I've hit a jackpot few months ago, buying old M42 Pallas Auto 135mm f2.8, im absolutely in love with this lens. Im having a blast, watching my friends and other people, who buy brand new automatic lenses for big bucks, while i spend less than 100 dollars for a cool vintage lense. It's magical, to use fully manual lenses, it brings so much fun to turn those rings, and get a photo that will put a big smile on my face. Very cool and informative video, cheers!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with vintage lenses. After watching your videos, I decided to purchase the Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm F1.8 as my first vintage lens purchase. I'm shooting it on a Lumix G7 with the Fotasy M42 Lens to M4/3 Focusing Helicoid Adapter. As you mentioned in the video, this lens focuses very close, but the helicoid adapter gives me a second option to use it for great macro shots with a simple little twist of the adapter. This has been so much fun and sure beats screw type extension tubes. I really love this lens and adapter combination. The results I'm getting with this lens far exceeded my expectations. I would encourage others to give this lens a try. Thanks again for all the hard work and the really wonderful videos.
Thank you for sharing. The 30/3.5 Lydith was bulit later as a Pentacon 30/3.5 with same lens design - these are usually cheaper than the Mayer-Gerlitz -- but not less good ;-)
Great video and a wonderful way to spend 15 minutes! Great tips on where to find them as well. Always worth trying inexpensive lenses, you never know how good a rendering they may provide!
Great video. I have the following M42 mount lenses Pentacon 29mm f2.8, Prinzflex 135mm f2.8 and a Albinar 200mm f3.5. I love them all especially the 29mm
Olympus OM Zuiko 1970..80s lenses that are omitted in this video for being not M42, beat everything mentioned here. By the way, some original M42 Zuikos do exist. Old silver-nose 100/2.8 performs at the level of a first generation white Canon 70-200/2.8L IS in terms of sharpness, if not corner falloff and colour rendition. I have a collection of Zuikos - 28/2.8, 50/1.8MC (beats similar QBM-mount Rollei-HFT 50/1.8, which is excellent), 50/3.5MC Macro 1:2 (with extension tubes), 100/2.8 (silver-nose, i.e. first version), 135/2.8, and 35-70/3.6. Mind you that top-range Zuikos (mostly from /2 range, as well as shifts and specialty macro for varifocal tube/bellows - “bellows group” in old Olympus lingo, 20, 38, 80 and 135) are highly sought, can be extremely hard to find and are priced prohibitively, mostly for the reason of being originally produced in rather limited quantities. Lucky are those folks who managed to grab them in 2005..2008 when this glass was really cheap, and keep hold of it. As for Helios-44, there are almost two dozen modifications by different factories and of different age. Quite notably, when I compared a number of various Helioses of different vintage and made by different factories, none surpassed the original CZJ Biotar 58/2 from 1947 (with 40.5 mm filter thread), which Helios-44 was a clone of. The comparison was done on EOS 5DsR in 2016 with live view. I think I'll repeat it at some point on Sony A7 IV (while it has 1.5 times less pixels, it allows absolutely precise focusing) or maybe with an A1. T-43 40/4 from Smena 8M is indeed much more interesting than I remember it from my childhood years, but since it was, together with Smena-8M itself, the most mass-produced photographic lens ever, beat only by smartphones that are manufactured in even higher quantities, it has extremely wide sample variability and inherent problems stemming from not only its price but optical design as well. While it is surprisingly sharp in the center, - so sharp in fact, that it could not be imagined or achieved on anything prior to modern mirrorless cameras, - corners greatly suffer from field curvature, which is noticeable even on m4/3 sensors, let alone anything bigger. I have it adapted for Sony mount using an LTM39 helicoid from Industar-26, and this modular conversion allows me to use it on anything that can take LTM lenses.
I have a nice collection of Takumar and Super Takamar from my Pentax days. I use them in astrophotography because they generally excellent manual lenses, I have a Tair 300mm lens, weighs a ton but excellent as is the Russian Helios 44mm F/2 . I have an excellent Takumar 300mm (rare) pin sharp. Astrophotography is the best way to test any lens. Sharpness and other lenses issues. M42 thread is a common fitting for many modern astrophotography cameras, especially those made by ZWO. I have been collecting Nikkor El lenses as they make excellent lenses for close-up use and they transmit UV well for UV photography as do my old Steinheil. lenses, not an easy track to pursue. Thanks for sharing your wonderful presentation.
A nice review. However, it should be pointed out that not all M42 mount lenses will be fully usable using an adapter. The desrirable Fujica EBC lenses designed for their ST801, 901 and ST705w have a coupling pin on the aperture ring that links to the meter for full open aperture exposure readings. Sadly, as this pin sits slightly proud it prevents the lenses from fitting flush with the lens flange on adapters. Also, as far as I know, there is no adapter that will permit stopping the lens down. This has to be done with the A-M switch on the lens itself. Not all M42 lenses have this facility and as far as I know, certainly not Fujinons. A work-around is to use a small piece of duct tape to keep the aperture pin pressed in and then the aperture can be controlled by simply turning the aperture ring.
@@Simonsutak Simon, going off on a tangent somewhat, I have just purchased an adapter that accepts Fujifilm AX mount lenses and which can control the lens aperture in a pre-set mode. I am sure you will have come across old PSD lenses where the chosen aperture is set and a secondary control manually moves the aperture from fully open to the selected aperture. My adapter is for the current Fuji X mount, but there are others. Sourced via eBay at around £20.
i like the photos from the oreston 50mm. those colors seem to pop nicely after PP'd. thinking about adapting to my canon which already boosts colors a bit-
I have had lots of luck with Rikinon vintage lenses by Ricoh. Inexpensive when new, and inexpensive in vintage kit as well. I use the excellent 28mm f2.8. A simply delightful lens. I also use the 50mm f1.8. It is very similar to the 50mm f2 Takumar but it is $20 less expensive! They can be had most economically in Pentax K mount.
I traded on eBay for eight years buying, cleaning and repairing old manual focus lenses and selling them on. I tested all lenses on my Fujifilm X-Pro1. Here's my thoughts: Meyer-Optik Orestegon 29mm & Meyer-Optik Lydith 30mm - the quality of these is very variable. Although I have had the odd good one, even those have not been good enough to be worth keeping. Takumar 28mm - ALL Takumars are good. CZJ Flektogon 35mm - very, very sharp in the centre, but they need to be stopped down to f11 to get really sharp corners on APS-C sensors. Never had a Yashica 35mm - quite rare. MIR 1 37mm - lots of veiling flare that obscures any sharpness. Industar 50mm - very soft glass and its hard to find an unscratched one. Not a Tessar copy but a Leica Elmar clone. Helios 44-2 - soft glass again, but very good if unscratched. CZJ Tessar - again watch out for scratches. Somewhat variable in quality but good ones are very sharp stopped down to f8. Meyer-Optik Oreston 50mm - A nice clean example is a worthwhile buy. Very sharp centre at all apertures, requires stopping down to al least f5.6 for sharp corners. (The Pentacon 50mm f1.8 is the same lens optically and a good late multi-coated version is even better than the Oreston, but they are more variable in quality.) Yashinon 50mm f1.7 - a good lens, but there are many 50mm just as good. Still worthwhile. CZJ Sonnar 135mm - truly great lens, everybody should have one. Sold hundreds and never tested one that wasn't excellent. Sharp right into the corners at all apertures on APS-C sensors. Pentacon 135mm - very variable in quality. I wouldn't bother.
Thank you so much for these insights - really helpful. One message that comes across strongly is the variable quality of these old lenses. And of course, it's not just in terms of original quality control, but also how they've been treated/repaired over the years. If you look at the cheap Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Domiplan 50/2.8, even the way the screws are screwed and re-screwed into the rear element barrel can make a big difference to IQ, apparently. Good to see good words for some of the lenses, including the Sonnar. On the Orestogon and Lydith, I don't disagree with you. I was careful to observe that they are best as a kind of surrogate fast fifties with unusual bokeh closer up, especially on crop sensors. Given your invaluable experience, it would be great if you could point out any other vintage lenses in any mounts that don't cost a lot, but you found them to be excellent performers.
@@alun7006 the Konica 40mm f1.8 can often be had for under $50. I was lucky with the 57mm as if was attached to a camera at a yard sale. Owner didn't know what they had, snagged it up for $20. Probably my best thrifting deal I've come across camera wise.
A great video! I have been trying out the Helios 44-2 on my Fujifilm X-T3.........Absolutely love it! Will definitely be looking into of your advised lenses:)
Just picked up a Tamron SP90mm F/2.5 for £50 which is a terrific lens on my Em1 MkII and would suit any digital or film camera I think. It also does 1:2 macro and with an extension will do 1:1.
I just wanted to point out that, though I love my takumar 28mm f3.5, it does NOT adapt well to dslr cameras. The flange distance is too short, and the mirror will hit the back of the lens and get stuck when you capture the photo. It might work once or twice first though. However it works perfectly fine on my Canon R6 and any mirrorless. Happy shooting!
How about a Nikkor-Q Auto f4 20cm? I just got one - a late 1962 build - in great condition (attached to a 1967 Nikkormat FT N that works), for NZ$81. I launched it in the garden yesterday (on an old Olympus E3) and it absolutely rocked my little world. Today, we're off to the beach. Happy days....
All of my vintage lenses are M42, I’m rocking the Helios 44-M 58mm F2 SMC Takumar 50mm F1.4 Rare SMC Takumar 24mm F3.5 I also have a Chinon 50mm F1.9 but I haven’t adapted it to my BMPCC4K yet
Hey Simon :) thanks for the nice Video, 9:55 you mentioned the radioactive Yashinon-DS 50/1.7... When someone have a problem with radioactivity and still would like to buy this type of lens he could buy the previous model, the Yashinon-DX50/1.7. I have it and testet mine and it is´nt radioactive. I dont know if it is performance wise the same but still for the price ( I payed for an almost mint copy 17€ with shipping) its worth a try 😉 My best bargain.... 🤔 I would asume my Fleki " imposter german Flektogon Zeiss 35/2.8" bought it for 20€, fungus, haze and bend aperture construction at least the focus was working😅... let me put it this way... I had an interesting loooong weekend (now its like new)🙃
If it's about M42, there needs to be a Takumar 50/1.4. Either the Super-Takumar or SMC version, also the 6 and 7 element versions. All are great! :D If we're not taking budget into consideration, the Pancolar 55/1.4 sold with the Pentacon TL camera is a true bokehlicious portrait gem... unfortunately it's expensive AF.
Hi, your programs are very informative and inspiring. I happen to have several M42 vintage lenses and can fully relate to how much of true photography enjoyment they give. I have though one lense from the legendary Pentina (the original Carl Zeiss Tessar!) that I am clueless about how to mount it on the today's F mount of Canon camera. The original Pentina mount is apparently simillar to Exacta or Pentax, but I think it is anyway proprietary. Any suggestions?
Very difficult to know about the thorium glass in some older lenses especially M42 mount Takumar. As in radioactive. Also getting rid of the "yellowing". I have that 28mm f3.5 Takumar, and the 55 F2. I need lens hoods, can you suggest one for each that fits? I've looked around and the ones made for the lens, hard to come by, and hard to know if they fit.I used both lenses with my first camera Pentax SL, used in college in the early 1970's. Which adapter for Sony E? I have bought the latest K&F adapters with matted interior and chrome mount. I also have Nikon and Canon lenses, similar vintage.
Many thanks for the highly informative video. May I ask why you recommend only the zebra version of the CZJ 135mm f/3.5? Have you had any issues with later versions? From what I can see, the later version seems to have a different coating (the striking orange/pink one that many CZJ lenses have), but I would have assumed that coatings are the only optical difference.
Yes, the later ones have multi-coating (MC). I personally prefer the lesser coated earlier lens, because I prefer the dreamier rendering of blur. I haven't seen any issues with the later versions. When I posted the video, there were some zebra versions for sale on-line, at cheaper prices than the non-zebra versions, so that was a consideration too.
While Nikon still has some nice vintage lenses it really hurts to know, that as long as i have F-mount, i'm not able to adapt a single of these lenses. I really like my cheap little 50mm pancake lens from Nikon, but still. Great video though.
I shoot close with Nikon F. I even use a thin extension tube if the lens poses a potential collision threat. You loose infinity but I think the magic isn’t there but at closer ranges.
As you see from my post below, I own some Sony A mount cameras and I have found the best adapter is the K&F Concept one. A bit more expensive, but the quality is very good.
Hey Simon I've come across your videos a fair few times now and I am always pleasantly surprised by the no nonsense, straight forward common sense advice. It's so easy to get caught up in the minutia and pixel peeping that gear heads of my generation are guilty of. Your videos are brilliant and honest, thanks for making them.
My "best value" bargain lens was the Pentacon 50mm f1.8. Generally less than £20 - with very close focus and super dreamy, creamy bokeh wide open. At f5.6 both my Pentacons are very sharp indeed.
I've watched most of your videos, and you never mentioned Fujinon 55/1.8 EBC. Why? I hear this lens is amazing. And very inexpensive, too... Probably because you never mentioned it, LOL.
I've got the M42 Fujinon 55mm f1.8, non EBC version and mentioned it in one video. I like the lens a lot. the sharpness and bokeh rendering is very good. At least in the UK, it can cost around £75 to £100 for an EBC version in good condition, so it doesn't fit easily into my bargain lens range.
Hello Simon, Thanks for the video! I'm a "vintage lens junkie", so I got loads of confirmation bias from watching this! The world of M42 (and a few others like the Exakta you mentioned, as well as the Praktica B-mount, Pentax K-mount etc.) is really massive, and not only are there bargains to be had, but there are mountains of truly excellent kit laying around doing nothing. I have started to shoot film again, so of course I got myself a Praktica MTL5b (M42 mount) to make use of all the lenses I have invested in so far. I also use all my vintage glass on my digital Micro 4/3's camera for doing pictures and video (hobby grade I have to add). Here is a curated list of my favourites (my apologies, it turned out to be quite a ramble) - Wides angles: Chinon 28mm 1:2.8 - A pleasant enough lens. Better for video than portraits for my style of shooting. Helios 28mm 1:2.8 - A Japanese "Helios", not an old Soviet model. Quite cheap, better as a wide-angle than the Chinon, although not as well made. Mir-1B 37mm 1:2.8 - A real gem - grab it if you can! My copy is not the "Grand Prix" model, but it's great to use. You can still get good copies of this lens for well below £50 ($60), but be patient. People are snapping these lenses up in order to modify them for anamorphic video, so thus the demand (and therefore pricing) is creeping up steadily. "Nifties": Helios-44 58mm 1:2.0 - Note that this is an older lens than the 44-2, and was my gateway drug into this whole vintage glass lark. A bit "wonky" with age, but the glass is clear and it's bokeh is totally OTT. I will never sell this lens! Helios-44M-4 58mm 1:2.0 - I use this as my "default" lens on my Praktika SLR, because it's the auto-aperture version of the 44. Very little to choose between the two when shooting digital. Jupiter-8 50mm 1:2.0 - I have two copies of this lens. It's actually an M39 Leica mount, but adaptors are widely available for digital use. I use them on digital only (flange distance is all wrong for SLR), and they are awesome lenses. Nice and small, and relatively fast (f2.0). The good thing about the M39 mount is that the flange distance are quite short, so even with an adapter this lens makes for a lovely compact solution on your digital camera. Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm 1:2.8 - Got this as the kit lens with my Praktika MTL5b. Very underrated, lovely colours and controllable creamy bokeh. These lenses are thankfully plentiful and cheap, a worthy lens for any collection. Industar-26M 52mm 1:2.8 and Industar-61P 52mm 1:2.8 - Basically the same lens, the 26M is the earlier version of the 61. Looks almost identical, works exactly the same. The 61 has more "modern" coatings, so does not flare as readily as the 26M. Like the Jupiter-8 it is also a Leica M39 mount, but works very well on both film and digital. The Industar-61 is one of the sharpest lenses you can buy at any price, and they are as cheap as chips. Like the Helios-44, they were made in droves as kit lenses with Gorki and Fed range-finder cameras, so you can literally kick one out from behind just about every other bush. Get yourself a 61, they are fun to use. E. Ludwig Meritar 50mm 1:2.9 - Got my copy with a broken Praktika Nova SLR from a charity shop, paid £12 (approx $15) for it. A bit slow at f2.9, and he barrel is not particularly well made - there is lots of movement in the aperture ring. The internal mechanism is solid. What makes this little lens special is its triplet design, and it sports some excellent quality glass. When shot digital it behaves very much like a (almost infinitely more expensive) Mayer-Görlitz Trioplan. Being a triplet it's not particularly sharp, but it has some gorgeous saturated colours - almost too much. Of all the lenses I have bought so far, this one was the biggest surprise. The best-spent £12 ever! You can get good copies for between £15-£30. Teles: Pentacon Prakticar 135mm 1:2.8 - I bought this one accidentally (I thought it was an M42 mount, instead it is a Praktica B-mount), but it turned out to be an excellent lens. These are not expensive - beware of paying more than £25 for one (unless it's the 15-blade version, which can go a bit higher). Jupiter-37A 135mm 1:3.5 - If you can get this lens for a good price (or it's predecessor, the Jupiter-11), you simply cannot go wrong. It's built like a piece of Soviet artillery, and it's a really great "short telephoto". Bokeh is creamy and controlled, and colours are on the cool side (towards the blue spectrum) with my copy. Unfortunately they can be a bit pricey (upwards of £70), so shop around patiently and you can get one for £50 or less (I think I paid £42 for mine). Well worth the expense, this is a lovely lens. Crop-sensor moderns (native M4/3): 7artisans 25mm 1:1.8 and 7artisans 55mm 1:1.4 - OK, these are not vintage, and neither are they "bargains". I include them because they are excellent "native mount" manual primes for crop-sensor cameras. The 25mm one is a nice small pancake portrait lens, very good for portraits and mild "wider angle" pictures. The 55mm is simply a brilliant lens, a true "modern vintage". It has a relatively short focus throw, which makes it a great for dynamic situations. The f1.4 makes it nice and fast too, which is useful for night photography with no flash. As you can see, my "habit" is out of control! :-) The good side of all this is that it keeps me excited about taking pictures, and it gets me out of the house and into the open air.
Hi Jan, Thank you so much for all these great ideas and descriptions Incredibly helpful and interesting. We definitely share the habit. I use a different lens every day, and it brightens up my walk to work no end. It's good to think that these wonderful old lenses are investments as well, as the better ones are appreciating in value. Having said that I now find it hard to part with my lenses. Towards the start of my collecting habit, I sold lenses to try to cover the costs, and with careful and lucky finds, that was possible to achieve. I sold some really good lenses for quite a significant profit and then found others.... The Japan made Helios 28mm you mention was one I sold (I'd have kept it, if is was USSR made, as it wasn't an expensive), because I picked up a Pentax SMC K 28mm f3.5 to go with the Takumar 28mm, and the Pentax is a class above... However, looking through my collection now, there's not a lens I'd willingly sell right now. I've enjoyed reading through your comments, and agree with them all, except perhaps for the E. Ludwig Meritar. I picked my copy up for £10 in an antique shop in Petworth, Sussex, with the camera as well - the lens is the old zebra version. So not complaints. I just can't get my copy to sing. But it is fun to use with a rather eccentric pre-set mechanism. Thanks again for your comments, Simon
@@Simonsutak Too bad about your zebra Meritar. I have a second copy here that I am about to CLA. I just need to make sure it's a "blue-moon-on-a-Wednesday" kind of day, so that I have all my courage in the right place... I cannot find anybody willing to work on these cheap oldies in Surrey even if they were worth it from a value perspective - which means I have to do it myself. Somewhat terrifying, even if the lens is ultra cheap. If it's any good I can send it to you to play with. It would be good to see how it performs against your zebra model. My thoughts are that they might have had a few QA issues with these lenses, so I suppose a comparison will quickly prove/disprove that idea.
That Takumar 200mm f4 is one of my very favorites. It's just about always in my bag.
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just recently i managed to complete my M42 lineup. i have the pentacon lineup: 28/2.8, 50/1.8, 135/2.8, and i'm happy as a pig in mud. they work beautifully on my a7ii, and doing almost everything manually is just such a nice throwback to my youth. btw, me sticking to pentacon is because my father -- who passed away when i was just one year old -- "left me" his pentacon super TL camera with a zebra pentacon 50/2.8 lens. that's the camera i learned photography on, mostly on my own. sadly the 50/2.8 is now nearly unusable, its spring broken, but the 1.8 more than makes up for it. i also have a carl zeiss jena 200/2.8, but that is a MONSTER. i still need to find a solution to put a mounting ring on it, because there is no way i'm gonna risk my trusty sony by trying to mount the camera to the tripod -- the lens is like at least two times the weight of the camera itself. there is something special about these lenses, and it's a testament to old craft how sharp and beautiful they still are on modern digital cameras.
Hey! how sharp do you find the pentagon 28?? many people says is not sharp enough...
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@@arboldechorizos it's a matter of taste. in general the pentacons are not super sharp nor flawless, but they have character. i can shoot some test footage if you're interested.
Please add your own suggestions for good bargain lenses, and thanks to everyone who already has added lenses. Here are links to the different sections: 2:00 Fisheye and wide angle, less than 35mm 4:34 Classic walkaround 35mm 5:56 Pancakes and 40mm 7:08 Fast fifties 10:38 Macro 11:05 Portrait 13:39 Bokeh monsters 135mm 14:34 Telephoto 150mm plus
One vintage telephoto not mentioned much is the totally manual Pentacon 300m f4 with19 aperture blades. I found one that was a local sell and as I found out, by a seller who was not a photographer and just wanted to get rid of it. The seller could not properly describe it so I offered her $40.00 USD and it was quickly accepted. This was in January 2021. Since that time I have used it for migrating Trumpeter Swans including one beautiful shot while in flight, and for voluntary work at my church in very dark conditions. Both times were wonderful with the only exception being it's five pounds of weight as I rarely use a tripod. This lens had very quickly become my favorite telephoto for my Pentax K1.
At my local thrift store, I walked by that Vivitar 75-205 3.8 in a Nikon mount for two weeks. It was in pristine condition, but at $20 it wasn't worth a pointless purchase (doubting I'd ever use it). One day a worker asked what I'd be willing to pay, and I said I'd pay $5, just to be polite. I took it home and put it on my D750 set on a manual b/w. I took a shot, (what???) corrected focus, took another and my knees went weak. It was like I was the still photographer on the set of Dr. Strangelove. I guess I've said enough.
Any love for the vivitar 50mm f1.9? It came with my vivitar 400SL with a 200mm f3.5 that I haven’t shot much film with but love the look adapted to my digital camera. Not so much with the 50mm… I will say that the 50mm produces some nice bokeh, that may even be a tad swirly. I haven’t shot wide open on film yet but it’s very present adapted to digital… Worth a look since the 50 goes for incredibly cheap on eBay and is reasonably sharp stopped down.
In terms of good value 35mm lenses, do you think it's worth it to buy the SMC Takumar 35mm f/3.5 over an older Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5? For example, I bought my copy of the Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5 for $45 USD back in 2020. I think this is a fantastically sharp lens, at the expense of multi-coating. I use it on my M42 film SLR and adapted to my Fuji mirrorless camera with excellent results. I don't really think it's worth spending the extra for the SMC Takumar. Do you?
The Sony 16-50 OSS Kitzoom has a way bad reputation, and also heavy distortion, but i've figured out, since the earliest copies when it was being introduced, somehow, it does give my subjects some kind of 3D Pop, for real. And i am shooting ~35 yeas with Vintage lenses, well back into the day, it wasn't being "vintage" after all, but current tech on my SLRs from various brands, mostly Minolta, Nikon, Contax & Yashica. That being said, i like my Yashicas. And i prefer _always_ character lenses, instead of tack-sharp lenses, with otherwise flat rendering, which are boring to hell. For instance, there are many, really good M42 Lenses being out there, for a bargain price still.
To add onto non-M42 135mm lenses, I picked up a Nikkor-Q 135mm f/2.8 for like $30 last year, and that's still their going price on eBay. Lovely lens when stopped down a smidge, or even shot wide open! It's got some great color and some great bokeh too imo. Definitely worth picking up for a FF camera or a 35mm Nikon body!
I Absolutely agree with you; I once owned just that particular type of the same Lens myself, but VERY unfortunately sold it - probably too cheap - to a keen Vintage Lens Collector - I regret that deeply now! Th. Benjaminsson in Sweden - 🇸🇪 - 🇸🇪 -
Yes, that’s a gem! Far better than Canon, Pentax and others. My preference is for the even more modest f3.5 Ai. They’re very close, but I prefer the slower one.
The 200mm f3,5 Takumar is one heavy brass lens. It was way better in contrast and colour than Leitz Telyt. Mine was Magnum photographer! It was faster than. Nikon's 200mm f4.Yes! 1/2 f stop was important when Ektachrome Hi-Speed was 160 ASA (ISO)! Oldies are goldies..
You really know your stuff, that's for sure. Here in the US, it seems like 35mm lenses are very expensive, my only bargains are a Minolta MD, and a Mamiya Sekor. The Minolta is shockingly sharp. I got a Meyer Lydith as a free body cap from a well known English camera dealer years ago, as you say it is sort of a character lens. Here the biggest bargains are Minolta glass, I find lenses in thrift shops and boot sales for almost nothing. The Rokkor lenses have been shocking to me, even the ugly looking examples are pretty great.
Ohhh, my favorite. portrait lens The Jupiter 9 85mm. I own two, but prefer the 1966 silver version more then the black 1976 version. It is like an effects lens with it's soft focus. However, it works best for contrast when using a long lens hood. I made mine out of lens filter adapter ring kits with a Takumar 135mm f2.5 lens hood on the end. Awesome! Maybe, people don't use the Jupiter 9 85mm that much is because the subject needs to be far away. I like this lens, but my favorite lens so far is the Fujinon 55mm f1.8 and f2.2 which are great. I have heard that FUJI had the best glass. I think I might have been too quick to judge though.
Like I was saying, I think I might have been too quick to judge though. This last winter 2022 I found some other 50/55mm lenses that are really nice. I get bored when the days are short. I bought most of my lenses during this time of year, each year. I used to buy high end studio mics and I still do if I find a rare deal. So I do mostly lenses these days. My TOMIOKA interest developed after your Tomioka Revuenon silent video. So these are my 2022 crop. Olympus OM-System G.Zuiko Auto-S 55mm f1.2 Olympus OM-System Zuiko MC Auto-S 50mm f1.4 Black Nose Canon FL 55mm f1.2 Fluorite Lens elements 1968 Auto Chinon MultiCoated 55mm f1.4 (TOMIOKA) Auto Mamiya Sekor 55mm f1.4 with M42 Mount TOMIOKA Design Tomioka Auto Revuenon 55mm f1.4 M42 (TOMIOKA) Russian ZENITAR-M 50mm f1.7
Hi there, I just wanted to thank you for your very valuable videos! This is great. And out of your recommendations I just bought as one of my first M42 lenses the Yashinon DS 50mm F1,7 and I just love it for portraits (using it on an Fuji APS-C system). It is a fantastic little gem.
My most expensive vintage lens to date is my Helios 81h (h is for Nikon) at $70 but that included shipping from Eastern Europe. Otherwise, most of my lenses cost me from $5-$10 at thrift shops and the broken lens box at my local camera shop. While none of my lenses are museum pieces, there are still some gems in my collection. Some of my favourites include my Nikon S•C 50mm f1.4, the Pentax-M 50mm f1.7, a Helios 44-2, a Tokyo Koki Tele-Tokina 105mm f2.8, a Konica Hexanon AR 52mm f1.8, a Minolta MC Rokkor PF, 50mm f2, a Yashica ML 50mm f2, a Fujinon 55mm f2.2 and a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8, all of these lenses cost my $5.00 each. Other recent favourites include my Soligor 135mm f3.5 ($5.00), a Bushnell 135mm f2.8 ($8.00), a Hanimex 180mm f3.5 ($20.00) and an Olympus F. Zuiko Auto-T 200mm f5 ($5.00). I also have three Industar lenses that cost me around $30.00 each. For samples from these and other budget, vintage lenses check out my portraits page here: mark-dantonio.imgbb.com/
What about the Helios 44m-4 with 13 blades aperture? There is one in Facebook market near my house, for 40usd. I think could be a nice price and easy pickup for me. What do you think?
Fujinon 55mm, f1.8 is a great bargain M42 lens. They can be had easily for under $50 - usually with one of Fujica's ST camera bodies attached. This lens is a bit soft making it great for flowers or casual portraits. It's not very good for landscapes, but it's great closer photography. Seems to pull in blues and greens quite well.
If we're talking about bargain telephoto lenses you should consider Tair-3S 4.5/300. It's not that bargain with price tag around $100 but performance is absolutely outstanding and this is - considering the quality-to-value ratio - the best vintage telephoto lens I've ever used.
Yes! I actually included it in my video on more expensive lenses (ua-cam.com/video/3BfkaLSF_qw/v-deo.html) , but it you can find one cheaply, it should be here too.
I'd also recommend 2 more lenses from Pentax: the 50mm SMC f1.7 and the 50mm SMC f4 Macro (actually 1:2 or half life size). I use both on my Canon 5D full frame bodies, especially the latter. They're not expensive and I never shoot wide open so the f4 version doesn't matter to me. Small, sharp and lovely colour rendition with plenty of bokeh too.
@@vegadneeraj Use sidecutters to chop it off flush and hold it upside down to file it smooth so filings don't go inside the lens. I've done it with 3 SMC lenses.
I like that I've got a cropped sensor and my pentacon does wonders but its messed up when I want to use an actual wide angle lens because its never completely wide
I have enjoyed your lens reviews. I note you have not mentioned the Tamron SP Adaptall2 line of lenses in your discussions. Is this because you don't think highly of these lenses or do you exclude them because they are not M42 only lenses. I have owned several Takumars and consider them of great value for the money spent. Some of the Tamron SP lenses, such as the 90mm 1:2 Macro lens (52BB), are high quality lenses for the money spent. I own a few different film camera bodies in addition to my Sony mirrorless cameras and the adaptability of the Tamron lenses make them great value for money.
Thank you. Yes, the Tamron Adaptall2 lenses are not covered because they're not M42 lenses. But generally the Adapatall lenses are indeed excellent, and people I know who use them are very impressed with the results, and value for money. (At least I did put the great SP 90mm f2.5 on the list of macro lenses in the video at 10:45 )
You're very welcome. Love you channel. It's an inspiration. And coincidentally today, I was following your videos on cleaning a Tair 11a's blades, plus repairing a Tair 11's blades. I was operating on a Tair 11a, where some of the blades had come out of their positions. Fortunately I managed to get hem back without taking the whole mechanism apart. I'm in awe at your repair skills, especially live on video! I only repair lenses when I buy lenses "for parts" lenses, cheap, for my own use only.
I have used several of these lenses extensively -the pentax 135 2.5 and the Lydeth 30mm - but far and away my most used m42 lens is the EBC fuji 55mm 1.8 ...$70...It stays on my Sony A 7R3 body when lenses costing $500 sit on my shelf...
I came here to find good and cheap 35mm vintage lenses and this man tells me to use my kit lens ... In all seriousness, thanks for the amazing video! I can't wait to be financially able to try out all the SMC takumars you suggested, especially the 35mm 3.5 😁😁😁
Picked up the Yashica/Tomioka 50 F1.7 a couple years ago as my first adapted lens. And I keep going back to it over my Helios and Fuji. I knew nothing about adapted lenses. I just got a deal on an M42 to X mount adapter, so I went on Ebay and bought the first 50mm that was faster than the Fuji Xmount 50 I have. Honestly I didn't expect much for the price, and thought Yashica sounded like a knock off brand or something. Gladly I was wrong! It's only weakness is that it blooms way too much on certain bright scenes. So not good for concert or event photos with strong lights, or for water glare. Still, miles ahead of most of my other adapted lenses in that regard though.
Have you tried enlarger lenses ? I have a NEOTAR 50 3.5 thats great for macro, has aperture control, and a m39 mount (easily adaptable to m42 + the helicoid you've shown)
They are both M-39 - so not to be mentioned in an M42 video. I'm quite a fan of Russian lenses. I need to try out my MC Zenitar 50 on a digital camera.
@@jpcalamaro961 Forgot about the Industar 61 but I have never before heard about a Jupiter 8 in Zenit (39mm) SLR mount. I have the Jupiter 11 in 39mm RF mount (LTM) and in 39mm SLR mount.
The Pentax A 35-70mm f/4 is a 7 element zoom. Great sharpness, color and macro. Generally sells for under $50.00. I have 3 copies. Just got a copy of the Takumar 200mm f/3.5 and it is without a doubt, a league into itself.
@@Simonsutak I have never owned the 35-105mm. Zooms tend to leave me flat with a few exceptions. Another is the 24-50mm. Very sharp and contrasty in it's range. At least sharp enough. I prefer it over my 24mm primes. The old M 35-70mm f2.8-3.5 is a surprisingly sharp 7 element lens too.. In both cases they tend to beat the $50 dollars and less category much like the 35-105.. Great videos by the way. Really enjoying them. Picked up the early zebra auto tak 55mm f/1.8 just recently. I have a few 55mm's kicking around. Great lenses. :)
I am in love with my Olympus 50mm f3.5 macro lens (even for normal shots). Obscene colors, fantastic micro-contrast, stunning sharpness. Old Minolta lenses can also be quite good (e.g. the 35-70mm f3.5 zoom, version II and III which both are sharp like a prime lens, especially the non-macro version II). In the Helios 44 lens family I prefer the older 44 version with 13 blades over the more mass-produced 44-2 model. Newer Helios versions like the 44-3 up to 44-7 or the 44-M are also worth testing (how you also mentioned in one of your videos) since the quality of these lenses is quite inconsistent and you need time to find a "keeper".
the Fujinon 55mm F1.8 is a nice lens and pretty common ..compered to my Canon FDn 50 F1.4 it has less fringing smother Bokeh and maybe a little sharper than the canon at F2 although i have not done any formal testing ..i have plenty of 50/55mm f1,6 to f2.2 lenses that i have not tested out yet but i am looking for anther F1.4 as i am not rally happy with the Bokeh of the FDn 50 F1.4
You mention the Vivitar 50 and 100mm macro lenses. I have Vivitar Series 1 90mm f2.5 Macro lens which I use regularly on my Canon dslr. Is this a more modern version. It comes with it's own extension unit which fits between lens and camera to allow even closer focusing and greater magnification.
I've always been fascinated by telephoto photography, and found what I regard as a vintage bargain in the super-telephoto regime. I picked up a Zenit 3M-5A for £75 a while back. It's a 500mm F/8 mirror lens. It's a little soft and produces donut bokeh which many people dislike, but it's a bloody 500mm lens and has good optical quality overall, in my opinion. For £75 this is a small telescope I can carry in my camera bag, and can produce some fun images.
A have several of the M42 lenses mentioned, but I certainly would not class any of them as my favourites, and some I wouldn't want to use even if you paid me, including the 50/2.8 Tessar. My favourite M42 lens which can be used for all types of photography, except perhaps macros, is the Tokina RMC 24mm f2.8. I made my own hood for it and it currently lives on my Sony A7C more than any other lens. It can produce beautifully smooth bokeh, sharp portraits, amazing landscapes, it's great for videography too...A must have lens for those on a budget. In fact I like the 24mm focal length so much on full frame that I have just ordered the amazing Samyang AF 24mm f1.8 FE to replace it. I have a Nikon 35mm f1.4 Ai-S for when I feel like using 35mm, which is less and less often these days and a couple more very nice Nikons too but none of them can be classed as bargain lenses. I use the Nikon 35/1.4, Micro Nikkor 55/2.8 Ai-S and Nikon 105mm f2.5 Ai-S on my A7C via a Lingfoto Nikon F to E adapter. My favourite 50mm-ish vintage lens though is my Canon FL-SA 55mm f1.2, which I permanently converted to Sigma SA mount (I machined 2mm off it in a lathe so I could get infinity focus when mounted on the SD14)...I now use it on my A7C via a Lingfoto SA to E adapter...I made my own lens hood for that too as the original hoods are now as rare as rocking horse droppings. My favourite vintage 85mm lens is the Canon FD-SA 85mm f1.2 L, which I have also permanently converted to SA mount...Only it wasn't possible to machine 2mm off it to get infinity like I could with the FL 55/1.2mm, so instead I simply shortened another Lingfoto SA to E adapter by 2mm so it can focus to infinity on my A7C. Obviously the latter lens is hardly classed as a bargain lens, especially as it now regularly sells over £800 on ebay, but I can recommend a much cheaper lens that is also stellar performer...It's the compact and lightweight Mamiya M645 80mm f2.8 medium format kit lens...I made an M645 to SA adapter for it using a Mamiya M645 #1 extension ring, but it could be converted to M42 just as easily. It is easily one of the sharpest portrait lenses I have ever used, yet it is probably the cheapest native lens for the M645 mount. I tried the M645 45mm, M645 150mm and M645 210mm macro and the 80mm beats all of them for sharpness, so I sold them on again and only kept the 80mm. As for an M42 135mm lens I suppose my favourite has to be my Sigmatel YS "multi scalematic" 135mm f1.8 (with a 77mm filter thread). It's a big heavy lens though and so it doesn't get much use. I use a Sonia Brand 77mm lens hood on it. If you want a true M42 mount bokeh monster, look out for the Carl Zeiss 180mm f2.8 Sonnar...Smoothest bokeh ever!
I would recommend the Hanimar Auto S 135mm F2.8. Great bokeh, lovely warm colours and also sharp from 2.8 Also, the Hanimex Tele-Auto 135mm f2.8, not as nice in colour rendering as the Hanimar, but razor-sharp from wide open
You made my day! As I reentered photography several years ago I chose to purchase film-camera lenses to get the feel and get comfortable seeing in various focal lengths. It's been a great journey. Watching your video I came to realize that I've a nice compliment of lenses. Several you have mentioned here. CJ Tessar (12 blade) Oreston, super tak 200/4. Even with some limitations they are not perfect like some extraordinary lenses of today. Clinical perfection isn't always the best look.
I have that Vivitar Close Focusing Auto Zoom 75-205 as well as it's little brother, the 70-150mm f3.8 which has many, if not more, features than a Vivitar Series 1 lens.
I've got a very light very versatile SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7 fast and quite sharp and dirt cheap, native K mount so no adapter needed for Pentax DSLRs, and also a quite interesting M42 200/f4 Pentacon, which has 15 blades aperture and a focus throw of about 350 degrees.
@@Simonsutak Meyer-Optik Goerlitz Orestor 135mm f/2.8 (the 15-bladed version) - beautiful lens for portraiture; I got lucky and acquired my copy (including a leather-bound case) for just £30 from a charity shop. Adapts really well to my Canon EOS 6D, and indeed also to my three EOS 35mm film cameras. I'm looking for a good low-cost 35mm prime on M42 mount, with the intention of shooting in low light; do you know of any really fast primes (f/2 or faster) that would fit that description?
@@rolltrollroll Haha, true! I figure pretty much any M42 mount 35mm fast prime would come in cheaper than Canon's own EF 35mm f/2 or f/1.4L lens though; even used copies of those are quite expensive. Currently I use my Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD for most street photography, and I like the 35mm focal length - but a nice fast prime would be a lot lighter, and hopefully I can find one that will let in more light for good low-light shots - preferably without breaking the bank!
I have a collection of Pentacon lenses, that all together cost about £140. They are the Lydith 30mm f3.5, the 50mm f1.8, the 135mm f4 (6 blade) and the 200mm f4 (6 blade). I managed to find all of these in M42 mount and all have the ft markings in green. My favourite is the 135mm, but I really like all of them. I also picked up a 300mm f4 monster, for £100, so a bit more expensive, but produces very impressive bokeh, having 19 blades! I also have the zebra Tessar, but I don't use it very often, as I prefer the Pentacon 50mm. I tend to use all of my manual lenses on my APSC A68 camera, as I like having the focus assist to use. Not so easy to get perfect focus on the FF A850. Great video as always.
I have had a lot of fun with a Miida 35mm f/2.8-22 Automatic---Japanese, possibly made by Sun or Kawanon . The distributor of the lens at that time, Marubeni Iida, was a marketing company, not a lens-maker. Miida, which is the contraction of Marubeni Iida, exported lenses to the US during the 1970s. I find this lens to be adequately sharp and it renders interesting backgrounds when shooting wide open. There are a lot of Miida lenses for sale on eBay and other re-seller sites that are quite reasonable in price. I managed to purchase an absolutely pristine copy of this lens for $10.50 US (less than £8.00 UK or just over €8.50), and it has become one of my go-to vintage lenses. Not a great lens, perhaps, but it is certainly quite a good lens (at least my copy) and well worth the low online prices. Of course, I cannot vouch for consistent quality control regarding these lenses--I can only recommend based on the copy that I use.
I've hit a jackpot few months ago, buying old M42 Pallas Auto 135mm f2.8, im absolutely in love with this lens. Im having a blast, watching my friends and other people, who buy brand new automatic lenses for big bucks, while i spend less than 100 dollars for a cool vintage lense. It's magical, to use fully manual lenses, it brings so much fun to turn those rings, and get a photo that will put a big smile on my face.
Very cool and informative video, cheers!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with vintage lenses. After watching your videos, I decided to purchase the Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm F1.8 as my first vintage lens purchase. I'm shooting it on a Lumix G7 with the Fotasy M42 Lens to M4/3 Focusing Helicoid Adapter. As you mentioned in the video, this lens focuses very close, but the helicoid adapter gives me a second option to use it for great macro shots with a simple little twist of the adapter. This has been so much fun and sure beats screw type extension tubes. I really love this lens and adapter combination. The results I'm getting with this lens far exceeded my expectations. I would encourage others to give this lens a try. Thanks again for all the hard work and the really wonderful videos.
Thank you for sharing. The 30/3.5 Lydith was bulit later as a Pentacon 30/3.5 with same lens design - these are usually cheaper than the Mayer-Gerlitz -- but not less good ;-)
Good point. I mentioned the Pentacon version of the Oreston 50mm, but should have mentioned the 30mm f3.5.
Hello.
I regularly watch your videos. Very well done and very useful. Thank you!
I love historical information.
Great video and a wonderful way to spend 15 minutes! Great tips on where to find them as well. Always worth trying inexpensive lenses, you never know how good a rendering they may provide!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video. I have the following M42 mount lenses Pentacon 29mm f2.8, Prinzflex 135mm f2.8 and a Albinar 200mm f3.5. I love them all especially the 29mm
I recently picked up a clean copy of the Auto Chinon 35mm f2.8, for around $50 aud, very sharp.
Olympus OM Zuiko 1970..80s lenses that are omitted in this video for being not M42, beat everything mentioned here. By the way, some original M42 Zuikos do exist.
Old silver-nose 100/2.8 performs at the level of a first generation white Canon 70-200/2.8L IS in terms of sharpness, if not corner falloff and colour rendition. I have a collection of Zuikos - 28/2.8, 50/1.8MC (beats similar QBM-mount Rollei-HFT 50/1.8, which is excellent), 50/3.5MC Macro 1:2 (with extension tubes), 100/2.8 (silver-nose, i.e. first version), 135/2.8, and 35-70/3.6. Mind you that top-range Zuikos (mostly from /2 range, as well as shifts and specialty macro for varifocal tube/bellows - “bellows group” in old Olympus lingo, 20, 38, 80 and 135) are highly sought, can be extremely hard to find and are priced prohibitively, mostly for the reason of being originally produced in rather limited quantities. Lucky are those folks who managed to grab them in 2005..2008 when this glass was really cheap, and keep hold of it.
As for Helios-44, there are almost two dozen modifications by different factories and of different age. Quite notably, when I compared a number of various Helioses of different vintage and made by different factories, none surpassed the original CZJ Biotar 58/2 from 1947 (with 40.5 mm filter thread), which Helios-44 was a clone of. The comparison was done on EOS 5DsR in 2016 with live view. I think I'll repeat it at some point on Sony A7 IV (while it has 1.5 times less pixels, it allows absolutely precise focusing) or maybe with an A1.
T-43 40/4 from Smena 8M is indeed much more interesting than I remember it from my childhood years, but since it was, together with Smena-8M itself, the most mass-produced photographic lens ever, beat only by smartphones that are manufactured in even higher quantities, it has extremely wide sample variability and inherent problems stemming from not only its price but optical design as well. While it is surprisingly sharp in the center, - so sharp in fact, that it could not be imagined or achieved on anything prior to modern mirrorless cameras, - corners greatly suffer from field curvature, which is noticeable even on m4/3 sensors, let alone anything bigger. I have it adapted for Sony mount using an LTM39 helicoid from Industar-26, and this modular conversion allows me to use it on anything that can take LTM lenses.
The radioactive 50mm takumar f1.4 is one of my very best lenses and I own leicas
I have a nice collection of Takumar and Super Takamar from my Pentax days. I use them in astrophotography because they generally excellent manual lenses, I have a Tair 300mm lens, weighs a ton but excellent as is the Russian Helios 44mm F/2 . I have an excellent Takumar 300mm (rare) pin sharp. Astrophotography is the best way to test any lens. Sharpness and other lenses issues. M42 thread is a common fitting for many modern astrophotography cameras, especially those made by ZWO. I have been collecting Nikkor El lenses as they make excellent lenses for close-up use and they transmit UV well for UV photography as do my old Steinheil. lenses, not an easy track to pursue. Thanks for sharing your wonderful presentation.
A nice review. However, it should be pointed out that not all M42 mount lenses will be fully usable using an adapter. The desrirable Fujica EBC lenses designed for their ST801, 901 and ST705w have a coupling pin on the aperture ring that links to the meter for full open aperture exposure readings. Sadly, as this pin sits slightly proud it prevents the lenses from fitting flush with the lens flange on adapters. Also, as far as I know, there is no adapter that will permit stopping the lens down. This has to be done with the A-M switch on the lens itself. Not all M42 lenses have this facility and as far as I know, certainly not Fujinons.
A work-around is to use a small piece of duct tape to keep the aperture pin pressed in and then the aperture can be controlled by simply turning the aperture ring.
Many thanks, this is very useful information....as is duct tape!
@@Simonsutak Simon, going off on a tangent somewhat, I have just purchased an adapter that accepts Fujifilm AX mount lenses and which can control the lens aperture in a pre-set mode. I am sure you will have come across old PSD lenses where the chosen aperture is set and a secondary control manually moves the aperture from fully open to the selected aperture. My adapter is for the current Fuji X mount, but there are others. Sourced via eBay at around £20.
i like the photos from the oreston 50mm. those colors seem to pop nicely after PP'd. thinking about adapting to my canon which already boosts colors a bit-
I have had lots of luck with Rikinon vintage lenses by Ricoh. Inexpensive when new, and inexpensive in vintage kit as well. I use the excellent 28mm f2.8. A simply delightful lens. I also use the 50mm f1.8. It is very similar to the 50mm f2 Takumar but it is $20 less expensive! They can be had most economically in Pentax K mount.
I traded on eBay for eight years buying, cleaning and repairing old manual focus lenses and selling them on. I tested all lenses on my Fujifilm X-Pro1. Here's my thoughts:
Meyer-Optik Orestegon 29mm & Meyer-Optik Lydith 30mm - the quality of these is very variable. Although I have had the odd good one, even those have not been good enough to be worth keeping.
Takumar 28mm - ALL Takumars are good.
CZJ Flektogon 35mm - very, very sharp in the centre, but they need to be stopped down to f11 to get really sharp corners on APS-C sensors.
Never had a Yashica 35mm - quite rare.
MIR 1 37mm - lots of veiling flare that obscures any sharpness.
Industar 50mm - very soft glass and its hard to find an unscratched one. Not a Tessar copy but a Leica Elmar clone.
Helios 44-2 - soft glass again, but very good if unscratched.
CZJ Tessar - again watch out for scratches. Somewhat variable in quality but good ones are very sharp stopped down to f8.
Meyer-Optik Oreston 50mm - A nice clean example is a worthwhile buy. Very sharp centre at all apertures, requires stopping down to al least f5.6 for sharp corners. (The Pentacon 50mm f1.8 is the same lens optically and a good late multi-coated version is even better than the Oreston, but they are more variable in quality.)
Yashinon 50mm f1.7 - a good lens, but there are many 50mm just as good. Still worthwhile.
CZJ Sonnar 135mm - truly great lens, everybody should have one. Sold hundreds and never tested one that wasn't excellent. Sharp right into the corners at all apertures on APS-C sensors.
Pentacon 135mm - very variable in quality. I wouldn't bother.
Thank you so much for these insights - really helpful. One message that comes across strongly is the variable quality of these old lenses. And of course, it's not just in terms of original quality control, but also how they've been treated/repaired over the years. If you look at the cheap Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Domiplan 50/2.8, even the way the screws are screwed and re-screwed into the rear element barrel can make a big difference to IQ, apparently. Good to see good words for some of the lenses, including the Sonnar. On the Orestogon and Lydith, I don't disagree with you. I was careful to observe that they are best as a kind of surrogate fast fifties with unusual bokeh closer up, especially on crop sensors.
Given your invaluable experience, it would be great if you could point out any other vintage lenses in any mounts that don't cost a lot, but you found them to be excellent performers.
I used to have an xpro 1 and I hated the sensor, the only time I found it pleasing was when the Takumar was on it.
@@Mr7Poz Strange then that it is now a cult camera.
@@geoffreypiltz271 Yeah, I sold it too cheap and somebody stole my xe2 out of my car. Now, the prices are crazy.
Konica Hexanons are rarely talked about and some of my favorite lenses. Especially the 40mm pancake and the 57mm f1.2.
They are amazing, but they are certainly not sub-$50 lenses.
@@alun7006 the Konica 40mm f1.8 can often be had for under $50.
I was lucky with the 57mm as if was attached to a camera at a yard sale. Owner didn't know what they had, snagged it up for $20. Probably my best thrifting deal I've come across camera wise.
@@brentjamesonparker I have never seen the 40 for anything close to $50.
@@alun7006 are you in the US? Maybe it's just in the US. There are currently more than 5 copies up on ebay for under $50.
Besides the Helios 44 (m in my situation) my best and often used barraging was an Canon FD 135mm 2,8 for 49€.
A great video! I have been trying out the Helios 44-2 on my Fujifilm X-T3.........Absolutely love it! Will definitely be looking into of your advised lenses:)
Just picked up a Tamron SP90mm F/2.5 for £50 which is a terrific lens on my Em1 MkII and would suit any digital or film camera I think. It also does 1:2 macro and with an extension will do 1:1.
I recently got a Rikenon 55mm f1.4 (M42) for 20 bucks... 100% recommend!
Thanks for the recommendation. That's a great price for a 55mm f1.4!
Ricoh have never had the facilities to make their won lenses and still don't. I am fairly certain this is a Tomioka lens and is excellent.
@@geoffreypiltz271 I believe you are right, I heard it was made by Tomioka although I can’t confirm that.
I just wanted to point out that, though I love my takumar 28mm f3.5, it does NOT adapt well to dslr cameras. The flange distance is too short, and the mirror will hit the back of the lens and get stuck when you capture the photo. It might work once or twice first though. However it works perfectly fine on my Canon R6 and any mirrorless. Happy shooting!
How about a Nikkor-Q Auto f4 20cm? I just got one - a late 1962 build - in great condition (attached to a 1967 Nikkormat FT N that works), for NZ$81. I launched it in the garden yesterday (on an old Olympus E3) and it absolutely rocked my little world. Today, we're off to the beach. Happy days....
Lucky you!!!
@@Simonsutak Despite it being a Nikkor, you are largely to blame. i'd still be sipping on vintage Pol were it not for the impact you've had!
All of my vintage lenses are M42, I’m rocking the
Helios 44-M 58mm F2
SMC Takumar 50mm F1.4
Rare SMC Takumar 24mm F3.5
I also have a Chinon 50mm F1.9 but I haven’t adapted it to my BMPCC4K yet
Hey Simon :) thanks for the nice Video, 9:55 you mentioned the radioactive Yashinon-DS 50/1.7... When someone have a problem with radioactivity and still would like to buy this type of lens he could buy the previous model, the Yashinon-DX50/1.7. I have it and testet mine and it is´nt radioactive. I dont know if it is performance wise the same but still for the price ( I payed for an almost mint copy 17€ with shipping) its worth a try 😉
My best bargain.... 🤔 I would asume my Fleki " imposter german Flektogon Zeiss 35/2.8" bought it for 20€, fungus, haze and bend aperture construction at least the focus was working😅... let me put it this way... I had an interesting loooong weekend (now its like new)🙃
If it's about M42, there needs to be a Takumar 50/1.4. Either the Super-Takumar or SMC version, also the 6 and 7 element versions. All are great! :D If we're not taking budget into consideration, the Pancolar 55/1.4 sold with the Pentacon TL camera is a true bokehlicious portrait gem... unfortunately it's expensive AF.
Hi, your programs are very informative and inspiring. I happen to have several M42 vintage lenses and can fully relate to how much of true photography enjoyment they give. I have though one lense from the legendary Pentina (the original Carl Zeiss Tessar!) that I am clueless about how to mount it on the today's F mount of Canon camera. The original Pentina mount is apparently simillar to Exacta or Pentax, but I think it is anyway proprietary. Any suggestions?
I don't know...but I'll do some research...
Found Olympus Zuiko 135mm f3,5. Razor sharp, in mint condition. For $25 few years ago. Not anymore...
sunagor 28 mm 2.8 - great little lens for around £20
so through video ,like it quite a lot
Very difficult to know about the thorium glass in some older lenses especially M42 mount Takumar. As in radioactive. Also getting rid of the "yellowing". I have that 28mm f3.5 Takumar, and the 55 F2. I need lens hoods, can you suggest one for each that fits? I've looked around and the ones made for the lens, hard to come by, and hard to know if they fit.I used both lenses with my first camera Pentax SL, used in college in the early 1970's. Which adapter for Sony E? I have bought the latest K&F adapters with matted interior and chrome mount. I also have Nikon and Canon lenses, similar vintage.
Amazing video
Many thanks for the highly informative video. May I ask why you recommend only the zebra version of the CZJ 135mm f/3.5? Have you had any issues with later versions? From what I can see, the later version seems to have a different coating (the striking orange/pink one that many CZJ lenses have), but I would have assumed that coatings are the only optical difference.
Yes, the later ones have multi-coating (MC). I personally prefer the lesser coated earlier lens, because I prefer the dreamier rendering of blur. I haven't seen any issues with the later versions. When I posted the video, there were some zebra versions for sale on-line, at cheaper prices than the non-zebra versions, so that was a consideration too.
Oof. Those takumar 85mm prices on eBay.
Ha! I'll be watching the price of my Super-Takumar 85mm f1.9 with interest (having sold a f1.8 some time ago).
Have you ever come across a tamron converto , its a preset lens 15 blade i think
While Nikon still has some nice vintage lenses it really hurts to know, that as long as i have F-mount, i'm not able to adapt a single of these lenses. I really like my cheap little 50mm pancake lens from Nikon, but still. Great video though.
I shoot close with Nikon F. I even use a thin extension tube if the lens poses a potential collision threat. You loose infinity but I think the magic isn’t there but at closer ranges.
Could you please do a video on the various adapter mounts - m42 is one, but adapted to various other camera bodies, such as the A mount, E mount.
As you see from my post below, I own some Sony A mount cameras and I have found the best adapter is the K&F Concept one. A bit more expensive, but the quality is very good.
Are these vintage lenses for m43 such a Lumix gx80?
Hi I recently bought for my brother the ~ 28mm f/2.8 SIRIUS VINTAGE M42 LENS ~ Do you have any information about this lens?
Sorry for the late response, but no, I have no experience of this lens. (So it's a pretty useless response!).
Well, you've turned me into your subscriber :D
Hey Simon I've come across your videos a fair few times now and I am always pleasantly surprised by the no nonsense, straight forward common sense advice. It's so easy to get caught up in the minutia and pixel peeping that gear heads of my generation are guilty of. Your videos are brilliant and honest, thanks for making them.
Thank you!
My "best value" bargain lens was the Pentacon 50mm f1.8. Generally less than £20 - with very close focus and super dreamy, creamy bokeh wide open. At f5.6 both my Pentacons are very sharp indeed.
Got this with my Praktica MTL 50 and was SO surprised by it! Great little lens.
awesome to hear I just scored a mint Pentacon 50 f1.8 so excited to see how it renders. the Flickr pages are full of dreamy bokeh
My best value lens is a MamiyaSekor 55mm 1.4, it's just an amazing piece of glass with such great vintage character.
I've watched most of your videos, and you never mentioned Fujinon 55/1.8 EBC. Why? I hear this lens is amazing. And very inexpensive, too... Probably because you never mentioned it, LOL.
I've got the M42 Fujinon 55mm f1.8, non EBC version and mentioned it in one video. I like the lens a lot. the sharpness and bokeh rendering is very good. At least in the UK, it can cost around £75 to £100 for an EBC version in good condition, so it doesn't fit easily into my bargain lens range.
Hello Simon,
Thanks for the video! I'm a "vintage lens junkie", so I got loads of confirmation bias from watching this! The world of M42 (and a few others like the Exakta you mentioned, as well as the Praktica B-mount, Pentax K-mount etc.) is really massive, and not only are there bargains to be had, but there are mountains of truly excellent kit laying around doing nothing. I have started to shoot film again, so of course I got myself a Praktica MTL5b (M42 mount) to make use of all the lenses I have invested in so far. I also use all my vintage glass on my digital Micro 4/3's camera for doing pictures and video (hobby grade I have to add).
Here is a curated list of my favourites (my apologies, it turned out to be quite a ramble) -
Wides angles:
Chinon 28mm 1:2.8 - A pleasant enough lens. Better for video than portraits for my style of shooting.
Helios 28mm 1:2.8 - A Japanese "Helios", not an old Soviet model. Quite cheap, better as a wide-angle than the Chinon, although not as well made.
Mir-1B 37mm 1:2.8 - A real gem - grab it if you can! My copy is not the "Grand Prix" model, but it's great to use. You can still get good copies of this lens for well below £50 ($60), but be patient. People are snapping these lenses up in order to modify them for anamorphic video, so thus the demand (and therefore pricing) is creeping up steadily.
"Nifties":
Helios-44 58mm 1:2.0 - Note that this is an older lens than the 44-2, and was my gateway drug into this whole vintage glass lark. A bit "wonky" with age, but the glass is clear and it's bokeh is totally OTT. I will never sell this lens!
Helios-44M-4 58mm 1:2.0 - I use this as my "default" lens on my Praktika SLR, because it's the auto-aperture version of the 44. Very little to choose between the two when shooting digital.
Jupiter-8 50mm 1:2.0 - I have two copies of this lens. It's actually an M39 Leica mount, but adaptors are widely available for digital use. I use them on digital only (flange distance is all wrong for SLR), and they are awesome lenses. Nice and small, and relatively fast (f2.0). The good thing about the M39 mount is that the flange distance are quite short, so even with an adapter this lens makes for a lovely compact solution on your digital camera.
Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm 1:2.8 - Got this as the kit lens with my Praktika MTL5b. Very underrated, lovely colours and controllable creamy bokeh. These lenses are thankfully plentiful and cheap, a worthy lens for any collection.
Industar-26M 52mm 1:2.8 and Industar-61P 52mm 1:2.8 - Basically the same lens, the 26M is the earlier version of the 61. Looks almost identical, works exactly the same. The 61 has more "modern" coatings, so does not flare as readily as the 26M. Like the Jupiter-8 it is also a Leica M39 mount, but works very well on both film and digital. The Industar-61 is one of the sharpest lenses you can buy at any price, and they are as cheap as chips. Like the Helios-44, they were made in droves as kit lenses with Gorki and Fed range-finder cameras, so you can literally kick one out from behind just about every other bush. Get yourself a 61, they are fun to use.
E. Ludwig Meritar 50mm 1:2.9 - Got my copy with a broken Praktika Nova SLR from a charity shop, paid £12 (approx $15) for it. A bit slow at f2.9, and he barrel is not particularly well made - there is lots of movement in the aperture ring. The internal mechanism is solid. What makes this little lens special is its triplet design, and it sports some excellent quality glass. When shot digital it behaves very much like a (almost infinitely more expensive) Mayer-Görlitz Trioplan. Being a triplet it's not particularly sharp, but it has some gorgeous saturated colours - almost too much. Of all the lenses I have bought so far, this one was the biggest surprise. The best-spent £12 ever! You can get good copies for between £15-£30.
Teles:
Pentacon Prakticar 135mm 1:2.8 - I bought this one accidentally (I thought it was an M42 mount, instead it is a Praktica B-mount), but it turned out to be an excellent lens. These are not expensive - beware of paying more than £25 for one (unless it's the 15-blade version, which can go a bit higher).
Jupiter-37A 135mm 1:3.5 - If you can get this lens for a good price (or it's predecessor, the Jupiter-11), you simply cannot go wrong. It's built like a piece of Soviet artillery, and it's a really great "short telephoto". Bokeh is creamy and controlled, and colours are on the cool side (towards the blue spectrum) with my copy. Unfortunately they can be a bit pricey (upwards of £70), so shop around patiently and you can get one for £50 or less (I think I paid £42 for mine). Well worth the expense, this is a lovely lens.
Crop-sensor moderns (native M4/3):
7artisans 25mm 1:1.8 and 7artisans 55mm 1:1.4 - OK, these are not vintage, and neither are they "bargains". I include them because they are excellent "native mount" manual primes for crop-sensor cameras. The 25mm one is a nice small pancake portrait lens, very good for portraits and mild "wider angle" pictures. The 55mm is simply a brilliant lens, a true "modern vintage". It has a relatively short focus throw, which makes it a great for dynamic situations. The f1.4 makes it nice and fast too, which is useful for night photography with no flash.
As you can see, my "habit" is out of control! :-) The good side of all this is that it keeps me excited about taking pictures, and it gets me out of the house and into the open air.
Hi Jan,
Thank you so much for all these great ideas and descriptions Incredibly helpful and interesting.
We definitely share the habit. I use a different lens every day, and it brightens up my walk to work no end.
It's good to think that these wonderful old lenses are investments as well, as the better ones are appreciating in value. Having said that I now find it hard to part with my lenses. Towards the start of my collecting habit, I sold lenses to try to cover the costs, and with careful and lucky finds, that was possible to achieve. I sold some really good lenses for quite a significant profit and then found others.... The Japan made Helios 28mm you mention was one I sold (I'd have kept it, if is was USSR made, as it wasn't an expensive), because I picked up a Pentax SMC K 28mm f3.5 to go with the Takumar 28mm, and the Pentax is a class above...
However, looking through my collection now, there's not a lens I'd willingly sell right now.
I've enjoyed reading through your comments, and agree with them all, except perhaps for the E. Ludwig Meritar. I picked my copy up for £10 in an antique shop in Petworth, Sussex, with the camera as well - the lens is the old zebra version. So not complaints. I just can't get my copy to sing. But it is fun to use with a rather eccentric pre-set mechanism.
Thanks again for your comments, Simon
@@Simonsutak Too bad about your zebra Meritar. I have a second copy here that I am about to CLA. I just need to make sure it's a "blue-moon-on-a-Wednesday" kind of day, so that I have all my courage in the right place... I cannot find anybody willing to work on these cheap oldies in Surrey even if they were worth it from a value perspective - which means I have to do it myself. Somewhat terrifying, even if the lens is ultra cheap. If it's any good I can send it to you to play with. It would be good to see how it performs against your zebra model. My thoughts are that they might have had a few QA issues with these lenses, so I suppose a comparison will quickly prove/disprove that idea.
That Takumar 200mm f4 is one of my very favorites. It's just about always in my bag.
just recently i managed to complete my M42 lineup. i have the pentacon lineup: 28/2.8, 50/1.8, 135/2.8, and i'm happy as a pig in mud. they work beautifully on my a7ii, and doing almost everything manually is just such a nice throwback to my youth. btw, me sticking to pentacon is because my father -- who passed away when i was just one year old -- "left me" his pentacon super TL camera with a zebra pentacon 50/2.8 lens. that's the camera i learned photography on, mostly on my own. sadly the 50/2.8 is now nearly unusable, its spring broken, but the 1.8 more than makes up for it.
i also have a carl zeiss jena 200/2.8, but that is a MONSTER. i still need to find a solution to put a mounting ring on it, because there is no way i'm gonna risk my trusty sony by trying to mount the camera to the tripod -- the lens is like at least two times the weight of the camera itself.
there is something special about these lenses, and it's a testament to old craft how sharp and beautiful they still are on modern digital cameras.
Hey! how sharp do you find the pentagon 28?? many people says is not sharp enough...
@@arboldechorizos it's a matter of taste. in general the pentacons are not super sharp nor flawless, but they have character. i can shoot some test footage if you're interested.
@ it would be great! thanks
I fully support your choice of Pentacon lenses. Both, the Praktica cameras and Pentacon lenses are really beautiful and have a character of their own.
Please add your own suggestions for good bargain lenses, and thanks to everyone who already has added lenses. Here are links to the different sections:
2:00 Fisheye and wide angle, less than 35mm
4:34 Classic walkaround 35mm
5:56 Pancakes and 40mm
7:08 Fast fifties
10:38 Macro
11:05 Portrait
13:39 Bokeh monsters 135mm
14:34 Telephoto 150mm plus
One vintage telephoto not mentioned much is the totally manual Pentacon 300m f4 with19 aperture blades. I found one that was a local sell and as I found out, by a seller who was not a photographer and just wanted to get rid of it. The seller could not properly describe it so I offered her $40.00 USD and it was quickly accepted. This was in January 2021. Since that time I have used it for migrating Trumpeter Swans including one beautiful shot while in flight, and for voluntary work at my church in very dark conditions. Both times were wonderful with the only exception being it's five pounds of weight as I rarely use a tripod. This lens had very quickly become my favorite telephoto for my Pentax K1.
At my local thrift store, I walked by that Vivitar 75-205 3.8 in a Nikon mount for two weeks. It was in pristine condition, but at $20 it wasn't worth a pointless purchase (doubting I'd ever use it). One day a worker asked what I'd be willing to pay, and I said I'd pay $5, just to be polite. I took it home and put it on my D750 set on a manual b/w.
I took a shot, (what???) corrected focus, took another and my knees went weak. It was like I was the still photographer on the set of Dr. Strangelove.
I guess I've said enough.
Any love for the vivitar 50mm f1.9? It came with my vivitar 400SL with a 200mm f3.5 that I haven’t shot much film with but love the look adapted to my digital camera. Not so much with the 50mm… I will say that the 50mm produces some nice bokeh, that may even be a tad swirly. I haven’t shot wide open on film yet but it’s very present adapted to digital…
Worth a look since the 50 goes for incredibly cheap on eBay and is reasonably sharp stopped down.
In terms of good value 35mm lenses, do you think it's worth it to buy the SMC Takumar 35mm f/3.5 over an older Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5? For example, I bought my copy of the Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5 for $45 USD back in 2020. I think this is a fantastically sharp lens, at the expense of multi-coating. I use it on my M42 film SLR and adapted to my Fuji mirrorless camera with excellent results. I don't really think it's worth spending the extra for the SMC Takumar. Do you?
Can agree with the Pentacon 50 1.9 (i got two for free) but 100% worth the £20/£30 price tag fast, sharp and rather cheep.
The Sony 16-50 OSS Kitzoom has a way bad reputation, and also heavy distortion, but i've figured out, since the earliest copies when it was being introduced, somehow, it does give my subjects some kind of 3D Pop, for real. And i am shooting ~35 yeas with Vintage lenses, well back into the day, it wasn't being "vintage" after all, but current tech on my SLRs from various brands, mostly Minolta, Nikon, Contax & Yashica. That being said, i like my Yashicas. And i prefer _always_ character lenses, instead of tack-sharp lenses, with otherwise flat rendering, which are boring to hell. For instance, there are many, really good M42 Lenses being out there, for a bargain price still.
To add onto non-M42 135mm lenses, I picked up a Nikkor-Q 135mm f/2.8 for like $30 last year, and that's still their going price on eBay. Lovely lens when stopped down a smidge, or even shot wide open! It's got some great color and some great bokeh too imo. Definitely worth picking up for a FF camera or a 35mm Nikon body!
I have SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 and it is an amazing lens!
I Absolutely agree with you;
I once owned just that particular type of the same Lens myself, but VERY unfortunately sold it - probably too cheap - to a keen Vintage Lens Collector - I regret that deeply now!
Th. Benjaminsson in Sweden - 🇸🇪 - 🇸🇪 -
For a pancake it is hard to beat the Konica 40mm f1.8. It can be had for $30.
My favourite is the Nikkor f2.8 135mm AI. Amazing quality.
Yes, that’s a gem! Far better than Canon, Pentax and others. My preference is for the even more modest f3.5 Ai. They’re very close, but I prefer the slower one.
I gotta say, I have the 3.5 pre-ai and its great. 52 filter thread and great optical quality. Good focus throw too. And cheaper than the 2.8, epic
tomioka f1.4 is unreal... Colors from it it's just magical. Thanks for a great video. Very informative and well put together.
Thank you!
The 200mm f3,5 Takumar is one heavy brass lens. It was way better in contrast and colour than Leitz Telyt. Mine was Magnum photographer! It was faster than. Nikon's 200mm f4.Yes! 1/2 f stop was important when Ektachrome Hi-Speed was 160 ASA (ISO)! Oldies are goldies..
You really know your stuff, that's for sure. Here in the US, it seems like 35mm lenses are very expensive, my only bargains are a Minolta MD, and a Mamiya Sekor. The Minolta is shockingly sharp. I got a Meyer Lydith as a free body cap from a well known English camera dealer years ago, as you say it is sort of a character lens. Here the biggest bargains are Minolta glass, I find lenses in thrift shops and boot sales for almost nothing. The Rokkor lenses have been shocking to me, even the ugly looking examples are pretty great.
Hey! Can you do a video on adaptors and getting various lenses to work with your set up?
Hanimex really isn't too bad for el cheapo
Ohhh, my favorite. portrait lens The Jupiter 9 85mm. I own two, but prefer the 1966 silver version more then the black 1976 version. It is like an effects lens with it's soft focus. However, it works best for contrast when using a long lens hood. I made mine out of lens filter adapter ring kits with a Takumar 135mm f2.5 lens hood on the end. Awesome! Maybe, people don't use the Jupiter 9 85mm that much is because the subject needs to be far away. I like this lens, but my favorite lens so far is the Fujinon 55mm f1.8 and f2.2 which are great. I have heard that FUJI had the best glass. I think I might have been too quick to judge though.
Yes, I think if I wasn’t invested in other systems, Fuji would be great way to go!
Like I was saying, I think I might have been too quick to judge though.
This last winter 2022 I found some other 50/55mm lenses that are really nice. I get bored when the days are short. I bought most of my lenses during this time of year, each year. I used to buy high end studio mics and I still do if I find a rare deal. So I do mostly lenses these days. My TOMIOKA interest developed after your Tomioka Revuenon silent video.
So these are my 2022 crop.
Olympus OM-System G.Zuiko Auto-S 55mm f1.2
Olympus OM-System Zuiko MC Auto-S 50mm f1.4 Black Nose
Canon FL 55mm f1.2 Fluorite Lens elements 1968
Auto Chinon MultiCoated 55mm f1.4 (TOMIOKA)
Auto Mamiya Sekor 55mm f1.4 with M42 Mount TOMIOKA Design
Tomioka Auto Revuenon 55mm f1.4 M42 (TOMIOKA)
Russian ZENITAR-M 50mm f1.7
Hi there, I just wanted to thank you for your very valuable videos! This is great. And out of your recommendations I just bought as one of my first M42 lenses the Yashinon DS 50mm F1,7 and I just love it for portraits (using it on an Fuji APS-C system). It is a fantastic little gem.
Great! So glad to hear this.
How about the smc pentax m 50/1.7 Surely worth a mention...
Yes, definitely worth a mention - a great/value lens, sharp with lovely rendering. However, it's Pentax K-mount not a M42.
My most expensive vintage lens to date is my Helios 81h (h is for Nikon) at $70 but that included shipping from Eastern Europe. Otherwise, most of my lenses cost me from $5-$10 at thrift shops and the broken lens box at my local camera shop. While none of my lenses are museum pieces, there are still some gems in my collection. Some of my favourites include my Nikon S•C 50mm f1.4, the Pentax-M 50mm f1.7, a Helios 44-2, a Tokyo Koki Tele-Tokina 105mm f2.8, a Konica Hexanon AR 52mm f1.8, a Minolta MC Rokkor PF, 50mm f2, a Yashica ML 50mm f2, a Fujinon 55mm f2.2 and a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8, all of these lenses cost my $5.00 each. Other recent favourites include my Soligor 135mm f3.5 ($5.00), a Bushnell 135mm f2.8 ($8.00), a Hanimex 180mm f3.5 ($20.00) and an Olympus F. Zuiko Auto-T 200mm f5 ($5.00). I also have three Industar lenses that cost me around $30.00 each. For samples from these and other budget, vintage lenses check out my portraits page here: mark-dantonio.imgbb.com/
What about the Helios 44m-4 with 13 blades aperture? There is one in Facebook market near my house, for 40usd. I think could be a nice price and easy pickup for me. What do you think?
Fujinon 55mm, f1.8 is a great bargain M42 lens. They can be had easily for under $50 - usually with one of Fujica's ST camera bodies attached. This lens is a bit soft making it great for flowers or casual portraits. It's not very good for landscapes, but it's great closer photography. Seems to pull in blues and greens quite well.
Yes, that Fujinon is good!
If we're talking about bargain telephoto lenses you should consider Tair-3S 4.5/300. It's not that bargain with price tag around $100 but performance is absolutely outstanding and this is - considering the quality-to-value ratio - the best vintage telephoto lens I've ever used.
Yes! I actually included it in my video on more expensive lenses (ua-cam.com/video/3BfkaLSF_qw/v-deo.html) , but it you can find one cheaply, it should be here too.
I'd also recommend 2 more lenses from Pentax: the 50mm SMC f1.7 and the 50mm SMC f4 Macro (actually 1:2 or half life size). I use both on my Canon 5D full frame bodies, especially the latter. They're not expensive and I never shoot wide open so the f4 version doesn't matter to me. Small, sharp and lovely colour rendition with plenty of bokeh too.
The SMC M 50mm f1.7 is a wonderful lens!
i got mirror stuck problem while using SMC in 5D m 3 , what is solution
@@vegadneeraj I had to chop off the aperture lug at back on my SMC lenses to avoid fouling the mirror.
@@jameswburke do you have any video about it? How can I do?
@@vegadneeraj Use sidecutters to chop it off flush and hold it upside down to file it smooth so filings don't go inside the lens. I've done it with 3 SMC lenses.
I like that I've got a cropped sensor and my pentacon does wonders but its messed up when I want to use an actual wide angle lens because its never completely wide
I find myself using the Helios 40 the most out of my lenses on the full frame...probably due to me getting used to how the 50s look on crop
I have medium format lenses (Mamiya - Pentax, etc.) that I've adapted to my Fujifilm XE-3 and they are a great option, as well.
You forgot the Meyer Görlitz 100mm 2.8 Orestor. With a bit of luck you can find it cheap.
I have enjoyed your lens reviews. I note you have not mentioned the Tamron SP Adaptall2 line of lenses in your discussions. Is this because you don't think highly of these lenses or do you exclude them because they are not M42 only lenses. I have owned several Takumars and consider them of great value for the money spent. Some of the Tamron SP lenses, such as the 90mm 1:2 Macro lens (52BB), are high quality lenses for the money spent. I own a few different film camera bodies in addition to my Sony mirrorless cameras and the adaptability of the Tamron lenses make them great value for money.
Thank you. Yes, the Tamron Adaptall2 lenses are not covered because they're not M42 lenses. But generally the Adapatall lenses are indeed excellent, and people I know who use them are very impressed with the results, and value for money. (At least I did put the great SP 90mm f2.5 on the list of macro lenses in the video at 10:45 )
Thank tou very much for talking about Lomo triplet that i convert to m39 mount. Much appreciated!
You're very welcome. Love you channel. It's an inspiration.
And coincidentally today, I was following your videos on cleaning a Tair 11a's blades, plus repairing a Tair 11's blades. I was operating on a Tair 11a, where some of the blades had come out of their positions. Fortunately I managed to get hem back without taking the whole mechanism apart.
I'm in awe at your repair skills, especially live on video! I only repair lenses when I buy lenses "for parts" lenses, cheap, for my own use only.
I have used several of these lenses extensively -the pentax 135 2.5 and the Lydeth 30mm - but far and away my most used m42 lens is the EBC fuji 55mm 1.8 ...$70...It stays on my Sony A 7R3 body when lenses costing $500 sit on my shelf...
I'm not surprised. I have the non-EBC 55mm f1.8 and it's a very good lens. With its coatings, the EBC is ever better I suppose.
I came here to find good and cheap 35mm vintage lenses and this man tells me to use my kit lens ...
In all seriousness, thanks for the amazing video! I can't wait to be financially able to try out all the SMC takumars you suggested, especially the 35mm 3.5 😁😁😁
Picked up the Yashica/Tomioka 50 F1.7 a couple years ago as my first adapted lens.
And I keep going back to it over my Helios and Fuji.
I knew nothing about adapted lenses. I just got a deal on an M42 to X mount adapter, so I went on Ebay and bought the first 50mm that was faster than the Fuji Xmount 50 I have.
Honestly I didn't expect much for the price, and thought Yashica sounded like a knock off brand or something. Gladly I was wrong!
It's only weakness is that it blooms way too much on certain bright scenes. So not good for concert or event photos with strong lights, or for water glare. Still, miles ahead of most of my other adapted lenses in that regard though.
Thanks for this comment and confirmation! It's a very impressive lens.
Have you tried enlarger lenses ? I have a NEOTAR 50 3.5 thats great for macro, has aperture control, and a m39 mount (easily adaptable to m42 + the helicoid you've shown)
Good idea! No I haven't personally tried enlarger lenses but friends have with excellent results.
Simon have you checked out the Schacht Ulm 80mm 2.8? Bokeh is crazy good. Seems sharp all over and the color rendering is great!
I have a zebra Pentacon 50 1.8. Never knew it was also sold as the Oreston.
Clear, informative and very well done as usual. In the ~$50 category I would mention the Industar 61 50/2.8 and the Jupiter 8 50/2.
Thank you. I've been taking a closer look at that Jupiter, I've seen it around quite a lot recently!!
@@Simonsutak the J-8 is very cheap but doesn't stand out imho.
They are both M-39 - so not to be mentioned in an M42 video. I'm quite a fan of Russian lenses. I need to try out my MC Zenitar 50 on a digital camera.
@@Martin_Siegel The industar-61 50/2.8 comes in both mounts - I have an M42 mount copy. The Jupiter-8 comes in M39 and M39+adapter (=M42) mount.
@@jpcalamaro961 Forgot about the Industar 61 but I have never before heard about a Jupiter 8 in Zenit (39mm) SLR mount. I have the Jupiter 11 in 39mm RF mount (LTM) and in 39mm SLR mount.
The Pentax A 35-70mm f/4 is a 7 element zoom. Great sharpness, color and macro. Generally sells for under $50.00. I have 3 copies. Just got a copy of the Takumar 200mm f/3.5 and it is without a doubt, a league into itself.
Have fun with the Takumar! Yes, the Pentax A is good but tends to get overshadowed by the more expensive A 35-105mm.
@@Simonsutak I have never owned the 35-105mm. Zooms tend to leave me flat with a few exceptions. Another is the 24-50mm. Very sharp and contrasty in it's range. At least sharp enough. I prefer it over my 24mm primes. The old M 35-70mm f2.8-3.5 is a surprisingly sharp 7 element lens too.. In both cases they tend to beat the $50 dollars and less category much like the 35-105.. Great videos by the way. Really enjoying them. Picked up the early zebra auto tak 55mm f/1.8 just recently. I have a few 55mm's kicking around. Great lenses. :)
I am in love with my Olympus 50mm f3.5 macro lens (even for normal shots). Obscene colors, fantastic micro-contrast, stunning sharpness. Old Minolta lenses can also be quite good (e.g. the 35-70mm f3.5 zoom, version II and III which both are sharp like a prime lens, especially the non-macro version II). In the Helios 44 lens family I prefer the older 44 version with 13 blades over the more mass-produced 44-2 model. Newer Helios versions like the 44-3 up to 44-7 or the 44-M are also worth testing (how you also mentioned in one of your videos) since the quality of these lenses is quite inconsistent and you need time to find a "keeper".
the Fujinon 55mm F1.8 is a nice lens and pretty common ..compered to my Canon FDn 50 F1.4 it has less fringing smother Bokeh and maybe a little sharper than the canon at F2 although i have not done any formal testing ..i have plenty of 50/55mm f1,6 to f2.2 lenses that i have not tested out yet but i am looking for anther F1.4 as i am not rally happy with the Bokeh of the FDn 50 F1.4
You mention the Vivitar 50 and 100mm macro lenses. I have Vivitar Series 1 90mm f2.5 Macro lens which I use regularly on my Canon dslr. Is this a more modern version. It comes with it's own extension unit which fits between lens and camera to allow even closer focusing and greater magnification.
I opted for the Jupiter 9 F2 85mm after a long debate with myself, and I am thoroughly enjoying the work with it . Fantastic piece of glass 👏 👌
I've always been fascinated by telephoto photography, and found what I regard as a vintage bargain in the super-telephoto regime.
I picked up a Zenit 3M-5A for £75 a while back. It's a 500mm F/8 mirror lens.
It's a little soft and produces donut bokeh which many people dislike, but it's a bloody 500mm lens and has good optical quality overall, in my opinion. For £75 this is a small telescope I can carry in my camera bag, and can produce some fun images.
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A have several of the M42 lenses mentioned, but I certainly would not class any of them as my favourites, and some I wouldn't want to use even if you paid me, including the 50/2.8 Tessar.
My favourite M42 lens which can be used for all types of photography, except perhaps macros, is the Tokina RMC 24mm f2.8. I made my own hood for it and it currently lives on my Sony A7C more than any other lens. It can produce beautifully smooth bokeh, sharp portraits, amazing landscapes, it's great for videography too...A must have lens for those on a budget.
In fact I like the 24mm focal length so much on full frame that I have just ordered the amazing Samyang AF 24mm f1.8 FE to replace it.
I have a Nikon 35mm f1.4 Ai-S for when I feel like using 35mm, which is less and less often these days and a couple more very nice Nikons too but none of them can be classed as bargain lenses.
I use the Nikon 35/1.4, Micro Nikkor 55/2.8 Ai-S and Nikon 105mm f2.5 Ai-S on my A7C via a Lingfoto Nikon F to E adapter.
My favourite 50mm-ish vintage lens though is my Canon FL-SA 55mm f1.2, which I permanently converted to Sigma SA mount (I machined 2mm off it in a lathe so I could get infinity focus when mounted on the SD14)...I now use it on my A7C via a Lingfoto SA to E adapter...I made my own lens hood for that too as the original hoods are now as rare as rocking horse droppings.
My favourite vintage 85mm lens is the Canon FD-SA 85mm f1.2 L, which I have also permanently converted to SA mount...Only it wasn't possible to machine 2mm off it to get infinity like I could with the FL 55/1.2mm, so instead I simply shortened another Lingfoto SA to E adapter by 2mm so it can focus to infinity on my A7C. Obviously the latter lens is hardly classed as a bargain lens, especially as it now regularly sells over £800 on ebay, but I can recommend a much cheaper lens that is also stellar performer...It's the compact and lightweight Mamiya M645 80mm f2.8 medium format kit lens...I made an M645 to SA adapter for it using a Mamiya M645 #1 extension ring, but it could be converted to M42 just as easily. It is easily one of the sharpest portrait lenses I have ever used, yet it is probably the cheapest native lens for the M645 mount. I tried the M645 45mm, M645 150mm and M645 210mm macro and the 80mm beats all of them for sharpness, so I sold them on again and only kept the 80mm.
As for an M42 135mm lens I suppose my favourite has to be my Sigmatel YS "multi scalematic" 135mm f1.8 (with a 77mm filter thread). It's a big heavy lens though and so it doesn't get much use. I use a Sonia Brand 77mm lens hood on it.
If you want a true M42 mount bokeh monster, look out for the Carl Zeiss 180mm f2.8 Sonnar...Smoothest bokeh ever!
ive been looking for this channel for so long, thank you for making these videos, it's super useful!
If you get the chance, try the Weltblick 135mm, its bokeh would fit perfectly with a Helios set 😉
Thanks - I'll take a look.
I would recommend the Hanimar Auto S 135mm F2.8. Great bokeh, lovely warm colours and also sharp from 2.8 Also, the Hanimex Tele-Auto 135mm f2.8, not as nice in colour rendering as the Hanimar, but razor-sharp from wide open
Thank you for taking the time to share your expertise. Generous of you, thank you!
there's also Jupiter-21m 200mm f/4, but it's extremely heavy ;(
Yes, those telephoto Jupiters are well worth a look and may double up as exercise weights!
@@Simonsutak I bought my with leather case and manual for $20 :D
Still thinking about selling it, but it's really really sharp
You made my day! As I reentered photography several years ago I chose to purchase film-camera lenses to get the feel and get comfortable seeing in various focal lengths. It's been a great journey. Watching your video I came to realize that I've a nice compliment of lenses. Several you have mentioned here. CJ Tessar (12 blade) Oreston, super tak 200/4. Even with some limitations they are not perfect like some extraordinary lenses of today. Clinical perfection isn't always the best look.
Great to hear!
I saw a super takumar 15mm fisheye for 1200$. But there are 17mm takumars for 200$- 300$. Wanted to buy a vintage one to save money but hell no.
I have that Vivitar Close Focusing Auto Zoom 75-205 as well as it's little brother, the 70-150mm f3.8 which has many, if not more, features than a Vivitar Series 1 lens.
I've got a very light very versatile SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7 fast and quite sharp and dirt cheap, native K mount so no adapter needed for Pentax DSLRs, and also a quite interesting M42 200/f4
Pentacon, which has 15 blades aperture and a focus throw of about 350 degrees.
I recently got my first Meyer Optik lens, and was very surprised with how it performed. Sounds like I have a few more I need to look at!
Yes!
@@Simonsutak Meyer-Optik Goerlitz Orestor 135mm f/2.8 (the 15-bladed version) - beautiful lens for portraiture; I got lucky and acquired my copy (including a leather-bound case) for just £30 from a charity shop. Adapts really well to my Canon EOS 6D, and indeed also to my three EOS 35mm film cameras.
I'm looking for a good low-cost 35mm prime on M42 mount, with the intention of shooting in low light; do you know of any really fast primes (f/2 or faster) that would fit that description?
@@graemeporter good-cheap-fast - pick 2 :-)
@@rolltrollroll Haha, true! I figure pretty much any M42 mount 35mm fast prime would come in cheaper than Canon's own EF 35mm f/2 or f/1.4L lens though; even used copies of those are quite expensive.
Currently I use my Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD for most street photography, and I like the 35mm focal length - but a nice fast prime would be a lot lighter, and hopefully I can find one that will let in more light for good low-light shots - preferably without breaking the bank!
@@graemeporter Or just try Flktogon 35/2.4 - just a half stop slower than Takumar 35/2 but just absolutely amazing colors
I have a collection of Pentacon lenses, that all together cost about £140. They are the Lydith 30mm f3.5, the 50mm f1.8, the 135mm f4 (6 blade) and the 200mm f4 (6 blade). I managed to find all of these in M42 mount and all have the ft markings in green. My favourite is the 135mm, but I really like all of them. I also picked up a 300mm f4 monster, for £100, so a bit more expensive, but produces very impressive bokeh, having 19 blades! I also have the zebra Tessar, but I don't use it very often, as I prefer the Pentacon 50mm. I tend to use all of my manual lenses on my APSC A68 camera, as I like having the focus assist to use. Not so easy to get perfect focus on the FF A850. Great video as always.
I have had a lot of fun with a Miida 35mm f/2.8-22 Automatic---Japanese, possibly made by Sun or Kawanon
. The distributor of the lens at that time, Marubeni Iida, was a marketing company, not a lens-maker. Miida, which is the contraction of Marubeni Iida, exported lenses to the US during the 1970s. I find this lens to be adequately sharp and it renders interesting backgrounds when shooting wide open. There are a lot of Miida lenses for sale on eBay and other re-seller sites that are quite reasonable in price. I managed to purchase an absolutely pristine copy of this lens for $10.50 US (less than £8.00 UK or just over €8.50), and it has become one of my go-to vintage lenses. Not a great lens, perhaps, but it is certainly quite a good lens (at least my copy) and well worth the low online prices. Of course, I cannot vouch for consistent quality control regarding these lenses--I can only recommend based on the copy that I use.