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Inexpensive, fast portrait lens with 13-16 aperture blades?
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 5:39 pm    Post subject: Inexpensive, fast portrait lens with 13-16 aperture blades? Reply with quote
Hello.

Were such lenses ever made? (by portrait lens I mean something in 40-60mm range)
So far, I haven't seen anything with more than 8 aperture blades, faster than F2.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 6:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
What's your definition of "inexpensive?" And what type of camera will you be mounting your lenses to? If its MFT or mirrorless, you have options that DSLR owners don't.

A few of Canon's old screw mount (LTM) lenses fit your requirements, but these days they've become quite expensive. Go here and browse through the listings:

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/lens/s/50-85.html

Many of the lenses have the number of aperture blades listed and all of them that I looked at have more than 8. I think it's safe to say that, in general, lenses with manual irises have more aperture blades than lenses with auto irises.

Last edited by cooltouch on Sun Jan 04, 2015 6:26 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
In soviet lens range, as i know:
Jupiter-9 (85mm) have 15 blades version.
Helios-44 on Leica m39 mount have 13 blades version.
Mir-1, "silver" version also...


PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Inexpensive generally means image quality equal to competitors in given price range, i.e. lens should be usable for what it is designated, not an collectible item. Mount has no importance, I own both types of camera bodies.

For soviet lenses, I have Jupiter 9 and Helios 44 with 13 blades, but I want something faster, say 1.2 or 1.4 aperture.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you are using a mirrorless camera, an old jupiter-3 is the first lens that I thought of reading your description.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
SK Xenon 1.9/50 or 2/50, various mounts available

Early 50s Xenons had 20 blades then reduced to 16 then by seventies its five rounded


PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
CuriousOne wrote:
Inexpensive generally means image quality equal to competitors in given price range, i.e. lens should be usable for what it is designated, not an collectible item. Mount has no importance, I own both types of camera bodies.

For soviet lenses, I have Jupiter 9 and Helios 44 with 13 blades, but I want something faster, say 1.2 or 1.4 aperture.


The LTM Canon 50mm f/1.2. 11 diaphragm blades. Canon also made a LTM 50/1.4 with 9 blades, and a 50/1.5 with 13 blades.

Years ago, when I was a camera dealer, the 50/1.2 had little value. It wasn't particularly collectible -- almost none of the Canon LTM stuff made in the 1950s was -- and it was perceived to be a soft lens. I owned a couple back then and they sold for about $70. Which was about what a decent used 50/1.4 SLR lens sold for back then.

Well, these days, the Canon LTM gear from the 1950s has become more collectible, but the main reason for the steep increase in prices for the LTM 50/1.2 is because folks with mirrorless or MFT cameras have found that it is not soft at all, and is in fact an excellent optic. This is mostly the reason for its increase in price.

So, using your own definition then, its price has become competitive with similar optics and thus the lens is worth consideration. I wish I still owned one. I've seen pics taken with a NEX and this lens and they were quite impressive. Here's a Flickr group dedicated to the Canon LTM 50/1.2:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/1117967@N20/pool/


PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The only lens that I have that fills your definition is the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 40mm f1.9 ROBOT lens with 14 blades that cost me $150.00. This is a specialty lens as the ROBOT camera was designed to take square photographs on 35mm film. It also uses a 26mm screw mount. It will give a full frame image on an APS-C or micro 4/3 camera, and has only minor vignetting in full frame.

It is a high quality lens both build and image quality. Then, I haven't owned a Schneider-Kreuznach lens that wasn't high quality.


PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Cooltouch did not mention the Canon LTM 50 1.8 which should be less expensive than the other 50 LTM Canons.
I have the first version which has 10 blades. The iris stays circular enough when you stop down.
It is sharp enough in the center at f2 to be a nice portrait lens. It has a nice bokeh which is not nervous but nevertheless contrasty.


PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
My experience: Jupiter 3 50/1,5, CZ sonnar 50/1,5, voigtlander prominent nokton 50/1,5


PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Analog lex wrote:
In soviet lens range, as i know:
Jupiter-9 (85mm) have 15 blades version.
Helios-44 on Leica m39 mount have 13 blades version.
Mir-1, "silver" version also...

The Helios 44 is not Leica mount, but is M39, it has the same registration as M42.


I must agree on the LTM Canon 50/1.2, it's sharper than what the old feedback would suggest.

Preset and non-Auto lenses generally have 9+ blades, Auto lenses generally require quick response which required the number of blades to drop to 5-8.


PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have a Will. Wetzlar Vastar 2.8/50 V, very tiny, with 12 blades.
I got it for 33€.

http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic,p,201441.html#201441


PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 11:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
memetph wrote:
Cooltouch did not mention the Canon LTM 50 1.8 which should be less expensive than the other 50 LTM Canons.
I have the first version which has 10 blades. The iris stays circular enough when you stop down.
It is sharp enough in the center at f2 to be a nice portrait lens. It has a nice bokeh which is not nervous but nevertheless contrasty.


Yeah, I didn't mention it because he specified something in the 1.2 to 1.4 range. I figured 1.5 was close enough to 1.4 to mention it. I've got to agree with you about the 1.8. I have a Serenar 1.8 that I was lucky enough to acquire with a camera -- a Canon IIIa -- paid $250 for the pair and I felt very fortunate to get the set for that price. That 1.8 is an impressive lens. I've recently bought a 39mm adapter for my NEX just so I could use that lens at high resolutions. Prior to this, I used an LTM/39mm adapter for M42, which is just a ring with threads inside and outside, to see if I could get any pix with my DLSR. They were real, real close macro lenses -- looking at tiny bugs on acorns close -- but that lens is incredible the detail it offers.


PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
oops, sorry, I didn't pay enough attention to the fast factor when talking about the Will westlar vastar 2.8/50.
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