WANTED: MACRO/WIDE/PORTRAIT

jacob12_1993 · Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 8:37 am Post subject: WANTED: MACRO/WIDE/PORTRAIT

Hi
Im 16 and ive really started getting into photography in the past couple of years, I have a D40, Zenit E and Zenit 11. Im after expanding my lens range of which I have the standard 18-55 kit lens and an 50mm-E 1.8 Nikon AI lens, I love the nikon mf prime due to its sharpness and great low light capabilities. My main interest is in Portrait photography and Landscape. I was just wondering if anybody had any MF lenses in nikon, m42 mount such as:

Any wide angle prime around the 18mm mark
A longer prime around 90-140mm mark
A macro capable of atleast 1:2 such as the takumar 100mm f4 or the nikon 55m f3.5?

Thanks in advance

Jake[/img]

jacob12_1993 · Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 9:11 am Post subject:

p.s a cheap but good 35mm prime would be nice too, but i dont have much money atm so i would probably not be able to afford

also aesthetical condition is not an issue as long as the optics are good, and dust free

my_photography · Expire: 2016-12-25

Welcome to the forum Jake.

One of the lens that you should check it out is the Helios 44 series.It is a 58mm f2 lens. Can do portrait and some sort of macro. Do a search and you will find a lot of photos in this forum. It is easily available and at very affordable price. But let Nikon users to confirm if you can use the lens on your camera.

jacob12_1993 · Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 9:51 am Post subject:

Hi my-photography

I forgot to mention i have the helios and the industar 50 on the zenit cameras and I have yet to try them on my digital camera because i thought they were just cheap and nasty lenses. I will definately try them out however they are both around the 50mm mark which i have covered it is really the 15-20mm/35mm/90-140mm ranges which i want to purchase some new lenses in.

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

Hi Jacob, welcome to our forum!

Using M42 lenses on a Nikon might be a problem for you for landscape pics. Nikon cameras are slightly deeper from the lens mount to the sensor or film surface than other 35mm camera mounts and so, to focus properly, M42 and other lenses designed for cameras with less depth need to be closer to the sensor than a Nikon allows. This isn't a problem with close subjects, in fact you can focus more closely, but it means that distant subjects can never be brought into true sharp focus. The range of focus, the depth of field, changes with smaller aperture settings and different focal length lenses, but it never quite reaches infinity.

There are two ways to overcome this, you can use an adapter with its own lens to change to the focal distance or you can often adjust the infinity setting on the lens itself. Optical adapters are generally thought to degrade a picture slightly but I've seen some very good shots taken with one, good enough for me anyway. Adjusting the lens is sometimes very easy, but ideally it's something to avoid, especially if you ever want to sell the lens again.

We have lots of people here with more experience of using Nikons than I do, so I'm sure they can advise you better. Good luck!

Oh, and the Helios 44 and Industar 50 lenses may be cheap but they most certainly aren't nasty! That remark is going to get you some replies I expect Smile

Do a search for each of them on the forum and you'll find lots of great pics with them.

jacob12_1993 · Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 12:56 pm Post subject:

thankyou for the replies so far, with the wide angle lens would it be possible to use a hyperfocal distance method for focussing?

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

The hyperfocal distance is the minim distance you can set on the focus dial and still have distant objects in focus with the minimum aperture. With an M42 lens on the Nikon, you will still need to set the lens dial on infinity, although actual focus will be around 20m, and stop down as far as possible. True, wide angles give you more scope. I don't know how this works in practice with Nikon cams as I've never owned one. Please wait for someone more knowledgable to answer Wink

Scheimpflug · Expire: 2011-11-18

jacob12_1993 · Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 2:10 pm Post subject:

thanks for your reply scheimpflug, im in england and my budget is probably max about £30 a lens maybe £50 if its a bargain, i presummed that it would be hard to get a full frame lens around 18mm but i thought there might have been the odd one Sad

ive been looking at the 135mm and im very interested in them but they go for upwards of £60 on ebay :/ If possible i'd rather spend more on one good quality lens than say 3 poor quality ones that i wont use and end up selling on or chucking, if you get me Smile

CameraRick · Joined: 21 Apr 2010 Posts: 77 Location: Berlin - Germany

Scheimpflug · Expire: 2011-11-18

jacob12_1993 · Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 5:29 pm Post subject:

a20010494 · Joined: 15 Feb 2010 Posts: 396 Location: Perú.

I read sigma XQ 18mm f3.5 is very good (not stellar) and some say it's a dog. It's a small priced glass which i would consider.

jacob12_1993 · Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 6:39 pm Post subject:

ive scanned the internet but cant seem to find any for sale, if anybody knows of anywhere with a sigma 18 f3.5, vivitar 18 f3.5 or spiratone 18 f3.5 that would be great Smile

sichko · Joined: 20 Jun 2008 Posts: 2475 Location: South West UK

aoleg · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 1387 Location: Berlin, DE

Actually... no one has recommended Russian "A" mount lenses so far. And those do come with M42 mount usually - but - they can be easily adapted to Nikon by means of an inexpensive T2 mount from which only an external part is to be used (the Russian "A" mount is just that, an external part of the T2 mount).

So, your 135mm lens could be either MC Jupiter-37AM (a very nice one, clone of Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135/3.5, often sold for $60 and less in EX condition) or Tair-11A 135/2.8 (a beautiful lens with wonderful bokeh, but fetches closer to $110-120 in EX condition).

In 100-something mm, don't get any other lens than Ai or AIS Nikkor 105/2.5. This is something special, a true gem in Nikon land. Ai versions can be had for around $140 in EX+ condition, $175 for AIS.

However, there's also Kaleinar-5N 100/2.8, a Russian-made lens that comes close to said Nikkor at a fraction of its price. (OK, I have vested interest here as I'm selling one right now: http://forum.mflenses.com/fs-mc-kaleinar-5n-100-2-8-nikon-or-m42-mount-t28408.html )

Most probably, you won't be able to get a decent 17-18mm lens for your budget. In wide angle, MC Mir-20H ("H" stands for "Nikon" mount) 20/3.5 is the best option, or Arsat-H 20/2.8 (see my review here: http://www.prime35.com/arsat-h-20mm-f-2-8/ - these are still available new in box for $113 from several eBay sellers).

A good 35mm lens to fit your budget would be MC Mir-24H (35/2 in Nikon mount) that can be had for around $84 (I paid that much for mine).

As always with used lenses, don't be tempted by Buy It Now "deals" offered by some (most) eBay stores. Those are usually (but not always) seriously overpriced.

Scheimpflug · Expire: 2011-11-18

sichko · Joined: 20 Jun 2008 Posts: 2475 Location: South West UK