LOMO 50mm and 75mm OR Helios 56mm and Jupiter 9 85mm

[milandirector]

Hi,

I would like to ask someone who is experienced with shooting with these Russian Lenses. For which set of lenses should I go for in order to get a more "filmic" look: LOMO 50mm and 75mm OR Helios 56mm and Jupiter 85mm they are all f 2.
I m aware that LOMO lenses are problematic with focusing, hence I wouldn't be able to use follow focus, but I would like to know which are better in order to get that "film look".
Thanks a lot for your responses.

[Andrew Reid]

The LOMOs have more contrast than the Helios, and flare is a bit more under control. They have a bit more character, but are more pricey. The Helios isn't great on a follow focus either - they breath a bit and mechanically some are a bit wobbly. The Jupiter 85mm F2 is a bargain lens for sub $150.

Whilst Russian glass is certainly good value and has a certain 'x-factor' about it, Olympus OM and Canon FD are also capable of a very cinematic image and work better with a follow focus.

[milandirector]

Thanks a lot Andrew.
Can you suggest any cinematic wide full-frame lens of 20 mm and possibly wider. These are very difficult to find. I know it is not the best option but I am mostly inclined towards Samyang 14mm f 2.8

[Andrew Reid]

The Samyang 14mm is extremely wide and with tons of distortion. It is almost a fish-eye on full frame.

I'd avoid that and get the Sigma 20mm F1.8 instead if you want an affordable one.

Otherwise see what is available in Nikon mount at the wide end. Some nice old AI-S stuff there.

[ChrisJ]

The Panasonic 20mm f1.7 is a surprisingly good lens too. But expensive for what it is.

[url=http://***URL removed***/lensreviews/panasonic_20_1p7_o20/]http://***URL removed***/lensreviews/panasonic_20_1p7_o20/[/url]

I have a Jupiter 8 50mm f2, not my first go to lens, but it does have smooth focus and a variable aperture without stops, it's main disadvantage is it won't focus close.

I have had a lot of success with Pentax 110 lenses. as most people know they have no aperture adjustment, but I have got around that by using slide in apertures in the adapter I made. These lenses are tiny, but have great image quality even wide open and they are cheap - very cheap.

The range includes everything from 18mm to 70mm and has a good 20 - 40mm constant aperture zoom, all are f2.8. The flat field (maintaining focus from corner to corner) is exceptional on these lenses and contrast is very good. Stop them down and the Bokeh is, shall we say, different.

Here is my photostream for these lenses.

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-judge/sets/72157624912287716/]http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-judge/sets/72157624912287716/[/url]

Some of my test images show some vignetting in the top corners, this was caused by my adapter not being parallel to the sensor plane, I've since cured it.

They are perfectly usable wide open using a variable ND filter in your matte box for exposure.

Chris

[milandirector]

Thanks a lot on your replays. I will look into these lenses. Will give you my feedback when I get a chance (get the lenses that is :) )
One very newbie question, so please don't laugh. I got SanDisk Extreme Pro SD card but I saw after I bought it that it records up to 45 mb/s and not 90 as I thought. Would I still be able to use it for high mb/s hack pathes like the Driftwood one or Andrew's "roadrunner" and "intra-esting" ones. I spend over 200$ for this SD and the shop doesn't let me return it (grrrr).
Sorry for the off-topic...