Your underrated lenses

[Darinwc]

Most 135mm lenses are under rated and overlooked.
But probably most unloved and under rated is the Pentax (Bayonet) Takumar 135mm f2.5. It's compact, produces beautiful color, good bokeh, and has character. Not as sharp as the 6 element super Takumar but you would never know it unless comparing side by side.

 

[Bingley]

Echoing what a commenter posted above, the Canon 50mm f1.8 LTM is (still) an underrated lens. It lives in the shadows of the 50mm f1.4 version, but a clean copy of the 1.8 is actually sharper. Yes, it does have a deserved reputation for gassing from the lubricants, and my copy has been cleaned a couple of times. But, once cleaned, it is a beautiful optic, compact, sharp, with lovely smooth bokeh. I think it's a fine alternative to a Leitz Summicron of the same vintage. My copy is from the first batch of black and chrome versions, based on Peter Kitchingman's book.

EC & KC by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Belem by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Map break by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[Bingley]

And the Canon 50mm f1.8 is also good with color film:

Above Salzburg by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Little-Trees by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Lisbon by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[Joao]

And the Canon 50mm f1.8 is also good with color film:

Above Salzburg by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Little-Trees by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Lisbon

Great shot. A side note: the writing on the wall, partially covered by the head of the second man on the left, says "Zona de Burros" ("Donkey's Zone") ..
Regards
joao

by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[KoNickon]

Great shot. A side note: the writing on the wall, partially covered by the head of the second man on the left, says "Zona de Burros" ("Donkey's Zone") ..
Regards
joao

That's what I thought -- no doubt it's because a group of old guys gather there regularly? 🙂

 

[splitimageview]

100mm f/3.5 Zeiss Sonnar, Contax-Yashica.

The 85/2.8 Sonnar gets the vast majority of the kudos but the 100 is actually a better performer, according to the MTF charts.

Unfortunately Zeiss has removed the MTFs from their site! I have emailed them and received a response, hopefully they can supply copies for archiving.

 

[Godfrey]

From Dagors over Apo-Sironars, Tessars over Planars, I've often preferred lenses w character. The same with the Color-Skopar on the
diminutive 6x6 Voigtlander Perkeo ll. Not the fastest in use, but this one finds a place in my travel kit...& replaced the much better Plaubel Makina 670. This one has made quite a few fine images for me.View attachment 4876298View attachment 4876300

Indeed! It is a superb camera.

G

 

[chuckroast]

210mm f/6.8 Caltar-II that I got ages ago with my first Calumet view camera kit. It moved over to my Wisner Technical when I bought that and has been there ever since. I have probably taken more pictures with that and the 150mm f/5.6 APO Symmar than all the other lenses at my disposal combined.

That Caltar-II was a rebadged Rodenstock and is a superb lens. They're widely available at low cost. Highly recommended.

 

[p.giannakis]

From Dagors over Apo-Sironars, Tessars over Planars, I've often preferred lenses w character. The same with the Color-Skopar on the
diminutive 6x6 Voigtlander Perkeo ll. Not the fastest in use, but this one finds a place in my travel kit...& replaced the much better Plaubel Makina 670. This one has made quite a few fine images for me.View attachment 4876298View attachment 4876300

Beautiful image 🤩
I am toying with the idea of going for mountain walks with a folder.

 

[boojum]

The CV 35mm f/1.7 Ultron is sort of the red-headed stepchild of the CV line. Not many people like it. I have seen posts on RFF detailing the dislikes. But this one fell into my lap and is a sweet performer. Here it is doing all it can to make an M240 look good, and succeeding.

M2419847 by West Phalia, on Flickr​

 

[Ccoppola82]

Not 35mm, but the Minolta Autocord lens is fantastic. Especially for the price

 

[Muggins]

Beautiful image 🤩
I am toying with the idea of going for mountain walks with a folder.

Good by me - I've been taking a Moskva for about 20 years.

 

[plexi]

A lens I’ve never heard of before recently is the Canon 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro. A lens that’s been in the EF line up for many years (1987-2018). Found one on eBay for not a lot of money and it arrived a couple days ago. Mine is from 1997.
Quite impressed how well it does wide open!

 

[Dayrell bishop]

A fixed lens on a Ricoh 35l ,a Komunar f2 made by Nitto who also made the lenses for the Beauty cameras.