View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Oldhand
Joined: 01 Apr 2013 Posts: 6006 Location: Mid North Coast NSW - Australia
|
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 10:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Oldhand wrote:
vivaldibow wrote: |
Oldhand wrote: |
Perhaps if you can think about what you would be most likely to use it for, then we can recommend some lenses in a more restricted field.
Some people use 135mm lenses on full frame/film cameras as short tele landscape lenses. In this case the minimum focus distance doesn't matter.
Some use them as full frame/film portrait lenses. In this case the minimum focus distance could be a significant issue.
(On APSc digital, a good portrait length is 50mm-105mm depending on taste)
If you just want a general purpose short telephoto, then the comments that I have made elsewhere above will apply.
In my case I rarely use this focal length for landscapes, but more so for close and mid distance tele shots and the occasional portrait, but I prefer the 85-105mm for that on film/full frame.
For portraits on APSc, 50mm-85mm is my "go-to" focal length
Tom |
Tom, my use of 135mm is similar to yours. My post is mainly just for the sake of comparison. But like you said,
everyone has its strength. |
I went on a road trip last year and was shooting film on my Pentax ME Super.
I only took three lenses - all SMC Pentax-M
1.7/50, 2.8-3.5/35-70 and the 3.5/135
I also had a PK to Fuji adapter for my X-E2s
One morning I shot a whole sequence of landscapes with the 135mm lens - you will see why when you look at the picture below.
This SMC Pentax-M is a wonderful travel lens as it is so small and light, but has great optics.
I don't use it for anything else much besides landscapes, but it is so much better than my much loved Komura for this.
I wouldn't use the Komura for landscapes as this is not its strength.
Interestingly this SMC Pentax-M 3.5/135 lens will most likely not even make the short list of "best 135mm lenses", and yet its optics are very good. What sets it apart for me is its outstanding build quality, excellent ergonomics and its small form factor - perfect for travel
Tom
#1
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
vivaldibow
Joined: 23 Jun 2018 Posts: 835
Expire: 2021-03-09
|
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 6:42 am Post subject: |
|
|
vivaldibow wrote:
Oldhand wrote: |
Interestingly this SMC Pentax-M 3.5/135 lens will most likely not even make the short list of "best 135mm lenses", and yet its optics are very good. What sets it apart for me is its outstanding build quality, excellent ergonomics and its small form factor - perfect for travel
Tom
|
That is a nice shot. It looks especially good in B&W.
Somehow I like the Pentax M series as well. To me, they feel better than Olympus OM series mechanically (although also very compact). |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Oldhand
Joined: 01 Apr 2013 Posts: 6006 Location: Mid North Coast NSW - Australia
|
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 7:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
Oldhand wrote:
vivaldibow wrote: |
Oldhand wrote: |
Interestingly this SMC Pentax-M 3.5/135 lens will most likely not even make the short list of "best 135mm lenses", and yet its optics are very good. What sets it apart for me is its outstanding build quality, excellent ergonomics and its small form factor - perfect for travel
Tom
|
That is a nice shot. It looks especially good in B&W.
Somehow I like the Pentax M series as well. To me, they feel better than Olympus OM series mechanically (although also very compact). |
Thank you for your kind words.
Pentax generally are under-rated and undervalued in my opinion.
Takumars are the foundation for many of them, and their ergonomics and engineering are legendary.
The Takumar pre-set 3.5/135 is exceptional, and a different design from the SMC Pentax-M.
Here is another from that wonderful morning with the SMC Pentax-M
Tom
#1
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
cooltouch
Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas
|
Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2019 4:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
cooltouch wrote:
kiddo wrote: |
Yeah, I've seen very few samples for sale and always expensive for my pocket,but the results very good. Hope one day could get one..mm |
Guys, true story -- I found my Vivitar 135 CF in a local Camera Shop's "junk lens" box for $5. This store had several boxes of unwanted and unexciting lenses and flashes and other pieces of photo gear in the back of its store, with cheap prices on all of them. Whenever I went in there, I'd dig through the boxes, sometimes finding a gem -- like the time I found a Gossen Luna Pro SBC for $5. It had a sticker on it that read "four stops off." Turns out they hadn't bothered to check that the front dial had been moved four stops off center. Worked (and works) perfect. So, anyway, I'm back there digging through lenses, and I spot this Vivitar 135. Nikon mount. Very clean condition, especially for being in a junk box. Just another unloved 135 I was thinking, but I picked it up and just started messing around with it as I was talking with one of the fellows who worked there. Cranking on the focusing collar and all. And I look down and see that I've cranked this thing way out and its revealing all sorts of ratio numbers. And I'm thinking, holy shit! This thing is worth more than $5! So I crank it back to infinity, all surreptitious like, so the clerk won't notice what I spotted. Paid my $5 and beat a swift retreat outa there.
Now, at the time, the prices on that lens hadn't taken off yet, but within about a year or so of my purchase, they had begun to. Geez, glad I got it when I did.
Oh, and if you're wondering how sharp it is, go back and look at that shot I posted of the deep red colored rose, and judge for yourself. I have a lot of macro lenses and this Vivitar CF hangs in there with the best of them. _________________ Michael
My Gear List: http://michaelmcbroom.com/photo/gear.html
My Gallery: http://michaelmcbroom.com/gallery3/index.php/
My Flickr Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/11308754@N08/albums
My Music: https://soundcloud.com/michaelmcbroom/albums
My Blog: http://michaelmcbroom.com/blogistan/ |
|
Back to top |
|
|
cooltouch
Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas
|
Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2019 4:31 am Post subject: |
|
|
cooltouch wrote:
Oldhand wrote: |
Pentax generally are under-rated and undervalued in my opinion.
Takumars are the foundation for many of them, and their ergonomics and engineering are legendary.
|
Back in my salad days, when I had been mostly a Canon FD shooter and had just recently switched to Nikon (because of its AF upgrade path), I had the opportunity to take a trip with my future wife through some very scenic areas of the southwestern USA. At that time I had recently started buying and selling photo gear and I had a fairly heavily worn Pentax KX and several lenses among my inventory at the time, so in a bit of a lark, I decided to pack the KX with slide film for the trip. This was back in 1989, December, in fact. 30 years ago. Geez. Anyway, my then future wife and I saw some magnificent country and I recorded it all with that Pentax and a handful of Pentax lenses. Well, ever since that trip, my opinion of Pentax lens quality has taken an enormous leap forward. Ever since that trip, I refer to Pentax lenses as being not just sharp, but scary sharp. So, yes, I gotta agree that Pentax glass is undervalued. Or rather, some of it is. The Pentax brand however has such a fierce and loyal following that its users manage to keep the prices elevated on certain models of cameras and lenses. _________________ Michael
My Gear List: http://michaelmcbroom.com/photo/gear.html
My Gallery: http://michaelmcbroom.com/gallery3/index.php/
My Flickr Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/11308754@N08/albums
My Music: https://soundcloud.com/michaelmcbroom/albums
My Blog: http://michaelmcbroom.com/blogistan/ |
|
Back to top |
|
|
tromboads
Joined: 29 May 2012 Posts: 1782 Location: Melbourne AU
Expire: 2015-10-01
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 7:21 am Post subject: |
|
|
tromboads wrote:
Oldhand, That's some pretty sh1t right there!
I don't remember having an opinion of my M 135mm when I had it... Wait did the M have that build in hood that used to flop around? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Oldhand
Joined: 01 Apr 2013 Posts: 6006 Location: Mid North Coast NSW - Australia
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 8:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
Oldhand wrote:
tromboads wrote: |
Oldhand, That's some pretty sh1t right there!
I don't remember having an opinion of my M 135mm when I had it... Wait did the M have that build in hood that used to flop around? |
There is a built-in lens hood, mine is pretty good but a worn one might flop a bit.
These were taken at Bombo Rocks near Kiama.
Amazing morning with some huge seas running.
There is not much to show the scale here, but those rocks are around 30-40 feet high (10-13m)
I can't remember which lens for these two, but it may have been the SMC Pentax-M 1.7/50 or the SMC Pentax-M 2.8-3.5/35-70
An amazing morning and I loved every minute
Tom
#1
#2
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
tromboads
Joined: 29 May 2012 Posts: 1782 Location: Melbourne AU
Expire: 2015-10-01
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:40 am Post subject: |
|
|
tromboads wrote:
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
kds315*
Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 16497 Location: Weinheim, Germany
Expire: 2021-03-09
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 5:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
kds315* wrote:
Oldhand wrote: |
tromboads wrote: |
Oldhand, That's some pretty sh1t right there!
I don't remember having an opinion of my M 135mm when I had it... Wait did the M have that build in hood that used to flop around? |
There is a built-in lens hood, mine is pretty good but a worn one might flop a bit.
These were taken at Bombo Rocks near Kiama.
Amazing morning with some huge seas running.
There is not much to show the scale here, but those rocks are around 30-40 feet high (10-13m)
I can't remember which lens for these two, but it may have been the SMC Pentax-M 1.7/50 or the SMC Pentax-M 2.8-3.5/35-70
An amazing morning and I loved every minute
Tom
#1
#2
|
WOW, pretty amazing!! _________________ Klaus - Admin
"S'il vient a point, me souviendra" [Thomas Bohier (1460-1523)]
http://www.macrolenses.de for macro and special lens info
http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos for UV Images and lens/filter info
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kds315/albums my albums using various lenses
http://photographyoftheinvisibleworld.blogspot.com/ my UV BLOG
http://www.travelmeetsfood.com/blog Food + Travel BLOG
https://galeriafotografia.com Architecture + Drone photography
Currently most FAV lens(es):
X80QF f3.2/80mm
Hypergon f11/26mm
ELCAN UV f5.6/52mm
Zeiss UV-Planar f4/60mm
Zeiss UV-Planar f2/62mm
Lomo Уфар-12 f2.5/41mm
Lomo Зуфар-2 f4.0/350mm
Lomo ZIKAR-1A f1.2/100mm
Nikon UV Nikkor f4.5/105mm
Zeiss UV-Sonnar f4.3/105mm
CERCO UV-VIS-NIR f1.8/45mm
CERCO UV-VIS-NIR f4.1/94mm
CERCO UV-VIS-NIR f2.8/100mm
Steinheil Quarzobjektiv f1.8/50mm
Pentax Quartz Takumar f3.5/85mm
Carl Zeiss Jena UV-Objektiv f4/60mm
NYE OPTICAL Lyman-Alpha II f1.1/90mm
NYE OPTICAL Lyman-Alpha I f2.8/200mm
COASTAL OPTICS f4/60mm UV-VIS-IR Apo
COASTAL OPTICS f4.5/105mm UV-Micro-Apo
Pentax Ultra-Achromatic Takumar f4.5/85mm
Pentax Ultra-Achromatic Takumar f5.6/300mm
Rodenstock UV-Rodagon f5.6/60mm + 105mm + 150mm
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Antoine
Joined: 08 Jan 2016 Posts: 298 Location: London
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Antoine wrote:
Indeed amazing pictures and surely great moments! _________________ Antoine
Sony A6000 APS-C and Sony A7 Rii
Minolta Fisheye MD Rokkor 7.5 mm f4, Fisheye MD 16 f2.8 MD R 17mm f4, MD R 20mm f2.8, MC VFC & MDIII 24mm f2.8, MD 28mm f2.0 &3.5, MD II 35mm 1.8, MD 45mm f2.0, MD 50mm f 1.2 & MD I f1.4, MC PG 58mm 1.2, MD 85mm f2.0, MD R 85mm f2.8 Varisoft, MC 85mm f1.7 MD R 100mm f2.5, MD R 100mm f4.0 macro, MD III 135mm f2.8, MD R 200mm f2.8 & 4.0, RF 250mm f5.6, MD 300mm f4.5, MD APO 400 mm f5.6, RF 500mm f8.0, RF 800mm f8.0 *2 300-s and 300-l
100 mm f4 macro bellows (5/4)
Vivitar 17mm f3.5, Elicar 300mm mirror f5.6, Zhongi turbo ii
Sigma 16mm f 2.8 fish eye
Zooms:24-50 mm f4, 35-70 mm f3.5 macro, 28-85mm f3.5-4.5, 50-135 f 3.5, 70-210 f4 and MD APO 100-500 mm f8 |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Oldhand
Joined: 01 Apr 2013 Posts: 6006 Location: Mid North Coast NSW - Australia
|
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 7:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
Oldhand wrote:
Thank you all for the kind words.
I got a little distracted in showing images from the shorter focal lengths.
Clearly the shorter focals are sharper.
Nevertheless, the 135 is a delight to use.
Here is another from that sequence using the SMC Pentax-M 3.5/135
Tom
#1
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
woodrim
Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4060 Location: Charleston
|
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 4:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
woodrim wrote:
Nice pictures, Tom.
The question of best 135mm, or any other focal length, comes up every now and then and always gets a plethora of responses and never a definitive result because there isn't one.
I think each person has to come to that answer on their own after some research and trial. Looking back at the impressive list posted by MIR, I see one of my favorites that did not appeal to him. My own experience with 135mm or any other focal length and how I come to an appreciation is based on how I react to several factors. The feel of the lens is one but not necessarily the most important. I began with sharpness being my primary concern but it didn't take long to realize that it really wasn't the most important characteristic. Today, I value a combination of things such as speed, minimum focus distance (MFD), and bokeh characteristics but not necessarily in that order. There are examples where I favor a slower lens because of its bokeh.
About two years ago I realized that my usage didn't match up with what I thought were my favorite lenses. Since I file all my images by lens type, I was able to make a list of most used lenses. Among my (too many) 135mm lenses, my favorite isn't a 135mm, it's a 133mm, Tair-11. It is followed very closely by Vivitar Series 1 2.3/135, then Primotar 3.5/135. However, since going full-frame, I've gotten a new appreciation for the Orestor and have been using it more. Among those top three most used lenses, the Tair provides very good sharpness, reasonably short MFD, and outstanding bokeh. The Vivitar S1 has an even shorter MFD, greater speed, and is the sharpest. The Primotar is slow, not very close focusing, not as sharp, but has such a unique and interesting bokeh that I love using it.
I have several more that I could easily enjoy using more. I had not used my ISCO lenses due to their long MFD but that has been solved by use of a focusing helicoid. The ISCO and my Komura lenses are really quite good, I just end up going with the top three most of the time. I should also mention that I have an old Rokkor that I also like. _________________ Regards,
Woodrim |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|