Cheap lenses that wowed you...

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jamin-b

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My approach is anyone can buy a great bottle of expensive wine, the art is finding the modestly priced gem...

In that vein, I thought it would be interesting to hear what vintage / cheap lens (let's say <$400) you acquired that unexpectedly wowed you with its results...

My list would include:

Summicron-C 40mm
Summitar 50mm
EBC Fujinon 55mm F1.8 (M42)
Fujinon-Z 43-75mm zoom (M42)
Canon 100mm F3.5 (LTM)
Konica Pearl I (120 Folder)
Minilux (p/s) - alas, it's dead...

Wasn't sure where to post this one, so feel free to move to a more suitable section...
 
$400 is very expensive lens for me. Even $200 isn't easy to afford.

So, few $50 most recent lenses which I was astonished with results.

I picked up Vivitar 28mm FD mount in 2014 November.
It is very sharp wide open and has nice rendering for wide lens.

Earlier I had and sold OM-10 with Zuiko 50 1.8 and this is $50 nothing wrong and nice in the rendering lens. With more aperture blades it might give a run for much more expensive ones.

And at the end of 2014, beginning of this year I had "experimental" J-8 (50$) which I shimmed for M4-2. Not only it was very sharp, it was contrasty and very first lens which I have seen as something special in darkroom prints. Sold it because I'm collecting money for expensive 50/2...

Vivitar and Zuiko are built very well. J-8 while optic elements are in better condition comparing to more expensive ones from Leitz I have now and in the past, the build is cheap.
 
Good thread.

C/Y Zeiss Panar 1.4, I think they can be had for around $250 in ex condition, total bargain and my favourite lens.

Minolta MD 50mm 1.7 and 50mm macro 3.5 MC, each for under $50.

Amazingly I found the lens on the Oly 35-70 stylus zoom really sharp (much much better than the mju i) but unfortunately suffered from frequent circular flare.
 
Very happy with the SMC Takumar 55/1.8. Not sure how cheap these are as I got mine for free. 🙂

Also cheap as chips: SMC Pentax 50/2. Lightweight and nice. I think I paid $18.

But nothing knocked my socks off like the Skopar 7.5cm/4.5 on my Voigtländer Brillant V6. Wide open it is soft (or I'm crap at focusing it critically). Stopped down it surprised the heck out of me. That camera was $10 I think.
 
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Under $400, there are quite a few, depending on when you bought the lens.

Example: while the CV 28/3.5 is going for over $400 these days, they were priced at under $300 when they first came out.

When I first saw the word "cheap," I assumed <$100, so I'm responding with that in mind. Under $100, I would say the Industar 61LD as well as other Industar lenses are excellent. Properly shimmed/adjusted Jupiters would also fall into that category.
 
Tokina AT-X 28 to 85mm f/3.5 zoom and it stays permanently on my Minolta SLR. Brilliants lens; I'd heard a lot that was nice about them but it was even better than I expected.

The Summitar was cheap too, by today's standards but is my favourite Leica lens and I've Summicrons and Summarons etc..

I've some P&S's with lenses I'd happily have on the Leicas, too.

Regards, David
 
My bargain 'real' lens is a Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 Pre-AI that I acquired for $85 including the M extension tube. Very sharp, works perfectly, a little rough looking—good enough that I've spent an added $25 to have it AI-modified for use with later bodies.

The bargain 'toy' lens I acquired is a Holga 25mm f8 in mFT mount. It came with my used E-PL1 body ($90 total price). You can get this lens in various mounts for $16 new. It's a remarkably good performer, both as is and if you remove the rear diffusion plate, and produces a lovely soft look with good sharpness in it.

G
 
KoNickon said:
The Novar lenses on Zeiss folders and Ikoflexes.
Click to expand...

There was a time when everyone would jump on the bandwagon to agree with the novars. I know the Novar on the 6x9 I have is really great, but not interchangeable which I think the OP was sort of alluding to.

For me, any <$400 lens would include most Fujinon lenses, at least based on the six that I have; 28 f/3.5, 35 f/3.5, 50 f/1.4, 135 f/3.5, and the 43-75 zoom. I don't consider the zoom so great, but it isn't bad.

Also the M42 Yashinon lenses, but the Yashikor lenses require an appreciation of the artistry of flare. 😀

My only Contax lens, the 50mm f/1.4 is superb. The real surprise to me was a 28-35 Phoenix zoom I got in Y/C mount. That was the real low-priced gem for me, at about $100. A surprisingly good lens.
 
Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f2.5 Macro. Great for anything from bugs and flowers to portraits and compressing perspective in landscapes. I used one to shoot weddings and portraits years ago- until I could afford the Zuiko 85mm f2. Even then, I kept it for macro and then traded it somewhere down the line.

The 24mm f2.8 Adaptall 2 is also a beautiful piece of glass.

The fact that you can keep the same lenses and just swap the Adaptall mounts to suit a new system was also a major benefit as I went, somewhat foolishly I feel, from OM to Canon FD - but managed to only have to get a 50mm f1.4 instead of having to trade all my glass as well.
 
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