I would not call the 43mm 1.9 under rated by any measure. 😀
Your underrated lenses
- Thread starter Archiver
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 92
- Views 2K
Pioneer
Veteran
I love this neat little lens. Our hobby does not always have to be complicated. I am always reminded that even simple triplets can be wonderfully capable lenses. Thank you for reminding me.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I've always tended to buy lenses (or cameras with fixed lenses) that had good reputations so few of my lenses have ever been "underrated". About the closest I come to a lens with that description was my old favorite Nikkor 35mm f/2 AIS, which many people at that time (what, early '80s?) seemed to regard as an underperformer ... Never seemed that way to me, I made thousands of photos with it, sold many of them, and no one has ever said anything about the lens performance in my photos being sub-par.
G
G
jesse1dog
Light Catcher
Mounted on my Lumix GM1 with a helicoid for focus I have to agree that the Argus 50mm f3.5 coated Cintar is a lot of fun and has produced more than just interesting photographs for me. Not too sure that its worthwhile going out buying one but then who can rubbish a lens if it gives you that 'fun' element.
( I wound masking tape round the barrel to fit it into the helicoid.)
( I wound masking tape round the barrel to fit it into the helicoid.)
38Deardorff
Well-known
The 3.5cm f3.5 Elmar is a very underrated lens. I paid $75 on Ebay for this one. I no longer have it since i trimmed down my collection of 35mm lenses. But i got very good results from it.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
gelatin silver print (nikkor h auto 50mm f2) nikkormat ftn
Amsterdam 2016
Amsterdam 2016
Larry H-L
Well-known
The Nikon Series E 50mm and 100mm, both very good. And lightweight.
The m4/3 Olympus pancake 17mm f2.8 kit lens, usually panned on websites but my copy is excellent with great color rendition.
The Leica M Tele-Elmar 135mm f4, difficult to use with only a rangefinder patch but on a mirrorless camera, OMG is that lens sharp. Cheap for a Leitz lens.
The m4/3 Olympus pancake 17mm f2.8 kit lens, usually panned on websites but my copy is excellent with great color rendition.
The Leica M Tele-Elmar 135mm f4, difficult to use with only a rangefinder patch but on a mirrorless camera, OMG is that lens sharp. Cheap for a Leitz lens.
Zuiko-logist
Well-known
Yes, the E 35 is also good, and compact.
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
I seem to have good success with the tele- elmar on an old fashioned visoflex. I use a v III viso....also works well on the bellows II but that setup can give me stray light reflection in certain cases....a deficiency of the bellows, not lens.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
You remind me of my other so-called underperformer: the Leica Hektor 135mm f/4.5. The first one of these I used was my father's: he had it set up with Visoflex mount on his IIIf and used it to record the dental reconstruction work he did. I bought one again, thirty or so years later, because I saw it in a listing for under $185 (finding the correct lens hood and cap was almost as much!), this time in M-mount, and have used it on various Ms over the past ten years.
Yellow Jacket Trap & Fence - Santa Clara 2023
Leica M10 Monochrom + Hektor 135mm f/4.5, Green filter
Leica M10-M + Hektor 135mm f/4.5
Can't say as I see much wrong with it. The biggest challenge is learning how to accurately focus a 135mm lens with a rangefinder ... It's much easier to critically focus using the EVF, although I didn't for this photo. 😉
G
Formerly presspass
Member
I have four that were, at one time, regarded as underrated: 35mm LTM Elmar 3.5, 50mm LTM Summar 2.0, 90mm Elmar LTM 4.0, 135mm Hector LTM 4.5. All are pre-WWII uncoated and give wonderful results on black and white film. Some, the 35 Elmar and 50 Summar, have begun to regain their original reputations.
Dogman
Veteran
Shot this morning on a very nice old Hektor 135/4.5 attached to a Nikon Z5. Great old lens IMO.
The palms and the web:
................
The palms and the web:
................
das
Well-known
I am not sure if this is "underrated" as much as it is not widely known (at least outside of the former Communist bloc). The Carl Zeiss Jena 25mm f/4 was a retrofocal wide made during the 1960s mainly in "Zebra" aesthetic for both M42 (auto diaphragm to boot) and Exakta mount. After it was discontinued, CZJ did not attempt another 24mm/25mm SLR lens. It is has a @ 0.2m minimum focus, incredible distortion control, and is sharp as heck. Suggests to me that retrofocal wides were not necessarily inferior to subsequent designs, just probably much more expensive to produce. 🙂. I only have one image saved on my computer here -- but I regularly post on my IG with photos from it.
Mos6502
Well-known
The CZJ wide angle lenses are all great performers, remarkable given how early they appeared on the scene.
I've recently acquired an Enna 4/24 and need to properly test it. It is a very compact design when compared to the CZJ 4/25 or the ISCO 4/24, so I'll be pretty impressed if it can outperform those lenses.
I've recently acquired an Enna 4/24 and need to properly test it. It is a very compact design when compared to the CZJ 4/25 or the ISCO 4/24, so I'll be pretty impressed if it can outperform those lenses.
das
Well-known
Wow, those are some fun lenses! I would equally be interested how the CZJ would perform against them
Freakscene
Obscure member
Mos6502
Well-known
51st by Berang Berang, on Flickr
weird by Berang Berang, on FlickrThe ISCO 4/24 is an interesting lens, it's very, very large, and it was the widest lens available for SLRs when it was introduced. However I don't think it's as good of a performer as the CZJ 4/25. It's a bit soft in the corners, there's some light fall-off at large apertures, and a very slight, but still noticeable barrel distortion. If it could be called underrated it'd only be because most people have never heard of it at all.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
This is with a Summar 50mm f2, one of the most underrated lenses of all. Get a coated one without scratches on the front lens.
gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2 coated) leica lllc wartime gray
Utrecht, 2025
gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2 coated) leica lllc wartime gray
Utrecht, 2025
David Murphy
Veteran
My vote is for a somewhat obscure one from the 50's, maybe early 60's. The Zeiss 40mm F4.5 Tessar. This was made in Praktina, M42, and (I think) Exakta mount. I own the Praktina mount version. It's not a fast lens, but it delivers sublime results in my experience. The Praktina version is not too expensive. The focal length is also interesting, being somewhere between a wide and standard lens, it's quite convenient as a carry around lens.
Praktina IIA, Zeiss 40mm F4.5 Tessar, Fujicolor 200
Praktina IIA, Zeiss 40mm F4.5 Tessar, Fujicolor 200
Last edited:
Zuiko-logist
Well-known
Very nice.
Thread viewers
Similar threads
