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Unloved and therefore cheap, but surprisingly good lenses
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
Let's not forget about the Pentacon 1.8/50!


I got that lens and used both on my NEX 6 and tried both with my new A7r II.

In comparison with my cheap Chinon 50 1.7 (PK-mount) the Pentacon 50 1.8 is much worse especially since the Chinon actually provides sharp results wide open which the Pentacon doesn't seem to be able to do at all.

The Chinon 50 1.7 can be found on ebay for around $15-40 or even cheaper since it's a lesser known lens that few seem to care about.

Chinon 50 1.7 + NEX 6, do note that all images are processed:

Bench nail at Zombieskogen/Hundparken, Västertorp (Stockholm, Sweden) by Tommie Hansen, on Flickr

Benches, green meadow and forest - Angarnssjöängen, Stockholm by Tommie Hansen, on Flickr

Chinon 1.7 test by Tommie Hansen, on Flickr

Fauna in Västertorp by Tommie Hansen, on Flickr


PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I was given a Chinon CG-5 from a Widower -- it was his Deceased wife's camera, hardly used in mint condition with flash, bag etc and the Auto-Chinon 50mm f1.9 lens and it is SHARP ! I have camera loaded right now with some outdated HP5+.


PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Any muti-coated Vivitar (Komine) 135/2.8, even cheap.
(Click for full resolution)



Wide open:


PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 2:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
anktonio wrote:
Any muti-coated Vivitar (Komine) 135/2.8, even cheap.
(Click for full resolution)


That's an fantastic shot and an absolutely great lens! I had two of them, one with the all metal focusing ring and the later one with the rubber grip. Both of them outstanding. While it's true almost everyone made very good 135s, this one always comes to mind when speaking of great 135s. How was this photo taken?


PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 3:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Industar 50-2



PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 4:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
tommie wrote:
the Pentacon 50 1.8 is much worse


Unfortunately the Pentacon lenses suffer from bad quality control and some extreme copy variation. I had good ones and i actually had some very bad ones as well.....

See some of my Pentacon shots here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chantalrene/albums/72157630432051760

And a wide-open sample:
White by René Maly, on Flickr


PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
anktonio wrote:
Any muti-coated Vivitar (Komine) 135/2.8, even cheap.


That's some awesome flare control if you didn't process such flaws away? Flare is usually something that where old lenses struggle.
I also love that you shot a Paulaner, a beer i really like. Smile


PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
tommie wrote:
the Pentacon 50 1.8 is much worse


Unfortunately the Pentacon lenses suffer from bad quality control and some extreme copy variation. I had good ones and i actually had some very bad ones as well.....

See some of my Pentacon shots here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chantalrene/albums/72157630432051760

And a wide-open sample:
IMAGE


Your wide open sample is the same as my copy. Don't know if you intended to show how a bad one looks?


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 3:52 am    Post subject: Soligor 105mm f2.8 Reply with quote
Most of the best pictures I've taken in my life were taken with this lens (a long time ago). I've been able to acquire another one, for $35. I like it. I like it better than my Leica 90mm Summicron-R pre-aspherical.


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 6:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
tommie wrote:


Your wide open sample is the same as my copy. Don't know if you intended to show how a bad one looks?


No i didn't.... but it's ok if you think that is a bad shot. I guess taste differs. At least i don't over-sharpen my shots in post.


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 6:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
tommie wrote:


Your wide open sample is the same as my copy. Don't know if you intended to show how a bad one looks?


No i didn't.... but it's ok if you think that is a bad shot. I guess taste differs. At least i don't over-sharpen my shots in post.


I don't think that that was the intended message. I believe he thought it was a good shot but was wondering if you had a bad shot to compare it to.
Smile
OH


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 8:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
tommie wrote:


Your wide open sample is the same as my copy. Don't know if you intended to show how a bad one looks?


No i didn't.... but it's ok if you think that is a bad shot. I guess taste differs. At least i don't over-sharpen my shots in post.


What ... ? I talked about the quality of the lens, not the artistic quality of the picture you posted.
I thought this thread was about lenses, not our abilities as photographers.

I'm sorry if i somehow hurt your feelings.


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
konicamera wrote:
How was this photo taken?

Thanks, I was lucky. 135 mounted on M4/3 offers a focal equivalent to almost 300. Therefore I turned aperture ring to obtain the maximum shutter speed (hand holding the camera, at ten meters above sea level, maybe two or three kilometers away, I'm not sure), manual focus, click and nothing else, the rest was done by the camera and lens.

Happy shots!


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
tommie wrote:
That's some awesome flare control if you didn't process such flaws away? Flare is usually something that where old lenses struggle.
I also love that you shot a Paulaner, a beer i really like. Smile

This lens flare occurs, but it is predictable, it is not crazy flare, it is limited and controllable. I assured this looking through the viewfinder Smile

Happy shots!


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
anktonio wrote:
konicamera wrote:
How was this photo taken?

Thanks, I was lucky. 135 mounted on M4/3 offers a focal equivalent to almost 300. Therefore I turned aperture ring to obtain the maximum shutter speed (hand holding the camera, at ten meters above sea level, maybe two or three kilometers away, I'm not sure), manual focus, click and nothing else, the rest was done by the camera and lens.
Happy shots!

Wow! 270mm at full aperture (or almost), hand held. That's quite a feat. Neat focus too. What camera is this (does it have IS)? I really really like that photo. Congratulations. Smile


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 12:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
tommie wrote:


I'm sorry if i somehow hurt your feelings.


No no, i'm sorry, i didnt have my coffee yet at that time, i guess this can happen when english is not your native language.
'
What i meant: my pic is not sharpened in post, mind the small dof when wide open, in the center of the flower it's plenty sharp for a lens you can pick up for 2 euros.....


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 12:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
konicamera wrote:

Wow! 270mm at full aperture (or almost), hand held. That's quite a feat. Neat focus too. What camera is this (does it have IS)? I really really like that photo. Congratulations. Smile

In the EXIF photo data, you can see that the photo was taken to 1/4000. With this speed anyone can do this Smile Old Panasonic G1. No IS. Thanks for now.

Happy shots!


PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
@Oldhand

The Yashica ML 42-75 is a fine Yashica ML Zoom, i've seen it as cheap as 19 EUR, but with oily aperture blades, it does have great build quality, and integrated lens hood, mechanically a nice lens. But 42mm as starting focal length is even far from 35mm...so i passed onto this one. IMHO, the 2 best Yashica ML Zooms are the 28-85 ML and the 28-50 ML, which are fine for instance onto the 5D (Classic). (w/o cropfactor) Therefore, these Zooms are pretty rare these days.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 12:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lloydy wrote:
......How about the M42 55 / 1.8 Mamiya Sekor ? It's possibly my best 50ish lens and it came on a dead Mamiya for �5.


There are two versions. The 6/4 first. And the 6/5, second and better.

Both cheap and very good lenses.


PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Canon FDn 100-300 f5.6
Not spectacular but can be very good. Very cheap and mostly unwanted.
Here are some samples.


#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I got a Cosina 28-70/4 Macro zoom lens for $8 at the thrift store that I really like.

Cosina 28-70 f/4 Macro by Michael Lee, on Flickr

It flares easily but then again I'm shooting directly into the sun

DSC01805 by Michael Lee, on Flickr

DSC01808 by Michael Lee, on Flickr

close focuses up to about 12".. from ~35mm to 70mm ..it doesn't limit the close focus to the long end like other close focus zooms

DSC01791 by Michael Lee, on Flickr

DSC01801 by Michael Lee, on Flickr

Very slight barrel distortion from 28mm to about 40mm. The barrel distortion becomes undetectable from approx 40mm to 70mm.

DSC01834 by Michael Lee, on Flickr

DSC01822 by Michael Lee, on Flickr

Bokeh seems fairly pleasing

DSC01838 by Michael Lee, on Flickr

lens sharpness is very good

DSC01842 by Michael Lee, on Flickr

I think this lens is also marketed as Revuenon Auto Zoom, Exacta and Voigtlander Zoomar

--mike


PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
leemik wrote:

I think this lens is also marketed as Revuenon Auto Zoom, Exacta and Voigtlander Zoomar

--mike


Nice samples! Nothing wrong with some flare, i like it! Some Cosina lenses are really worth using. True about the Revuenon, this is the same lens:
Revue AC5 Digital by René Maly, on Flickr


PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Great stuff. I especially liked the eyeball, thanks antico.


PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thank you. The setup was quite curious



PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 3:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
papasito wrote:
Lloydy wrote:
......How about the M42 55 / 1.8 Mamiya Sekor ? It's possibly my best 50ish lens and it came on a dead Mamiya for �5.


There are two versions. The 6/4 first. And the 6/5, second and better.

Both cheap and very good lenses.


How does one tell the difference?
I have one, and I think it's great!
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