Advise on next lens

[shodoman]

I'm new to the site and had a few questions relating to a new lens for my Bessa R. I’m 18 and hope to study photography in college next year and would like to buy another lens that could last through college. I currently have the 35mm color skopar and am happy with it but would like something in the 50mm focal range. I can’t break the bank but then again I don’t want a lens that is a piece of crap and will last a few months. I read some reviews of the 50mm nokton but was wondering about any alternatives. Jupiter 8, leica, canon, Nikon? I have been shooting mainly color but am beginning to get into B&W, I’m not sure if it makes a difference. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

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[kmack]

First, as nice as the Bessa is, I would suggest using the money to get a solid manual SLR and a full kit of primes for college level photography classes. You will be ahead of the game with both systems available.

That being said, I have been very happy with my silver j-8.

 

[MinorTones]

I have a Canon 50/1.8 that i'm very happy with. I'm sure other members will vouch for this lens' abilities. It wasn't an expensive lens either I got from an RFF member for $100. I dont have a j-8 but I would buy one in a second if the price was right because I've heard good things about it, and I have seen some nice images. Both of these lenses are screw mount for your Bessa-R.

So check out some auctions or for sale ads on russian or canon cameras that are in your price range because they may have one of these lenses on em'. Or search for them by themselves.

Those are my two low cost suggestions. Good luck.

-Mitch

 

[cbass]

Oh, man...to be 18 again and looking towards college. That's a magical time; enjoy every single minute of it! 😉

Second on the Jupiter-8. I use one with my R & 35/2.5 kit and it's a nice alternative to the razor-sharp 35/2.5. The Industar-26m and -61, while slightly slower than the Jupiter, are also decent lenses that can be purchased inexpensively. 50mm is a versatile focal length and can be used for just about any situation.

Aside from the Industar-61 none of these lenses have click-stopped apertures. Thus, it's easy to inadvertently move the aperture ring, and that could throw off your DOF. Some users perfer click-stops, others don't miss them. You'll have to figure out which camp you're in.

That's good advice about the manual SLR & primes. With a little effort you could buy a decent body and the 35/50/135 lenses for less than the cost of the Nokton.

 

[Bryan Lee]

If you only have one lense in 35mm I would say consider a 75mm for your second lense. Then go for a second body, and a 35/1.7 or a 50/1.5 . As far as SLR cameras go they are cheep and getting cheeper and I wouldnt recomend selling your current outfit as it is great for black and white street/life photograhy. Even a Bessa L with the now discontinued 25/4 would be a cheep second body and lense. If you stay in the game youll end up with more cameras and lenses than you can use anyway. Just dont ever sell something unless you just hate it.