Mitakon Creator 35mm f2. Waste of money?

[Devon]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1174425-REG

This is so tempting. I shoot with a Sony a7s and legacy film lenses are my "go-to." Most of my film lenses are a bit soft compared to modern lenses. With that in mind - I've been looking for a fast 35mm lens to adapt to my Sony, and I'm thinking the image quality from this would closely match a legacy 35mm lens. 

This lens is also cheaper than most legacy lenses too. 

What you guys think? Would it be a waste of money to buy it? 

[BrorSvensson]

One of my friend has one, at f2 its nothing to boost about. I would personally get the Nikon ai 35mm  f2 instead.

[IronFilm]

https://www.keh.com/shop/nikon-35mm-f-2-ai-manual-focus-lens-52.html

[Geoff CB]

If your looking for a cheap awesome 35mm get the canon FD 2.8. Cheap as hell with great rendering but sharp as a tack.

[sandro]

Wish they also made a cheap 1.4 option.

[BrorSvensson]

20 minutes ago, sandro said:

Wish they also made a cheap 1.4 option.

the samyang 35mm 1.4 is great

[sandro]

4 minutes ago, BrorSvensson said:

the samyang 35mm 1.4 is great

I bet quite expensive though, mitakon i guess would make one cheaper?

[Nikkor]

There is also the slr magic 35mm 1.2 Haven't seen a reciew yet but if it's good it will be a must have.

[Geoff CB]

22 minutes ago, Nikkor said:

There is also the slr magic 35mm 1.2 Haven't seen a reciew yet but if it's good it will be a must have.

Yeah I'm looking forward to reviews on those lenses, if the performance is even decent they will be an instant buy for me.

[BrorSvensson]

6 hours ago, sandro said:

I bet quite expensive though, mitakon i guess would make one cheaper?

i bougt mine used for 220$

[j.f.r.]

10 hours ago, sandro said:

I bet quite expensive though, mitakon i guess would make one cheaper?

$400 is expensive? I consider any lens about 1k the beginning of expensive for independent film makers, but the truth is you/me/everyone needs to step it up in order to reach those "next" levels.

 

Buy a RED camera, and watch your clientele grow. Money is relative, you think "Cheap" you get "Cheap" I did projects for Free, then got paid like $500 I believe later on, then did some more free stuff, then did something for $1K then something cheap, then above $3k+ then something less, then above $20K....... It's all about working and one thing leads to another, but I can always say it's about progressing and if you're not progressing then why do it.

[sandro]

I'm an hobbyist at the moment so yeah it's expensive

[j.f.r.]

4 hours ago, sandro said:

I'm an hobbyist at the moment so yeah it's expensive

Your post honestly disrespect a craft that people have put their life into.... Personally I think you should honestly do some history, research and most importantly value this craft which many people feed their families with.

 

Cameras becoming so accessible was a great thing, but also it allows people to walk in and disrespect the art....... 

[sandro]

1 hour ago, j.f.r. said:

Your post honestly disrespect a craft that people have put their life into.... Personally I think you should honestly do some history, research and most importantly value this craft which many people feed their families with.

 

Cameras becoming so accessible was a great thing, but also it allows people to walk in and disrespect the art....... 

I seriously don't get what you're talking about. Just because this art is food for you and not for me doesn't mean $400 for a lens just becomes cheap for me.

I'll leave this thread since I'm so disrespectful.

[fuzzynormal]

37 minutes ago, j.f.r. said:

it allows people to walk in and disrespect the art.

Disrespect is sometimes a path to creativity.  Who has such a thin skin that they can't handle a bunch of kids mucking things up with their youthful ambition? 

If a person has skills, is willing to develop skills, has half a brain and is not a hack, then let them do it with whatever they get their hands on -- they may may create something wildly new.  Who's to say?  Who wants to hold the keys to the gate and say who gets the keys?  Snobbery to do so, I think.  

It's akin to a 13 year old guitarist that learns how to play incredible stuff sitting in his room on a beat up $100 Fender.  When someone is naive, then they're gonna stumble onto something new that a crusty 'ol fart like me would never consider.  

That's kind of how it works with youth, the absorb it, mush it around, and push it back out in a new way.

Aside from that, the value of offering technical capability is just going away.  That's all there is to it.  The gear is cheap so now so is the value.  (The music industry, pretty good example there, I think)  At the end of the day, if you want to make money at motion pictures, you got to be able to do something interesting with whatever camera you bring to the show, 'kuz there's not a really huge gap in quality between an Alexa and a GX85.  3.5 stops of DR?  Meh.  Nice to have, not terribly important for telling the story.  You might be able to tell the story in a more attractive way, but, really, does that attractiveness truly matter a whole lot or is it a lipstick/pig sort of thing?

I watch a lot of indy films as part of a film festival and I can attest that there's a lot of hogs in the pen.

To be fair, things are still on the cusp both ways.  Folks'll still pay for a big 'ol crew and a nice rig of a RED camera.  Great work if you can get it.  But I think that just isn't going to hold for the next generation coming up.  Yes, there's always going to be big productions, but is the camera going to be an expensive part of that production?  More important, is the camera going to be valued when practically everyone that wants a good camera can go buy one at WalMart?

Those that hold onto their RED and Alexa hot rods and treasure them above all else are the next anachronism, I think.

That said, having the latest stuff is always a blast.  Hard not to be impressed with cutting edge camera IQ.

[Liam]

1 hour ago, j.f.r. said:

Your post honestly disrespect a craft that people have put their life into.... Personally I think you should honestly do some history, research and most importantly value this craft which many people feed their families with.

 

Cameras becoming so accessible was a great thing, but also it allows people to walk in and disrespect the art....... 

amen! exactly why I just got the Lytro cinema camera as a b cam for my Alexa 65 #sickofamateurs

[Cinegain]

I do kinda get his point though. There's always people that are going to complain that equipment is too expensive for them. Ok, we get it. He can't buy the 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S lens and 400 USD is a stretch too. What I don't understand is... if that's not your ballpark... then don't look at it and complain about it. That's unproductive. And what I also get is that stuff just costs money, from a designing and engineering perspective. If you want something that's brand new and any good, there's probably some money involved to make it. That's just how it works. Complaining about something that's already fairly priced might be regarded disrespectful to the ones making 'em, although I wouldn't really go as far as saying it's disrespectful to the art in any way, except from the fact that everybody is dealing with the fact something is a certain price and they either sacrifice somethings to get the funds or just forget about it already.

I love cars, especially the fast and exotic ones. Yet you won't see me complain that a McLaren is too expensive. Or even the Audi RS5. If it's not in my ballpark, I'll just have to look at other stuff that gets me from A to B. Can't afford a car, like... any car? Look at public transport! Can't do that either? Take a bike or go on foot! I mean... you want a cheap f/1.4? Get a 25mm APS-C covering C-mount lens from AliExpress/eBay or something already. Or a nice vintage piece of quality glass. Sure I agree. Budget forces perspective, a new way of thinking and resourcefulness. But you've got to explore that. You can't just sit around moping. Be creative with what you've got on focus your energy on the right things. That's all.

[sanveer]

Do we, now, Officially, have Steven Spielberg among us? Here in this Forum?

Get a life. I never figure out why people talk so big. Reminds of some idiot who was talking about his family legacy of good food, and didn't even know his cuts. And, most of his family couldn't cook to save their asses either. I could feed him his dog, and he would think its Kobe beef.

Stop talking big. Get a life. Win an Oscar or a Palme D'or. Hopefully that should teach you some grace.

I mean, Seriously??? Isn't THIS how the Parallel Cinema Movement Started? Isn't this why the 'Model T' and so many other Great Icons of History were Created?

Talent and Creativity must meet frugality. Otherwise, buy 10 Red Dragons and Stick them to your Car, and drive like that around the world. People might  take you more seriously then. If they are anything like you. 

[j.f.r.]

48 minutes ago, Cinegain said:

I do kinda get his point though. There's always people that are going to complain that equipment is too expensive for them. Ok, we get it. He can't buy the 16-50mm f/2-2.8 S lens and 400 USD is a stretch too. What I don't understand is... if that's not your ballpark... then don't look at it and complain about it. That's unproductive. And what I also get is that stuff just costs money, from a designing and engineering perspective. If you want something that's brand new and any good, there's probably some money involved to make it. That's just how it works. Complaining about something that's already fairly priced might be regarded disrespectful to the ones making 'em, although I wouldn't really go as far as saying it's disrespectful to the art in any way, except from the fact that everybody is dealing with the fact something is a certain price and they either sacrifice somethings to get the funds or just forget about it already.

I love cars, especially the fast and exotic ones. Yet you won't see me complain that a McLaren is too expensive. Or even the Audi RS5. If it's not in my ballpark, I'll just have to look at other stuff that gets me from A to B. Can't afford a car, like... any car? Look at public transport! Can't do that either? Take a bike or go on foot! I mean... you want a cheap f/1.4? Get a 25mm APS-C covering C-mount lens from AliExpress/eBay or something already. Or a nice vintage piece of quality glass. Sure I agree. Budget forces perspective, a new way of thinking and resourcefulness. But you've got to explore that. You can't just sit around moping. Be creative with what you've got on focus your energy on the right things. That's all.

Good Post......

 

Now for the other ridiculous forum members you think a $400 lens NEW or easily $250-300 used is expensive then all of you miss the point. Would you tell a sad Wedding photographer that his $2000+ Telephoto lens is too expensive for what you can achieve.....

 

Think about any tool that is used in your profession, would you consider it too expensive..... Now a $400 lens which is more than beyond consumer friendly and someone says it's too expensive is just beyond insulting to the engineers who created this. Would the Sigma 18-35mm 1,8 at $800 be considered expensive when nothing like this ever existed before at this price....... I can go on with examples, but my point being you don't disrespect the craft, the art and the history.

 

There's a reason those Cooke lenses cost thousands of dollars, it's all about perspective and more importantly understanding the history.

 

If we lose this perspective and value I believe in term is what will ultimately kill this art........ BUT there will always be a market for the low end, high end

peace

[Liam]

but there's still stuff you don't buy.. because you don't have infinite money. you said yourself you do have a point where something is "expensive". you just have a higher budget than the disrespectful guy.. everyone do whatever.

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