General My article in EventDV regarding Vintage Lenses

jghenderson said:
Just bought a Helios 44, can't wait to get it!
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One of my favorite lenses and absolutely my favorite in the 50 something focal range. You are going to love it!

On the subject of the Helios lens, I'm saving my pennies for its big brother: the 85mm 1.5 Helios 40-2. I'm covered on the 85mm focal range but I would certainly make room for that one in my collection. The pictures I've seen taken with that lens are stunning.
 
Gonna check this out, very excited. Been saying this same thing for some time. I actually have had that vivitar 1 series 70-210 macro for a while now and was reulcatant at first at the push pull zoom, but man i love that lens now. Along with my tamron 17-50mm 2.8 and nikkor old school 50mm 1.4 i feel i have most ranges covered.

I passed this along to some of my still buddies, who disbelieve, btu for video i think these old schoolers are great. Been tring for months to find a decent jupiter 9, hope your article doesnt make them super rare now, lol
 
jonE5 said:
Gonna check this out, very excited. Been saying this same thing for some time. I actually have had that vivitar 1 series 70-210 macro for a while now and was reulcatant at first at the push pull zoom, but man i love that lens now. Along with my tamron 17-50mm 2.8 and nikkor old school 50mm 1.4 i feel i have most ranges covered.

I passed this along to some of my still buddies, who disbelieve, btu for video i think these old schoolers are great. Been tring for months to find a decent jupiter 9, hope your article doesnt make them super rare now, lol
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You're in luck! I'm thinking about unloading mine. I don't use it much since it's soft at f/2 (a trademark of this lens) and I need lenses I can shoot with wide open. It does sharpen considerably at f/2.8 though. Let me know if interested.

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I actually love the push/pull design of the Vivitars for wedding video. I can zoom and adjust focus so much quicker than I can with a traditional 2-touch system. Plus I love the colors those Vivitar lenses produce especially with the blues. Also it has a cool retro look especially if shooting against the sun. Kind of an agreeable haziness to the image.

One of the cons I should have put in the article, and your post reminded me of this, is that photographers will probably not be impressed with your collection of sweet retro lenses. In fact, I think I'm sort of met with pity when they see my awesome Russian lenses in there. If they only knew :). It doesn't bug me but it's sort of funny how videographers might have a more rounded knowledge of the world of lenses than photographers especially when it comes to vintage glass. Seems like to most of them, it's Canon L or nothing.
 
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Chris how much is your Jupiter 9 going for? Also Vivitar 70-210 3.5 or 70-210 F2.8-4 ...which is better?
 
I'm selling it for $120 but reserving it for jonE5 for right now. I've heard the 3rd edition of the Vivitar 70-210 with the variable aperture of 2.8-4.0 made by Komine is the best. If you go on Ebay, this is by far the most expensive variation of the lens. There were 2 more versions of the 70-210 2.8-4.0 made so make sure you get the one with a serial number starting with "28" to make sure it's the good one.

For me though, I like to get constant aperture whenever possible so the Kiron made 70-210 3.5 would be my choice. It's not as fast on the wide end but faster on the long end so it's a good compromise I think. For those interested in the Jupiter-9, here's a test video I did with it a few months back when I just got it in.....

http://vimeo.com/11640891
 
Funny about that clip. I watched it over and over when you first posted it. That started the love affair for me. Thanks for resurrecting it. Love the clip, love the lenses. So I now also have the Helios 44 and the Mir 24 and am also lusting after the 40-2. Let's see who gets there first . :) Again, many, many thanks, Chris.
 
jimpatro said:
Funny about that clip. I watched it over and over when you first posted it. That started the love affair for me. Thanks for resurrecting it. Love the clip, love the lenses. So I now also have the Helios 44 and the Mir 24 and am also lusting after the 40-2. Let's see who gets there first . :) Again, many, many thanks, Chris.
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Unless I find one for under $300, probably you :). I had a chance to get a Helios 40 for $150 but I was between paychecks and it looked like the focus ring needed relubing. Probably would have gotten it if I had some discretionary income though. Oh well, there's always a good deal out there even on Ebay.
 
I'm curious - how do you like the vintage lenses your discussing compared to the old Nikon manual lenses? Do you consider those "vintage" as well and do you distinguish between pre AI/AIS lenses and the later ones?
 
I've never played with the old Nikon manual focus lenses although I hear they are excellent. I tried to keep the article limited to the lenses I had at the time but I don't think I've ever heard a bad thing about them.

My own personal definition of a "vintage lens" is one that is at least 25 years old and has manual focus and aperture controls. The more proper term is probably "manual focus lenses" but "vintage" just sounds better. By that loose definition, I think Nikons made in the 60's, 70's and 80's definitely qualifies.
 
I have an early AI Nikon 28mm f2.0 lens that when shot wide open indoors with a chest brace, has the look and feel of film footage you find from the early 1970's. The resemblance was uncanny and totally gnarly.
 
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I have an early AI Nikon 28mm f2.0 lens that when shot wide open indoors with a chest brace, has the look and feel of film footage you find from the early 1970's. The resemblance was uncanny and totally gnarly.
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That's pretty cool. I'd love to see the footage. You can totally get a retro look out of these lenses if you want especially with the Takumar and Mamiya lenses as well. You guys are making me want to get some old Nikons now :)
 
Chris Watson said:
That's pretty cool. I'd love to see the footage. You can totally get a retro look out of these lenses if you want especially with the Takumar and Mamiya lenses as well. You guys are making me want to get some old Nikons now :)
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I'm looking for a lens 30mm or less with a fast aperture f/2.0 or better, what do you recommend?

Thanks
 
The only one that comes to mind is maybe the Vivitar 28mm f/1.9 or the Vivitar 24mm f/2. They are cheaper than their modern counterparts but not by a whole lot. There is the Vivitar 28mm 2.5 that goes for a little less that might work. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
 
Chris Watson said:
The only one that comes to mind is maybe the Vivitar 28mm f/1.9 or the Vivitar 24mm f/2. They are cheaper than their modern counterparts but not by a whole lot. There is the Vivitar 28mm 2.5 that goes for a little less that might work. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
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I found this:
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http://cgi.ebay.com/Vivitar-28mm-F-...era_Lenses&hash=item51930b11a6#ht_4633wt_1139




I'm assuming I would also need this adapter?

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http://cgi.ebay.com/Minolta-MD-MC-L...ccessories&hash=item19b80d98a5#ht_2384wt_1139



Will this work?

Thanks
 
It will work but to be honest, I try not to get Minoltas due to the same reason I stay away from Canon FD lenses and that's the glass element needed in the adapter to achieve infinity focus. Michael (Vegas09?) seems to have good luck with Minolta lenses so he would be the one to talk to this about.

I like to stay with lenses that don't need an adapter with a glass element to work like the Olympus, Nikon, M42, and C/Y mounts. Hope this helps!
 
Thanks for sharing that. That Helios shot taken outside was wild. Lots of swirliness going on. That Pro-Master lens is one I've never heard of but it looks pretty good. Nice find.
 
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