Old lenses - worth it ?

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stevewestern

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Are old lenses worth looking at..?
Big question there, I realize, but..
I have a canon 5d, and am getting an EOS3 film body. now, I know that my lenses will fit the film body, but what differences are there between the old stuff and the new stuff - ie I have a 24-70, and was wondering if a really old super-wide lens might be worth looking at - cheap, and no need for fancy focusing motors etc. So, what problems might there be - maybe slightly softer, more flare-prone I guess, but anything much else..?
 
That old saying "they don't make em like they used to" is about right for old Nikkors, generally they are sharper and built better than anything made today, apart from coatings for flare/wotnot.
Can't speak for Canon, but I would think they'd be similar in that they can't make today's lenses as well as they did 30 years ago for the same money.
Actually, there was a mount change, maybe Canons old lenses to fit a 5D, aren't that old ?
 
I'd have thought you would have to go to old 'other makes' with an EF to whatever (M42? FD? ?) adapter to mount them if you want cheap. Plenty of adapters on ebay. Find the adapter then look at what lenses there are that will fit. Never tried it myself.
 
if you delve deeper you might be interested in your findings....(have a look around another site I use here, look in the gallery section for some images from a range of wides)

...I, for one, don't have one AF lens at the moment. I'm using a Nikkor 1.8 nifty which is about 25 years old, solidly built and sharp as anything...same goes for a Soligor 70-220mm f3.5, both of which only cost me around a tenner each off ebay :)

As for the 35mm Pentax (m42 mount), I have Pentacon and Helios nifty's, both of which were dirt cheap, and an m42 adapter for the 17mm Tamron too.

As for superwides, a Zenitar 16mm Fisheye and Tamron SP 17mm also adorn my collection (the tamron isn't a cheap 2nd hand lens at all)

I've nothing against AF, and do actually want a decent auto zoom but I love my old glass and wouldn't swap them for anything :)
 
There was just such an article in one of my mags a few months ago Steve. The article suggested trying such as contax and hasselblad glass. I don't think they were too bad? :)
 
A Pentax dSLR makes it easier to use a wide array of old glass, though the suitable old glass itself has now shot up in value e.g. a Hoya f3.5 200mm for £30 after a recent mench at dpreview.

Although he was from the film era, James Ravilious used really old glass, shooting into the sun with large hoods. Generally in B&W as the Devon countryside is just too green.
 
i think the lens quality may have risen, but i doubt the build quality has.
Even hasselblad is the same. My new 80mm lens ring (rubber), would move (by itself) when the weather was hot. you didnt get that on the old versions.

i find the difference comes when you are shooting into the sun, the newer lenses can handle the dispersement better.
 
i use old stuff all the time, i shoot Pentax. it is a bit harder with other brands because they changed there lens mounts, but old lens work VERY well.

funny story i was shooting a story and a nether photographer keeped jumping in my way so i put on my Tokina AT-X 80-200 F2.8 on my K10D the next time he did it the lens some how ended up in his ribs :shrug: ?????? :LOL: he stopped doing it after that
 
antihero said:
if you delve deeper you might be interested in your findings....(have a look around another site I use here, look in the gallery section for some images from a range of wides)
Click to expand...

thanks for that link looks very interesting (y)
 
Id deffo have a play with some of the old M42 lenses for the canon.

Ive collected a few M42 lens in the last year or so mainly because i was after good sharp lenses but couldnt afford anything modern lol
Got a 24/50/135 all f2.8 + a 200 f3.5 and a 300 f4 and my favourite
a Jupiter 9 85mm f2, 15 blade almost circular aperature, bokeh :love::love::love:

On average the above cost between £5-8 except for the 85 (£45) and the 300 (£18) all found on ebay, one even came with an old Zenit body, ive tried to master :LOL:

They feel so much better than the majority of all but the more expensive lenses of today. Full metal construction, nuke proof build quality and smooth sturdy focus ring. In terms of IQ the colour, sharpness, contrast produced by them is amazing especially when you consider the price (my water drop attempt in the macro section was done with the 85).
They have shamed my 17-85is and 75-300 many times. Only now ive finally bought a relatively good expensive lens am i getting similar colour and sharpness.

The only down side i notice as mentioned above is they cant control flare or ghosting anything like a modern lens can so they can produce some hit and miss results if your shooting in bright conditions.

Definately worth having a play, you can get adapters for near enough any lens to fit the canon, but be aware of any "optical" adapter rings as these will have a lens that can compromise IQ. AF-confrim adapters are also available so the camera can still use the AF points and flash or beep when focus is achieved.
 
So can anyone tell me exactly what mounts will fit onto a 5d ?

Sounds like it's got to be worth a look !
 
None. :)

Only the EF fit will bolt straight on.
 
The EF mount is the most adaptable mount in the 35mm range. It can take just about every mount via adaptor including Pentax K, Nikon (incuding G), Olympus OM, Lieca R, Contax Zeiss, M42, Canon FD, and more.

In this range there are some apsolute gems to be found, the best of the bunch are more on the wide end, as Canon have very good telephotos. Some of these gems include:

- Contax Zeiss 50 F1.7 (just about the sharpest 50 you can mount onto a EF camera, and only about £60 including adaptor)
- Contax Zeiss 28 F2.8
- Contax Zeiss 21 F2.8 (the legend but not cheap at all - £2K+)
- Contax Zeiss 100 F2.8 Macro
- Lieca R - almost all their wide angles
- Lieca R 90 F2 (the best is the new APO version, but the 3Cams are still very good).
- Lieca R 180 F2 and F2.8 (the APO version is best but most expensive, but the 3 cam versions are still good)
- Olympus 21 F3.5 (moderately pricy)
- Olympus 28 F3.5 (an apsolute bargin - £40-50 including adaptor)
- Pentax 40 F2.8 pancake (cut off the aperture fin for use with 5D)
- Voitlander 125 macro (probably the best macro ever made by anyone, and very very hard to find)

I own a few of these, have used a few other ones. Especially the Olympus OM lenses on the wide end are very good value for money, and since the EF system is weakest on the wide end, this is a really good place to try some alternate primes. Just make sure you get your EE-S screen for the 5D.
 
FranchiseJuan
Fantastic - just the sort of thing that gives me ideas on what to search for !
Thanks
 
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