Your preferred 12 mf lenses and why

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

I never dreamed I could put an old lens made long before I was born on a modern camera and have so much fun, that to me was a revelation and opened up photography of all kinds to me, that for me is what is so great about threads like these, it shows what can be done and with the wide range of lenses loved by people for so many reasons it also shows how many great lenses are out there for us to discover and enjoy.

Still, like woodrim, I would love to own some of those Contax lenses...

Excalibur · Expire: 2014-04-21

***.......everybody has his own fave lenses. I'm not jealous with Orio's lenses, but if I got a chance to get let say.. planar 85/1,2 for cheap will be great***

Well my favourites are limited to my price level and if money was no object my favourites would change to the very best lenses. Wink

Also one advantage of buying very cheap lenses is you can try them and your favourites can change, first results from the Minolta 35-70 f3.5 bought for £5 is:- it could be one of my favourites zooms.

Some pond weed Minolta 35-70mm @70mm

Phenix jc · Joined: 19 Dec 2009 Posts: 398 Location: France

IAZA · Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 2587 Location: Indonesia

Excalibur · Expire: 2014-04-21

NewStuff · Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 847 Location: Wales, UK

Assuming my other half has her way, I won't amass 12 MF lenses!

In the meantime, my favourites are Pentacon 30/3.5 for ease of use, IQ and cheapness!

The Pentacon (See a theme developing here?) 300/4 for outright sharpness wide open at this kind of Focal length.

jsigone · Joined: 21 Oct 2011 Posts: 30 Location: San Diego, CA

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4060 Location: Charleston

Pancolart · Expire: 2013-11-18

NewStuff · Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 847 Location: Wales, UK

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

nixland · Expire: 2012-07-29

Great thread!! ... Very very interesting favorite lenses.
I am new in this manual lens world. Way behind you all Guys Smile

Still need more time to fully explore the character of my lenses.

natebarnz · Expire: 2013-01-23

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29

nice thread, lot of gems!

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

It's very hard for someone like me to find 12 favourite lenses and post representative and good shots, because I'm a poor chemistry student Wink

and I bought my DSLR only one year ago. I already had at least 40 manual lenses but most of them were cheap trash and I never took more than a few test shots with them. I sold most of them (also good ones) to refinanciate other lenses and cameras.

Samyang 8mm F3.5 MC Fisheye

More Pics of this series: http://forum.mflenses.com/samyang-8mm-f3-5-mc-fisheye-t41731,highlight,%2Bsamyang.html
It's the sharpest ultra-wide fisheye for APS-C ever and very flare resistant.

Minolta MC 50mm F1.4

Not very sharp, not very contrasty, a boring bokeh but great I like it anyway, espescially for B/W-Work.

Helios 44-2 58mm F2

Everyoine should know them. It's sharp, cheap and has a very special bokeh. I love it.

Fujian 35mm F1.7 (C-Mount)

Cheap, makes very special look.

Minolta MD Macro Rokkor 100mm F4

Very very sharp.

Zenitar M2s 50mm F2

Example is not very representative.
Sharper than Helios 44-2 wide open and great bokeh. Very great colors and contrast.
No Auto-Aperture switch Sad

I can only use it wide open.

Cyclop 85mm F1.5

Great bokeh. Great for potraits with a special look and close-up work.

Carl Zeiss Flektogon 50mm F4

This shot isn't really representative.
I love it because it's great for IR-Work (it has a red mark on focusing ring for this purpose), medium format coverage and it has great haptics.

Volna-3 80mm F2.8
[No representative shots online made by me]
Great bokeh and sharpness.

Tokina 17mm F3.5
[No representative shots online made by me]
Simply a very very good wide angle lens.

Konica Hexanon 40mm F1.8

Highly overrated I think. A lot of CAs and very soft wide open (look on sample pic) but still one of my favuorites, because it's compact and fast on NEX.

Konica AR 28mm F3.5

It's sharp an has great colors.

Ymmot · Joined: 24 Sep 2011 Posts: 168

Swappo · Joined: 02 Apr 2009 Posts: 327 Location: Sweden

Wow Orio, you really put some effort in making this thread.
And 12 lenses? Shocked

Usally these threads are like top-3 or top-5 lenses.

Anyway, since I've had the chance to try a lot of lenses during the last couple of years I'll play this game. Smile

It took me some time to think out what 12 lenses I like the most...
At first I didn't think that I was gonna find 12 lenses but in the end, I had to chose between several to make it just 12. Smile

And I also had to cheat... twice!

Here is my list, starting with the most prefered lens and so on:

1. Carl Zeiss Distagon 35/1.4 T* and HFT

Contax T* on the top, Rollei HFT on the bottom.

This lens has to be my number one lens(es).
I choose both the Contax version as well as the Rollei version snice it's basicly the same lens.
The Contax version has a nicer grip, while the thinner metal grip of the Rollei lens can a bit more uncomfortable to use on Canon 1D series cameras or when using battery grip.
I really like the triangular aperture blades on the Rollei version, but I would perhaps not like to have them all the time. Very Happy

This lens is really the only lens I would ever need (well, almost).
It's very versatile, it can be used for landscape as well as portrait and close up/product shots.
Unless I'm shooting sports or wildlife (including macro), I shoot like everything with it.
Sharpness, bokeh, contrast, rendering and flare resistance are really appealing with this lens.
Yes, it does have some LoCA and yes, normally that would really annoy me but with this lens... whatever. Smile

The rest makes up for it.

I think the example pics does show that it works for landscape as well as portrait, although it might be an (for some people) unusal choice for both.

2. Voigtländer APO Lanthar 125/2.5 SL

How could I not pick this lens in a list of favorite lenses?
If I had to choose just one lens, the Distagon would win if I got to chose with my brain because of it's versatility and the fact that I use it *alot*.
But if I got to chose with my heart, the Voigtländer would take that place every day.
Perfect for macro, the focal lenght is close to the usefull 100mm, but also a bit longer witch makes it good for shooting shy insects.
The wonderful bokeh of this lens makes it very suitable for portraits as well and eliminates the need of a 135mm lens for portraits.
I cannot praise this lens enough and if I'm gonna find something negative about it, it will be the price.
The high price makes me nervous about using it... And therefore it get used more and more rarely.

The example pic are taken on Zanzibar, before I knew about the price going crazy like that. Smile

3. Canon FD 500/4.5L

I've always dreamed about having one of those big, long, white telephoto lenses and sneaking in a hide early in the morning to shoot some rare birds or a bear or something...
And now I atleast have the lens. The early morning hide might have to wait for some time. Cool

I haven't owned this lens for a long time, but I could tell already after the initial test shots that this lens was good as any L should be.
About a week after I got it I got the chance to see what it can do; An (probably) escaped pelican had found it's way to a nearby lake.
We don't have any pelicans in Sweden, especially not this far north, so it was quite a big buzz about it.
A local newspaper reported about it and initially they just had a really lousy pic that some reader had taken of the rare bird.
Anyway, I located it up in a tree near a lake one afternoon, and the morning after I got there early. Took some shots, waited and after like 3 hours it flew away.
I followed it to another lake and took some more pictures of it swimming around fishihg. Smile

I mailed the pictures to the newspaper and yes, they bought 3 of my pictures of the pelican. I have been published before, but never have I get paid for pictures.

Back to lens... It's a joy to use. It's surpisingly light to be a 500mm with that speed.
I just hook it to my Black rapid strap and put my expandable monopod (works perfect instead of IS) on the other tripod socket and go out. I just love it.
My copy is really beat up, but glasses are without any big marks. But it's functionally is perfect in every way.

4. Contax Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 35-70/3.4 T*

I came across this lens when I was talking to a seller about buying a CZJ 20/2.8, and since I've read so much good about it I though that well, let's try it, so I grabbed it as well as the CZJ lens.
Initially I didn't like it much... Very slow handling, rotating front element, push zoom, pretty slow for handheld macro and hard to focus right etc...
But after a while I started to bring it with me and now I can't imagine going somewhere where I intend to take landscape shots without it.
But it's great for hikings. Great to have the focal lenght of the lens, very useful for landscapes. Sharpness and IQ is absolutley top class when stepped down.
This is my number one landscape lens, and the close focus is a super bonus as well. Sure, sometimes you want to go wider or longer, but many landscape pics are taken withing this range.
And now when I'm used to the slow handling of the lens, the only drawback still reaming for me is the rotating front element witch is annoying when using a polarizer.

My copy has already been on safari in South africa as well as on the top of mount Etna on Sicily and I hope to bring it along to several other places.

5. Voigtländer APO Lanthar 180/4 SL

The second of the APO Lanthars... The third one (90/3.5) does not fit on my top 12-list, but this certanly does.
There is no doubt this lens delivers. Sharpness, bokeh, contrast... It's all there. It even have a very good MFD, allowing it to be used for close focus shots as well.
Apart from those obviuos things, the reason I fell in love with the lens is it's small size. I almost always bring this lens in case I need something longer.
Like the example pic, where I suddenly saw an iceberg in a lake and had to take some pictures of it. Smile

Sadly, this lens recently have got competition in my camera bag from the Contax N70-200 Vario-Sonnar witch only is slightly bigger.

6. Contax Carl Zeiss Distagon 21/2.8 T*

Another lens I haven't had for so long yet...
This might be the ultimate ultra wide lens for landscapes. There is only one drawback and that is the flares that sometimes shows up.
The flare control is not up the the lens other standards in my opinion.
Anyway, example pic shows my girlfriend in the mall, just to show that this lens is perfect to use for other than landscapes as well.
It has found it way to my camera bag and might stay there for a long time. Smile

7. MC Zenitar 16/2.8 Fisheye

Fisheye can be realy fun to shoot with, but eventually you'll get tired of the effect and realize you don't get that many *good* pics.
So in my opinion it's an excellent thing to buy a relatively cheap fisheye lens and play around with it to see if it is your thing.
First I used to have the Peleng 8mm fisheye but I sold it when buying a 5D instead of the 40D I had before.
I did think fisheye was fun and with the good experience from the Peleng I decided to stay with russian made fisheyes and bought the Zenitar.
This lens is, stepped down, insanely sharp. And for me, I mostly use the lens stepped down.
Colors can in my opinion be a bit cold and pale, but other than that IQ is superb.
I like to bring it and play with it every now and then. It's a joy to use and I do sometimes get good results with it. Smile

8. Voigtländer Ultron 40/2

How can a small lens like this feel so nice? This lens has the feeling of a big Contax lens when turning the focus ring... If not better?
And still, it's so small. And the IQ isn't really suffering from the size either.
Ok, it does improve some when stepping down a bit, but I never hesitate to use this lens wide open.
It is an excellent travel partner along with my 5D when I want to travel light.
It works as a stand in for the giant Distagon 35/1.4 when I need to have to travel really light.

9. Canon FD 35/2.8 TS

35mm is my favourite focal lenght for almost everything so a tilt-shift in that lenght should be perfect then. Smile

I got to get to know this lens some more, but so far I'm very impressed.
The sharpness and IQ are very good wide open. This lens is for me a great way of trying TS cheap, like the Zenitar is for fisheye.
If I'm not gonna use it seriously I don't want to spend a fortune on a lens like that, because TS lenses are very expensive.
Anyway, this lens has a great feel to it and is easy to use. Only bad thing is that it cannot tilt and shift independently from each other.

10. Contax Carl Zeiss Distagon 28/2

The big Distagon 35/1.4's little brother. There is something about the pictures taken with this lens that is magical.
It just turns out very appealing to me. The close focus ability is a great feature.
The lens has a great feeling and is small, but a bit long for being such a wide and thin lens. It looks quite funny with it's hood attached.
I'm very happy about owning this lens, and sometimes I just pick it up, focus a bit with it and mmmmh, that feels soooo nice. Smile

11. Tamron 60B and Tamron 65B (300/2.8 and 400/4)

300mm on the top and 400mm on the bottom.
I cheat, I place two lenses on one post again. Smile

But for me they where very similar and I replaced the 300mm with the 400mm.

My first real supertele was the 300/2.8. It's a joy to use. It is light enough to be used handheld.
Shaprness wide open is amazing. It does suffers some from CA on wider apertures.
I had been reading that the 400/4 was supposed to be better and I had a hard time to belive it... But I had to try it. Smile

400/4 is a very good combination of focal lenght and speed contra size and weight.
I really would like to see more 400/4 lenses because it's very nice.
The 400mm was not as sharp as the 300mm, at least not wide open. But it did show less CA.
Stepped down, just to 5.6 it is very sharp. Sharpness wide open is totally ok.

The CA have not disturbed me with any of the lenses. But it can show up when shooting bright objects on wider apertures.
But if you are thinking about buying any of these lenses, don't let the CA be a deal breaker, becasue it's no big problem.
Both lenses are really bang fot the buck, and how many 400/4 lenses can you find beside this (I only know about the Canon 400/4 DO witch costs a fortune).
Edit: There is the Contax N400/4 also... but speaking of high prices. Razz

I do not longer own any of those lenses, but they really got me into bird photograpy for a (comparatively) small amount of money.

12. Voigtländer Color-Heliar 75/2.5 SL

I was looking to buy the APO Lanthar 90/3.5, but missed the auction and ended up buying this instead. I do not regret... Smile

This tiny little lens is very nice as a portrait lens. It has a very nice rendering witch is appealing to me.
The relatively slow aperture is enough to smear out the background but still give DOF enough for the whole face of a person to be sharp.
Just becase I've talked so good about this lens as a portrait lens, I show a landscape picture as example. Smile

nixland · Expire: 2012-07-29

Well, as I have mentioned in my previous old posts, I am catching up my lateness in this mf world as possible as I can. i want to taste all old great mf lenses ever mad before I die .. Smile

I dont mean to collect them though, only the favorite ones which character catch my heart most.
Sometimes my favorite changes if I discover some flaw that bother me, while others stays in my fav though have flaws:)

It's so hard to pick 12 lenses. I like all of them for now yet still need more experience to know their character. But if I have to pick, for now this is the list :

CZJ Flektogon 35/2.4
Pentax-K 50/1.2
Leica 50/2
Biotar 75/1.5
Leica 80/1.4 (I got it at very super cheap price due to beat-up body)
Rokkor 85/1.7 MC
Jupiter-9 85/2
Olympus MC 85/2
Rokkor MC 100/2
Olympus 100/2
Nikkor 105/2.5 ais
Zeiss Jena 135/3.5 MC

I feel guilty for my other lenses that not on above list because they're very good too ... Smile

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

So interesting, keep them coming!
(with samples, please! List with samples is 10 times more interesting, like I already said)

ManualFocus-G · Expire: 2014-11-24

Swappo, your shots are brilliant! Very Happy

The cat shot with the Zenitar is purrfect Shocked

Swappo · Joined: 02 Apr 2009 Posts: 327 Location: Sweden

heartcat · Joined: 31 Dec 2009 Posts: 371

Some wonderful lenses here and beautiful sample photos.

I don't have as many MF lenses as some, and my preference is for the inexpensive variations. My frugal side is what drew me to mf lenses in the first place, though their character and performance, and how they challenge me to be a better photographer, is what made me stick with them and even prefer them over modern af lenses.

Here are some of my favourites that I have sample shots of to share.

RMC Tokina 28mm 2.8. Perhaps my favourite lens. Easy to use, small and lightweight, great colour, contrast and sharpness straight out of the camera even from wide open. I love how close it can focus as well. Most of my favourite photos (excluding portraits) have been taken with this lens. $20 shipped, it is my best value for money lens. Two samples, so you can see how it performs in two different situations.

Helios 44-2 58mm f/2. I think everyone should have one of these, they are so cheap and so readily available. I like it for portraits.

Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135mm 3.5. My first mf lens. Always a good performer, contrasty with lovely colour. My most expensive lens at $120.

Nikkor-P 105mm 2.5 non-Ai. My only non-M42 lens. Another sharp lens with nice colour, and fast for the focal length. I needed a lens for lowlight for photos of a stage performance, and even in changing light conditions, and wide open, this lens produced great photos for the conditions.

Pentacon 135mm 2.8 zebra. It really does have lovely bokeh. Nice for portraits but also as an all around lens. Well built and easy to focus. This was taken wide open and is a significant crop of the original, but still pretty darned sharp.

RMC Tokina 80-200mm 4.5. Not quite as impressive as my Tokina prime, but zooms generally aren't. Tokina quality that I've come to expect. The perfect range for the country drives we like to take throughout the year. Also has a close focus feature, which is nice.

Vivitar 35mm 2.8. Tokina made version which turned me onto Tokina lenses. The Tokina natural colour and sharpness that I love. Another lens that will close focus.

My Jupiter 37-A is another hands down favourite, but I don't have any samples handy at the moment. Such a great lens for portraits and sharp as well. Will have to find a sample later.

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4060 Location: Charleston

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

Nice.

Lordcamel · Joined: 10 Jul 2011 Posts: 70