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Choosing a fast wide-to-normal lens
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:50 am    Post subject: Choosing a fast wide-to-normal lens Reply with quote
Hello everyone here!
It's been many days since I discovered the wonders of MF lenses on digital bodies, and ever since i desired to buy one.

I own a Canon 1000D (so, it's APS-C), a kit 18-55 IS (which is f/3,5-5,6) plus the nifty-fifty (50/1,8 canon) and 55-250 IS.

I'm going straight to the point: i'm looking for a wide-to-normal fastish lens (24-35mm @ no least than f/2,Cool possibly cheap and showing a wild retro personality like swirling bokeh, nice colors and crazy OOF areas.

At the moment i'm after MIR-24N which seems to me a good compromise. Although i'm not certain that this will give me what i'm looking after.

Can anybody help?
Thanks!


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Welcome here! To make it simple, we are a lot looking ofr the same stuff Very Happy and it's hard to find... What do you mean by cheap?


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
ylyad wrote:
Welcome here! To make it simple, we are a lot looking ofr the same stuff Very Happy and it's hard to find... What do you mean by cheap?


Cheap = less than 100€ Razz

You know, many people told me to stop fussing with MF lenses and just buy a 17-55 f/2,8. But i thought that with the same money i can buy two or three crazy good vintage primes.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Canon 17-55 f/2,8 is selling in US for $999. Some MF prime lenses in the same focal length range F/2 or faster that fit Canon 1000D with inexpensive adapters:

M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.4/50 (ebaY US$90-125 or more)
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.8/55 (ebaY US$50-90)
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:2/35 (ebaY US$150-$200)

Nikon AI-S 2/35
Nikon AI-S 1.4/50
Nikon AI-S 1.8/50


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
visualopsins wrote:
Canon 17-55 f/2,8 is selling in US for $999. Some MF prime lenses in the same focal length range F/2 or faster that fit Canon 1000D with inexpensive adapters:

M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.4/50 (ebaY US$90-125 or more)
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.8/55 (ebaY US$50-90)
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:2/35 (ebaY US$150-$200)

Nikon AI-S 2/35
Nikon AI-S 1.4/50
Nikon AI-S 1.8/50


Yeah this is useful, but i'm definitely looking for narrower focal lenghts. I already own the 50/1,8 canon and i'm pretty fine with it. i could replace the kit zoom with some primes like 20-28-35-45.
Modern primes are pricey and not much better than a zoom.
What about oldies?

I heard yashica ML series featured many inexpensive, superb primes. Maybe i should get some?


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 12:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Choosing a fast wide-to-normal lens Reply with quote
shatteringlass wrote:
i'm looking for a wide-to-normal fastish lens (24-35mm @ no least than f/2,8)

The Yashica ML series is nice. The 28mm is a cracker, but if you're concerned about crop factor, then the 24mm is also a good catch, and you may be fortunate to find one within your budget, though people are cottoning on and the prices have been increasing. The 21mm is, in my opinion, a better bet than the Flektogon 20mm (I have them both), but it's outside your budget unless you get luckier than anyone has a right to expect. The 21mm however is f/3.5, which may exclude it from your criteria, and let in the 2.8 version of the Flek. The 35mm ML is a lovely lens. If you're looking for a 50mm in the YML line, go for the 1.4 or the 1.7.

The YMLs work well with readily available EOS-CY adapters, and my limited experience, admittedly anecdotal, is that they are better than some of the EOS-M42 adapters I've come across, whose tolerances have been poor enough to allow beyond-infinity focus. Not the same problem as not allowing infinity focus, of course, but it does mean that actual focus distances will not correspond to distance datum marks on the mounted lens.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Who knows, maybe i should keep money in pocket and save for a 5DMk2. FF is the true difference...or not?

Until i solve this dilemma...maybe a cheap MIR-24 is the solution?


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
shatteringlass wrote:

Until i solve this dilemma...maybe a cheap MIR-24 is the solution?

This is a lens that I can really recommend!


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
LucisPictor wrote:
This is a lens that I can really recommend!


Even on APS-C? i flickered through some snaps and i loved the close focus capability...i think i will be using it very much, more than my standard kit zoom...


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
visualopsins wrote:
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.4/50 (ebaY US$90-125 or more)
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.8/55 (ebaY US$50-90)
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:2/35 (ebaY US$150-$200)


NO! NO TAKUMARS! All the Canon and m4/3 people, buying up our Taks, driving up prices, till we Pentaxians can't afford anything better than Sears glass. NO! Buy Nikon or Zeiss or Pentacon or Exakta or Petri or the Russians or whatever. BUT LEAVE THE TAKS ALONE! [whimper whine moan groan...] Rolling Eyes


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
RioRico wrote:
visualopsins wrote:
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.4/50 (ebaY US$90-125 or more)
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.8/55 (ebaY US$50-90)
M42 Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:2/35 (ebaY US$150-$200)


NO! NO TAKUMARS! All the Canon and m4/3 people, buying up our Taks, driving up prices, till we Pentaxians can't afford anything better than Sears glass. NO! Buy Nikon or Zeiss or Pentacon or Exakta or Petri or the Russians or whatever. BUT LEAVE THE TAKS ALONE! [whimper whine moan groan...] Rolling Eyes


Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing


PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
RioRico wrote:

NO! NO TAKUMARS! All the Canon and m4/3 people, buying up our Taks, driving up prices, till we Pentaxians can't afford anything better than Sears glass.

No! Ignore him! Buy Takumars, those Canon b*****ds are buying Contax because of Canon's crap lineup in decent wides, and forcing up the prices for poor honest Contaxians who only want to put Contax lenses where they belong -- on Contax bodies.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
shatteringlass wrote:
Who knows, maybe i should keep money in pocket and save for a 5DMk2. FF is the true difference...or not?

Until i solve this dilemma...maybe a cheap MIR-24 is the solution?
I have an EOS XS -- same as your 1000D, just labeled differently for the States. I've had mine for almost two years now, and here's what I'd recommend:

For wide-angle shots, just stick with your 18-55IS. It's sharp as a tack and generally well corrected. If you want an ultra wide, then consider the Sigma or Tamron 10mm-whatever. Helluva lot cheaper than the Canon 10-22, and they've received good reviews.

That leaves lenses that are close to the 1000D's "normal" focal range and longer. Since even a 24mm won't get you down to a 35mm-equivalent of 35mm focal length, why pay the premium for a 24mm lens? Unless you already have one, I don't particularly recommend buying one for your 1000D.

With my XS (1000D), most of the time when I'm shooting with mf lenses, I'm using either macros or long telephotos. For the most part it does well with these lenses. The dinky viewfinder can be a real challenge for focusing, though, so I use live view whenever I can.

Another reason for using Live View is the XS/1000D's focusing screen. It doesn't work well with faster mf lenses when used at apertures wider than about f/4 or so. Literally, the focusing screen can't "see" when an object is in focus at wide apertures. So it's guesswork. This can get very frustrating. The only way around it that I know of is using Live View, or possibly replacing the XS/1000D's supposedly non-replaceable focusing screen with one that has a split-image circle, or buying a chipped adapter for the specific lens and then hope the adapter is accurate.

I can't speak directly about the 5D Mk II because I don't own one, but from what I've been able to ascertain, it does not have this problem. So, to answer your first question, yes, I'd save up for a 5D Mk II. That's what I'm doing. The XS/1000D is a decent little camera, but I outgrew it quite some time ago and now I find its shortcomings simply frustrating. Besides, with the 5DII, wide angles are back to being wide angles again. And if you enjoy the additional stretch with your teles that you get with your 1000D, well you can always keep it for telephoto work.

Unfortunately for me, the 5D Mk II's price is so much that I'll likely be shooting with my XS for quite some time before I can afford to buy one.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 3:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
In the spirit MFLenses, let me say lightly used 5D1 for less than half the price of 5DII gets FF digital for use with MF wide lenses.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 4:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quite true, but in the spirit of MF lenses as well, the reason why I recommend the 5D II is because you can focus mf lenses with it using Live View. The 5D doesn't have it. For some of the work I do, LV is necessary for critical focus. Maybe the 5D's viewfinder is big enough such that LV isn't necessary, I dunno. But I'd rather have it, given the choice.
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