What "off-brand" Nikon mount lenses do you like?

[Kholi]

Yours is provably the only LEX with a Nikon mount that didn't need to have the BF adjusted. My friend had to custom build one because he broke his trying to adjust it.
Mine is about a 1/32 off. It took me a long time of trial and error to get it right.

That is one thing that the Brevis has over the LEX. That and a way to center the image.

Completely different topic, guys. I'm sorry that every single thing everyone buys isn't the same. Just like some lenses behave differently optically although mass manufactured.

Nikon and M42 pretty much matter not, the PL Mount is the important one.

Back on topic...

 

[Toenis]

Toenis, have you used the Kiron's on an adapter yet?

I have used Kiron lens from the first day I got my first Cinedof adaptor prototype few years ago and I can say that the Kiron 28mm f2 has always been my favorite. I think my first MF lens were on of the Kiron wides. Only downside is that it`s focusing ring turns in another direction than the Nikkor`s.
With the Letus Ex and Mini it is possible to use wide angle lens alongside with camcorder zoom thus no need for 35mm lens etc.
I specially like using the 28mm Kiron for all hand held work because of the manageable DOF at f2.8 - from 5 hours of footage there was only four takes ruined by focusing error but everything was shot by focusing from the camcorder`s LCD, focus pulled by cam operator walking at the same time on a mountain trail - switched to Nikkor 50mm for some shots and pulled focus in the wrong direction immediately.

By now I`m using the latest and the best FD lens that were made because of the constant focusing properties and image quality through out the range. I don`t advise mixing lens brands specially because the focusing direction issue - but that goes for serious productions where real time and money are involved.

T

 

[Gabriel Berube]

Hey Disjecta,

Try looking out for Kiron lenses and Sigma lenses, I own many lenses and these are the best 3rd party lenses that can be bought used on the market. I prefer them to Tamron & Tokina lenses because they tend to produce less chromatic abherrations & purple fringing (I hate post-correcting CAs so it's a major appeal to me).

Kirons were made by former Nikon engineers (Kino Precision inc.) that wanted to create their own high-quality lenses formulas in California in the early 80s. I think they also developped the Vivitar brand which were supposed to be medium-quality lenses compared to Kiron, not sure though, I should check it out on wikipedia.

I got the 28mm f/2 Ai-S Nikon mount and it works like a charm. Heard their optics were great, but they stopped production in late 80ies because of some Minolta AF patent. Used Kiron lenses can be found on eBay for cheap, but they are rare. I got mine for about 120$ from a guy in the UK.

I also got the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro & Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 APO zoom and both have great glass, are sharp, contrasty and produce great images on my LetusXL! Downside is that they're quite heavy (especially the zoom, must weight about 3 pounds), but as long as you got rails, it's no problem at all.

I hope this helps!

Gabe

 

[Lenilenapi]

I'm wondering if its possible to make general statements about the off brand manufacturers like Sigma, Tokina, Vivitar, etc.

I've gone under the assumption that every lens is different. that's even true for Nikon but their general reliability is higher though newer lenses vary more since they got cheaper. I've just tended to read every review I could find and looked for consistency between reviewers about a specific lens.
In general I've heard good and bad stuff about specific Sigma and Tokina's. Tamron's don't seem to get as high grades. But again different lenses get better grades than others. Scour the web.
There are alot of great suggestion here about brands I've never heard of.

 

[disjecta]

I agree and I think it comes down to individual lenses. Not all Nikons are great and the same can be said for other brands. It's also subjective...some people have found that a particular lens suited their needs and others will say there's too much CA or it's not sharp, etc.

Nonetheless, this has turned out to be a pretty interesting thread...

 

[Gabriel Berube]

Hey all,
I forgot to mention it in my previous post, but I know a german website (all written in english though) that's a great ressource for those looking to get some precise tests on all kind of lenses (Nikon, Canon, Zeiss, Pentax, etc.). They're not all listed, but most new lenses enventually end up reviewed there, and some old favorites are also listed.

It's about still photography only, and while there are lots of differences between digital still cameras and digital camcorders, all in all you get a pretty good idea about the overall qualities/weaknesses of every lenses listed.

Here's the link :

www.photozone.de

Enjoy!

Gabe