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06-09-2012, 08:04 AM - 1 Like   #1
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Great Value for Money Lenses? Name your favourites

My recent discoveries in the more upmarket section include the following:

Canon FD's:

1. 55/1.2 Aspherical for under $1000 - as good as the Nokt-Nikkor which costs more than triple. Simply brilliant. Erwin Puts, the Leica guru, rates it higher than the Leica Noctilux 50/1 and says that wide open it is as sharp as most of the other 50mm at the optimal aperture.

taken today @f1.2:



a few days ago stopped down to f1.4:




2. 85/1.2L for under $700 - a very sharp and easy to use lens. Nice close up and nice at infinity. In the same league as the Pentax A*85/1.4 but with the extra 1/2 stop and quite a bit cheaper.



3. 300/2.8L and 500/4.5L cost a fraction of their Pentax equivalents (well there isn't one for the 500/4.5, but say A* 600/5.6). I have not tested these lenses yet, but from the images I have seen online, they are excellent and lighter than the Pentax equivalents. Now Pentax may well offer better IQ, perhaps someone who has compared both can tell, but these are still excellent lenses.

I recently got a set of Contax G lenses which with Metabones adapter are very usable. They have excellent image quality to rival the best of the Leicas and cost peanuts (relative to the Leica). The 45/2 is commonly called the sharpest lens ever made. Similarly with the 90/2.8, while the 21/2.8 is absolutely brilliant though has some minor issues with NEX-5n and border colour cast. The 28/2.8 is also very very good.

Getting weirder I also looked at some C-mount lenses which I suspect will become more and more popular especially as the EVIL cameras, like the NEXes, the MFT, the Pentax Q, Nikov V1 etc take off. C-mounts include some amazing lenses, not least of which are the Swiss-made Macro-Switars. These lenses used to cost an absolute fortune when they sold new. They are small, built absolutely beautifully, with amazing attention to detail and precision, lovely damped focus, two levers for the stepless stop down aperture, state of the art DoF scale, etc.

1. The 26/1.1 I suspect would be the ideal lens for the Nikon V1 giving a 70mm f1.1 lens (of course the DoF will be shallower but it will be as fast as f1.1 on the 35mm). The 26/1.1 is very sharp, very contrasty with beautiful rendering and very close focus ability.

2. The Macro-Switar 50/1.4 I have not tried yet, but it should cover the APS-C format of the NEX and the images I saw show a lovely vivid sharp rendering again with a macro capacity.

3. There is also a Macro-Switar 75/1.9 which is reputed to be as good as the two above and quite a bit cheaper than them.

For fast lens freaks who can't afford the Noctilux 50/0.95, the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50/0.95 which is a massive beast that can be snagged at under $2K is not cheap, but very very good with lovely rendition, though the recent SLR Magic 50/0.95 in M mount is meant to be excellent.

There are of course many more great value for money lenses, including the cheapies which punch above their weight and suffice to produce excellent images when the photographer really knows what to do with them. I am sure people have gotten great pics out of $50 lenses and I take my hat off to them.

If you have some favourites, please contribute! In the meantime I will assemble some pics and include them in this post for illustration.


Last edited by DanielT74; 06-11-2012 at 03:11 AM.
06-09-2012, 08:35 AM   #2
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I paid $899 for the Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 Micro Four Thirds Lens in Dec 2010 and today it sells for $1,199.
Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 Micro Four Thirds Lens BA259M B&H
06-09-2012, 08:39 AM   #3
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I got the 10-17 new for $320.
06-09-2012, 08:55 AM   #4
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Just curious... what are you shooting? And are you evaluating these lenses by looking at the images people have taken with them, personal experience, reading magazines? This topic definitely needs some definition.

06-09-2012, 09:26 AM   #5
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M42 Vivitar-Komine 90/2.8 macro, US$3
M42 Sears-Tomioka 55/1.4, US$2
N/AI Nikkor 85/2, US$9
L39 EL-Nikkor 50/2.8, US$1
Adaptall2 Tamron 02B 28/2.5, US$4
Exa CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 (12 blades), US$7
M42 Super-Takumar 55/1.8, US$7
M42 Argus-Chinon 55/1.7, US$3
C/Y Yashica ML 50/1.4, US$10
M42 Sears-Tokina 55-135/3.5, US$8
PKA Tokina SD 35-200, US$5
KAF F35-70/3.5-4.5, US$11

Et cetera. All prices included shipping.

Last edited by RioRico; 06-09-2012 at 12:19 PM.
06-09-2012, 11:33 AM - 1 Like   #6
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Pentax M/A/F/FA 50 f/1.7 (let's teach ourselves about sharp, shall we?)
Pentax M 85 f/2 (not totally cheap, but worth every penny. A MF 77ltd)
Pentax M 28 f/2.8 (just very colorful and useful)

Sigma SW II 24mm f/2.8 AF (super-duper sharp, usually under $100)
Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 (superb, sharp workhorse, especially on FF)
Vivitar 28mm f/2.8 MC Close Focus (Komine) (sharpest 28 I've shot, very close-focus is fun)

Nikon 50 1.8D ($110, extremely useful on FF)
Nikon 85 f/1.8D ($300 or so used - a must-own (or the G) )
Nikon 180 f/2.8 AF ($400 - $500 or so used - The Nikon Limited)
Nikon 300 f/4 AF ($400 - $500 or so used - will probably blow you away.)
06-09-2012, 02:32 PM   #7
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A Few More?

A second vote for the M 85mm f/2.0. Not exactly inexpensive but worth every cent!
The 50mm f/1.7, another 2nd vote. Ultra-sharp, small, a bargain. $50-$75 USD.
Rico and I always agree on the F 35-70 f/3.5-4.5, small, fast and accurate AF, useable "Macro" mode and more personality than the law allows. Around $50.00
How about the FA 100-300mm f/4.7-5.8? For $100 USD, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better medium tele zoom. Sharp, light and very useful. Only the silver version, as we all know by now.
Kiron 28mm f/2.0. Great available-light wide-angle and a steal for $100.00
Next to last, the DA 35mm f/2.4 AL. Made a believer out of me! Amazingly sharp I.Q., blinding-fast AF and weighs nothing. $200 or slightly less.
Last and far from least, the venerable M 100mm f/4.0 Macro. A workhorse macro, heavy, big and a focus throw that's so long, your arm will get tired. What's to like? IQ, color rendition, handling, sharpness and the $100.00 price tag.
JMO,
Ron

06-09-2012, 02:32 PM   #8
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pentax-da 18-55mm: $20
pentax-fa 100-300mm (silver): $30
pentax-a 50mm/1.7: resold the p-5 it came with for $5 more than i paid
hanimex (tokina) 400mm/6.3: $25
soligor 135mm/2.8: a few bucks
super-multi-coated takumar 135mm/3.5: $12
smc takumar 55mm/1.8: $12
skyline 35mm/2.8: $10
helios-44-2 58mm/2: $5
pentax-m 28mm/2.8: a few bucks
meopta belar enlarger lenses: a buck or two each. tiny little lenses with square bokeh.
pentax-f 35-80mm: $10 (has a bad reputation but i've been getting very nice results from mine)
super-multi-coated takumar 200mm/4, vivitar series 1 35-85mm/2.8, hanimex-tamron nestar 400mm/6.9 and giantsomethingorother 500mm/8: traded for k1000, spotmatic, takumar 55mm/2 and a paterson developing tank. resold the badly scratched 500mm an hour later for $60.

Last edited by maltfalc; 06-09-2012 at 02:38 PM.
06-09-2012, 03:37 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
Just curious... what are you shooting? And are you evaluating these lenses by looking at the images people have taken with them, personal experience, reading magazines? This topic definitely needs some definition.
Norm, most from experience. I am shooting NEX-5n. I have most of these lenses now or getting them in the very near future after doing the research.
06-09-2012, 03:42 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
M42 Vivitar-Komine 90/2.8 macro, US$3
M42 Sears-Tomioka 55/1.4, US$2
N/AI Nikkor 85/2, US$9
L39 EL-Nikkor 50/2.8, US$1
Adaptall2 Tamron 02B 28/2.5, US$4
Exa CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 (12 blades), US$7
M42 Super-Takumar 55/1.8, US$7
M42 Argus-Chinon 55/1.7, US$3
C/Y Yashica ML 50/1.4, US$10
M42 Sears-Tokina 55-135/3.5, US$8
PKA Tokina SD 35-200, US$5
KAF F35-70/3.5-4.5, US$11

Et cetera. All prices included shipping.
Okay. Maybe you aren't as crazy as I thought you were when I read your lens inventory in another thread.

At those prices they are worth the money as paperweights.
06-09-2012, 03:52 PM   #11
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Bigma 50-500 ...I paid about $1000 several years ago and have received many times that amount of joy from it....Otis too, it is his all time favorite!
Pentax DA*50-135 2.8....Although it has crashed twice with the SDM it remains a superb zoom and I only paid $700 for it new several years ago.
Tokina ATX AF 28-70 2.8....Paid $225 for it several years ago and it still rivals anything else in its class, and is solid metal construction.

I have about 25-30 lenses, they are all bargains to me when I need a particular one.

Regards!
06-09-2012, 03:58 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
M42 Vivitar-Komine 90/2.8 macro, US$3
M42 Sears-Tomioka 55/1.4, US$2
N/AI Nikkor 85/2, US$9
L39 EL-Nikkor 50/2.8, US$1
Adaptall2 Tamron 02B 28/2.5, US$4
Exa CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 (12 blades), US$7
M42 Super-Takumar 55/1.8, US$7
M42 Argus-Chinon 55/1.7, US$3
C/Y Yashica ML 50/1.4, US$10
M42 Sears-Tokina 55-135/3.5, US$8
PKA Tokina SD 35-200, US$5
KAF F35-70/3.5-4.5, US$11

Et cetera. All prices included shipping.
Geez ! So many good deal !


i'd say
F 35-70 (cheap, ultra fast)
F 70-200 (the non SMC one - Cheap, fast, quite good)
DA(L) 35/2.4 (a killer on film, and very good one on digital)
DA 18-55 (so cheap but very good)
06-09-2012, 07:27 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Colbyt Quote
Okay. Maybe you aren't as crazy as I thought you were when I read your lens inventory in another thread.
Oh, I likely *am* that crazy, but the lenses are real.

QuoteOriginally posted by aurele Quote
Geez ! So many good deal !
Sometimes I'm lucky. I only mentioned those of US$11 or less. If I raised the cutoff to US$25, y'all would swoon. And some of the great buys have been fairly recent too. Let's see, what's hot in the next tier?

* M42 Lentar-Tokina 21/3.8, US$23
* N/AI Vivitar-Komine 28/2 CFWA, US$18
* N/AI Vivitar-Kiron 28/2.5, US$20
* M42 W-Komura 35/2.5, US$26
* M42 Super-Takumar 35/3.5, US$24
* Exa Meyer Primagon 35/4.5, US$24
* Exa Meyer Helioplan 40/4.5, US$13
* PKM Chinon 45/2.8, US$14
* M42 Meyer Oreston 50/1.8, US$11
* M42 Mamiya-Tomioka 55/1.8, US$14
* M42 Petri CC 55/1.8, US$17
* M42 Helios-44M 58/2, US$19
* M42 Meyer Trioplan 100/2.8, US$27
* Exa Isco Westar 100/4.5, US$18
* M42 S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8, US$17
* T2 Opticam 135/2.8 preset, US$8
* M42 Rikenon 135/3.5, US$10
* M42 Meyer Telemegor 180/5.5, US$27
* M42 Jupiter-21M 200/4 US$24 NEW!
* M42 Tele-Takumar 200/5.6, US$29
* M42 Enna Tele-Ennalyt 240/4.5, US$27
* T2 Sakar 500/8 mirror, US$13
* KAF Tamron 28-70/3.5-4.5, US$10
* KAR Tamron 60-300/4-5.6, US$13

And various other cheap goodies.
06-10-2012, 05:24 AM   #14
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I guess what I was wondering about was not the personal bargains people have found, but lenses that are worth more in quality than in price.
06-10-2012, 08:26 AM   #15
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Ah yes the "lens" debate!

The lens is a personal choice and you surely get what you pay for. Those big fast lenses cost money! Do I need one? I shot mostly in full sun light and rarely photograph moving objects. I've discovered, for me, the "regular" assortment of lens is perfect, yet certainly not for someone elses situation.

Years ago I picked up a Tamron Adaptall 2 35-135mm lens! I used it on my Canon until 2000. (I recently picked up a K-5 with telephoto lens.) With a new Tamron P/KA adaptor I was able to mount the 35-135mm lens on the K-5. I'm impressed with the clarity and colors! The Tamron was not geared specifically for "digital" cameras but the results, for me, are great! The lens is currently sells on eBay for about $50 and the adapter for $75. A $125 lens and the performance is very nice, IMO. The Tamron does provide images as vibrant and detailed as my new DA 70-300mm lens.

So, it's more about what type of photography you're doing and what satisfies your personal need and style of photography. "Need" is different from "want"

IMO

Last edited by WillH; 11-17-2012 at 01:54 PM.
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