One Lens?

[Bioskop.Inc]

7 hours ago, mercer said:

I've always wondered about that one... Do you have the Nikon mount? If I hadn't had so many issues buying lenses from Russia, I would have probably bought one.

No I got lucky & bought a mint M42 copy for £100 from a guy in the UK. They have a little, single multi-coating & are almost macro lenses - amazing in either mount.

Buying from Russia is a bit like buying a lottery ticket. However, there are some good ebay sellers that have nearly always been spot on, nothing technically wrong with the lenses (good condition etc.) but their QC can be so off. But Russain lenses are cheap & you just buy another one.

[Justin Bacle]

If I had to choose one lens, I would keep my Minolta MD 50/1.4. Small lens but a very good one  (Can I keep my lensturbo ?)

But if I had to work with that lens (i.e. producing stuff), I would keep my panasonic 14-140 mm. It is just very convenient and good enough in any situation (except low light).

Very good lens choices here, I'm definitively going to check this Mir-24m

[mercer]

4 hours ago, Bioskop.Inc said:

No I got lucky & bought a mint M42 copy for £100 from a guy in the UK. They have a little, single multi-coating & are almost macro lenses - amazing in either mount.

Buying from Russia is a bit like buying a lottery ticket. However, there are some good ebay sellers that have nearly always been spot on, nothing technically wrong with the lenses (good condition etc.) but their QC can be so off. But Russain lenses are cheap & you just buy another one.

Nice. I was into Carl Zeiss Jena for a while but damn near every copy I bought the aperture blades didn't work. I eventually got bored with them. Optically, the early Jenas, when they still had the stockpile of original Zeiss glass, had some pretty sweet mojo.

But I guess if I have to choose between the lenses I own... I would keep either the Minolta 28mm f2, the Nikkor 28mm f2 or the RMC Tokina 35mm f2. Not sure which though. 

[richg101]

if I was limited to one lens from here on, it would be the helios 44.  There are plenty of lenses I love.  but only one that I couldn;t do without and that's the 58mm/2.

for a 'working lens' that will deliver almost every conceivable shot I'd go for the summicron-r 35mm/2 on a full frame sensor.  shooting full frame 4k on an a7rii gives you the ability to use full sensor for your wide, aps-c for your normal and crop in a bit more with clear image zoom for a tele.  a lot will wonder why the summicron vs any other 35mm/2..  it's because very few other full frame 35mm/2's deliver good enough resolution and image quality wide open.

 

with a summicron-r the iq is good enough to use wide open on full frame.  using sensor crop of a nice clean 4k full frame area gives similar look to a 50mm at 2.8 when at aps-c and an 85mm/4 when windowed in to just under fullhd's worth of pixels.

[mercer]

1 hour ago, richg101 said:

if I was limited to one lens from here on, it would be the helios 44.  There are plenty of lenses I love.  but only one that I couldn;t do without and that's the 58mm/2.

for a 'working lens' that will deliver almost every conceivable shot I'd go for the summicron-r 35mm/2 on a full frame sensor.  shooting full frame 4k on an a7rii gives you the ability to use full sensor for your wide, aps-c for your normal and crop in a bit more with clear image zoom for a tele.  a lot will wonder why the summicron vs any other 35mm/2..  it's because very few other full frame 35mm/2's deliver good enough resolution and image quality wide open.

 

with a summicron-r the iq is good enough to use wide open on full frame.  using sensor crop of a nice clean 4k full frame area gives similar look to a 50mm at 2.8 when at aps-c and an 85mm/4 when windowed in to just under fullhd's worth of pixels.

I haven't had the pleasure of using the summicron, but there is something special about 35mm f2 lenses. I've only ever used them on aps-c and m4/3, though. 

That crop feature on the a7rii sounds amazing. I think @Don Kotlos uses it with c-mounts which is definitely something I'd be interested in since one of my favorite lenses is an old zebra Cosmicar TV lens. 

The helios-44 is another lens that has eluded me over the years. I have only heard and seen good things from it. 

6 hours ago, Justin Bacle said:

If I had to choose one lens, I would keep my Minolta MD 50/1.4. Small lens but a very good one  (Can I keep my lensturbo ?)

But if I had to work with that lens (i.e. producing stuff), I would keep my panasonic 14-140 mm. It is just very convenient and good enough in any situation (except low light).

Very good lens choices here, I'm definitively going to check this Mir-24m

Yeah sure keep the LensTurbo... I have the MC W Rokkor 50mm PF f/1.4... Dang I almost forgot about that lens. Using that lens is probably the first time I fell for shallow depth of field. A true classic. 

Do you have any screengrabs of the MD version? I have a nice little collection of Minolta glass and I am trying to decide between my older MC Rokkor-X lenses and the newer MD versions. 

[richg101]

8 minutes ago, mercer said:

I haven't had the pleasure of using the summicron, but there is something special about 35mm f2 lenses. I've only ever used them on aps-c and m4/3, though. 

That crop feature on the a7rii sounds amazing. I think @Don Kotlos uses it with c-mounts which is definitely something I'd be interested in since one of my favorite lenses is an old zebra Cosmicar TV lens. 

The helios-44 is another lens that has eluded me over the years. I have only heard and seen good things from it. 

Yeah sure keep the LensTurbo... I have the MC W Rokkor 50mm PF f/1.4... Dang I almost forgot about that lens. Using that lens is probably the first time I fell for shallow depth of field. A true classic. 

Do you have any screengrabs of the MD version? I have a nice little collection of Minolta glass and I am trying to decide between my older MC Rokkor-X lenses and the newer MD versions. 

yep.  as a aps-c user the 35mm/2 is a must have.  Imagine you took the 35mm/2 you;re used to using on m4/3 and aps-c then used it on full frame for the next widest option.  If a particular full frame fast 35mm can deliver good resolution on m4/3 for short tele work, it'll do great for 'normal' on aps-c and 'wide' on full frame.

The nice thing about the summicron is that it's nicely controlled in terms of fringing on high contrast edges.  so you can take full advantage of the big aperture.  I expect the loxia 35/2 will be even better than the summicron for a single lens option of full frame!

 

[Liam]

I've been really liking using my nikkor 50mil along with cheap wide angle and telephoto adapters. It wouldn't be for everyone of course, but looking at it like staying on a budget and minimal gear, works for me. The attachments actually kind of give it interesting "character" wide open for portraits, and at 5.6 they're really sharp. Since it's a fullframe lens at a long ish focal length, on an apsc body, I think I avoid most of the possible terrible corners. The wide angle has some barrel distortion, but fine by my standards. Plus for color and contrast they all still match really well together. I know that's kind of cheating

I was thinking if I went smaller sensor I'd get a 24 or 28 mil and keep the adapters and get the coverage I like and only spend like $80 more.

[John Palmer]

a contax/ Yashica Zeiss 28mm f2 could be used to shoot an entire film for sure (any camera) and be awsesome

 

[mercer]

25 minutes ago, John Palmer said:

a contax/ Yashica Zeiss 28mm f2 could be used to shoot an entire film for sure (any camera) and be awsesome

 

The Voigtlander 25mm f.095 and the Contax Zeiss 28mm f2 are my picks for lenses I don't own. Part of me wants to sell all of my lenses and but only those two. 

Good choice. 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

I guess in terms of that "one special lens," three items in my collection spring to mind:

SLR Magic 25mm -- normal perspective, huge aperture, usable wide open, amazing bokeh, perfect build/mechanics. My #1 workhorse.

Canon FD 35mm f/2 (concave front element) -- versatile focal length on full frame/s35, with amazing 3D pop. Doesn't match my other FDs, but it's definitely got that special something. Just watch for flare--it can't stand up to stray light at ALL.

Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 -- despite being one of the cheapest lenses I own, it's one of my most prized. Amazing portrait/close-up lens, dreamy wide open, crisps up at 2.8, like two lenses in one. Smooth bokeh and amazing transition from in focus from out of focus. I can pop it on any time for a look that's pure cinema. 

[jax_rox]

If I had to choose one lens, it would be a Fuji Cabrio 19-90mm T2.95

Or perhaps the Canon 17-120 T2.95 

[Justin Bacle]

22 hours ago, mercer said:

I haven't had the pleasure of using the summicron, but there is something special about 35mm f2 lenses. I've only ever used them on aps-c and m4/3, though. 

That crop feature on the a7rii sounds amazing. I think @Don Kotlos uses it with c-mounts which is definitely something I'd be interested in since one of my favorite lenses is an old zebra Cosmicar TV lens. 

The helios-44 is another lens that has eluded me over the years. I have only heard and seen good things from it. 

Yeah sure keep the LensTurbo... I have the MC W Rokkor 50mm PF f/1.4... Dang I almost forgot about that lens. Using that lens is probably the first time I fell for shallow depth of field. A true classic. 

Do you have any screengrabs of the MD version? I have a nice little collection of Minolta glass and I am trying to decide between my older MC Rokkor-X lenses and the newer MD versions. 

I only have the 58/1.4 MC to compare it with. But it is not a good copy.
However, IMO, the MD versions have better contrast, smoother focus rings and have nicer flares (less loss of contrast).

But I heard that good copies of MC lenses can be quite good too, but they have more dispersion in terms of quality (We're speaking of minoltas though :D no dispersion like russian lenses :P)

[Ian Edward Weir]

My all time favorite lens I have used is the Zeiss Ultron 50mm f1.8. Sharpness, colors, bokeh and character is amazing! Lots of others lens I would like to try on this list. Voigtlander 40mm f2 would be one I would like to try. I have the Voigtlander 25mm 0.95 and it's lovely. 

[mercer]

8 hours ago, Justin Bacle said:

I only have the 58/1.4 MC to compare it with. But it is not a good copy.
However, IMO, the MD versions have better contrast, smoother focus rings and have nicer flares (less loss of contrast).

But I heard that good copies of MC lenses can be quite good too, but they have more dispersion in terms of quality (We're speaking of minoltas though :D no dispersion like russian lenses :P)

Funny thing is, I did some comparisons yesterday between the Rokkor-X 28mm f2 and the MD 28mm f2 and the MD wins. The only issue that some people would probably have with the MD is a shorter focus throw, but I actually like it better. In fact, the Minolta MD beat out the Nikkor 28mm f2 as well. At least in my opinion. Now I didn't pay too much for the Nikkor, so I will probably keep it because I may pick up a D5500 or a D500 sometime later this year.

7 hours ago, Ian Edward Weir said:

My all time favorite lens I have used is the Zeiss Ultron 50mm f1.8. Sharpness, colors, bokeh and character is amazing! Lots of others lens I would like to try on this list. Voigtlander 40mm f2 would be one I would like to try. I have the Voigtlander 25mm 0.95 and it's lovely. 

I'm hoping to have the Voigtlander 25mm by summer. Do you have type II? If so, how do you like the clicked/clickless aperture?

[Ian Edward Weir]

4 hours ago, mercer said:

Funny thing is, I did some comparisons yesterday between the Rokkor-X 28mm f2 and the MD 28mm f2 and the MD wins. The only issue that some people would probably have with the MD is a shorter focus throw, but I actually like it better. In fact, the Minolta MD beat out the Nikkor 28mm f2 as well. At least in my opinion. Now I didn't pay too much for the Nikkor, so I will probably keep it because I may pick up a D5500 or a D500 sometime later this year.

I'm hoping to have the Voigtlander 25mm by summer. Do you have type II? If so, how do you like the clicked/clickless aperture?

I have the version one. I also have the 17.5mm and the 42.5mm. The 42.5mm can be clickless, which is nice. They are all worth the money. I see the 25mm go cheaper on ebay then the others.

[kidzrevil]

The voigtlander 35mm f1.2 for Leica M mount. I felt like I lost a loved when I got rid of it lmao

[mercer]

I just got an amazing deal on a "New Other" Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 and I couldn't be more excited. Everything I have seen shot from that lens is inspiring. I just started selling off my lenses today to pay for it. In fact I am listing some lenses I swore I would never part with to have this more utilitarian set up. In the end I think I will only have a couple Minoltas and some various c-mounts. 

7 minutes ago, kidzrevil said:

The voigtlander 35mm f1.2 for Leica M mount. I felt like I lost a loved when I got rid of it lmao

 

[kidzrevil]

On April 26, 2016 at 6:28 PM, mercer said:

Funny thing is, I did some comparisons yesterday between the Rokkor-X 28mm f2 and the MD 28mm f2 and the MD wins. The only issue that some people would probably have with the MD is a shorter focus throw, but I actually like it better. In fact, the Minolta MD beat out the Nikkor 28mm f2 as well. At least in my opinion. Now I didn't pay too much for the Nikkor, so I will probably keep it because I may pick up a D5500 or a D500 sometime later this year.

I'm hoping to have the Voigtlander 25mm by summer. Do you have type II? If so, how do you like the clicked/clickless aperture?

The voigtlanders f0.95 lenses were the best I used on m43. No adapted lens came close. Didnt try out the 10mm though so idk about that one

[jase]

You wont regret it mercer. In fact, this lens and the GX80 should form a fantastic combination. Camera gear is getting better so fast nowadays it makes me dizzy.

[mercer]

Yeah, I am pretty excited. I had zero regrets or remorse listing those lenses today. I wasn't planning on getting this lens so quickly, but one came up and I threw out a lowball offer and they accepted it. Now I need to raise some money to get the GX85 because I want to make sure I like it before I sell my G7. 

59 minutes ago, kidzrevil said:

The voigtlanders f0.95 lenses were the best I used on m43. No adapted lens came close. Didnt try out the 10mm though so idk about that one

 

57 minutes ago, jase said:

You wont regret it mercer. In fact, this lens and the GX80 should form a fantastic combination. Camera gear is getting better so fast nowadays it makes me dizzy.