I got a super nice Vivitar Series 1 28 1.9 a few weeks ago. wasn't cheap at $275, but what a nice lens, including internal focus ! works great with a matte box. the only thing weird about it is that it has a tapered lens barrel making it tricky to keep the focus gear on it. I'm probably going to mod a lens gear to match the slope, or maybe just add a fat O ring onto the barrel to make up the difference.

I've got some really nice OM glass too, the 35-70mm F4 is nice, and cheap... but there is also a F3.5 out there as well, when the come around.

the problem with the dslr revolution is that its driven the price of the old glass up thru the roof. lenses that wouldn't of sold, or went for under $100 2-3 years ago are now fetching as much or more then their modern counterparts. this is in part due to 160-180 deg focus rotation, and real iris rings.

What the digital revolution SHOULD be spawning is an awakening by lens manufacturers that there is a REAL need for GOOD manual focus EF mount glass. People are snapping up screw-mount, kmount, f-mount, and other vintage glass very quickly. I could buy a razor sharp Nikon 1.8mm manual lens for a couple hundred bucks right now, new. But I'll pay nearly that much for a pristine vintage lens because of it's other qualities.

And modern AF glass is just the pits for use with follow-focus units. So I'll keep after it with the vintage glass until manufacturers wake up a bit and realize AF is NOT the answer for video.

Steve, I can't resist bragging about this now, but I found one of those at a market stall in London for £25, and couldn't believe my luck when I checked the eBay going rate.

The only down side is that my copy suffers from low contrast, and a general slightly washed out look.

How is yours?

Right, quick update, I am jealous of every single one of those lenses minus the Porst 135 f/1.8, which I just snagged on eBay.

I must admit, I probably paid more than I would have hoped (£206), but I'm confident that the prices for fast vintage glass are going in one direction - up.

I will probably have to say goodbye to the Takumar 135mm f/2.5 and the Pentacon 135 f/2.8, that is, as long as the Porst doesn't disappoint. I reckon I'll make back most of that money.

seems fine. old glass will be lower in contrast then new lenses because of the older technology, and because film back then was so contrasty, a lower contrast lens worked for better pix. if it seems really off... I don't know, maybe some one scrubbed off the "funny blue color" on the lens :(

I shot this with it....

Thanks very much for sharing that. I should qualify my comments about contrast. I was comparing the contrast in the f/1.9 to other vintage lenses I own. The closest one is the Vivitar 28mm f/2.8 close focus, which has much better contrast and saturation, as do most of the Takumars I own, which have great contrast, despite being old.

Your f/1.9 shares a similar look, but maybe a bit better than my one, hard to tell. I have seen a number of productions where the image is manipulated to look more like this lens, so it's not all bad. It has it's own style. Like a slight layer of white dust on the image. I think it's a usable look, and your footage looks nice. Regardless, the wide aperture is a must have in certain situations, and has on occasion produced a usable shot which would have otherwise been impossible.

I just checked mine to check your point about coating, and it looks like the coating on mine, which has a green tinge, is not worn or damaged, so it's a mystery.

Interesting that you filtered the lens anyway... Looks terrific by the way. I do find it somewhat ironic that the audio switch to the Sanken absolutely sounded LESS full and rich, though we do know it's a better mic. Sounds like someone pulled down the bottom two octaves when you switched! :)

Steve, I took a second look at your video, and the image has grown on me a lot. There is a lovely 3d quality to the rendering and the muted colours are very classy looking. So I stuck my copy of the lens back on and did some more test shots, and it seems I had judged my one too harshly, it looks great in the right light - really great. I feel like I have a new lens!

Great investment! You'll notice a slight softening wide open - appears most visibly with backlit subjects as a slight halation. This completely disappears one notch closed down at 2.8, but in my opinion the extra 1 1/3 stop gained at 1.8 and the resulting lower ISO more than makes up for the slight loss of sharpness.

The only reason I can see for keeping the slower 135's is that they are so much more compact and weigh considerably less. With the Canon adapter ring and a UV filter the Porst 135 f1.8 gets very close to 2lbs.

Thanks for the feedback. I will probably only use it wide open in indoor or night shots to avoid the halation you describe. A new word for me, thanks. I now have a word for that wide open white fuzz I see a lot. Seems that it is slightly less of a problem with video than stills.

I may well keep the other lenses. I have to tell my wife I will be selling lenses to justify the new purchases. Sometimes I forget that it's just a story, knowing full well that I 'won't get round to it'

Anyway, I don't see them losing value any time soon, so really I am thinking of our future..

Try the LCDVF. They make one to fit the 5D/7D and one to fit the Rebel. I've used mine all round the world in a variety of shooting conditions and it's worked really well.

And don't get wound up by all these people buying every lens going - I once shot an entire documentary on a single prime lens.

Hi James,

Fast glass is always a good investment. Just came across another lens to lust over - the Vivitar 135mm f1.5. Sharpens up at f2.0

DSC_7024 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

4lbs!

I soooo wish they wouldn't have that "Rebel" name sticking around. I almost bought 55D's instead of the T2i just so I wouldn't have to have the Rebel badge.

Having an arsenal of lenses is mandatory for event videography - you practically never have control of lighting or how close you can be to your subject.

What does event videography have to do with anything??

Liam, Event Video is what Joel does most often.