[future_retro]

I'm looking for a few MF primes for video work

I'm looking probably at a 28, 50/55, and a 135. All fast, hopefully 2.8 or faster

Now here's what would separate them from normal use primes, I'd like the focus rings to have short throws and loose tolerances, my old M50 1:2 probably wouldn't have been good for my uses because you had to turn the ring a lot to go through the focus range, and also it was really stiff, with my tripod, the resistance from the lens probably would have introduced a lot of shake

I'd also like them to be cheap, since It's just video I've heard that tack sharpness doesn't matter because of the low pixel count, so as long as they aren't noticeably soft I wouldn't mind pinching pennies and sacrificing sharpness. I'd prefer $50 per lens or so....

any suggestions?

[Green Chile]

Every manual focus lens I've ever used has a really long throw, like 270 degrees or something. You might be able to find some old F lenses for cheap, like some kit zooms or cheap aftermarket lenses, if they have an aperture ring. Autofocus lenses and some zooms have short throws. At your local camera store you might be able to find some old Vivitar or Tamron glass that would fit your needs.

[boriscleto]

I just acquired a rather interesting mystery lens. It's a 35mm F2.8 M42 labeled Auto Sunset. It says it's Made in Japan and the inspection sticker indicates it was made in 1987. Another thing that makes it unusual is that it has a very short throw.

[dasuhu]

I would guess most wide angle MF lenses would have short throws because the DOF is so large...someone correct me if I'm way off base.

[boriscleto]

I would guess most wide angle MF lenses would have short throws because the DOF is so large...someone correct me if I'm way off base.

I didn't notice that before. Probably because I only have 1 other MF wide angle, the Pentax-M 28 F3.5. Both the 28 and 35 have the same throw distance but the 28 is marked for 1 foot to 10 feet and the 35 is marked for 2 feet to 30 feet.

The lens with the shortest throw distance that I own is the Vivitar 28-200 f3.5-5.3 (Kobori). Just have to get around to cutting off the aperture guard and removing the Ricoh pin.