"Organic" looking lenses

[kidzrevil]

I am currently on the hunt for some new glass. I am looking for preferably full frame lenses with an organic look. I don't really care for sharpness as long as it can resolve 4K imagery. What are some of your favorite lenses for the organic look ?

[Geoff CB]

Mir 24n is a great lens. Low cost to.

[Jonesy Jones]

I can only recommend this lens. Pricey, but good reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013DAPNU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=peta0c-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0013DAPNU

[BrorSvensson]

Tokina rmc lenses are beautiful, especially the 17mm f3.5 and the 35mm f2. They are my favorite lenses after the wonderful nikkor 55mm f1.2.

[kidzrevil]

22 minutes ago, Jonesy Jones said:

I can only recommend this lens. Pricey, but good reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013DAPNU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=peta0c-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0013DAPNU

wow damn thing looks like it shoots down aircraft lolllllll

nikkor 55mm sounds good !!! I had the 50mm f1.2 and loved the image out of it. Have you ever shot with any contax zeiss glass ? @BrorSvensson

[AaronChicago]

Nikkor 28mm f2.8 is also a good "all around" vintage lens.

[homestar_kevin]

Are you open to going back to Nikkors or Canon FDs or Takumars? I know you've had the lot of them

I still have all my AIS lenses and love them, but one I'd recommend for you to check out is the Nikkor 55mm 2.8 macro.

That's probably my favorite lens

Also look into the Olympus Zuiko OM mount stuff. I love the colors/coating on those and they're tiny.


 

[kidzrevil]

@homestar_kevin I'm definitely considering going back to nikkor especially since the 200mbps hack for nx1. @AaronChicago when I had the 28mm 2.8 it was so sharp stopped down that it created macroblocking in a lot of scenes. I shouldn't have that issue anymore if I chose to go back to it. AIS has a lot of gems in their lineup

[John Palmer]

vintage Vivitar lenses (come in various lens mounts) have some pretty nice looks (its hit or miss though). I got a Vivitar 28mm f2 in c/y mount for about $30 that is has good contrast, but still pretty low contrast when it comes to modern lenses and surprising sharp wide open. Old russian lenses like the Mir and Helios (lomo may make some Still lenses too) but those are usually the most organic looking in general

[kidzrevil]

right now I am torn between nikkor and contax zeiss. Since I do not want to get in the habit of buying hella lenses I won't use I am torn between getting the Contax Zeiss 28mm f2 and 50mm f1.4 and how I can use nikkor 20mm f2.8 ais, nikkor 55mm f1.2

[mercer]

1 hour ago, BrorSvensson said:

Tokina rmc lenses are beautiful, especially the 17mm f3.5 and the 35mm f2. They are my favorite lenses after the wonderful nikkor 55mm f1.2.

I have both of them... For now. I am thinning the herd and I am selling both the 17mm and the 35mm f2. I especially hate to see the 35mm go. 

[M Carter]

1 hour ago, AaronChicago said:

Nikkor 28mm f2.8 is also a good "all around" vintage lens.

Depends on the flavor though:

The Series E is in the so-so to "crap" range, but very affordable. (the Series E 100 though, that's a sleeper!)

The 28mm Ai is decent. 

The 28mm AF is the same glass as the AI (or maybe the Series E?) Nothing to get psyched about.

The 28mm AIS - that's a classic mofo of a badass lens. Nikon threw everything they had at the design. Compares favorably - often better - then the similar Zeiss lens of that era. Which is a badass piece of glass as well.

[kidzrevil]

how do you feel about the 20mm f2.8 ais in comparison the 28mm 2.8 ais ? @M Carter  and have you ever used contax zeiss glass ?

[M Carter]

You really can't go wrong with many Nikkors, and theres tons on testing and blogs and writing about all of 'em, so you can find the killers from the dogs.

People are enthused about the Samyangs, but does a Samyang 85 really beat a Nikkor 85mm 1.8? Same price range (used for the Nikkor) but F me, that's a magical people-shooting lens on super-35. Just sexy as hell. 

If you have a mirrorless camera with adapters available, the 1960's era Canon FL lenses are kind of special too. Really unique color rendering, they're capable of real shape performance (they were pretty high-tech for their day), but the soft areas can have a really magical diffused look, and you can do some cool stuff by allowing some flare and working your top flag. And other than the (spectacular) 19mm "R" lens and the 85 1.8, you can get a set of primes for next to nothing. (The faster-than-1.8 glass can get pricey as well). There's something kind of "rembrandty" about them.

I wouldn't make them my main-squeeze corporate interview lenses, but when you want character... give one a try.

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Canon FLs, Contax Zeiss AEs, and Russian glass read the most "organic" to me.

I've worked with the Contax a bit and could answer some questions, but you should really pick through the Contax Zeiss Survival Guide on RED User. Lots of experiences and samples from 4K and 5K sensors.

[M Carter]

4 minutes ago, kidzrevil said:

how do you feel about the 20mm f2.8 ais in comparison the 28mm 2.8 ais ? @M Carter  and have you ever used contax zeiss glass ?

Nope, I've been using many of the same Nikkors since the 1990's (on still bodies). Never felt the need to look at anything else for straight-up work, just for effects or character. (Shot a music video with one of those soccer-mom "HD wide angle adapters" screwed onto a 50mm... the chromatic mess in the corners was just kickass, as were the insane flares!) 

I've never shot the 20mm, but the 28 AIS is just kind of legendary. I've shot with one but don't own one, pretty happy with the wide end of the Nikkor 28-70 2.8, but I don't tend to shoot wide that often. It's on my shopping list though.

[Parker]

I have the nikkor 28mm AIS and can also confirm that it is a wonderful lens. As far as Contax Zeiss goes, all I have is the 50mm f1.7, but I really like it, it's sharp, contrasty, the cheapest of the lot, and seems to render cooler colors, especially blues, in a really wonderful, dreamy way, one of my favorite lenses for sure. The Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4 is also a really cool lens that I like using a lot, it has an insanely close minimum focus distance that practically makes it a macro lens. As others have mentioned, the helios 44-2 is also very fun to use and definitely "organic" using. I use all of these lenses on the NX1 and NX500.

[AaronChicago]

18 minutes ago, M Carter said:

Depends on the flavor though:

The Series E is in the so-so to "crap" range, but very affordable. (the Series E 100 though, that's a sleeper!)

The 28mm Ai is decent. 

The 28mm AF is the same glass as the AI (or maybe the Series E?) Nothing to get psyched about.

The 28mm AIS - that's a classic mofo of a badass lens. Nikon threw everything they had at the design. Compares favorably - often better - then the similar Zeiss lens of that era. Which is a badass piece of glass as well.

Ahh yes. I guess I didn't look at which one. It's the AIS indeed.

[kidzrevil]

@Parker do you have any links to your NX1 footage with the contax lenses ? thats what I will be using them with. @TheRenaissanceMan thx ! Gonna look deeper into the contax survival guide. Russian glass is cool I just hate having to order from Russia on ebay, had some bad experiences with that lol. 

[M Carter]

6 minutes ago, AaronChicago said:

Ahh yes. I guess I didn't look at which one. It's the AIS indeed.

Figured as much, you come across as a classy guy with good taste - hard to imagine you rocking a series-E!

(But as I said, if money is tight, the Series-E 100 2.8 is really more special than the reviews would have you believe. If you can't afford the classic 105mm, it's a steal at $70-$100 or so. The Series-E 28 is pretty much mush wide open, OK at F4 or so).