DCL (dirt cheap lens) Club

[the_snark]

I just posted what's below in the Off Brand Club a little while ago. I just discovered this thread, and it's equally appropriate here.

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I guess I can join this club now. A few hours ago I looked in a charity shop and found an XR Rikenon 28/2.8 which looked to be in pretty much new condition apart from some fingerprints on the rear element. It had a filter on the front. The lens was $8.75.

I don't know anything about this lens or its reputation - can anyone enlighten me?

I just had a short while before the sun went down to try it out on my K100D. It seems quite sharp when I get the focus right, though I can't remember when it was stopped down and when it wasn't. I have B&W'd 2 of the shots as I thought it suited them. I did think some greens (plants, not in the shots below) were a bit less green than usual, but that was probably due to the weird warmish light in Adelaide late this afternoon.

I don't think I'll have any problems getting $8.75 worth of enjoyment out of it.

[mediaslinky]

The cheapest lens I ever found was a Ricoh 28mm 2.8 I got for $5.50. I had to cut off the Ricoh flange and remove the pin to make it fit. Took nice pictures, but the lack of coating and lens flare led me to sell it for $10.

Pentax M 50mm F2 for $20
Vivitar Kiron made 75-150mm f3.5 for $20 (sold it for $30 later)
Vivitar Kiron made 75-205mm f3.5 for $30

I just bought another Vivitar, Kiron made 28mm... if it has the right mount, it will be my best buy- $15.75. if it has the wrong mount, it will go back on ebay. I like Kiron lenses.

I got an off brand 2x tele just to play wth attached to another M 50mmf2, and turned around selling the m50mm... net cost was about $5.

[RichardC]

This is my first post so please go easy on me,

I have an Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 135/3.5 I picked up on evilbay for £7.50. I have been very impressed with it so far.

Here's a couple of samples:

[Asahiflex]

I just received my $15 Meyer Goerlitz Orestor 135mm f/2.8 lens, aka the "Bokeh Monster". I already like it a lot for its stunning bokeh.

Here are a few shots, all made wide open (f/2.8).

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[Marc Sabatella]

I got my latest lens *literally* for a song - someone who had three 28mm lenses (and an FA31!) traded me his M28/2.8 (version 1) for one of my CD's.

The first two images below were shot wide open at f/2.8; the others were stopped down some:

[axl]

I will join this club, I just need to gather some evidence. My entry ticket will be Tokina 28 f2.8, got it for £25....

btw: neester, some really great B&W pics you have there...

[Roburg]

I've been lucky twice - once at a collectors fair, when everyone was bidding up the Hasselblads etc, I spotted an old MG body in perfect condition with a M50mm f1.7 attached. I asked how much and the guy said $20 - my look of shock must have been interpreted wrongly, as he then said he'd throw in a 80-200 Makinon for that price. I was happy to get my wallet out as fast as I could. The zooms not much good but the 50mm is a beauty.
The other time was when a member of my camera club had offered to sell some cameras and lenses for a thrift shop. I offered $30 or so for a Spotmatic with a broken light meter and a 55 f1.8 lens. When I got home I discovered a SMC 20mm f4 lens also in the box which I hadn't known about. Another great lens and just what I needed for wider angles.

[memira]

My best deal on a Cam and Lens (though not a Pentax) was just 3 weeks agp on the local fleamarket:

Minolta 5000 Body (working)
AF 50 1.7 (like new)
Flash
Camera Bag

for CHf 25.--

Kept the Bag and gave the lens to a friend for his Konica Minolta 5d.

[philmorley]

I picked up a pentax-a 50mm macro f2.8 for AU$25 from pawn shop took 1-2000 photos and sold it 6-12 months later for US$140 (which was very good at time) but within a couple of months and ever since wished I hadn't sold it.

[Arjay Bee]

I love the bargains bin and do the rounds of several pawn shops every six months or so.

The day I picked up my DL2 I also scored a K 55 1.9. $27 - that set my LBA in motion
Same shop, M42 Pentax Auto Extension tubes $12 a few weeks later.
Tokina RMCII M42 28 2.8 $22 - sticky blades but a lovely lens once cleaned

Gave up on the one by one bargains as I had cleaned out the shops and started on ebay job lots:
Pentax H2 + Bellows + Isco Gottingen 135 3.5 $66
Spotmatic II + 2xZeiss Jena Tessars + Viv 28 2.8 (T2)+ Contemporary era (vintage) Gear Bag + other accessories $80
SFX+ Sigma Kit zoom (garbage) + Bag + Tripod + Tokina ATX 80-400 (ser1) + other accessories and cokin filter set etc $440 Have since off loaded the tripod and the bag will follow. The Tokina makes this a bargain as the rest can all be sold on - check other forum posts for the going rate of this lens.

LBA now in remission for a while:
Oh no, a Viv 28 2.8 (K2) for $70 a couple of weeks ago after reading Robin's posts about this lens.

[virgilr]

Was looking for a budget walk around AF zoom, and found a brand-new Tamron 28-105mm f/4-5.6 IF at a local used camera re-seller for $65.00 CAD. Was a little concerned with sharpness/detail, but things seem to be working out quite well. Not the most contrasty lens, but minor contrast tweaks and a hint of sharpening (around 25% in Lightroom) really make this little guy shine. Very happy!

[Nesster]

Virgilr - nice shots you have there, many of them have a bit extra, surrealism like the plane, or lighting effects like that house.

axl - thank you!

I got an adaptall 103a for under $20 at goodwill. Ilford XP2, lens mounted on a KX.

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

[virgilr]

I've posted these shots on the K club, but I got another heck of deal: A Pentax-K SMC 30mm f/2.8 and a Pentax-M SMC 28mm f/3.5 from a different local used camera dealer here in Montreal for an entire 75.00 CAD with an original Pentax M42 adapter.

So, I sold the 28mm f/3.5 for 95.00 USD on Fleabay: with exchange pocketed $30.00! Can't believe my luck- I didn't know what a great lens the 30mm was until I started doing a bit of research and started shooting with it. Now for a split focusing screen to help with using these manual lenses... :-) I miss those focus screens!

Here's a few shots:

[Trawlerman]

I got a CHINON MC 50/1.7 for 1 UK Pound.
I liked it so much I bought another one at the exorbitant price of 2.50 Pounds

A really sharp lens and well worth the money !

[Pooky125]

Hmm, just last week I picked up an M50 f1.7, a Focal MC 135 f2.8 and a Gemini MC 28 f2.8 for a whopping 61$ shipped. I was pleased.