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Best cheap lenses?
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 10:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Some Tokina zooms are good (the 4/80-200, AT-X 28-85, AT-X 28-135 for instance) but not all, in fact, most old zooms from that era are not very good.

If you want very good quality then a set of primes such as 28mm, 50mm and 135mm will serve you far better than an old zoom.

If you don't have a 50mm prime, that should always be the first purchase imho.

As to which 50mm prime, that's hard to suggest as almost all are very good. Better to stick to the major makers rather than the smaller third party makers like Cosina and Chinon as they had poor QC and therefore the quality of their lenses is all over the place, from very good to uselessly bad.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I know that so many suggestions can be confusing. Even so, if you are new to MF and want to experiment, my opinion is that you should first try a cheap, clean Helios 58mm. You can find a lot of them in Bucuresti and you´ll be able to buy a CLEAN one for 70-120 RON (15-35 USD). You will also need a m42-eos adapter with focus confirmation; that is arround 40-50RON (10-13 USD) and you have a nice to play with, manual lens. On you camera the 58 will act as a 90 mm on ff. If you will like to work with MF and get used to focus through the 30d´s viewfinder, you can get back here and ask for more advices on future lenses. The guys here are always very helpful.
I also agree with Ian that you should stick with prime lenses, if you decide to use MF.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
lucca1x wrote:
I know that so many suggestions can be confusing. Even so, if you are new to MF and want to experiment, my opinion is that you should first try a cheap, clean Helios 58mm. You can find a lot of them in Bucuresti and you´ll be able to buy a CLEAN one for 70-120 RON (15-35 USD). You will also need a m42-eos adapter with focus confirmation; that is arround 40-50RON (10-13 USD) and you have a nice to play with, manual lens. On you camera the 58 will act as a 90 mm on ff. If you will like to work with MF and get used to focus through the 30d´s viewfinder, you can get back here and ask for more advices on future lenses. The guys here are always very helpful.
I also agree with Ian that you should stick with prime lenses, if you decide to use MF.


Very good advice. Totally agree!


PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
lucca1x wrote:
I know that so many suggestions can be confusing. Even so, if you are new to MF and want to experiment, my opinion is that you should first try a cheap, clean Helios 58mm. You can find a lot of them in Bucuresti and you´ll be able to buy a CLEAN one for 70-120 RON (15-35 USD). You will also need a m42-eos adapter with focus confirmation; that is arround 40-50RON (10-13 USD) and you have a nice to play with, manual lens. On you camera the 58 will act as a 90 mm on ff. If you will like to work with MF and get used to focus through the 30d´s viewfinder, you can get back here and ask for more advices on future lenses. The guys here are always very helpful.
I also agree with Ian that you should stick with prime lenses, if you decide to use MF.


Great advice! My first MF lens upon reentry was a Helios and it is easy to use and gives good consistent results with attractive bokeh.

If you want to begin with a single mount type, M42 is also great as there are so many options. Adapters are not expensive but if you buy many, they do add up.

I agree that you'd be well served with a 28, a 50, and a 135, there are so many good lenses in those focal lengths that you can stay in budget.

If you do want to consider a zoom, aside from the excellent Minolta already mentioned, I have had very good results with the Vivitar series 1 28-90 (Komine) and the Konica Hexanon AR 28-135, although the latter might not be compatible with your camera body.

Good luck and enjoy!


PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
BTW, that Konica Zoom-Hexanon 28-135 is the same lens as the Tokina AT-X 28-135 I mentioned earlier.

I agree, it's one of the best zooms from that period, very sharp indeed.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
BTW, that Konica Zoom-Hexanon 28-135 is the same lens as the Tokina AT-X 28-135 I mentioned earlier.

I agree, it's one of the best zooms from that period, very sharp indeed.


is this it?
http://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/tokina-atx-28-135mm-f4-4-6.html


PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
marcusBMG wrote:
iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
BTW, that Konica Zoom-Hexanon 28-135 is the same lens as the Tokina AT-X 28-135 I mentioned earlier.

I agree, it's one of the best zooms from that period, very sharp indeed.


is this it?
http://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/tokina-atx-28-135mm-f4-4-6.html


Yes. Like 1 small


PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
My standard advice to the regular "what vintage lens..." qq.

1. A "nifty fifty". I know you suggested zooms but as already mentioned modern zooms are generally better, and your kit lens does more than just about all vintage mf zooms (specifically wide angle). However a lens like the pentax smc-m 50mm f1.7, easily acquirable for less than 50$/€ is superior in IQ to any kit lens and more than three stops faster. So thats two big plusses over the kit lens. The distinctive helios has already been mentioned - good iq and distinctive bokeh.

2. A macro lens. The tamron adaptall SP 90mm is the most easily obtainable and best value - not too difficult to find one for less than 100$/€. Close focus, high IQ, versatile: portrait, landscape as well as macro.

3. Cheap telephotos. Want to try a bit of birding etc without spending any money? Classic 400mm like the tokyo koki and the vivitar/soligor's can be acquired and with care and practice can deliver very acceptable results.

3a. Follow on from above: mirror lenses are interesting but quirky. Tamron or tokina I suggest - and avoid the new made in China ones off amazon etc.

4. With more experience and insight, particular lenses that offer something distinctive, particular quality, exeptional value, just something different...


PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
As marcus says.

Almost all 50-55mm f/2 - 1.4 lenses of the film era are excellent at f/2
And since they were "kit lenses" of the time, they are extremely common and cheap.

Almost any 135mm - 200mm primes of the same era are good, or good enough. Also very cheap.

Long zooms can be great. Look for Tamrons, especially the 80-210 103a or 70-210 46a. But there are many decent 80-200 or 75-150 (more or less) from popular brands like Vivitar and Soligor. These are usually very cheap.

Wide angles are a problem. There are some very good and cheap 28mm and 35mm primes, but modern AF kit lenses tend to be better.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The best price/performance ratio I've seen so far was from Helios 44-M6 58/2 (Valday), 1993.

Very good wide open sharpness, formidable flare resistance, unique OOF rendering. All for $20-$30.
Even if it was $50 with all shipping and handling costs, it wouldn't be easy to beat that.


PostPosted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
aidaho wrote:
The best price/performance ratio I've seen so far was from Helios 44-M6 58/2 (Valday), 1993.

Very good wide open sharpness, formidable flare resistance, unique OOF rendering. All for $20-$30.
Even if it was $50 with all shipping and handling costs, it wouldn't be easy to beat that.


I dare to disagree Wink

While the Helios mentioned certainly isn't a bad lens, many of the very common vintage 50mm f1.7 or 50mm f2 lenses are as good or even better. And many of them can be bought - at least here in western Europe - in the 1.-- to 10.-- price range, sometimes even including a vintage SLR.

Stephan


PostPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
We can't include pawn shop deals in the calculations, can we?
If we abandon market prices, the winner becomes obvious: it's your father/grandfather lens in a box under your couch.

Doesn't matter which one it would be: its' price/performance ratio is infinite either way.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 2:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
BTW, that Konica Zoom-Hexanon 28-135 is the same lens as the Tokina AT-X 28-135 I mentioned earlier.

I agree, it's one of the best zooms from that period, very sharp indeed.


All the Hexanons are excellent, but topic starter mentions Canon. Unfortunately the Konica and Minolta lenses, how brilliant it is, can't be used with Canons. Only Sony E allowed to do it.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I recently bought a poor condition Super Takumar 55mm f1.8 for £30. Not sure if that is the going rate as it was part of a swap deal, I think locally they were going for about a third more in good condition. Have bought about 10 lenses since, as it blew my mind and got me into old lenses again, and none come close to the Takumar. Some cheaper, some a bit more. I would swap most of the lenses I bought for the Takumar i.e. 8 lenses for 1 as I like it so much. Therefore, to me it is the best cheap lens.

Zooms: A while ago I got a Pentax 80-200mm f4.5 for the same price. Amazing sharpness. But never taken it out of the house, too big for street photography and not been doing anything else. Hopefully will use it for landscape one day. The normal manual zooms don't really interest me as they have smaller aperture, so not as fun or useful when dark.

Plus I have always been able to find bargain kit lenses for my camera. Firstly for M43, where Panasonic's kit lenses all seem to be superb except one. Then the Fuji 16-50mm kit lens which is not far behind. I got that for a silly price when I joined team Fuji about a month or two ago and am upgrading to the 2nd version tomorrow from the same seller for a measly £15. Instead of manual focusing a prime I will just use the zoom ring with autofocus. Multi tasking takes too much time for a snapshotter like me which leads to less fun. It will be a nice break from a month or so of shooting mostly 50mm and 55mm lenses almost wide open with fast manual focusing.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 4:47 pm    Post subject: Compatibility Reply with quote
Be aware that pentax K has a nasty flange, this fouls the mirror on 5DmkII, not in all likelihood an issue with APS-C EFS mounts as the mirror is further in, as it is smaller.

Also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance

Shows CANON EF5 is 44MM so I use OM2 46MM when looking for old lenses with a friendly gap of 2mm. M42 works but is even thinner.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Paulius wrote:
iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
BTW, that Konica Zoom-Hexanon 28-135 is the same lens as the Tokina AT-X 28-135 I mentioned earlier.

I agree, it's one of the best zooms from that period, very sharp indeed.


All the Hexanons are excellent, but topic starter mentions Canon. Unfortunately the Konica and Minolta lenses, how brilliant it is, can't be used with Canons. Only Sony E allowed to do it.


Just to mention that Konica lenses work very well on Fujifilm bodies, such as Fuji X-Pro2. Wink
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