Vintage Lenses

Petrochemist said:
Now that's an excuse I need to remember :) I'm not quite sure how much I've spent on lenses, somewhere in the region of £4k I suspect. I know there are a few new ones that come to far more on their own!
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Someone in another thread said that with the money I've spent on old lenses I could have bought two or three decent new ones. To me that misses the point almost entirely. I enjoy using manual primes and I like the fact that I can buy a lens for little in todays terms, have a lot of enjoyment using it and take some nice pictures. Plus there's the enjoyment I get from reading up on lenses and finding a nice one at a reasonable price. To me new lenses are less appealing and leaning more towards being more functional purchases rather than enjoyment. Not quite white goods but maybe heading towards that side of things :D
 
I like this style and build of lens best... mostly metal and in this style...

Early Minolta Rokkor.

oUvBW3u.jpg


Early Nikons.

7J2CpPm.jpg


And the Takumars.

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Of the more not obviously metal ones I have a soft spot for the Zuikos.

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Modern lens wise I like these.

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Admittedly new lenses are marvellous bits of engineering. But the price of them is barking. I'm really not convinced the image from a £300 lens is that much better than a £30 one of e.Bay. It all comes down to the skill of the photographer in the end, rather than the perfection of the optics.
 
Plain Nev said:
Admittedly new lenses are marvellous bits of engineering. But the price of them is barking. I'm really not convinced the image from a £300 lens is that much better than a £30 one of e.Bay. It all comes down to the skill of the photographer in the end, rather than the perfection of the optics.
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Oh, I do think new lenses are technically better but I think it perhaps only shows up in certain shots and at certain settings and sometimes only when looking closely. For example the modern Sony lenses I have are just astonishingly good, sharp across the frame and into the extreme corners, have tamer bokeh at wide apertures and generally suffer less optical maladies. They're even better (much better maybe) than the DSLR lenses I had. They really are technical marvels. Not that old lenses are necessarily bad as such but they can show their weaknesses especially at wider apertures. On the positive side, they're lovely to use and their "issues" can add character.
 
woof woof said:
On the positive side, they're lovely to use and their "issues" can add character.
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I think when you're talking proper vintage lenses of the 60s/70s etc.. then that's really what you get: character. And it's that character that I love in certain lenses and is not found in today's modern day lenses that can often feel a tad sterile. Fantastic lenses but bland.
 
I see it as different needs and wants, some just have to have the latest and 'greatest' asap, some love the showmanship of it - some just genuinely love the hunt and history of the vintage gear and feel more passionate about that gear than they ever will a snazzy new high end lens. Me personally, I don't get excited much by new gear, there's only one lens atm I'd love to have [Fuji 100-400] and there's a few primes I'd like to try but I never feel a need to get them [I'm also broke lol!] and even if I did need them for a job, I can't see me getting as excited about them as I feel when I've tracked down an old MF lens I'd been after for a while and just kept putting off. Let's be honest, most of us are not pro's, we don't need anything but one camera and one lens for the most part, and we'd get by no bother. There's hobbiests just like us who buy as many camera bags because they run out of space for the bundles of lenses they buy - I do wonder how often they actually make use of them all? But then collecting is just another hobby in itself
 
I'm gutted that Mrs WW has her english exam tomorrow and that's the end of her course. Tuesday afternoon while she's at school is at the mo the only time I get to myself so gosh knows when I'll be able to go for a walk with a camera after tomorrow.
 
woof woof said:
I'm gutted that Mrs WW has her english exam tomorrow and that's the end of her course. Tuesday afternoon while she's at school is at the mo the only time I get to myself so gosh knows when I'll be able to go for a walk with a camera after tomorrow.
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Maybe suggest she learns French next? :oops: :$ :ROFLMAO:
 
This has had waaaay more processing than I normally do as it was a drab flat light day. So, it's been through Nik Filters Color Efex and had Glamor Glow applied to everything except Mrs WW, Pro Contrast applied to everything and a Grad Filter applied to the top right hand corner.

Nippon Kogaku 50mm f1.4, I think.

c6fqMNE.jpg
 
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I had forgotten the pain of waiting on gear in the post, my 180mm is floating around somewhere in Germany, looking like it'll be more like tomorrow week before it gets here, was hoping for tomorrow - my day off :( On the flip side, I did buy a new Hedge trimmer ... great fun ...
 
Cagey75 said:
I had forgotten the pain of waiting on gear in the post, my 180mm is floating around somewhere in Germany, looking like it'll be more like tomorrow week before it gets here, was hoping for tomorrow - my day off :( On the flip side, I did buy a new Hedge trimmer ... great fun ...
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That's not fun! I hate waiting for stuff to arrive, especially when I can't track it or it's stuck in customs for 2 weeks!
 
THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
That's not fun! I hate waiting for stuff to arrive, especially when I can't track it or it's stuck in customs for 2 weeks!
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Yeah sucks, I have tracking but it didn't change over the weekend. At least the last movement was at 1:43am this morn, to 'Beladung' which Google tells me = Loading - but still giving me next week as an estimate for delivery
 
THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
Yeah, normally pretty good. Bit slower these days with the package backlogs and customs, tho. Last one took about 10 days to me.
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It's arrived this morn! :)

I guess their online tracking is a bit messed up [still saying 'in transit']

Very nice copy, can't see any noticeable marks, it's actually cleaner than my camera atm :ROFLMAO: Gotten a little dusty from under-use, mmust fix that!

Bland dull day here atm, but hopefully will clear up and i'll do some garden testing.

180mmfuji.jpg

It's tidier than the 200F4 lenses I've used, but surprisingly front heavy, again because I was used to the balance on those lenses
 
Cagey75 said:
It's arrived this morn! :)

I guess their online tracking is a bit messed up [still saying 'in transit']

Very nice copy, can't see any noticeable marks, it's actually cleaner than my camera atm :ROFLMAO: Gotten a little dusty from under-use, mmust fix that!

Bland dull day here atm, but hopefully will clear up and i'll do some garden testing.

View attachment 320787

It's tidier than the 200F4 lenses I've used, but surprisingly front heavy, again because I was used to the balance on those lenses
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RESULT!! Looks a good 'un!!
 
Yeah looks nice all-round, came with a padded pouch too. Unfortunately, it's about to bucket down here by looks of it so apart from a few very quick tester shots I'll have to wait. Looking like the weekend before better weather- pretty sure this happens every single time I buy either garden or camera gear! it couldn't be more grey and threatening
 
Cagey75 said:
Yeah looks nice all-round, came with a padded pouch too. Unfortunately, it's about to bucket down here by looks of it so apart from a few very quick tester shots I'll have to wait. Looking like the weekend before better weather- pretty sure this happens every single time I buy either garden or camera gear! it couldn't be more grey and threatening
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Really!? Scorching sun down here! :oops: :$
 
THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
Really!? Scorching sun down here! :oops: :$
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Yeah was raining a bit, then the sun popped out for about 20 mins, then grey again, atm the sun is threatening to show again .... typical Irish weather really, unreliable. Forecast says rain still, we've had some very nice days up to now but there will always be that one rainy day per week at least - Managed a couple shots of a Blackbird earlier

Uncropped image from the 180mm 2.8 [@ 2.8] I just adjusted exposure and WB slightly [lens shoots on the 'cool' side] - No fringing here but I noticed some in a couple other shots, only at 2.8 and just a teeny bit. The bird here does have blue tone [I didn't correct here] but Blackbirds tend to reflect those colours in general

DSCF0937 by K G, on Flickr

Just getting a feel for it, this Blackbird is very tame, always hanging about the garden, usually the female shows up too. I know I'll not get anywhere as close to wildlife down the river but maybe a TC will help there. I also want to get some macro rings, that'll be a challenge as it's not the lightest but i've used heavier for that purpose
 
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Blimey O'Reilly! Trying out a 29mm Pentacon lens this evening. Quite stunning results.

Resized.jpg

Beautiful colours and some nice bokeh too. Well worth looking out for.
 
@Cagey75 Here's my first attempt at bird photography with the Nikon 180mm ED AIS and the TC-14A. Quite chuffed with the results. All handheld at ISO 100.


EAST COWES BIRDS by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr
 
THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
@Cagey75 Here's my first attempt at bird photography with the Nikon 180mm ED AIS and the TC-14A. Quite chuffed with the results. All handheld at ISO 100.


EAST COWES BIRDS by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr


BIRDS - EAST COWES by Vintage Photography, on Flickr
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Wow! Nice, making me want to head back down the river. I was down by the river Boyne other day but for work so wouldn't have my own gear with me. Though I do have access to a Nikon D5200, still no AF but it wouldn't require the adapter, might bring the lens in some day next week. We spotted a swan and about a dozen ducks on that walk, I know a heron and egrette frequent the area too

Atm though I can't even get the feckin' cat to sit still for me :ROFLMAO:

One niggle I have with the AF version is that MF at longer distances, especially at 2.8, is pretty tricky - very tight, it's either nail it bang on or you're off by miles and it's mere millimetres - can be hard hand holding even with IBIS [set in cam for 180mm] I would like a little more fine tuning and I imagine the older MF only version is better for this - I mean a bare movement on the AF and you're way off
 
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Cagey75 said:
Wow! Nice, making me want to head back down the river. I was down by the river Boyne other day but for work so wouldn't have my own gear with me. Though I do have access to a Nikon D5200, still no AF but it wouldn't require the adapter, might bring the lens in some day next week. We spotted a swan and about a dozen ducks on that walk, I know a heron and egrette frequent the area too

Atm though I can't even get the feckin' cat to sit still for me :ROFLMAO:

One niggle I have with the AF version is that MF at longer distances, especially at 2.8, is pretty tricky - very tight, it's either nail it bang on or you're off by miles and it's mere millimetres - can be hard hand holding even with IBIS [set in cam for 180mm] I would like a little more fine tuning and I imagine the older MF only version is better for this - I mean a bare movement on the AF and you're way off
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Yeah, I did wonder about that. The MF is the opposite and gives lots of focus play.
 
THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
Yeah, I did wonder about that. The MF is the opposite and gives lots of focus play.
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I might put it up for sale or trade Vs an AIS version, see if anyone bites but otherwise I'll just have to get used to it. I've tried it both ways, with the cam in standard mode using zoom focus, and in M mode where I get peaking - think the latter might work better - need to give it a proper trial and see how many keepers I get each way. When the body isn't in M mode zoom focus will stay zoomed in until you shoot, for whatever reason as soon as you half press the shutter in M mode it reverts to your normal view - I like to keep it zoomed when shooting , not sure why I can't have both that and peaking? as you know even slight movements can throw focus off at 180mm wide open
 
Here's my wee selection. Must admit, I thought id have more by now! First is my wee minolta 50mm f1.7. not sharp at 1.7 but gets miles better one click down. It's a fun lens to play with though!

2nd, is a Vivitar 70-300. Not sharp anywhere to be honest and i find it really difficult to focus it. the third, is a vintage tele-converter which i use with the Vivitar for taking photos of the moon. It's 3x. I paid 13 quid for the teleconverter and i think 10 for the Vivitar so not alot of money for a 900mm!





 
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macvisual said:
Ok I'd like to join this vintage lens club........I know nothing about which adaptor to buy for my Fuji X mount....any advice most welcome.


Cheers;
Peter
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It depends on what lenses you're looking to try, you'll need a specific adapter for each lens mount type. Most old lenses have physical aperture rings so nothing fancy required, just the right type - [Generic Canon FD to Fuji X for example] one exception being if you wanted to adapt Nikon G type lenses, then you would need an adapter with an aperture control, Beschoi and K&F both make decent ones. But for vintage glass you shouldn't need that type, just look for the mount type of the lens to fuji X
 
macvisual said:
Ok I'd like to join this vintage lens club........I know nothing about which adaptor to buy for my Fuji X mount....any advice most welcome.


Cheers;
Peter
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I'd probably start with the M42 to Fuji X adaptor from K&F. There are probably more M42 lenses out there than anything else, and it's a good place to start. Rather than go through Amazon, which is always more expensive, I'd order direct from K&F themselves and have it despatched from China. I've done that on a couple of occasions and each time it took little over a week.
 
Plain Nev said:
I'd probably start with the M42 to Fuji X adaptor from K&F. There are probably more M42 lenses out there than anything else, and it's a good place to start. Rather than go through Amazon, which is always more expensive, I'd order direct from K&F themselves and have it despatched from China. I've done that on a couple of occasions and each time it took little over a week.
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Agreed. M42 adapter would be the first port of call.
 
Plain Nev said:
I'd probably start with the M42 to Fuji X adaptor from K&F. There are probably more M42 lenses out there than anything else, and it's a good place to start. Rather than go through Amazon, which is always more expensive, I'd order direct from K&F themselves and have it despatched from China. I've done that on a couple of occasions and each time it took little over a week.
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Agreed on all counts: M42 is a great place to start.

I've got 5 adapters from K&F and only the first one was through Amazon. I got the rest direct and they came within 5-7 days. Very good value and product.

I actually have an M39 to M4/3 on the way at the moment :cool:

Once you've ordered your adapter, tell us about what kind of photography you would like to do and I'm sure we can make a couple of thousand recommendations and we will agree on a handful :sneaky::sneaky::LOL:
 
macvisual said:
Ok I'd like to join this vintage lens club........I know nothing about which adaptor to buy for my Fuji X mount....any advice most welcome.


Cheers;
Peter
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I may be missing something but I can't really see any logic in looking at adapters first, surely look at lenses first and then the adapter to follow? There seem to be adapters for just about everything so I wouldn't worry too much about that, just check there definitely is one for the lens/lenses you want before you start buying.

I don't know what focal lengths and aperture ranges you'd be looking at but that's where I'd start. Deicide what you want, 24mm f2.8? 28mm f2.8? 35mm?... etc... and then see what's available and at what price. Once you've spotted a lens or lenses you're interested in then look at the adapters. That's the way I'd do it.

The only mounts I'd think about before diving in are the screw mount ones which some people find a hassle and as I've found there can be lining up issues and some dislike the arguably/some would say fiddly Canon breechlock too.
 
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