Your Wierdest Lens? -and- A Lens You'd Never Own?

RioRico · 05-09-2012, 08:59 PM

Rather than roll this out in two seperate threads, I'll make it a two-fer:

1: What is your weirdest, most unusual lens?
and
2: Is there a lens (suitable for your camera) that you would NEVER own?

For #1, I'll nominate my trusty Schneider Betavaron 50-125/4-5.6 enlarger zoom. Mounted on fixed extension (about 32mm of tubes) it only focuses by zooming, so I get infinity focus around 50mm and close-focus of around 1m at 125mm. On a 15-31mm focusing helicoid, it's a bit more flexible. But framing a shot still involves a lot of moving around, like dancing with the subject. It's a beast of a lens, nearly a kilo of glass. And I love it!

For #2... I don't know. I've heard of various cruddy or overpriced lenses that are best avoided, but I haven't any solid prejudices. Yet. I don't mean unusable glass, like Canon on PK, or lenses that I could likely never afford. And I can't nominate lenses I alrfeady own (like my three M50/2s that now serve as body caps) -- it's too late for that. No lens makes me nauseous just thinking about it. Yet.

So, let's hear your bizarre and/or sickening suggestions.

reeftool · 05-09-2012, 10:27 PM

Nothing as weird as your enlarger lens but my most "different" lens is a Kalimar Auto-T Wide, a 25mm f2.8 lens with an M42 T mount. At f 2.8 , it's dreadful but stopped down to the next click (f/4) it's tack sharp. Go figure. The manual/auto switch (maybe not the right term) is a rotating ring just above the aperture ring that move to an M-A position. It's a large and quite solid, all metal lens.

What would I never own? No lens in particular comes to mind but the reason it would be avoided is because I can't afford it.

hoanpham · 05-09-2012, 11:26 PM

#1 Kenko Fisheye converter. Weird funny looking when attaching to camera and weird in use. Pleased lens-porn eyes.

#2 Many cheap vivitar zooms.They came with PKA mount, but build quality is rubbish. I just demount one of them and use as spare parts. Kids loves glass elements to explore insects in backyard.

drougge · 05-10-2012, 12:46 AM

#1: My Lensbaby. Sure, it's a modern, readily available lens, but it's still pretty weird. You focus by pushing the front around (not just straight in/out), you change the aperture by sticking a magnet in the front to take the old one out, and then insert some other size. It's got three antennae sticking out in front (actually screws you can lock the front to, and then rotate to tune focus). And it's probably the (optically) crappiest 50mm ever produced for small format. The three latest images on my flickr were taken with it.

#2: I don't mind owning things I never use, so I don't think I have a good answer. Plenty of lenses I'd never pay for though, pretty much any old consumer zoom. (From before they were decent I mean.)

hoanpham · 05-10-2012, 02:33 AM

#1b: Hartblei 150mm f2.8 medium format in Pentacon six mount, using with tilt adapter on pentax dslr. Huge and very good glass. Looks like I have dropped the lens.

#1c: Pentax K28/3.5 shift, using with tilt adapter on Sony Nex body. and become shift and tilt. A 'Transformer' setup.

#1d: Olympus 35/2.8 shift, leitax mount, on Pentax no-tilt or Nex body with tilt, another 'Transformer' setup.

#1e: Nikkor 28/3.5 PC (shift lens), using with tilt adapter on Nex body, yet another 'Transformer' setup. The nikkor fits in pentax body, but with no tilt. The lens itself is smaller than pentax K28/3.5 shift.

My kids love these setups, especially 1e and 1d.
I added a good CPL filter to complete 1d/1e - ultimate cityscape gear.

photocanadian · 05-10-2012, 03:19 AM

1. A couple - Uber-rare Takumar 100mm f/3.5 in m42 mount (just sold to a forum member), Canon FD 50mm f/1.2 in PK mount, Nikkor-H 85mm f/1.8 in PK mount

2. Most DA- lenses (exept the 15/40) and most zooms/stove pipes. Building up for film/full-frame.

bdery · 05-10-2012, 04:56 AM

1-not very original, as my lineup is pretty mainstream, but I'd say the wierdest is the DA21

Weird focal length, weird size and design, gets me weird looks.

2-I've briefly owned a Takumar-A 35-70 and I would never own it again.

**LaurenOE** · 05-10-2012, 05:16 AM

Originally posted by hoanpham

#1b: Hartblei 150mm f2.8 medium format in Pentacon six mount, using with tilt adapter on pentax dslr.

I have been wondering about these setups. I'd love to hear more about it. It's confusing about which combo works best, and which vendor to buy from.

Any experiences you can share?

**Odinz** · 05-10-2012, 05:26 AM

1) The weirdest lens I have is an Itorex 50mm-F40 Pano lens. It's a small T-mount lens which is actually smaller than the mount itself. Images are almost pinhole like, although in very good light it can take the occasional acceptable photo. Don't use it much but hang on to it due to it's novelty (I'm a pack rat when it comes to camera equipment, I admit it). I use some of my old enlarger lenses and have even used some of my old N***n Coolpix accessory lenses on my camera (the fisheye adapter makes a nice circular fisheye image when attached to the front of a 24mm lens).

2) Off hand I can't think of anything that I would NEVER own. Some of the really expensive lenses I would never BUY (at least not at full retail), but if I was able to somehow come into possession of one (though trade, gift, etc.) I would have no problem OWNING any of them.

**Lowell Goudge** · 05-10-2012, 05:32 AM

not really sure about weird, as lots of forum members have similar arrangements, but a 135mmSchneider - Kreuznach - Componar F4.5 enlarging lens on a miranda bellows adapted for K mount to the camera.

as for lenses that I will never own, some time ago pentax advertised (with the introduction of the K series of DSLRs) that there were 23million lenses made that can be used on this camera. As I only have 50 lenses at present, I would think there are somewhere 22,999,950 lenses I will never own.

But seriously, at present, the most unlikely lens for me would be the A series 1200mm lens. I just can't see it ever being in my house.

jimr-pdx · 05-10-2012, 05:52 AM

Weird to me but not to photo-historians: the Rikenon XR 70-150 f/4. According to drricoh website it was released in 1981, which I perceive as deep into the push-pull zoom era - but not only is it a 'two-touch' lens with dedicated zoom ring, it also zooms internally. Solid and sharp yet small and takes 52mm filters.. and coated with something sticky apparently, since I often cannot let go of it or remove it from my camera

I'll never own another lens faster than f/1.7 or f/2. I'll take a light & tiny 50/2 and boost ISO.. and I'd probably shoot at f/4 anyway so what's the point? And after reading (on this site, thanks folks) that cropping images from a 55-300 beats putting a TC on it, I don't expect to own anything over 300mm.

panoguy · 05-10-2012, 05:55 AM

Weird:
1a) Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/4 "Flektogon" for Pentacon Six (6x6 medium format), adapted with a P6-K mount tilt adapter.

1b) LZOS 85mm f/2 "Jupiter-9" in M39 mount, with M42 step-up ring, plus M42-K adapter, rocking that 16 bladed aperture!

Never:
2) Any Pentax SMC (-A, etc.) 50mm f/2... I have some aversion to those el-cheapo manual "kit lenses."

**Michaelina2** · 05-10-2012, 06:02 AM - **1 Like**

1. Weird: No candidates, unless it's the uber-wide angle "Fish-eye" (DA 10-17, M-17/4, etc) effect lenses.
2. Never own: Probably the various lenses specifically designed to produce a soft focus. I don't need any help there.

Cheers...

drougge · 05-10-2012, 06:03 AM

Originally posted by panoguy

1a) Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/4 "Flektogon" for Pentacon Six (6x6 medium format), adapted with a P6-K mount tilt adapter.

How's the IQ with that? (I have the lens, but no adapter for K mount, but I could use it (without tilt) with K->645 and 645->P6 adapters.) (Looking at your picture, you obviously have a newer copy than me though.)

eddie1960 · 05-10-2012, 06:10 AM

No truly weird candidates (though I have a frankenproject that will qualify when i get around to finishing it - my bronica 40mm 4.0 on a flexible toilet plunger mounted to a cheap extension tube

- reversible everything hel in place with pipe ring clamps

- and i can change up and use the 50/75and 150 on it)

Not sure there is a never own, though price of some lenses makes a few certain to be on the never own list (like the leica 50 1.0 or 0.95 lenses unless i win a big lottery i will never own either - though i would if i won a lottery)

05-10-2012, 02:33 AM	#5
hoanpham Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Strand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,366	#1b: Hartblei 150mm f2.8 medium format in Pentacon six mount, using with tilt adapter on pentax dslr. Huge and very good glass. Looks like I have dropped the lens. #1c: Pentax K28/3.5 shift, using with tilt adapter on Sony Nex body. and become shift and tilt. A 'Transformer' setup. #1d: Olympus 35/2.8 shift, leitax mount, on Pentax no-tilt or Nex body with tilt, another 'Transformer' setup. #1e: Nikkor 28/3.5 PC (shift lens), using with tilt adapter on Nex body, yet another 'Transformer' setup. The nikkor fits in pentax body, but with no tilt. The lens itself is smaller than pentax K28/3.5 shift. My kids love these setups, especially 1e and 1d. I added a good CPL filter to complete 1d/1e - ultimate cityscape gear. Last edited by hoanpham; 05-10-2012 at 03:20 AM.

05-10-2012, 05:55 AM	#12
panoguy Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,327	Weird: 1a) Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/4 "Flektogon" for Pentacon Six (6x6 medium format), adapted with a P6-K mount tilt adapter. 1b) LZOS 85mm f/2 "Jupiter-9" in M39 mount, with M42 step-up ring, plus M42-K adapter, rocking that 16 bladed aperture! Never: 2) Any Pentax SMC (-A, etc.) 50mm f/2... I have some aversion to those el-cheapo manual "kit lenses." Last edited by panoguy; 05-10-2012 at 06:00 AM.

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05-09-2012, 08:59 PM	#1
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Your Wierdest Lens? -and- A Lens You'd Never Own? Rather than roll this out in two seperate threads, I'll make it a two-fer: 1: What is your weirdest, most unusual lens? and 2: Is there a lens (suitable for your camera) that you would NEVER own? For #1, I'll nominate my trusty Schneider Betavaron 50-125/4-5.6 enlarger zoom. Mounted on fixed extension (about 32mm of tubes) it only focuses by zooming, so I get infinity focus around 50mm and close-focus of around 1m at 125mm. On a 15-31mm focusing helicoid, it's a bit more flexible. But framing a shot still involves a lot of moving around, like dancing with the subject. It's a beast of a lens, nearly a kilo of glass. And I love it! For #2... I don't know. I've heard of various cruddy or overpriced lenses that are best avoided, but I haven't any solid prejudices. Yet. I don't mean unusable glass, like Canon on PK, or lenses that I could likely never afford. And I can't nominate lenses I alrfeady own (like my three M50/2s that now serve as body caps) -- it's too late for that. No lens makes me nauseous just thinking about it. Yet. So, let's hear your bizarre and/or sickening suggestions.

05-09-2012, 10:27 PM	#2
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,554	Nothing as weird as your enlarger lens but my most "different" lens is a Kalimar Auto-T Wide, a 25mm f2.8 lens with an M42 T mount. At f 2.8 , it's dreadful but stopped down to the next click (f/4) it's tack sharp. Go figure. The manual/auto switch (maybe not the right term) is a rotating ring just above the aperture ring that move to an M-A position. It's a large and quite solid, all metal lens. What would I never own? No lens in particular comes to mind but the reason it would be avoided is because I can't afford it.

05-09-2012, 11:26 PM	#3
hoanpham Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Strand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,366	#1 Kenko Fisheye converter. Weird funny looking when attaching to camera and weird in use. Pleased lens-porn eyes. #2 Many cheap vivitar zooms.They came with PKA mount, but build quality is rubbish. I just demount one of them and use as spare parts. Kids loves glass elements to explore insects in backyard.

05-10-2012, 12:46 AM	#4
drougge Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Malmö Photos: Gallery Posts: 787	#1: My Lensbaby. Sure, it's a modern, readily available lens, but it's still pretty weird. You focus by pushing the front around (not just straight in/out), you change the aperture by sticking a magnet in the front to take the old one out, and then insert some other size. It's got three antennae sticking out in front (actually screws you can lock the front to, and then rotate to tune focus). And it's probably the (optically) crappiest 50mm ever produced for small format. The three latest images on my flickr were taken with it. #2: I don't mind owning things I never use, so I don't think I have a good answer. Plenty of lenses I'd never pay for though, pretty much any old consumer zoom. (From before they were decent I mean.)

05-10-2012, 03:19 AM	#6
photocanadian Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: capital city, the land of eh (Ottawa, Canada) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 329	1. A couple - Uber-rare Takumar 100mm f/3.5 in m42 mount (just sold to a forum member), Canon FD 50mm f/1.2 in PK mount, Nikkor-H 85mm f/1.8 in PK mount 2. Most DA- lenses (exept the 15/40) and most zooms/stove pipes. Building up for film/full-frame.

05-10-2012, 04:56 AM	#7
bdery Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Quebec city, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,357	1-not very original, as my lineup is pretty mainstream, but I'd say the wierdest is the DA21 Weird focal length, weird size and design, gets me weird looks. 2-I've briefly owned a Takumar-A 35-70 and I would never own it again.

05-10-2012, 05:16 AM	#8
LaurenOE Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Back in Florida, but worldwide gigs! Photos: Albums Posts: 3,690	Originally posted by hoanpham #1b: Hartblei 150mm f2.8 medium format in Pentacon six mount, using with tilt adapter on pentax dslr. I have been wondering about these setups. I'd love to hear more about it. It's confusing about which combo works best, and which vendor to buy from. Any experiences you can share?

05-10-2012, 05:26 AM	#9
Odinz Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 259	1) The weirdest lens I have is an Itorex 50mm-F40 Pano lens. It's a small T-mount lens which is actually smaller than the mount itself. Images are almost pinhole like, although in very good light it can take the occasional acceptable photo. Don't use it much but hang on to it due to it's novelty (I'm a pack rat when it comes to camera equipment, I admit it). I use some of my old enlarger lenses and have even used some of my old N***n Coolpix accessory lenses on my camera (the fisheye adapter makes a nice circular fisheye image when attached to the front of a 24mm lens). 2) Off hand I can't think of anything that I would NEVER own. Some of the really expensive lenses I would never BUY (at least not at full retail), but if I was able to somehow come into possession of one (though trade, gift, etc.) I would have no problem OWNING any of them.

05-10-2012, 05:32 AM	#10
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,888	not really sure about weird, as lots of forum members have similar arrangements, but a 135mmSchneider - Kreuznach - Componar F4.5 enlarging lens on a miranda bellows adapted for K mount to the camera. as for lenses that I will never own, some time ago pentax advertised (with the introduction of the K series of DSLRs) that there were 23million lenses made that can be used on this camera. As I only have 50 lenses at present, I would think there are somewhere 22,999,950 lenses I will never own. But seriously, at present, the most unlikely lens for me would be the A series 1200mm lens. I just can't see it ever being in my house.

05-10-2012, 05:52 AM	#11
jimr-pdx Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: now 1 hour north of PDX Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,897	Weird to me but not to photo-historians: the Rikenon XR 70-150 f/4. According to drricoh website it was released in 1981, which I perceive as deep into the push-pull zoom era - but not only is it a 'two-touch' lens with dedicated zoom ring, it also zooms internally. Solid and sharp yet small and takes 52mm filters.. and coated with something sticky apparently, since I often cannot let go of it or remove it from my camera I'll never own another lens faster than f/1.7 or f/2. I'll take a light & tiny 50/2 and boost ISO.. and I'd probably shoot at f/4 anyway so what's the point? And after reading (on this site, thanks folks) that cropping images from a 55-300 beats putting a TC on it, I don't expect to own anything over 300mm.

05-10-2012, 06:02 AM - 1 Like	#13
Michaelina2 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SE Michigan USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,301	1. Weird: No candidates, unless it's the uber-wide angle "Fish-eye" (DA 10-17, M-17/4, etc) effect lenses. 2. Never own: Probably the various lenses specifically designed to produce a soft focus. I don't need any help there. Cheers...

05-10-2012, 06:03 AM	#14
drougge Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Malmö Photos: Gallery Posts: 787	Originally posted by panoguy 1a) Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/4 "Flektogon" for Pentacon Six (6x6 medium format), adapted with a P6-K mount tilt adapter. How's the IQ with that? (I have the lens, but no adapter for K mount, but I could use it (without tilt) with K->645 and 645->P6 adapters.) (Looking at your picture, you obviously have a newer copy than me though.)

05-10-2012, 06:10 AM	#15
eddie1960 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,666	No truly weird candidates (though I have a frankenproject that will qualify when i get around to finishing it - my bronica 40mm 4.0 on a flexible toilet plunger mounted to a cheap extension tube - reversible everything hel in place with pipe ring clamps - and i can change up and use the 50/75and 150 on it) Not sure there is a never own, though price of some lenses makes a few certain to be on the never own list (like the leica 50 1.0 or 0.95 lenses unless i win a big lottery i will never own either - though i would if i won a lottery)