
Chris Watson said:
Thanks for the kind words. Have fun collecting vintage lenses. What kind of lenses are you in search of?

Chris W
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I know that I'd like a couple primes, definitely a super-fast one for shooting at night, need a wide angle one for sure as well, a trusty standard zoom lens to replace the kit one, and of course a nice telephoto lens. I'm brand new to the DSLR scene so I am just learning everything, i've been in the video game for a while, which is why I bought the T2i to begin with...but i have always been big into photography as well. Any suggestions on what I should search for exactly?
 
jimpatro said:
Just got my Mir 24 in. I thought I loved my Helios but now I've fallen all over again. Thanks, Chris for the lead on these amazing lenses. I can't even bring myself to shoot with my Canons and other lenses anymore.
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Congrats on the Mir 24. That's a fantastic lens. There's really something special about those old Russian lenses. In addition to the Helios 44 series, and the Mir 24, there's the Volna-9 (50mm 2.8), the Volna-3 (80mm 2.8), and the one I'm really jonesing for, the Helios 40 (or 40-2). That last one is quite possibly the most beautiful 85mm I've seen but also by far the most expensive Russian lens to acquire.

Glad you're getting some joy out of vintage glass. Sounds like you're pretty spoiled by them and I can't blame you. They really are made for videographers.

Chris W
 
afcurry said:
I know that I'd like a couple primes, definitely a super-fast one for shooting at night, need a wide angle one for sure as well, a trusty standard zoom lens to replace the kit one, and of course a nice telephoto lens. I'm brand new to the DSLR scene so I am just learning everything, i've been in the video game for a while, which is why I bought the T2i to begin with...but i have always been big into photography as well. Any suggestions on what I should search for exactly?
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Fast prime:

There's so many of them. The most popular and easiest to get are the Super Takumars, the Sears 55mm 1.4, and the Nikon AI or AIS 50mm 1.4. They can be had for pretty cheap and are great quality lenses.

Wide Angle:

These are not as inexpensive but a good one to get is the Zenitar 16mm 2.8. It retails for around $200 but they can sometimes be picked up for less than that. The pictures I've seen taken with the lens is pretty amazing. Mark Von Lanken owns this lens so maybe he can chime in with some info on it.

Standard Zoom:

I have the Vivitar 28-90 2.8-3.5 and it's a great standard zoom that has a great reach and is pretty fast throughout its zoom range. These can be picked up for under $100 and are great lenses.

An alternative is the one Mark has which is the Vivitar 28-105 2.8-3.8. It's gotten great reviews and can also be picked up for relatively little money in the Nikon, Olympus, and Pentax mounts. Whenever possible try to get the Nikon or Olympus version as they fit a little more securely on the camera than an adapted Pentax will.

Telephoto Lens:

There are several to choose from out there but the fastest I've seen throughout its zoom range for under $100 is the Vivitar 70-210 3.5. There are 5 versions of this lens with the first three being the most desirable. The first version which I own is made by Kiron which has a serial number starting with "22", the second version which is my wife's is the Tokina version which has a serial number starting with "37" and the third version (and some say the best) is the 70-210 2.8-4.0 made by Komine with a serial number that starts with "28".

There's a great forum called MF Lenses which will get you up to speed on this crazy world of vintage glass. The URL is http://forum.mflenses.com/.

Another forum worth checking out is www.pentaxforums.com. Here's a great thread to get you acquainted with all the lenses out there......

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/86170-lens-club-index.html

Best of luck!
 
Postmaster said:
Great article Chris. But I wonder why you left the sweet vintage Zeiss glass out of the loop.
I use it religiously and love the cinematic look it gives.

I wrote 2 articles on that, might be also interesting.

http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/vintage-zeiss-glass-on-modern-cameras/

http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/zeiss-buttersharp-primes/

Frank
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Well I wanted to write about the lenses I have direct experience with and unfortunately I don't own any classic Zeiss lenses. I'm hoping to remedy that situation in the near future because they are excellent and well worth the premium.

Which ones do you have?
 
Only the ones you see on my blog.
They are all medium format glass (mind the sweet spot).

50/4 - 80/2.8 - 120/2.8 - 180/ 2.8

Frank
 
Those are great articles. I have someone in Fort Worth who has an old Zeiss Ikon camera with lenses that might sell it. My hope is that they don't go on Ebay before making me an offer :)

I definitely want to move up to Zeiss sometime in the future but unfortunately, Zeiss glass really keeps its value on the collector's market. Might make more sense just to save up for the ZF line of lenses. First though, I need to get that Helios 40-2 and then it's on to Zeiss.
 
Hey Chris, I just ordered the Spider Brace! It'll be my first shoulder mount, I really needed something to move around quickly with. Am I correct that IS lenses won't help if mounted on the Spider Brace? I am wanting to get a 20-150MM or so zoom lens with a constant aperture, I could try to get something with IS, but if it won't help I think I'll try to find a vintage lens. I think the only thing with IS in that MM range is like 800$ anyway lol can't afford that
 
JohnFB said:
Hey Chris, I just ordered the Spider Brace! It'll be my first shoulder mount, I really needed something to move around quickly with. Am I correct that IS lenses won't help if mounted on the Spider Brace? I am wanting to get a 20-150MM or so zoom lens with a constant aperture, I could try to get something with IS, but if it won't help I think I'll try to find a vintage lens. I think the only thing with IS in that MM range is like 800$ anyway lol can't afford that
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I've been shooting weddings with the Spiderbrace and manual focus lenses (which obviously don't have IS) and it works really well. All my footage is shot with the Spiderbrace except for the ceremony where I use a tripod. You can judge for yourself if the footage looks steady enough by checking out some clips on my site.

I think you'll really like the SB. It's super light and breaks down for easy travelling. I love mine.

Chris W
Watson Videography
www.dallasweddingfilms.com
 
Chris Watson said:
Fast prime:

There's so many of them. The most popular and easiest to get are the Super Takumars, the Sears 55mm 1.4, and the Nikon AI or AIS 50mm 1.4. They can be had for pretty cheap and are great quality lenses.

Wide Angle:

These are not as inexpensive but a good one to get is the Zenitar 16mm 2.8. It retails for around $200 but they can sometimes be picked up for less than that. The pictures I've seen taken with the lens is pretty amazing. Mark Von Lanken owns this lens so maybe he can chime in with some info on it.

Standard Zoom:

I have the Vivitar 28-90 2.8-3.5 and it's a great standard zoom that has a great reach and is pretty fast throughout its zoom range. These can be picked up for under $100 and are great lenses.

An alternative is the one Mark has which is the Vivitar 28-105 2.8-3.8. It's gotten great reviews and can also be picked up for relatively little money in the Nikon, Olympus, and Pentax mounts. Whenever possible try to get the Nikon or Olympus version as they fit a little more securely on the camera than an adapted Pentax will.

Telephoto Lens:

There are several to choose from out there but the fastest I've seen throughout its zoom range for under $100 is the Vivitar 70-210 3.5. There are 5 versions of this lens with the first three being the most desirable. The first version which I own is made by Kiron which has a serial number starting with "22", the second version which is my wife's is the Tokina version which has a serial number starting with "37" and the third version (and some say the best) is the 70-210 2.8-4.0 made by Komine with a serial number that starts with "28".

There's a great forum called MF Lenses which will get you up to speed on this crazy world of vintage glass. The URL is http://forum.mflenses.com/.

Another forum worth checking out is www.pentaxforums.com. Here's a great thread to get you acquainted with all the lenses out there......

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/86170-lens-club-index.html

Best of luck!
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Thank you so much for the solid info, i am now on the hunt for vintage lenses!
 
What mount does your 70-210 Vivitar use, as they made this lens for several cameras?

If it's Minolta then you will need a MD to EOS adapter, Olympus: OM to EOS adapter, Nikon: Nikon to EOS adapter, Pentax K: Pentax K to EOS adapter, Pentax could also be: M42 (screw mount) to EOS adapter etc.
 
You might have a problem, as this isn't the EF camera mount that you have on your camera, but the FD mount. The problem with this mount is that the lens protrudes too far back into the sensor.

This is one of the only mounts that poses problems sometimes for cameras.
I think that it should be fine on a cropped senors like the 550D, but could pose problems on full frame sensors like the 5D.

If you do get an adapter for this make sure that you get the one that has glass in it, as this will enable you to focus for infinity.
If you don't get glass in the adapter then you will only have macro functionality.
 
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I am using this on a 7D. Is this not the same lens that Chris Watson uses on his camera? What adapter do I need and where can i buy it please. Thanks.
 
The good thing about KEH is that they have a great return policy and should be able to hook you up with a lens in the correct mount.

The ironic thing about adapting vintage lenses to the Canon EOS system is that Canon's own FD system is not an ideal candidate for adaptation. Whether this is due to business or technology, who knows? It's unfortunate because FD glass is significantly less expensive on the used market than your Olympus and Nikon mount lenses.

If you just ordered today, you can probably get it cancelled and choose another mount like an Olympus or Nikon or you can return it to them when you receive it. For future reference, here's a list of the mounts that can be adapted to the Canon EOS system without the use of "infinity glass" that I listed in my article.......

Contarex 46.0 mm Mechanical adapters with no optics and which maintain infinity focus may be possible Contax RTS 45.5 mm Leica R 47.0 mm Nikon 46.5 mm Olympus OM 46.0 mm Pentax K 45.5 mm Pentax Screw (M42) 45.5 mm Petri Bayonet 45.5 mm Ricoh Bayonet 45.5 mm T2 mount 55.0 mm Yashica FR, FX 45.5 mm

Here's the original article that I referenced in my original EventDV piece........

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


Best of luck!
 
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