50mm and 28mm lens advices?

[KEzzAP]

Hi, I'm a Canon user addicted to MFlenses as all here I guess. (I use it for filming)
I have a Hellios 58mm 44-2 f2 but want to have a better one in a similar price range?
Actually two possibilities are available for me in this sense for now.
One is the Fujinon 55mm f1.8, that looks really sharp.
The other is the Auto Reveunon 55mm f1.4.
If I can increase my budget I might go for a Takumar 50mm f1.4; does it deserve it? (Of course, I read fantastic reviews about it.)


Secondly, I want to buy a 28mm lens.
What would be your advice.

Thanks in advance for your interest.

[Aanything]

Better than the helios 44 in the same price range is almost impossible, since it's a very common lens that can be still had for little money, and all the copies I had were good.
That said, the fujinon 55/1.8 is very good, it can be better than the helios for some uses, and the revuenon is one of the best options for a cheap 1.4 normal lens.
Don't forget the 55/1.8 takumar, which is just as good as the fujinon, and more common.

For 28mm on a budget I'd suggest the rmc tokina 2.8/28: sometimes it goes for very little, and it is surprisingly good - even if there are better (more expensive) lenses.

[marcusBMG]

Of my 4 28's - SMC-M, Tok RMC, Sigma miniwide II, Tamron 02B (adaptall) I would say they are all pretty sharp, but if I tip one I would incline to the RMC, warmer colours than the miniwide. I think this focal length is a pretty known, standard formula and, since most film slr owners had one, they are common and cheap. Easy to browse around, pick up one or two up to check out and see how you like. OEM 28's typically a lot more than 3rd party ones. Adapters for just about every mount available for canon due to short registration distance on canon cameras.

[LucisPictor]

If you want to achieve distinctly better results than with the "cheapish" (but still good) standard 50s (Helios-44, almost any 1.8/50), you need to invest some real money. Otherwise, you won't really spot the difference.

As far as cheap 28mm are concerned, look for a Vivitar 2.8/28 or 2.5/28 or the Tamron 2.5/28 (a little more expensive).

[marcusBMG]

Vivitars are a bit of a mixed bag, some good some not so good. Now that you mention it I have a Komine made viv 28 and it is inferior to the others I mentioned.

[Tedat]

For 50mm get a Voigtländer Color Ultron 1.8/50 or Planar 1.8/50 in Rollei QBM mount (there are adapters for Canon). You should see a difference, especially wide open.

For 28mm.. all the already mentioned lenses are nice and cheap enough.. I would add the Rolleinar 2.8/28 or Voigtländer Color Skoparex 2.8/28mm (same lens, different name.. also QBM mount) to the list.

[memetph]

The Helios 44-2 is a very nice lens but I will not recommend it for a general purpose lens with a FF camera. It is not sharp in the corners and subject to flare. A SMC 55 mm f1.8 or f2 is a better lens , easy to find in good conditions and for a reasonable price.
From my lenses , I would recommend also the Yashinon DX 50 1.7.
I like very much my Cosinon 55 1.4 which is similar to Revuenon,Chinon equivalents .It is a bit heavy but very sharp.

[strangelove]

I'm using Olympus lenses with Canon, and you can pick up both a 50/1.4 and 28/2.8 for under $100 a piece - good starting point

[Lightshow]

The 44 is actually a good lens, depending on which version you have, so finding a better lens for a similar price will be a challenge.
OM 50/1.8(with "Made in Japan" on the name ring) & the 28 or 24/2.8 are nice compact lenses.
Get the Super Multi Coated Takumar 28/2.8 and 50/1.4, both are good, the 55/1.8 has a different look/feel to it then the 50/1.4, the 85 is wonderful but not cheap, the 100/2.8 is a smaller lighter less expensive option.

[Layer-cake]

+1 for the tokina, great lens and I agree about the viv 2.5 its not too good! fun if you want shots with light flare.

the SMC tak 55mm 1.8 has very good qualities and can be had for super cheap, generally most 50mm will be good.

I would suggest have a look for lenses in your price category and search for reviews or ask what people think about them.

The Helios on the other is again a great lens, kinda hard to beat price wise considering the cost a pittance!!

[ForenSeil]

I think it's quite easy to find lenses which are better than Helios 44 for less than 50 bucks. Many Konicas, Minolta, Canons,....
But not many in M42 mount though.

My two cents in M42 mount would be:
SMC Pentax 50/1.7 is easy to find an should be better than Helios 44. (50/1.4 is great aswell but ususally much more expensive)
Voigtländer Color Ultron 50/1.8 / Rollei HFT Planar 50/1.8 (optically identical) maybe not easy to find for less than 50 bucks but not impossible)
....

Also Zenitar M2S 50/2 MC is optically better than Helios 44 but has a plastic build.


About those Vivitars and Revunons etc. - some are better but most are not.
btw. here's a comparision between Helios 44 and Revunon 55/1.7 and some other around 50mm http://forum.mflenses.com/a-little-comparision-between-some-cheap-50mm-lenses-t45319,highlight,%2B50mm.html

[memetph]

SMC 50 1.7 is a K mount.
i compared almost all my M42 standard lenses with the A7. The Helios are weak in the corners compared to others .
For llong distance photography with FF , I would recommend something else. With APS-C , it might be no problem.

[PhantomLord]

Hi,

As Aanything said: "Better than the helios 44 in the same price range is almost impossible", however there is a few lenses that you could find with a bargain price as well:
~50mm:
- SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 - I bought it for £5 but it had a little bit of fungus (it took me 20 minutes to dismantle lens, clean and reassembled it as it's really easy lens) - It works a lot better than helios in strong light, however it lacks something special for me . It's really sharp on APS-C and the built quality is great.
- Super Takumar 55mm f/2 - Usually a lot cheaper than f/1.8 version but they're the same optically, just different aperture values and paying extra for 0.2 of aperture stop is kind of dumb from my point of view. It's a little less sharp wide open than previous one, but has lovely bokeh and has "that" something, don't know what, but I really like the lens. I bought it for ~£8 in perfect condition. Here are few samples on Canon 600d: http://forum.mflenses.com/super-takumar-55mm-f-2-autumn-colours-t62029.html Oh and focusing is the smoothest thing I saw which for filming could be really good thing.
- EBC Fujinon 55mm f/1.8 - I bought one with sand in helicoid for £5, cleaning and relubing was easy but reassemblying was annoying and took me a few hours. The lens was nice, it didn't handle direct sun as well as Pentax-M, but it was ok, as I remember it was a nice sharp lens when stopped a little, but I sold it as I was gathering some money for the Rikenon 55mm f/1.4 Here are a few samples (with PP in Lightroom): http://forum.mflenses.com/ebc-fujinon-55mm-1-8-some-pics-t60889.html
- Ricoh Auto Rikenon 55mm f/1.4 - this one is more expensive (I paid about £50) but it's great lens, sharp from wide open, with beautiful colors and solid build. I really like this lens, despite it's a little prone to strong light. Here are a few samples: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mateuszmolik/sets/72157634284613385/
- Auto Revuenon 55mm - I didn't have f/1.4 but I had f/1.7 version and I didn't like it. It wasn't that sharp, didn't work well in strong light, bokeh wasn't my thing and overall feel of the lens wasn't good for me. However there's a lot positive comment on this lens, so maybe there's something wrong with me rather than with the lens .
Some time ago I made simple comparison of a few 50ish lens if you interested: http://forum.mflenses.com/five-50mm-lenses-test-rikenon-revuenon-porst-helios-t59487.html

As for 28mm I only have experience with two lenses:
- Vivitar MC 28mm f/2.8 which was nothing special and I didn't like the lens (I get this lens for free)
- Tamron 02B 28mm f/2.5 which is very nice little lens (which I bought for £7). It is reasonably sharp wide open, stopped to f/4-5.6 it's razor sharp across APS-C and I like taking it on my trips/walks with camera. It's not perfect, but it's more than good for me. Oh and it's great player with strong light: http://forum.mflenses.com/tamron-2-5-28-02b-bbar-mc-adaptall-2-t43154.html#1367719

To mess things up even more for you I just add that I love my Helios 44M-4 for portraits on APS-C and my copy is really sharp wide open with plenty of character.

Mateusz

[Tedat]

[Mr G]

Hi, I see from your original posting that firstly you are wanting to use the lenses for filming and secondly that you live in Turkey. What sort of filming do you do?, if it's predominantly low light then fast aperture lenses are a godsend, if not then u don't need fast lenses for filming and using them wide open has drawbacks. Yes nice shallow dof, but u will need a good set of high quality nd filters to control shutter speeds, and keeping focus with such shallow dof is hard.
Have you considered a short length, constant aperture zoom, and before I here the cries of blasphamy from the purist's here, if you are on a budget it makes sense.
I can wholeheartedly recommend one such lens as in the form of the Canon FD 28-50mm f3.5 SSC, admittedly not the fastest, but a gem of a lens If you can find one. Corrected for spherical aberration, coma and anstigmatism along with a super spectrum coating, if you can live with the light loss you have your 28mm and 50mm focal lengths and everything in between, giving you more flexabilty. It's as good optically if not better than many second party lenses such as Vivitar and Tamron etc and it even jaa a macro facility of nearly 1/4 life sze.
Be nice to see the response of other members on this!

[simbon4o]

About 28mm here some of my tests.

28 2.8 is version II(optics from pentax A 28 2.8 )
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2883/8980764850_2d5b752a02_o.jpg

Vivitar 28 2.8 CF included
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7410/8979570025_7bcc4eaff2_o.jpg

About 50mm

Pentax A 50 1.2 vs Pentax FA 50 1.4 vs KMZ Zenitar 50 1.7
Bokeh and sharpness test, SMC Takumar 50 1.4 is almost the same lens as the FA 50 1.4 so you can make conclusions from this test.

Pentax FA 50 1.4 vs Pentax M 50 1.7 vs Pancolar 50 1.8 MC vs Helios 44-2 vs Zenitar 50 1.7
This is more bokeh test but there are places where you can take a look at the sharpness. Consider the 8mm advantage of the helios(it may look more detailed because of the closed look.

All the crops are 100% when you open them in original size.

[KEzzAP]

Guys you are wonderful. I appreciate all of your answers. You can be sure that I read all of your replies and took them as advice.
I've started to look forward to all of your advices but there is a real handicap for those manual lens users in Turkey. I can't find those lenses available easily. However as I said I took all of your advices, and made a list out of them, search for them.

May I continue to ask about lenses that I find?

Because it is also difficult to find experienced people to have their recommendations here.

Moreover by saying in similar price ranges with "helios" I was a bit wrong.
Actually I have a 200 dolar budget for two of these lenses I want to buy.

[KEzzAP]

These are the lenses available in market and their prices:

PENTAX - M 50mm 1.7 .................60 dolars
Pentacon 50mm f1.8............. 60 dolars
Pentacon 29mm f2.8............... 110 dolars
Pentax Smc M 28mm f2.8 ........... 60 dolars
Rollei Planar 1,8 50mm HFT............125 dolars
Photax paragon 28mm f2.8............90 dolars
Soligor MC Wide-Auto 28mm f2,8.......70 dolars
Super Takumar 55mm f 1.8............125 dolars
OM mount Sigma mini-Wide 28 mm F 2.8 60 dolars
AUTO REVUENON MC 50mm F 1,7........... 75 dolars
Porst color reflex MC auto f1.7 50mm...........50 dolars
RICOH Rikenon P 50mm F1.7...................50 dolars
Yashica ML 50mm f1.9..............100 dolars
Rollei HFT Planar Carl Zeiss 50mm 1.8 ...........150 dolars
Rollei Rolleinar 28mm f2.8..................160 dolars
Pentax Super Takumar 50mm f1.4.............165 dolars
FUJINON FUJI PHOTO 55 MM F1.8.................50 dolars

[Lloydy]

[simbon4o]

PENTAX - M 50mm 1.7 .................60 dolars - Not a bad lens, but also nothing special. I use it when there is strong light in front because it has almost no flares. Aperture is not round even a little closed down(not good bokeh)
Pentacon 50mm f1.8............. 60 dolars - 3 times weaker lens than pentax 50 1.7
Pentacon 29mm f2.8............... 110 dolars Worst 28-29mm that money can buy probably
Pentax Smc M 28mm f2.8 ........... 60 dolars If it is version II - sharp one(I have tested it and own it), if version I - try to find II ot M 28 3.5
Rollei Planar 1,8 50mm HFT............125 dolars - not bad Singapore Planar with bad coating. Not soft but not sharp enough for the price and mostly - nothing special. C/Y 50 1.7 Planar is much better
Photax paragon 28mm f2.8............90 dolars - probably nothing special
Soligor MC Wide-Auto 28mm f2,8.......70 dolars - probably nothing special
Super Takumar 55mm f 1.8............125 dolars - not bad ultron type planar lens, not sharpest wide open, but equally sharp center/corner even on FF, nice defocus a little(1 stop) closed down. A little rounded 6 blade aperture - almost good.
OM mount Sigma mini-Wide 28 mm F 2.8 60 dolars - not bad wide lens, 24 2.8 II is even better
AUTO REVUENON MC 50mm F 1,7........... 75 dolars - never tried one, samples in internet are not something special
Porst color reflex MC auto f1.7 50mm...........50 dolars - probably the same as Revuenon
RICOH Rikenon P 50mm F1.7...................50 dolars - same as Pentax M 50 1.7 but branded Rikoh
Yashica ML 50mm f1.9..............100 dolars - too expensive for such a lens
Rollei HFT Planar Carl Zeiss 50mm 1.8 ...........150 dolars - same as the other
Rollei Rolleinar 28mm f2.8..................160 dolars - never tried one, but I think it is expensive
Pentax Super Takumar 50mm f1.4.............165 dolars - too expensive, I prefer Tomioka 55 1.4, they are sharper wide open and much cheaper. The Tak is not changes optically from the first SMC version to the F 50 1.4(AF) the AF version is with more curves blades of the aperture and new coatings. All are good after F2.0
FUJINON FUJI PHOTO 55 MM F1.8.................50 dolars - same lens as SMC Takumar 55 1.8

Personally me - take a look at the test I gave you with pentax 50 1.2, 1.4 and zenitar 50 1.7

[Layer-cake]

Are you looking on a local market to your country or are you looking on eBay?

if your OK with items being shipped in internationally have a look at this websites section for items for sale, im sure you will be able to find some offers for good prices!

[Aanything]

I happen to have some of the lenses listed above for sale, at significantly lower prices than the ones you listed (even including shipping).
Maybe you want to take a look here and see if there is something you are interested in.

[Lloydy]

I've got some for sale as well, a lot cheaper. But isn't shipping to Turkey way expensive ?

[Aanything]

[Tedat]