What did you find to be better than expected?

p.giannakis said:
I agree, Takumars proved to be much better than I expected. Pentax-m lenses too.
I use Nikon most of the time, that is because their cameras just work well and the lenses do the job. But I think Zuiko and Takumars are better than I initially thought.
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I only have one K-mount lens, which is a 50mm f/2 SMC Pentax M that came with my K1000. It's an excellent performer as well.

I do slightly prefer my Nikon cameras to my Pentaxs—the viewfinders are a bit bigger and brighter, and agree with my eyes a bit more. I'm also not as keen on the K-mount models other than the K1000, KM, and KX, and the KM and KX were only produced for a few years. The Nikons I like (the FE/FM series, F, and F2) had longer production runs and while I don't think either the KM or KX are particularly hard to find, there are a lot more of the Nikons out there. But if I hadn't alreay bought into the Nikon system, I would be perfectly happy to stay with Pentax.

I had an OM-1MD for a while and liked it too, but it needed service and I figured I was already invested in F, M42, and K mount, so adding another mount wouldn't make much sense. I ended up selling the OM-1
 
The list is long. But some my favorites that were so much better than I would have expected, given the internet noise:

Bessa R4 series: Probably the best wide angle film RF platform ever.
Konica 50mm f/1.9 and 50mm f/3.5: Old 1950s M39 lenses never sold in the North American market that are both world class.
Carl Zeiss Jena 200mm f/2.8 (M42), 25mm f/4 Flektogon (M42), and 50mm f/1.4 (PB Mount): Under-appreciated, top-tier of the era film lenses.
Zeiss 35mm f/3.4 Skoparex (M42 / Icarex Bayonet): Voigtlander-designed, one of the best 35mm focal length SLR lenses of the pre-ASPH era.
Nikon 35mm f/2.5 S Mount: Almost the equal of the f/2.8 Summaron.
Konica 21-35mm f/3.4-4 Dual Hexanon: Fantastic at both focal lengths. An OG Tri-Elmar killer.
 
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Disappointed_Horse said:
A few years ago I found a nice Pentax Spotmatic with a 50mm f/1.4 Super Takumar lens at a camera shop. The meter didn't work, but it was otherwise in very nice shape. I negotiated the seller down to $20 and it was mine.

Other than the non-functioning meter, the camera turned out to be an excellent performer. To my surprise, I found I enjoyed shooting without an internal meter. And I was blown away by how good the Takumar lenses are. I am not sure why (maybe slightly greater contrast?), but I find the images from the Takumar lense more appealing than what I get from my Nikkor lenses. So, the Pentax M42 cameras and Takumar lenses definitely exceeded my expectations.
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Dear Disappointed_Horse,

I scored a working Spotmatic F with a case and a 55mm f1.8 SMC Takumar for $ 18.00 from Shopgoodwill a few years ago. It quickly became a favorite because it worked 100% and just felt good in my hands. I've since added a collection of Takumar's from 28mm to 400mm, along with a few more bodies bought with the caveat of "condition unknown" and man do I like everything I've bought.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂
 
For me one surprise has been the quality of many 'kit lenses' over the years. Looking through my archives I am often surprised at just how good some of them are.
 
The bargain priced bottom end Viltrox lenses for Nikon Z. At least the first one I bought was better than expected. The others have all been excellent--just as I expected them to be.





......................................
 
One of my most recent ‘better than expected’ acquisitions is a Canon AE-1 that was pretty much given to me (okay in exchange for a six-pack of Coors) along with a 50/1.8 lens. This camera had been ignored and unloved for at least thirty years, but after a thorough cleaning and cigarette smoke purge (thank you white vinegar) it turned out to be in pretty decent shape. I had my local repair fellow do a CLA and replace the seals for the grand sum of $70 CDN. I tried to re-sell the clean and serviced kit but had no takers. I thought what the heck I’ll just keep it and put a few rolls through it — boy was I surprised. The camera works very well and once I understood how to effectively use the shutter priority metering, the results were better than I thought they’d be.

As I discovered, if the Canon AE-1 was good enough for John Newcombe and Stevie Wonder, well it’s good enough for me.

IMG_1646.jpeg
 
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mrtoml said:
Try roasting them with lemon juice, olive oil and thyme. They are completely transformed.
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Dear mrtomi,

I kind of enjoy them when lightly charred in olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper and a served with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. But overall, I'd rather eat overboiled peas myself.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
Vince Lupo said:
One of my most recent ‘better than expected’ acquisitions is a Canon AE-1 that was pretty much given to me (okay in exchange for a six-pack of Coors) along with a 50/1.8 lens. This camera had been ignored and unloved for at least thirty years, but after a thorough cleaning and cigarette smoke purge (thank you white vinegar) it turned out to be in pretty decent shape. I had my local repair fellow do a CLA and replace the seals for the grand sum of $70 CDN. I tried to re-sell the clean and serviced kit but had no takers. I thought what the heck I’ll just keep it and put a few rolls through it — boy was I surprised. The camera works very well and once I understood how to effectively use the shutter priority metering, the results were better than I thought they’d be.

As I discovered, if the Canon AE-1 was good enough for John Newcombe and Stevie Wonder, well it’s good enough for me.

View attachment 4887049
Click to expand...

Had to laugh when I read your post Vince. I've been gifting a number of my nieces old film SLR's that I've sorta refurbished because they're at that age where it's cool to take pictures on film. About six months ago one of their parents "gifted" me a Canon AE-1P that they found somewhere. I loaded up some film and shot some tests and then completely forgot about it until earlier this week. I pulled out the film and processed it. Quickly looking at the strip as it was drying, I latched onto the image below and seeing how everything in the middle of the frame was soft, and the edges were sharp, I figured the FFD or something was screwed up and the camera was gonna be a doorstop.

After scanning the film, I remembered that I had taken the camera out the morning after I got it, because I thought I could make an interesting image in the fog.

FoggyAE-1P.jpg

So it turns out, the camera actually works pretty well.

Best,
-Tim
 
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