Set of lenses - Nikon D, Canon FD, Minolta or others?

[Inazuma]

Hi everyone

I'm looking to purchase a set of lenses (24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm) but am really struggling to figure out which brand to go for. I'm planning to use them on a speed booster, which is why I want to stick to one brand (one adapter).

Things that I look for in a lens (with the top being most important)

1. Flare control when pointed at light sources
2. Chromatic abberation control
3. Sharpness at wide open aperture

Please help me out

[BrooklynDan]

I've been rolling with a set of Olympus OM primes. Good sharpness when stopped down, beautiful skintones, dreamy bokeh and a warmth reminiscent of Super Balters or Cooke Speed Panchros. The 85mm is a rare bird though. Haven't been able to get my hands on it.

[Don Kotlos]

What is the camera that these are going to be used on? Also how large aperture do you want? 

If you only care about MF then Zeiss milvus (21,35,50,85) will best fit your criteria. These will also keep their value and probably you won't have to buy these focal lengths again..

Otherwise Sigma ART can give you very very good quality, bright & AF (but no 85mm yet). If your mount is Sony FE , then the new sigma adapter can give very nice AF. 

[mercer]

How much do you want to spend?

And how fast do you want the lenses to be after being speed boosted?

[Geoff CB]

If you can deal with the focus direction, NIkon. They can be adapted to almost anything and boost well.

[Geoff CB]

Also if you care about wide open performance, just start collecting Samyang primes. 

[Inazuma]

@Geoff @Dom Kotlas @mercer

I'm looking for an oldschool set, up to maybe £200 (about $300) for the most expensive lens. So the Sigma Arts are out of the question. And I can get some of the Samyangs for that price but I am adapting them to my Fujifilm camera so I want them to look the part, which Samyang will not. And I want the lenses to be at least f2 after being speed booster (so f2.8 before).

[Nikkor]

If you go nikon, go ai-s not af d.

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Have you looked at the Voigtlander SLII series lenses for Nikon mount? They resolve great on the NX1 sensor wide open, so they can handle anything. Nice rendering, all metal, and definitely look the part. The only problem is that they don't come in the focal lengths you want: 20mm 3.5, 28mm 2.8, 40mm f/2, 58mm 1.4, 90mm f/2. They're a little more than you wanted to spend per lens, but should last for a long, long time.

Otherwise, if you're only using them on mirrorless, Minolta MD lenses are your best bet. Cheap, excellent optics, and pair great with the Fuji body/sensor.

[bluefonia]

Yashica ML primes are very nice. Only downside is they don´t have a 85mm, - there is a 100mm though. But you can get a Zeiss 85mm. The Yashicas and Zeiss ar close related and will probably blend well together and share the same mount - contax/yashica.

[Cinegain]

Yeah. What about Contax Zeiss? 25, 35, 85 f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.4 (or f/1.7). Although it's more like they're all around £200 for nice condition ones, rather than just the one that's most expensive. Ai-s very nice option. FD has always been a thing. Pentax/Takumars could be an option.

[Justin Bacle]

I am using a set of minolta MC/MD primes myself. The only problem with minoltas is that ultra wide primes are hard to get. But you can build a 28,35,50,85,135,200 mm set for very very cheap. Only problem is that the flange distance is not compatible with the Canon EF mount (everything mirrorless is great though, you can even buy speedboosters and other focal reducers  ) 

On minolta you can get a very cheap set of 35/2.8 50/1.7 and 85/2 135/2.8

I got my 50/1.4 minolta for 20€  no one wants these lenses anymore, go hunt on garage sales  

For you criteria 

Flare control when pointed at light sources -> I would say "good" for the MD versions, and "it depends" for the MC versions of the lenses (older ones)

Chromatic abberation control -> Very clean on this point !

Sharpness at wide open aperture -> I find minoltas to be very sharp indeed if the lens is in good condition (the only exception would be the 28/3.5 being quite wide) 

I can provide samples if you want

[Inazuma]

1 hour ago, Justin Bacle said:

I can provide samples if you want

Yes please do

Thanks for the advice everyone, keep it comin!

[Bioskop.Inc]

You could just get the Tokina AT-X Pro 28-70mm f2.6/2.8 (the angenieux version) & you'd have pretty much everything in one lens - got mine for £150, but they normally go for about £200.

Or if you had the money buy the original Angenieux - bit pricey!

[Inazuma]

34 minutes ago, Bioskop.Inc said:

You could just get the Tokina AT-X Pro 28-70mm f2.6/2.8 (the angenieux version) & you'd have pretty much everything in one lens - got mine for £150, but they normally go for about £200.

Or if you had the money buy the original Angenieux - bit pricey!

I already have that lens actually  I'm looking for something lighter though

[Bioskop.Inc]

29 minutes ago, Inazuma said:

I already have that lens actually  I'm looking for something lighter though

Yeah, it is a bit heavy!

As @bluefonia suggested, Yashica ML primes - a lot cheaper than Zeiss Contax & in the same ball park.

Useful info about Yashica: http://cargocollective.com/yashica/About-Yashica-ML-Prime-Lenses

Or Nikon ai-s, I'm starting to get these & took a punt on a cheap 24mm f2.8, which focuses really close & is lovely.

Here's some really good/useful info for Nikon lenses:

Evaluations (which are spot on): http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html#rating

Serial No. list: http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html#35

[andrgl]

Obviously too heavy, but it should meet your CA and sharpness requirements: Sigma 18-35 with both a dumb adapter and focal reducing adapter. On a BMPCC that gives you a range of 32-106mm f1.0-1.8.

If you're on m43, pretty hard to beat. The hyperprimes from slrmagic are also awesome, but much pricier and their housing differs from lens to lens. The art zoom is a rig up once affair that can be get any shot wide to portrait.

I'm in love with this lens. And after renting a Zeiss Otus set in EF, I'm still convinced the Sigma is an amazing choice.

[Nikkor]

Imho, I would stick to f2 lenses. For example, if going with ai-s, 24 2 (the worst of the list), 28 2, 35 2, 50 2, 55 2.8 macro, 85 2 and 105 1.8 or 105 2.5.

[Dave Maze]

I love my CONTAX Zeiss set. 28, 35, 85 f2.8 and 50 f1.4. 

[richg101]

Olympus Zuiko.  Get later MC lenses.  - great focus action, easy to declick aperture.  24mm/2.8 , 35mm/2, 50mm/1.8, 85mm/2.  careful ebay searching will bring up lenses within budget if you wait for the right lens.  don;t pay bin prices.  wait for auctions and you'll stay in budget.