Looking for a good low light lens

[dropmyload]

Friends

Greetings to all from sunny Nairobi Kenya!

I have a Canon 60D and have the usual 50mm 1.8 II lens, which isn't giving me good low light pictures. By low light I mean indoor shots of the wife, kids, etc etc. Usually the shutter speed is so slow and autofocus isn't sharp.

I also have a few manual focus lenses which are en-route to me here in Kenya.

I was wondering, is there any good particular low light lens I can get for such family/indoor shots? Id prefer M42 as I already have an adapter.

Thanks so much!!

[IAZA]

At first I will suggest Yashica ML 55/1,2 but for M42 only Tomioka I know. it's really not cheap and rare
buy non M42 lenses with adapter is better solution, there're Olympus Zuiko, Nikon, Canon FD/FL, Pentax etc. all give good results

[fuzzywuzzy]

[ManualFocus-G]

Mir24-N - 35/2 in Nikon mount (Mir24-M for M42 mount is also available but more desirable = more expensive)
S-M-C Takumar 35/2 in M42 mount
Nikon 28/2 is very sharp (I have a pre-AI version)

All of these will give a good field of view on crop.

For portraits, look at the Carl Zeiss Planar 50/1.4

[Orio]

I think that the best low light lenses that you can buy with M42 mount are either the
old Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 1.5/75 (but good luck in finding one), or the new (but discontinued)
Carl Zeiss Planar 1.4/50 ZS.
For the Biotar, your only chances are Ebay or second hand shops such as Keh.
For the Planar, you may still find it in regular shops, provided that they have it in stock (Zeiss
has stopped producing it about one year ago).

[ManualFocus-G]

I would suggest that you shouldn't limit yourself to M42 because you already have an adapter There are plenty fast lenses about in mounts other than M42, which may be cheaper than the popular M42 lenses, even with the cost of a new adapter on top.

[LucisPictor]

+1 to what Graham said.

Your EOS is capable of using so many fantastic lenses. There are for example amazing Zuiko lenses that are very fast as well (but also pretty expensive).

Anyway, an adapter will be easy to find for Zuiko OM, Nikkor, C/Y, Leica etc.

So, just keep your eyes open.

And a nice "Hello" back to Kenya.

[Socrates]

If you want to break your bank: Canon 50mm F1.0. One of my favorite lenses... price tag: 3000-5000$ used.

Otherwise the Canon 50mm F1.2 does a nice job at a much lower price.

The Minolta Rokkor 58mm F1.2 is another decent lens, especially for the price it goes for on Ebay.

[dropmyload]

Thank you everyone!!

Wow, so much info so much to digest!

I'll keep looking along the lines you have all suggested and will report back when I get a lens!!

Cheers!

[kuuan]

Because the price difference is staggering, a f1.2 will cost 5 times or more that of 1.4, and because the dof at f1.2 is that shallow that it won't be best for photos of kids moving around, personally I would take a f1.4 /50 over a 1.2/50/55/58. Any 1.4/50 of any of the main manufacturers is good, if M42 Takumar should be a great choice.

Graham's recommendations of fast 35mm and 28mm lenses are very good. A 50mm on a crop camera will be rather for portraits, for action of kids the wider angle must be favorable

[hoanpham]

Relatively cheap:
Olympus G 55/1.2, 50/1.2/1.4, nikkor ais/non-ai 50/1.4, Yashica tomioka 55/1.2, Samyang 85/1.4, Mamiya Sekor 55/1.4, takumar 50/1.4

I have no fund for AF option for these

[John Poirier]

[hoanpham]

I can agree that f1.8 is fast enough for most cases, or you can bump iso a bit. Consider 50/1.4 were widely available in film era that can be bought for relatively cheap. F1.4 has its unique properties when compare with f1.8, and also f1.2, just a bit fastr glass, but lots of different in term of bokeh and rending.

[Mos6502]

The difference between 1.8 and 1.4 isn't very big exposure wise (and in M42 you'll have a tough time finding lenses faster than 1.4).

It might be better to try using a flash - if that is possible.

[DSG]

[IANUS]

[yinyangbt]

If it's about playing around and having fun with MF lenses you allready have too much suggestions . But you have to see (as somebody allready said) that the 50cm lenses are a little long for regular indoor family (and action shots) You have to go wider to cover a "normal" angle with APS-C camera , so 28-35mm as fast as it gets . Kiron 28/2 , or some 35/2 as you allready received the suggestion. Better , if you afford , Contax 35mm 1.4 in C/Y . (I'd like one too ) The 1.2 lenses are very fun , but the DOF is so thin that the fast moving subjects are hard to keep in focus.Better suited for not moving subjects.
That's for the manual focus lenses .
But if it's for just taking snapshots of your family in low light accurately , then I suggest a Sigma 30mm /1.4 .Very good lens for this job .Autofocus .Fast , sharp and good. Not too small , not too light : around 485g , if I remember well. Well balanced on the camera.Very sharp in center , softer on borders , but you won't be disturbed by this in real life , belive me .
I know , this is a MF lenses forum , maybe some are going to be ...disturbed?! I love MFL and the feeling , their quality and use mainly and mostly MFL in the last year... but for the job you mentioned , this is the best practical solution , at a fair price (some 360 - 450$)I had one used , loved ,sold it (to get a NEX for my beloved Rokkors and Fujinons )... and want one again : in Sony E mount(nex) ,when it is going to be available . This is my opinion. Of course , there is also the Canon 28mm/1.8 .
And don't forget : UP the ISO !

[dropmyload]

Thanks everyone. I'm overwhelmed with all the suggestions.

I'm currently using a Canon 50mm 1.8 nifty fifty, but now am trying it in manual. I also am planning on a Helios 44 to compare.

Once again, many thanks to all!

[ManualFocus-G]

A Helios 44 is actually longer at 58mm and slower at f2...might not be the best option for low light indoor work.

[abe in space]

Is anyone else kind of skeptical that good images can't be made indoors with a 60D and a (roughly 80mm equivalent given crop factor) 1.8? Because it sounds like the OP might be allergic to ISO if that's really the case. Have you tried higher ISOs? The 60D really does have great low light performance, and shooting at 18MP you shouldn't be too bad off. Are you sure the manual focusing with that crummy, tiny focus ring, and your (potentially) moving subjects aren't the problem? Have you had better luck trying it with AF?

I also definitely do not understand the recommendations for longer faster lenses, because that's just trading one problem for another; with an 85mm 1.4 he'd get more aperture, yeah, but he'd need to have to make up for it with a faster shutter speed; those lenses are a LOT heavier than his mostly plastic 50mm 1.8, and we'd be talking about an equivalent 136mm focal length. It's unlikely to be a net gain.

The Samyang/Rokinon/allthoseotherbrands 35mm 1.4 is still heavier, but given the faster speed and the shorter focal length, I think that might be the best option here, if a higher ISO isn't an option. And it's got a bloody fantastic manual focus ring by comparison.

You might also consider trading up your 50mm/1.8 for Canon's 50mm/1.4; you'd be paying around $200 more there, as opposed to around $500 for the Rokinon.

[ManualFocus-G]

OT a little, but images from the 7D/60D/550D/600D models can get very noisy at high ISO if the exposure is a bit too short and images are subsequently pushed. Decent enough images are definitely possible even up to ISO 6400 if you expose correctly.

[abe in space]

Yeah, you can definitely do it wrong, but with my 600D and that lens he's talking about (mine is actually its older, slightly heavier cousin) I don't even have to go above 1600 to get an exposure right on target. I can get it at 800 if my hands are particularly steady at that moment. And my home is pretty dimly lit.

But, to each his own. Again, I'd recommend that Rokinon 35mm 1.4 ideally. Shorter focal length AND faster, at an insanely reasonable price for what it is.

[DSG]

[mfkita]

Keep in mind that when shooting @ 1.4 the depth of field is next to nil
....@ 1.4 it's impossible to get a one person completely in focus let alone two in focus in one frame

So getting a 1.8 or 2.0 would be both cost effective and better for the shooting you want to do.....

MF with the nifty50 is difficult because that focusing ring up front is a bit loosy-goosey and there's no room for that at 1.8

Better to bump the ISO to 3200 and use NR later so you can use F2.8 and a faster shutter speed to stop subject action (and hand-shake)....

Good luck and good shooting... [/u]

[abe in space]