Favorite "No Name" Lens

[Chris Watson]

I'm sure if you talk to most photographers, the lenses we talk about on here such as Helios, Super Takumar, and Jupiter-9 would elicit a much different response to what you'd see on here. Instead of "wow" or "awesome find", you'll more likely hear "what the hell is that?". But even in this community I'm sure there are brands most of us haven't heard of that are worth picking up for a few dollars. This is a thread to discuss that favorite no name lens you picked up at pawn shop on a whim and ended up liking it more than you thought you would.

While it's not the best lens in my bag, I have to say the Telesar 28 2.8 I picked up at a pawn shop for $10 is surprisingly neat. It doesn't have the "wow" factor of some of my other lenses but it does produce decent colors and has a macro ring on it that I wasn't expecting. It's great for detail shots as you can place the lens almost right on top of the object while staying in focus. It also produces a slightly "swirly" bokeh which is interesting. Like I said, not a name brand (even by this forum's standards) but pretty useful.

So what's your favorite no name lens and is it worth tracking down?

Chris W

[LucisPictor]

That's a nice idea, Chris!

These are the non-OEM lenses that I really like:

- Vivitar Wide-Angle 3.5/17 MC
- Vivitar Auto Wide-Angle 2.8/28 (Komine)
- Porst WW 1.8/35 MC Auto H
- Soligor C/D Zoom+Macro 3.8-5.3/35-200 MC (only on crop cams!)
- Soligor MC 3.5/70-220 Macro
- Soligor C/D 4-5.6/60-300 MC

OK, these are perhaps no "What the heck is that?" lenses, but non-OEM ion any case - and worth hunting for.

[Orio]

I have a Polar 35mm lens that does actually more than decently.

No it does not feature fur to keep it warm.

[Rolf]

Yes, nice idea.

Unfortunately most of the non-oem lenses are from always the same manufacterer like Tokina, Tamron, Kiron, etc. Only the brand name is different.

But I´m sure that our members own a lot of low-cost lenses - today we would say kit-lenses.

Here a link to a cheap Kalimar 3.5-4.8/35-70mm which I got as a free gift from the seller of my Hexnon 1.8/85mm. Never used it until today for these few shots into the botany.

http://forum.mflenses.com/panasonic-g1-t20948,start,15.html#220198

[rbelyell]

without doubt its my porst 35-105. i bought it when i first started collecting mf lenses, about 9 months ago. and though i check ebay religiously each day, ive never seen another copy.

[fish4570]

soligor 28/2.8. very sharp ...

[walter g]

JC Penney 135mm f2.8 first 3 digits of serial number 206.
Korean made. Grip is the same as the Korean made Hanimex. My guess it's made by the same manufactorer.

[FernandoB12]

Soligor 135mm f/2.8 serial number 22....very good, although the majority of 135mm be good

[Himself]

Dimension 135/3.5, my first 11"x16" print.

[RioRico]

Most brands that would be no-name elsewhere (Meyer, Enna, Isco, all the Russians) are all too well known here. All too many others are, as mentioned above, really Tokina, Kiron, Chinon etc. Skipping those, the cheapies that surprise me are:

* Hanimar Preset 135/3.5 M42 (US$18 NIB), a long tube with objective at front and otherwise empty, quite sharp at f/4+ and good as a primary for reverse-stacking 28, 35, or 55 for close macros

* Opticam 135/2.8 T2 (US$8), solidly built and sharp everywhere

* Tou / Five Star 200/4.5 PK (US$5), another that's surprisingly sharp

* Zykkor One-Touch 28-80/3.5-4.5 PK (US$17), not bad at all

The next time I drive south I'll peek in the Mexican pawnshops and see if any wonders jump out. I've been surprised before.

[LucisPictor]

I used to have a Weltblick 3.5/135 that was very compact and still very good.

[Attila]

Samyang 85mm f1.4

[dsmlogger]

I was impressed by a Quantaray 28mm f/2.8 M42.
Very decent wide open and very sharp @5.6. Also vey well built
Obviously made by Sigma but cheaper. It gave me some very nice results on my E-420.

My Porst 28mm f/2.8 was also VERY good. My copy was same as the Mamiya 28mm f/2.8. I sold it because it was too big and heavy for my E-420.

Porst 35mm f/2.8 is also very good. Very sharp and well built. Pretty big though. I don't really use it but I kept it for my collection (it rests on my Porst Compact Reflex).

[Nesster]

[woodrim]

I do like my Soligor 35mm T-4 lens. Sharp and contrasty. Even better is my Zeiss Flek 35mm f/2.4... oh, maybe you've heard of it - never mind.

Does anyone have experience with the Soligor 180mm?

[woodrim]

I should have also mentioned a Kalimar 60-300 zoom. Very cheap. It has surprised me with very decent quality. I had been looking for a 300mm lens, but have decided to keep the Kalimar just for that purpose. The M42 300mm lenses are mostly pretty large and no faster. I also question whether I'd get better pictures from one of them. Here is the Kalimar at 300mm with only 25% crop.

[seta666]

It has to be the cyclop 85mm 1.5 I just recieved, I can wait to test it