Looking for uncoated/single coated flare monster ~50mm

[ckrook]

Hi,

I'm looking for a 50mm lens with no or really bad coating, to get some nice flares this time of year (autumn). I've already got one Helios 44-2 and one 44m, but I want to try out something older.

The goal is to use it on my 5Dmk2. Preferably m42 or Nikon F mount.

Any suggestions?

[iangreenhalgh1]

Find an old 1930s 35mm folding camera with a good lens - a triplet like a Radionar, Trioplan, Voigtar etc or a tessar like a Tessar, Xenar, Skopar etc. They are uncoated.

Youcan easily remove the lens, lock the shutter in the B or T position and use it.

I would suggest that you will need a 75mm or longer lens however otherwise you will only be able to focus a couple of metres at most on an EOS.

Look for a bad condition 6x6 or 6x9 folder.

Another option is an uncoated enlarger lens, there are plenty of uncoated Dallmeyer Enlarging Anastigmats and similar.

[Nesster]

If you don't want the bellows thing, many of the early M42 Japanese and German lower end lenses should do you good. Especially if they are sold as having many front element scratches A nice old preset should do.

My Retina IIc had the nicest light bloom with its lens, and that's from the 50s and by no means low end.

[kds315*]

Meyer Trioplan 50mm, uncoated, EXAKTA mount. Have that, works great...

[GeorgeSalt]

I have a couple of beaten, scratched 50s lying around doing nothing but taking up shelf space. I can test them for flare...

[Orio]

[DR.JUAN]

It's a shame that you don't use an APS cam, it let you put on almost any lens.

There are a lot of RF lenses of the 50/60's (30/40?) with some particular rendering, like the color skopar 3,5-2,8/50, or the color lanthar 2,8/50, the Voigtar wide open rendering seems a really impressionism work. And those were only an examples of the beauty touch of the past.

Zeiss, Ikon, Agfa, Isco, Schneider, Kodak, Rodenstock, Schatch, etc. There are a lot of brands with lovely lens with old rendering

[cooltouch]

Or here's another idea. Pick up just any old cheapo 50 that'll mount to your camera, then pick up yourself some very fine polishing compound. Hut Ultra Gloss Plastic Polish is particularly good because it was designed to restore the clear sheen to aircraft windows after they get old and worn from all the high-speed scouring that they have to endure. It is really a great polish. Put some of that stuff on both the inner and outer elements and just lightly scrub with a soft cloth. It may take a while but it'll remove the coatings, plus it will leave the elements nice and shiny. Highly reflective, which is what you want, right? I'm thinking that highly reflective, uncoated elements should produce a LOT of flare.

Just my 0.02

[bernhardas]

Edited

[Lightshow]

The nicest flaring lens I have is the early Super-Tak 28/3.5 with 58mm filter which is on the left.(not 50mm, I know)

http://photo.net/pentax-camera-forum/00Pkaj

[atiratha]

Or you could try taking pretty much any 50 and stick an old uncoated and possibly scratched UV/skylight filter on it. That should maximize any flares. Also, the Biotars (and the older coatings should help some compared to Helios) and Primoplans had nice flare so stick some UV on it and you're good to go.

[enliten]

Yashinon-DS 50 f1.4

seriously that thing flares like nothing else.

[ForenSeil]

Helios 44-2 can also flare like when sun is in front of you.
Actually it's not uncoated, but hey it works.

PS
You can remove coatings of every lens with caustic soda solutions (often sold as drain cleaner), hydrofluoric acid (very toxic! I won't recommend that) or simply polish them away with fine diamond lapping pastes or selfmade chromium oxide paste (Cr2O3 is sold as a green pigment in stores for artists or painters, you can also use green oil color with chromium base directly as polishing agent. Another source is green stropping paste for polishing/sharpening straight razors - it can be also used directly).

[enliten]

[ForenSeil]

[ZoneV]

Ckrook, I had the same wish. Thought about old uncoated lenses, but those are either too expensive or to slow and long.
Then I searched methods to remove the coating from cheap lenses.
Cause I don´t like chemistry, I went the polishing way - with some doubts about sharpness afterwards.

But now I am pretty happy. It is relative simple to polish the anti reflection coating away.
I have done this with a Helios 44 on all unglued surfaces, and a cheap zoom lens on the front ~6 lenses.
And with the Helios I made 1:1 comparison images with an unmodified lens, the polished lens still locks very sharp.

[Basilisk]

nice to see some examples here, especially before and after for those who have removed coatings!

[kds315*]

Would be nice ZoneV to see some images taken with both lenses to compare...

[ZoneV]

[ckrook]

Hi ZoneV,

Thanks for all the info! Since I've got two helioses I might just go ahead and try.
Is it easy to disassemble and assemble again?

[ZoneV]

[Eugen Mezei]

Great idea, destroy a working folder (or one that could be repaired, I've never seen one that couldn't) to produce kitsch flare autumn picture number 20000000014251245222.

Yes, I know the OP has the ability and decency to reassamble the lens/folder. Problem is the next hypster who will see that posting and will unpack the scissors to butcher the first folder he'll got in his hands.

Get any zoom from the 80-90s and it has more flare than you need.