Vintage Lenses

I'm hardcore me. I dug this out, and you know what I'm going to shoot some film with it.

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I bought it for the lens, to be honest. Not that one, although I do have that too. It is in pretty good condition, and all seems to be working, so I intend to have some fun.
 
I've got the Contax Carl Zeiss vario sonnar 80-200/4 T* and I do keep looking at the wider 'sister' zooms but I think it's just for collection purposes as I'm not sure I would actually use it vs my prime lenses......
 
Has there ever been a lens so variable as the Jena Tessar? They invariably suffer with stiff focus or non working aperture blades. I did finally get a good zebra version, and I love that to bits.
 
It's great to know you are looking after them Gerard. That's the joy of old lenses. You can use them as intended or on a digital camera.
 
gerards artzone said:
Last August I bought this beast as a birthday present for myself, roughly from 1960/1965,
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I have a very soft spot for the Mamiya press cameras. Around 1972 I ran a Universal with the 105mm and 65mm lenses. It was a great wedding camera as there was no question as to who "The Photographer" was. :naughty:

Unfortunately, few of the negatives are still around but this was one of the shots I did for some adverts...

Wedding portrait Mamiya Super 23.jpg
 
Lovely quality to that photo.
 
I'm telling you the gods of Canon must be looking down on me. I picked up one of these today. Couldn't believe it when I walked past the shop window. It's a minter.

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Mind you, I also picked up an Ilford Sportsman, which isn't quite so good. But heck! It was only £10.00
 
I have two versions of that lens, the FD and the breechlock. It has a longer close focus distance than some but other than that it's fine.

I hope you enjoy using your newly bought kit :D
 
I'm going to get struck down. This leapt out at me yesterday, honest! No Nikon lens unfortunately, but it did come with a Tokina 70 - 210 zoom and a nice Tamron 24. It tickles me. This is supposed to be Nikon saving their pennies, but it's probably over complicated. It's a lovely little camera actually.

Nikon_F-301_0769.jpg
 
That looks lovely. Shame you didn't get the lens too.

I have two old wide lenses in Minolta mount, a Vivitar 19mm and a Tokina 17mm.
 
It is lovely. It's as if Nikon couldn't quite bring themselves to truly cut costs because it's very well made and has a heft to it. Even if it did take me a minute or two to work out where to stick the batteries. It's counter intuitive, put it that way. :D
 
Plain Nev said:
Mind you, I also picked up an Ilford Sportsman, which isn't quite so good. But heck! It was only £10.00
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Film kit was at very sensible prices a few years ago and I picked up some good bargains. This one cost me just £16...

Camera Canon FTB G2 1020526.JPG
 
I had a Nikon SLR for decades but I can't remember the model number of it now, all I can remember was it was AF and had a top display. When I went digital I gave it to a niece who was getting into photography.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
Film kit was at very sensible prices a few years ago and I picked up some good bargains. This one cost me just £16...

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I think film is undergoing something of a resurgence. Or so they say. I wasn't quite that lucky when I picked mine up. :p Still, they are lovely things to have, and modern development make them more attractive.
 
Plain Nev said:
I'm going to get struck down. This leapt out at me yesterday, honest! No Nikon lens unfortunately, but it did come with a Tokina 70 - 210 zoom and a nice Tamron 24. It tickles me. This is supposed to be Nikon saving their pennies, but it's probably over complicated. It's a lovely little camera actually.
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I like the idea of the F-301, because the lack of AF means you get a split image focusing screen for MF lenses as standard, but still a nice level of automation, including a winder. And the whole camera might well cost less than one of these screens for something like the F4 or F5 (if you can even find one).
 
It is a very nice viewfinder. Although, I have to admit that I haven't fired it up yet. I'm waiting on batteries and film.
 
Had a little go at making a video with the Helios 44-M

I put Pink Floyd's "Pillow of Winds" over it but then thought better of it. It was perfect.

Might have more of a play - lots of improvements to be made.

Soft Breeze by Simon, on Flickr
 
Ah, the Helios. Pin sharp, but mad at the edges. I wonder if you could turn it into a proper macro lens?
 
I'll have to look that up.
 
I'm a fan of close up filters. I have a 67mm set which I've had for decades and use them a lot, especially the No.4.
 
Plain Nev said:
I'm going to get struck down. This leapt out at me yesterday, honest! No Nikon lens unfortunately, but it did come with a Tokina 70 - 210 zoom and a nice Tamron 24. It tickles me. This is supposed to be Nikon saving their pennies, but it's probably over complicated. It's a lovely little camera actually.

View attachment 331238
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I went to the launch of the F301. Nikon used a studio at Limehouse, after taking us down the Thames from Embankment. Got given a Nikon camera bag as a goodie (horrible cheap and nasty thing!) as I worked for a professional wholesaler I wasn’t impressed!
 
simon ess said:
The flickr universe seems to like this one taken with a Helios 44-M on a Fuji XE-3

2694 views, 88 faves and rising.

_DSF4314 by Simon, on Flickr
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The 100 f/2.8 Meyer Optik Görlitz Trioplan produces similar "soap bubbles" from out of focus highlights. I have a newer limited edition (100 units) Titanium model in Leica M mount, but have not yet experimented with that effect. It is rather unique for sure.
 
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I quite liked this vid...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUna946AL0Q


He compares a TT Artisans 50mm f1.4 to other lenses including an old Canon FL which doesn't do too bad IMO. With some of these old lenses the weaknesses are IMO most visible at large apertures and when really looking for things to nit pick. I suppose that may be true of modern kit too. Anyway. This just made me think (again) that if you accept the limitations old lenses are perfectly useable especially if you work with them rather than try to show their limitations.

I don't have that Canon FL lens but I do have FD 50 f1.8 and f1.4 and a breech lock f1.8 and for me the only real drawback is that the minimum focus distance of these lenses is a bit long when compared with other old lenses but this can be overcome with a close up filter.
 
He's very good. He always comes across as being very sophisticated.

I do like the TT Artisan's lenses. They are the closest in spirit to our favourite vintage lenses. I've always thought though that they exceed their original specs on a modern mirrorless, and produce far more detail than they would have back in the day. For obvious reasons.
 
I had a FDn28, FD50/1.8, FD50/1.4 & a breechlock FD85/1.8 at one point on the Sony A7 - I liked them that much I also went out & bought a Canon AV1 to go with them!
 
FD's I have... 24, 28 and 35mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and f1.8, 85mm f1.8, and the breech lock 50mm f1.8 and a Miranda 24mm f2.8 "macro" in Canon breech lock.
 
petapixel.com

Man's Vintage Camera Mistaken for Bomb, Causes Emergency Landing

A man's vintage camera was mistaken for a bomb by a fellow passenger on a flight, causing an emergency landing.
petapixel.com petapixel.com
'A passenger flight was forced to make an emergency landing in NYC this weekend after a woman mistook a fellow passenger’s vintage camera for a bomb. ... The suspected terrorist was pinned to the tarmac before authorities figured out he was a camera enthusiast. The incident reportedly occurred after a woman spotted a fellow passenger scrolling through videos and photos of vintage cameras. She mistook the images of vintage cameras for bombs and believed that the passenger was looking up bomb-making instructions. The woman’s fears peaked after the man pulled out his own vintage camera and began fiddling with its settings - she believed that he was setting a timer on a bomb’s detonator. She then notified a flight attendant and the pilots decided to land in Queens.'
 
Amazing but sadly not all that surprising.

I remember a story a while back about a passenger reporting a couple of guys on a flight who'd openly stated they were "Basque Separatist terrorists" who were in reality base guitarists.
 
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