Getting the Most Out of Vintage Glass

cameronchapman

cameronchapman

So I just ordered my GH1 (yay!) and since I'm completely broke now, I ordered 3 vintage lenses (complete with old film camera) from Etsy for $76. Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/52405828. So basically, I'll soon have: a 28mm f2.8, a 50mm f1.4, and a 135mm f2.8. I'm not expecting miracles from these, since they're Sears and JCPenney lenses, but I'm hoping whatever weaknesses they have can be considered "quirky" as opposed to "crappy". (Before anyone mentions it, yes, I did also order an m42 to m4/3 adapter.)

Any tips for getting the most out of vintage lenses? Or these lenses in particular? I'm just hoping any of you who know more about lenses than I do won't tell me I just bought three unattractive paperweights...
 
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Sweet man! I just ordered a vintage m42 lens too.

The older glass probably won't have the resolution of modern glass, even the L-Series Canon stands up to 18mp, but considering 1080p video is under 2 mp I think you'll be fine. Like you said, interesting and quirky haha.

Take some pics and shoot some video when you get it and let us see.
 
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Great set! fast, variety. Just do a lot of test shots and learn their characteristics and what it'll take to match them up. Look for yellowing in the image, check the focus ring to excessive play, just get to them lil' triplets.
How much did you get your GH1 for? You're aware of the hack? Hacking it will transform it into one of the best sub $10,000 video cams you can get.
 
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brianluce said:
Great set! fast, variety. Just do a lot of test shots and learn their characteristics and what it'll take to match them up. Look for yellowing in the image, check the focus ring to excessive play, just get to them lil' triplets.
How much did you get your GH1 for? You're aware of the hack? Hacking it will transform it into one of the best sub $10,000 video cams you can get.
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Got the GH1, body only, for $400 on BH. Thought about buying a used one through KEH, but it was only a $50 difference in price ($40 difference with shipping), so I figured I might as well just buy new.

And yeah, the hack is the main reason I bought it. :D
 
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Don't forget that since Nikon has used the same mount for so long, not every lens that fits it has an external aperture control. The newer lenses all rely on the camera to set it electronically.
 
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PaulGriffith said:
Don't forget that since Nikon has used the same mount for so long, not every lens that fits it has an external aperture control. The newer lenses all rely on the camera to set it electronically.
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Good point, I rented a fancy Nikon lens for a shoot, I was pretty proud of myself thinking I must be big time -- renting glass and all. Uh oh, this lens has no aperture control. Duh.
 
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PaulGriffith said:
Don't forget that since Nikon has used the same mount for so long, not every lens that fits it has an external aperture control. The newer lenses all rely on the camera to set it electronically.
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I hadn't even thought of that! Just checked my 35mm and it doesn't have an aperture ring. :( I'll have to check the Nikon lenses my dad has (those are from the 80s or early 90s).
 
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Just shot a 15 minute 5D short on

Yashica Auto-Yashion 28mm 2.8
Pentax Super Takumar 50mm 1.4
Pentax Super Takumar 55mm 1.5
Vivitar circa mid 70's 105mm 2.8
Pentax Super Takumar 135mm 3.5
Pentax Super Takumar 200 4-5.6

Didn't take a lot of still via camera, but I'll have some grabs at some point.
 
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PaulGriffith said:
The older glass probably won't have the resolution of modern glass, even the L-Series Canon stands up to 18mp, but considering 1080p video is under 2 mp I think you'll be fine.
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I bought my T2i mainly for stills.

Would I be better off, then, buying a new Canon EF 50mm 1.8 rather than a vintage 1.4?


PaulGriffith said:
The newer lenses all rely on the camera to set it electronically.
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Is there anything else to watch out for? I'd never have thought of this issue.


Gonzo said:
Yashica Auto-Yashion 28mm 2.8
Pentax Super Takumar 50mm 1.4
Pentax Super Takumar 55mm 1.5
Vivitar circa mid 70's 105mm 2.8
Pentax Super Takumar 135mm 3.5
Pentax Super Takumar 200 4-5.6
Click to expand...

Keeping this list to go shopping with. :cool:

How can I tell what kind/type/size of adapter I need to mount any of these on a T2i?

Does the adapters cause vignetting?

Thanks guys. I am camera-nubbin. :cool:
 
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I'm not sure which I would buy, Canon EF 50mm 1.8 or a vintage 1.4... I really don't like the Canon 1.8 haha. It's got a plastic mount and the focus ring is goofy. You do get autofocus which you won't with a vintage lens (because he adapter nullifies the lens talking to the camera, even if it's already an autofocus lens). I might go with a higher-end vintage lens, a Super Takumar SMC or Zeiss or similar.

Anything else to look for.. Again, no autofocus. I use autofocus for 99.9% of the stills I take, not sure about you.

You need an M42-EOS adapter (Under $10 on ebay) to run these lenses on a Canon. You can also get a Nikon-EOS adapter (I think like $20ish), just make sure you use older nikon lenses with an aperture ring.
 
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I intend to have at least a couple modern m4/3 lenses for my GH2 for general stills purposes. The vintage stuff is fun for stills, depending on what you are shooting. General everyday stills, I'm eventually going to want a decent zoom.

And I still want the 20mm pancake for a variety of situations both stills and motion.

That said, I only have a small set of K mount and FD mount lenses at the moment, and I'm about to drop 2 of the k-mount lenses. One of them duplicates the 50mm Canon that I like better and the other is a cheapo 28mm Beston (i want to say it's a 2.8) that doesn't seat properly in my adapter.

Heck, if anyone wants to pay shipping, they can have the Beston for free. It's not worth trying to e-bay it. I think they go for like $10.

Zensteve said:
Is there anything else to watch out for? I'd never have thought of this issue.
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You will probably not run into this, but I had to return my Fotodiox FD-> m4/3 adapter for two reasons. I bought the "tilt/shift" version of their adapter, which doesn't tilt and the shift function does almost nothing when cropped on the m4/3 sensor. All the distortion areas are off sensor from my limited testing with my lens set.

The deal breaker for me though was that it does not correctly engage the aperture control on certain FD lenses. Some FD glass was set to stay wide open for focus, then close to your aperture setting when the shutter was pressed. There is a mechanism on the camera to engage the aperture and preview what it looks like in the viewfinder. The Fotodiox adapter doesn't correctly engage this function on my lenses designed this way. I got the Cieco7 one from ebay and it is much better. Finish is nicer on the fotodiox, but fit and performance are better with cieco7. Most importantly, it correctly engages the lenses so that the aperture rings function. I'll be buying more stuff from him in the future.

Steve, fwiw, if I was using the camera primarily for general photography I'd want a fast zoom in the 28-75ish territory with solid auto focus and good OIS.
 
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Zensteve said:
I bought my T2i mainly for stills.

Would I be better off, then, buying a new Canon EF 50mm 1.8 rather than a vintage 1.4?




Is there anything else to watch out for? I'd never have thought of this issue.
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That would depend on which vintage glass you're talking abt i guess. But in defense of the nifty fifty, i can tell u i used it all the time when i first got it. The construction is cheap but so is the price. The quality is actually quite good, except for the bokeh which may not be to ur taste considering the amount of blades it has. Ever since i got better lenses, i barely ever use it and it serves as a backup lens now. But it was really useful when i didnt have the money and wanted something good and cheap at the same time.

As for other things to watch out for... off the top of my head... do you know the difference between EF and EFS lenses? EFS aren't always the correct choice to buy for your crop sensory body. You need to think of the future and invest in ur lenses accordingly and not necessarily be thinking in terms of the body u currently own. For eg, if ur going to upgrading to a FF body in a year or two, it will be cheaper in the long run if u invest in EF glass from now.
 
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Just ordered another lens (I'm on a roll this week, I've got five different lenses coming...), this time a Holga wide angle after seeing this footage: http://vimeo.com/24832594. Seems like it would be a fun lens to play around with, and at $18.50 with shipping and no need for an adapter, I figured I might as well. It's not vintage per se, but it's the same Holga lens design they've been using for decades.
 
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no no stevie, you can NOT use the OLD canon FD lenses on the new T2i. You can USE old M42 mount lenses though.. just didnt want you to burn your self on that...

Zensteve said:
I bought my T2i mainly for stills.

Would I be better off, then, buying a new Canon EF 50mm 1.8 rather than a vintage 1.4?




Is there anything else to watch out for? I'd never have thought of this issue.




Keeping this list to go shopping with. :cool:

How can I tell what kind/type/size of adapter I need to mount any of these on a T2i?

Does the adapters cause vignetting?

Thanks guys. I am camera-nubbin. :cool:
Click to expand...
 
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I have an old Canon 50mm 1.8 (FD mount) that is my favorite lens. Its really sharp.. Ive found that true with most of the Canon lenses. I have a 28mm Canon and a cheap JCPenny 28mm.. The JCP lens is too soft for digital, but its nice for a kind of glowing special effect type of shot. The Canon 28mm lens is almost as sharp as the 50mm in good light.
I'm mounting these on a GH2 btw. One of the most "fun" lenses I have is a CCTV lens. Its 1.4 25mm (I dont know what it translates to on the camera). The DOF is incredibly shallow and it makes for some interesting shots.

Two weekends ago I shot this music vid using the 50mm, 28mm, the 14-40 that comes with the GH2 and the CCTV lens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBLW-Lt5LfQ


I'm pretty satisfied with it. Its not bad for a couple hundred dollars worth of glass.
 
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