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07-14-2018, 08:09 PM - 2 Likes   #16
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oh good, another lens thread for me to take notes on...

07-14-2018, 08:44 PM - 5 Likes   #17
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K24 3.5.

It's my film equivalent of the DA 15 except sharper. It makes me wish I could afford the K1.

07-14-2018, 08:52 PM - 1 Like   #18
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My M100 ƒ/4 Macro. This was my second K-mount lens, I got an MX w/50 1.7 for graduation from HS, my dad got me the macro as a birthday present a few months later.
I still have all that gear, but have replaced it all in modern digital lenses. It's too hard for me to manually focus in those small APSc Finders.
The 100 was my "standard" lens with my MX and later my LX. I did a lot of Macro/close-up work, but it was useful for so much more. A bit slow at ƒ4, but super sharp.
Still have fond memories of it, and have played with it a bit on digital, but the DFA 100 Macro I have is a better tool for today's world, and cameras.
07-14-2018, 09:04 PM - 3 Likes   #19
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what ? Only 1 lens ? Its a toss up between my SMC-K 24mm 3.5 or the SMC-K 35mm 3.5
I suppose in the interest of this thread , its the 24mm 3.5 that gets my vote !

07-14-2018, 09:06 PM - 3 Likes   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by pepperberry farm Quote
oh good, another lens thread for me to take notes on...
:d:d:d:d:d

THE WYSIWYG EDITOR IS MESSING WITH MY MIND AGAIN.
07-14-2018, 09:17 PM - 2 Likes   #21
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The Pentax-M 120mm f2.8. It seems like the 135/3.5 is close enough and should work fine, while also being cheap and easy to find. While that is true, I like to think the designer faced the same issue with his boss, and made the M120/2.8 good enough to manufacture. It is better than the 135 and has that slight speed advantage too, just slightly smaller. It would make a good telephoto for a DA Limited kit. It replaced a K135/2.5 for me. I maybe paid too much ($130 I think) but it was worth it for me.
07-14-2018, 09:49 PM - 3 Likes   #22
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just one?


there are some really sublime (K35/3.5, K24/2.8), hugely capable (Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 72B), sweet-handling (A100/4 Macro) lenses in my cases - but I think my favorite would be my Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 55mm f1.2...

I read all the FUD about the lens, including some of the reviews here on PF, but don't believe the hype....

this lens is so much more than an f1.2 lens... stopped down to f4 or beyond, it becomes sharp and produces such warm, deep colors...

sure, it's a pain in the ass with an anodized mount, counter-to-Pentax focus rotation, older coatings that do not compare to today's standards, and an odd size filter ring at 55mm.....








07-14-2018, 11:32 PM - 2 Likes   #23
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For use on digital, my favourite is probably the M 35mm f/2. The reasons are that it has excellent image quality and provides a good manual experience as a normal-length fast prime on APS-C digital. It's not the best of the best when it comes to the feel of using an old manual focus lens but usefulness and results need to count for something even when going old skool.

Pentax M 35mm f/2 | Flickr

---------- Post added 15-07-18 at 08:36 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Just1MoreDave Quote
The Pentax-M 120mm f2.8. It seems like the 135/3.5 is close enough and should work fine, while also being cheap and easy to find. While that is true, I like to think the designer faced the same issue with his boss, and made the M120/2.8 good enough to manufacture. It is better than the 135 and has that slight speed advantage too, just slightly smaller. It would make a good telephoto for a DA Limited kit. It replaced a K135/2.5 for me. I maybe paid too much ($130 I think) but it was worth it for me.
The M 120mm f/2.8 is a very good lens and easily ousted my 135/3.5 as a small tele lens for travel - faster, smaller, better image quality, slightly more useful length (especially on APS-C digital). I paid around 95 GBP in total for mine which is not very different from what you paid and I'd say that's a decent price. In Japan I saw one for sale at double that.
07-14-2018, 11:59 PM - 3 Likes   #24
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Just one indeed! Choosing my favourite vintage lens depends on my mood, the weather, what I'm trying to achieve - e.g. close ups, or big bokeh, or portraits, or landscapes, plus sentimental value (and my first ever film lens, the S-M-C Takumar 55/1.8 wins on that account).

However, if someone said: 'you have an hour to take a photo with only one lens; a photo that other people will find interesting', then I'd always go for the Macro-Takumar 50/4 pre-set. It does everything really well from 1:1 macros to far away landscapes, and excels on modern digital sensors. It's also a joy to use, like a great scientific instrument.



On the other hand, if I just need to have fun and re-ignite my enjoyment of photography and it's mysteries (never sure exactly how the photos are going to come out), then any of these Helios 44s would be perfect. The silver M39 Helios 44 at the front is one of the best lenses, optically, I own. Right up there with the best Takumars, Zeisses and others. Maybe it's an exceptional copy, but it is exceptional, even better than its 'father', the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58/2.



Mad, bad and dangerous to know - along with the radio-active S-M-C Takumar 50/1.4, this even more radio-active Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50/1.8 is another favourite vintage lens. I just love the rendering it delivers.



And finally, the lens I lusted after for so long - a very early version Helios 40. I thought it would instantly become my favourite lens. It takes unique photos but it's too big and too heavy to enjoy all the time...too much like the most recent FF digital behemoths perhaps! (PS Shots from all my lenses arranged into albums are here: Simon's utak?s albums | Flickr).

07-15-2018, 12:44 AM - 3 Likes   #25
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I've got a number of old lenses, many of them understandably not up to modern standards, but of them the K28 f3.5 and K55 f1.8 I'm very happy to shoot with.
07-15-2018, 12:44 AM - 3 Likes   #26
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Another vote here for the A50/f1.4. As well as the optical characteristics, the focussing is very smooth and makes for a great CIF lens on a DSLR. Also, being an A, all of the exposure modes are still available.
07-15-2018, 12:49 AM - 3 Likes   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by BigMackCam Quote
So, what's your favourite vintage / film-era manual-focus lens, and why?
QuoteOriginally posted by BigMackCam Quote
Valid choices can include those with camera-controlled aperture (such as Pentax A-series)

Well so that's all my "Ladies" qualified then...

You honestly expect me to pick out one... with all the others in the harem listening, sorry I've no death wish requirement here.
07-15-2018, 02:37 AM - 3 Likes   #28
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I almost gave a glib answer and said the Super Takumar 20mm/4.5 , of course, and left it at that. But then I stopped and thought about it for a moment, which is usually the beginning of a slippery slope for me, and realised that it's not as straightforward as I first assumed.

Yes, it's the Tak 20 on APS-C digital, except that actually it isn't. It's the Tak 20 on the Samsung GX-10, the digital camera that I use the most, because I love the way the lens renders on that CCD sensor. But I don't like the look that I get from the 20 on my only CMOS sensored camera at all, the little K-S1. The lens that I keep pretty much glued to that camera is the SMC Takumar 24mm/3.5.

Then there's film, where my long-time favourite has always been the M24-35mm/3.5, which is as small as a prime and darn near as sharp. Although that doesn't apply to all films, because different lenses are better with different emulsions. And I utterly hate the way the M24-35 renders colours on every digital camera I've ever tried it on.

I haven't got a clue what my favourite would be on full frame digital, because I've never tried it.

So really what it comes down to is lens/sensor synergy, which is a very real thing that tends not to get talked about in equipment reviews. A lens that's great with one sensor can be truly blah with another one, and those differences can be so huge that it's sometimes hard to believe that it's really the same lump of glass.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. It's Sunday morning so I've got too much free time on my hands. . .
07-15-2018, 02:48 AM - 1 Like   #29
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dartmoor Dave Quote
It's Sunday morning so I've got too much free time on my hands
Aye I know that feeling and it's also raining here...
07-15-2018, 06:27 AM - 5 Likes   #30
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It has been hard to decide if I have a favourite in my collection of old lenses and it came down to the Pentax-A 35-105, the Tamron SP 60-300mm and the Tamron SP90 52BB.
I will have to plump for the Tamron SP 60-300mm. While it has not been used for a while because I bought a DA L 55-300, if not for the 55-300 purchase, this is the lens I would be prepared to walk miles with and have! It has a good "macro" mode, good IQ (in my opinion anyway) and the images it can take make me forgive it's weight and ungainliness.
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