Top 4 vintage lenses

[Lee Ying]

Wide angle lenses are expensive to start with anyway. Tokina 11-16 is a good deal because even as an 11mm F2.8 prime its pretty cheap, compared to FF primes like 14mm F2.8 which costs three time as much as Tokina.
People complain about crop sensor doesn't go wide, but if you look around you usually find crop sensor equalevant at a much cheaper price than full frame version and you can match the range too.
The altra wide lenses, without going fisheye, are invariably for crop sensors only (ie, the very sharp Sigma 8mm-16mm), and they are reasonably priced compared to FF lenses.
So in the end, smaller sensors mean smaller budget for everything--body and lenses, without sacrisficing much reach.

[Roger Shealy]

Gustavs,

You could look for a deal on something like this:

SMC Takumar 15mm F3.5 Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Review Database


Problem is, these lenses vary in price quite a bit. Somebody that wants to sell it and doesn't know what it is may sell if for $50, somebody who does $1,200. Happy hunting!

[Gustavs Repse]

Ty Roger, seams like a good choice. But its for the future. Cant go over 200$ for the moment.


Il get the Mir 24. But i dont understand one thing. Between Mir 24M and Mir 24N the only difference is in mounts? The N is Nikon mount and the M is m42 mount. Both can be easily fitted to 550d?


Im planing to get Mir 24N simply cause its cheeper. I see majority using Mir 24m.


MC MIR-24 N 2/35 NIKON & Kiev bayonet lens EXC on eBay (end time 08-Oct-10 16:16:16 BST) ( In the picture of the lens there is written MC Mir 24-h)

This one (Plz dont Bid :) )

[Mark Von Lanken]

Hi Gustavs

That Mir 24 looks like a pretty good one. He notes that it has small bubbles/scratches. I would clarify with the seller on what his return policy is.

The first Mir 24 I bought from Kiev was in pretty good shape. The second and third Mir24 I bought had major scratches on the front lens element, even thought the sellers listed them as excellent condition. The Ebay sellers allowed me to return them. The fourth Mir 24 I bought was in excellent shape for real. Good luck with the auction.

As far as an affordable super wide less than $200. I have the Zenitar 16mm 2.8. They are made in Russia and you can still find them brand new around the $200 range. I have seen them with Nikon, Pentax K and M42 mounts. Maybe you can even find a good used one since they are made so close to where you are located...well I realize Russia is a big country, but at least you are closer to Russia than I am. ;-)

Here is a clip that primarily has footage from the Zenitar.

Zenitar-K 16mm Lens for DSLRs on Vimeo

[Gustavs Repse]

The wind shield is the front glass of the lens ? Or the Lens cap?


Hmm, interesting that Zenitar :) And cheep as well.


But i think it is not a wherry good performer in low light situations. And i am buying the wide angle for a good performance in Night . The kit lens 30-55 that i have are not usable in low light, tho offers a ,some what, Wide angle.


Edit:The video of yours is actually rly nice and is quite low lit .

But i have heard to much of a good reviews about the Mir 24 to stop now . :) Il get it for now . But i hope minor scratches on the front glass wont influence the outcome of a video. I think it should not be visible at all unless some had used a Nail and carved something in it .

[Mark Von Lanken]

I am unfamiliar with calling anything on the lens a windshield. I thought it may be a language translation thing. When I read windshield I thought of the front of the lens and not the lens cap. Clarification is alwasy good, especially before you purchase.

Most vintage lenses will have some degree of minor scratches. Its the deep, wide and long scratches that you need to be cautious of.

With the Zenitar at f/2.8, it will give better performance than the kit lens, which is f/3.5 when zoomed back wide, but is it worth it to you to buy a lens that is just a little faster and a little wider than the kit lens? I don't know, but it is about $400 cheaper than the Tokina 11-16.

[Gustavs Repse]

Yes, i sent the seller a question regarding those scratches . Hope he gives me a clarifying answer instead of " Lens is in great condition" reply . Usually i get those

Talking about "but is it worth it to you to buy a lens that is just a little faster and a little wider than the kit lens? I don't know" I sure hope you mean the Zenitar versus the Canon kit lens.

Cause i do expect a major improvement in low light situations from the Mir 24 Lens.

I got the Pentax smc 50mm 1.4 .And i do hope the Mir 24 is quite similar in low light performance. I think the 0.6 aperture difference is not that big between those 2.

Or am i to optimistic?

[Mark Von Lanken]

Originally Posted by Gustavs Repse

Talking about "but is it worth it to you to buy a lens that is just a little faster and a little wider than the kit lens? I don't know" I sure hope you mean the Zenitar versus the Canon kit lens.

Cause i do expect a major improvement in low light situations from the Mir 24 Lens.

I got the Pentax smc 50mm 1.4 .And i do hope the Mir 24 is quite similar in low light performance. I think the 0.6 aperture difference is not that big between those 2.

Or am i to optimistic?

Hi Gustavs,

Yes, I was comparing the Zenitar to the Canon kit lens. You will see a big improvement with the Mir24 over the kit lens in low light, as well as other areas.

The low light abilities of the Mir24 will fall between your Pentax 1.4 and the Canon kit lens at the wide setting. I could be wrong, but I understand that a 1.8 lens lets in half as much light as a 1.4 lens, so going from 1.4 to 2.0 is not just .6 aperture difference.

f/2.0 will get good results in low light. f/1.4 practically makes light, so it really depends on how dark the scene is. I have tried shooting low light receptions with an f/2.8 and it did not do well. Using an f/2.0 made a big improvement, but again, it depends on how dark the scene is.

[Roger Shealy]

I spent a little time today comparing my SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4 to some modern lenses; specifically Canon 50mm f1.8 and Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, all three set to f2.8. The following shots were taken at dusk within minutes of each other:

[Roger Shealy]

Here are a few more controlled shots of same lenses indoors in controlled lighting, all taken at f2.8 again. The cropped shots are near the center of the page. It's interesting that that the Tamron 17-50 at "50" is noticeably wider than the other lenses.

[Roger Shealy]

Perhaps the biggest difference in sharpness is in the corners of the lenses; all at f2.8. The top left corner showed the greatest difference on these samples. This isn't exactly fair to the Tamron, which I like very much and is on my camera 90% of the time. It's at a disadvantage being a zoom lens at it's widest aperture and at its extreme focal length whereas the others are primes and stepped down a few stops. I find myself often struggling for light, so f2.8 was the lowest common f-stop.

[George Pada]

Has anyone tested the nikkor 24m f2?
I just ordered one from ebay for 340$ (incl. shipping) for my 60d...

[Terry Lee]

George, i'm sure the 24mm f2 will do great. Post a video if you have a chance!

[George Pada]

Hi,
The nikkor 24mm f2 is here and it is in excellent condition!!
But still waiting for the adapter!

The Zenitar K2.8/16 is here also and it works gr8!!!

[Gustavs Repse]

Lucky you.

Im still waiting for my Mir 24, and i ordered it in October the 8th.

The shipping estimate for that seller is 15-25 days. But the worst part is, that before 5 days or so, the user i bought it from is no longer a Registered User of Ebay.

Its weird, cause his Feedback of 800+ seemed Legit.

Asked him about this issue, and he sad that Ebay closed his acc for some unpaid services to Ebay. Don't know what to think,but i am worried.

Adapter and the caps all arrived.



p.s

Maybe some1 knows a good place where i can get Mir 24 Lens which ships internationaly.