…them have poor sharpness & contrast, a lot of chromatic aberration and vignetting, but so do the modern low-end lenses that still cost more than a good vintage lens. Mission! My challenge is to discover cheap, but great lenses that offer amazing value for money. I want people to realise that you don’t have to spend thousands to have a nice set of relatively fast, sharp lenses. As long as you know what to get, you don’t have to pay more than 1/5th… Continue Reading
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Tair 11A 135mm f/2.8 Lens Test Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQiU9Jk5VGc Here is yet another video from Mario Suze giving us a detailed look at Tair 11A 135mm f/2.8 prime lens. Tair is an old, but very solid and very unusual Russian lens. I have two of these myself and although I haven’t tested them yet, this video really makes me want to have a ago at it. Not only does it produce some very impressive, film-like shots with Canon 5D MKII , but also has some very impressive spe… Continue Reading
Nikon Nikkor 100mm f/2.8 AF-S Series E TEST FOOTAGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PbXvEc4UwY&feature=plcp I realize that I probably won’t able to test every single vintage photo lens out the just by myself, so I decided to that I need to collaborate with other people in order to bring you guys more useful lens tests. So here is the first one, kindly provided by photographer/filmmaker liowfujin. The video above shows the Nikon Nikkor 100mm f/2.8 AF-S Series E. Personally I’m not a Nikkor user. Th… Continue Reading
Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Lens Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ooSNlnVDc Above is a quick review of Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 (standard version) prime lens by my buddy Mark Linsangan aka ThatTechShow. The Rokinon 35mm is essentially the same lens as the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 I reviewed so time ago. I agree with Mark. This lens is pretty amazing and while it’s not a vintage lens it has a lot of characteristics of a vintage lens like smooth, long through focusing ring, aperture adjustmen… Continue Reading
Pentax SMC 200mm f/2.5 Lens Test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2flrqCUNEMc&feature=player_embedded The Pentax SMC 200mm f/2.5 is quite a unique lens. The most impressive feature that jumps into your eyes straight away is a really fast aperture of f2.5. When you take the lens into your hand, you can tell it a serious one. Large, heavy, built like a tank, great long through, smooth focusing ring; this lens is a pleasure to use. However non of this matters if optics can’t deliver…. Continue Reading
25-250mm Cine Zooms for S35 Cameras
…e a price tag of $6-10k. There is very little info about this lens on internet, but the reason why this lens is so exciting to me is this video: https://vimeo.com/40304928 To me it looks like it’s actually a nicer lens than the Angenieux and like I said, considering it’s cheaper, the value for money is much better. Flares are mind blowing, looks quite sharp too. Again, you can’t expect it to be as sharp as modern PL glass, but for such crazy zoom… Continue Reading
Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 11-110mm T2 S16 Zoom | REVIEW
…at the strong light source (as below test hopefully demonstrates) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYthss4FU5c SO WHY CHOOSE IT? When using this lens on a small camera like BMPCC, it does feel large and heavy, but imagine a Super35 equivalent of such lens, like the Fujonon 25-300mm and suddenly Zeiss looks super compact and very cheap too! Of course not many Super35 users would buy the Fujinon beast and same goes for many Super16 users. Even thoug… Continue Reading
E.Ludwig 50mm F2.9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0bsbi03060 There are a few reasons why people choose vintage lenses over the modern equivalents. One of them is that organic, film-like character that is missing in most modern lenses. The E.Ludwig Meritar 50mm F2.9 is one of such lenses, bursting with character that many of us really love! The only lens I’ve tried so far that has more character than the Meritar 50mm F2.9 is the legendary Helios 44-2 58mm F2. If y… Continue Reading
Super-Takumar 55mm F2 vs Helios 44-2 58mm F2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GkPsm9L–E I am real Helios 44-2 58mm F2 “fanboy”; I recommend it to everyone who asks me for a vintage lens advice, but thanks to the video made by fellow vintage lens fan, Victor Bart, there is a “new” kid on the block that we should be taking the notice of. The lens in question is the Pentax Asahi Super-Takumar 55mm F2 which costs about the same as Helios and has similar un-amusing specs. F2 wide open is not imp… Continue Reading
Zeiss MKI 9.5mm & 12mm T1.3
…ation on the focus ring. The original mount on these lenses is ARRI B (bayonet) and my set currently has this mount, but in future I’m planning to fit PL adapters (removable mounts) on them for easier compatibility with various cameras. Some of these lenses you’ll find on ebay will already have PL mounts fitted on to them, which will potentially save you $100-200 on removable PL mounts. My set has also been modded with 80mm fronts and metal follow… Continue Reading
