venchka
Veteran
froyd's poll of lenses for $500 with high WOW factor made me think about my own motley assortment of lenses accumulated over the ages with little or no thought. A quick mental inventory brings up a rather large number of lenses that I paid little or nothing for.
Lenses I got for free or no more than $50:
Rangefinder lenses:
Konica I with 50/3.5 Hexar lens. Dad bought this in Japan in 1950. I'm still using it. Fabulous lens.
Canon 35mm/2.8 LTM. Tiny. Robust. Unique character. A keeper.
Nikkor-S.C 50/1.4 LTM. A legend. This lens needs no further praise from me.
Speed Graphic lenses. All for free so far.
Kodak Ektar 127mm/4.7. Classic lens on the Speed Graphic press camera. Enough coverage on a press camera. Roughly equal to 35mm-40mm on a 35mm camera. Small. Sharp.
Voigtlander & Sohn Collinear II 7 7/8"/5.4 brass barrell. 100 year old beauty. Big. Heavy. A bokeh machine wide open. Plenty sharp stopped down.
Bausch & Lomb Rapid Rectilinear about 150mm/6.3 lens cells. Another oldie but goodie from around 1913. I am currently sharing the 127mm Ektar shutter with these cells. I'm looking for a shutter and lens board.
Tominon 105mm/4.5 macro lens. From an old Polaroid MP-4 copy camera. Decently wide on 4x5. Sharp up close and personal. Sharp enough at infinity too.
35mm SLR
Canon FD-BL 50/1.4 S.S.C. Another classic. Sharp. Sharp. Nice bokeh.
Canon FD 24/2.8 Lovely, small wide angle. One of my favorite focal lengths.
Bring on your nifty thrifty lenses.
Lenses I got for free or no more than $50:
Rangefinder lenses:
Konica I with 50/3.5 Hexar lens. Dad bought this in Japan in 1950. I'm still using it. Fabulous lens.
Canon 35mm/2.8 LTM. Tiny. Robust. Unique character. A keeper.
Nikkor-S.C 50/1.4 LTM. A legend. This lens needs no further praise from me.
Speed Graphic lenses. All for free so far.
Kodak Ektar 127mm/4.7. Classic lens on the Speed Graphic press camera. Enough coverage on a press camera. Roughly equal to 35mm-40mm on a 35mm camera. Small. Sharp.
Voigtlander & Sohn Collinear II 7 7/8"/5.4 brass barrell. 100 year old beauty. Big. Heavy. A bokeh machine wide open. Plenty sharp stopped down.
Bausch & Lomb Rapid Rectilinear about 150mm/6.3 lens cells. Another oldie but goodie from around 1913. I am currently sharing the 127mm Ektar shutter with these cells. I'm looking for a shutter and lens board.
Tominon 105mm/4.5 macro lens. From an old Polaroid MP-4 copy camera. Decently wide on 4x5. Sharp up close and personal. Sharp enough at infinity too.
35mm SLR
Canon FD-BL 50/1.4 S.S.C. Another classic. Sharp. Sharp. Nice bokeh.
Canon FD 24/2.8 Lovely, small wide angle. One of my favorite focal lengths.
Bring on your nifty thrifty lenses.
zuikologist
.........................
Pentax SMC Takumar 50/1.4 - probably no introduction needed.
Tamron Adaptall 90/2.5 old version - imho very underrated, lovely bokeh
Canon LTM 50/1.8 black and silver - a great all rounder with excellent build quality
Tamron Adaptall 90/2.5 old version - imho very underrated, lovely bokeh
Canon LTM 50/1.8 black and silver - a great all rounder with excellent build quality
ferider
Veteran
Olympus XA. Got mine for US 20.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
The infamous Olympus lens cap ... the 50mm F1.8 Zuiko.
Buy one for $25.00 to $35.00 any time it seems and very under rated.
I have a Summaron 35mm f3.5 that came in a box of bits and pieces and owed me nothing ... it cost me $50.00 to get it CLA'd and it's a real gem for classic black and white on a screwmount!
Buy one for $25.00 to $35.00 any time it seems and very under rated.
I have a Summaron 35mm f3.5 that came in a box of bits and pieces and owed me nothing ... it cost me $50.00 to get it CLA'd and it's a real gem for classic black and white on a screwmount!
feenej
Well-known
Rokkor-PF MC 135 f2.8; Rokkor-PF MC 100mm f2.5; Minolta MD 35mm f2.8. Minolta Celtic 28mm f2.8. Only $8, $8, $16, and about $50, but I'd put them against any 35mm format lens out there. Never thought I'd be quite this po', but I still got high-grade optics.
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NickTrop
Veteran
Ditto that... Best value, love mine. Shame it's on an SLR.
Also, the lens on virtually any classic fixed lens rangefinder. I also hear consistent raves about the Helios 103 and Jupiter 8. From personal experience the Sigma 24mm Pentax K is great, cheap, sharp (Photodo 4.4) wide.
Lots of 50's - including Chinons and "Sears" brands, and Ricohs.
Konica - in general, highly underrated lens maker. Pentax too. Also - lots of great portrait lenses in the 100mm range that go for pennies.
bcostin
Well-known
For SLRs, the Auto Vivitar Wide-Angle 35mm f2.8 is nice. Sharp, nice bokeh, and available cheap in lots of mounts (mine is M42.) The Super Takumar 35/2 is also very nice, and a bit faster. Of course almost any Takumar lens is a pretty good bet.
I'll second the FD24/2.8. I found one at a good prince in ebay a couple months ago and it's spent a lot of time on my AL-1 since then.
I'll second the FD24/2.8. I found one at a good prince in ebay a couple months ago and it's spent a lot of time on my AL-1 since then.
J-8 and I61L/D.
payasam
a.k.a. Mukul Dube
Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
The lens on my my Canonet GIII. 20 euros and a camera attached to it for free!
$50 or less, yes, that for me would be a bunch of MC and MD Rokkors, all very very good period, regardless of how little they cost now-a-days.
Real wow though, the J8 to me is a super little lens.
robin a
Well-known
That's a beautiful photograph.............Robin
palec
Well-known
Elmarit 24mm for 50 bucks would make a big WOW... but only in my fantasy.
Sorry couldn't resist after finding Nikkor 50/1.4 in the list
Sorry couldn't resist after finding Nikkor 50/1.4 in the list
lZr
L&M
I got my Indstar 61 L/D with Bessa R as kit lens
wilt
Well-known
J8. Zuiko 50/1.8 and 1.4. Color-Minotar 35/2.8 (with camera included in the price).
radiocemetery
Well-known
I vote for the Color Skopars that came attached to my Voigtlanders. Ditto on the Super Takumars that I got with my Spotmatic.
julio1fer
Well-known
In fixed lens rangefinders, any of the small Olympus 35 series lenses are outstanding. The G-Zuiko in the 35SP gets my vote.
In rangefinder lenses, I like the Helios-103 (good reason to get a Kiev) and the Jupiters-8, 12 and 11. The I-61 L/D is also outstanding.
In SLR lenses, I believe that the best deals now are in old Canon glass. Pentax are excellent as well, but compatibility with their digital SLRs is pushing prices up.
In rangefinder lenses, I like the Helios-103 (good reason to get a Kiev) and the Jupiters-8, 12 and 11. The I-61 L/D is also outstanding.
In SLR lenses, I believe that the best deals now are in old Canon glass. Pentax are excellent as well, but compatibility with their digital SLRs is pushing prices up.
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
SMC Pentax-M 50/2.0 (1.7 if you're lucky)
XR Rikenon (or Rikenon-P) 35/2.8
XR Rikenon (or Rikenon-P) 35/2.8
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ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
OldNick
Well-known
I would agree with the recommendations for the Pentax SMC Takumar 50/1.4 and the Jupiter 12. While I paid a little more that $50 for each, I was selective and not shopping for bargains. Both lenses do a fine job.
Jim N.
Jim N.