Budget Glass Hall of Fame

[NickTrop]

I'll start, follow this format:

Lens: Quantaray Tech-10 24mm f2.8 macro
Mount: Numerous mounts (mine is Nikon)
Reason: It's a rebadged Sigma Ultra Wide II*. Had very hight MTF stats on Photodo (4.2) and is better spec'd that the much more expensive Nikon counterpart. Focuses to around 6inches. Perfect 35mm lens on APS-C DSLR. Autofocuses/meters perfectly on Nikon mount.
Price paid: $60
Additional comments: Hard to find in Quantaray varient but Sigmas don't go for much more.

*EDIT: correction Sigma Super Wide II

 

[Speedfreak]

Hi there Nick. The lens is called Sigma Super Wide and won this large scale comparison in the German Color Foto ( http://www.kameradoktor.de/testsigma24.jpg ).

Even if youre not speaking German the charts are impressive.

 

[NickTrop]

Thanks speedfreak... Yes - Super Wide. Pardon my senility?

Any other budget shooters out there with obscure gems to share?

 

[Keith]

It was cheap but seems to be getting more expensive of late:

The Jupiter 3 ... I think I paid around $60.00 for mine a few years ago.

And it's hard to think of that lens without wondering what Brian Sweeny is up to these days?

 

[NickTrop]

Wow - Speedfreak, thanks again for posting. Looking up a few key words like "Gesamtbewertung" on German->English translation site and having seen a few of these kinda charts before (ahem 🙂 ) not too difficult to figure out this chart. - is this lens, spec-wise anyway, the best "classic" 24mm prime out there? For $60? Very comprehensive test - everything from Leica to Hamminex to Nikon, Minolta, Oly, Yashica, and Soligar and everything in between. Hmmm.

 

[Harry Lime]

Voigtlander Ultron 2/28

It may not be a Summicon-M 2/28 ASPH, but it costs at least six times less and the results are excellent. If Dr. Mandler had designed a 2/28, this may have been what he would have come up with.

I know that some people scream bloody murder about focus shift, but after shooting a few hundred rolls with mine I have yet to see the problem rear its head.

Build quality is excellent. It comes with a low profile metal hood and a focusing tab. Very little intrusion on the M frame lines. For the price you are going to be hard pressed to find a better 2/28mm in M-mount.


Everyone also seems to love the tiny VC 3.5/28. Unfortunately I have not had a chance to shoot one, but it sounds like it was the bargain of the decade when it was in production.

 

[NickTrop]

Harry - the 28's have always seemed to me to be a kind of neglected focal length on the manufacturer side. Keith - ahhh, the FSU glass. Yes. I have a Jupiter 9, always wanted a "3" but had that base covered.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

+1 on the VC 28mm, though mine is the 1.9 version...1/10th of a stop quicker than yours 😉

Todd

 

[Crazy Fedya]

50mm f/1.4 SMC Takumar. Can be had for under $100.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Of course the venerable VC 75/2.5 is another 'budget' lens I couldn't do without! Not to hi-jack the thread but how about some images from these crappy no name lenses? You know, to show what they can do.

Voigtlander 75/2.5

 

[Teuthida]

Nikkor 50 1.8. Sharpest 50mm Nikon has ever made. You can buy one brand spankin new, with AF, for 120 clams.

 

[Teuthida]

Of course the venerable VC 75/2.5 is another 'budget' lens I couldn't do without! Not to hi-jack the thread but how about some images from these crappy no name lenses? You know, to show what they can do.

Voigtlander 75/2.5

Great shot

 

[Greyscale]

Yashica Auto Yashinon-DX 50/1.7 (M42 mount). My favorite 50mm lens. Average eBay sale price is about $40. I paid $29 for mine, and it was attached to a pretty nice camera.


Yashica TL Electro X - black version (non-ITS) by Greyscale3, on Flickr


015_11 by Greyscale3, on Flickr


At the Blanden Art Museum by Greyscale3, on Flickr


Cat-butt bokeh by Greyscale3, on Flickr

 

[Deep Fried]

Pentax 50/2. Kit lens on K1000

 

[NickTrop]

Great idea for some pics. Alas, I just got mine a few days ago and only have pictures of potted plants, bananas in a tray, shots of trees from out the window, dishes drying on the dish rack, random household objects - the usual insanely boring stuff when one gets a new lens. But I'll definitely post some "worthy"-ish stuff.

 

[NickTrop]

50mm f/1.4 SMC Takumar. Can be had for under $100.

I've got one of those too! Radioactive yellowing = nice discount. Just leave it out in the sun for a few days to a week. I can just play with the focus ring on that lens and never take a picture with it and be very happy.

 

[charjohncarter]

$116.00 for my Zenitar 16mm fisheye. I don't love it, but it cured me from buying a $500+ one. Here is it on my Spotmatic:

 

[Crazy Fedya]

I've got one of those too! Radioactive yellowing = nice discount. Just leave it out in the sun for a few days to a week. I can just play with the focus ring on that lens and never take a picture with it and be very happy.

Hahaha, I can do that as well, but images it produces are phenomenal. I have it in 8 element version, that doesn't yellow, and SMC version with rubber focusing ring. Love them both.

 

[Red Robin]

It was cheap but seems to be getting more expensive of late:

The Jupiter 3 ... I think I paid around $60.00 for mine a few years ago.

And it's hard to think of that lens without wondering what Brian Sweeney is up to these days?

Maybe that might happen . He is missed. The CZJ 5cm with the old glass is one of my favorites. Mine was made just after the war but I'm sure it had the old glass but who knows. Sure like the lens however.

 

[Crazy Fedya]

Also, one of the best lenses I ever used is 35mm f/3.5 SMC Takumar. $60.