Lenses

[Ninpo33]

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

Yeah, I started collecting them too. Sometimes, you can find some great deals. So far, I have:

• 15mm fisheye
• 21mm f/2.8
• 28mm f/3.5
• 40mm f/1.8
• 50mm f/1.4
• 50mm f/1.7 (both versions)
• 57mm f/1.2
• 100mm f/2.8
• 135mm f/2.5
• 135mm f/3.2
• 200mm f/3.5
• 300mm f/4.5

I also have various zooms.

For some reason I started to get really attracted to them, always looking for something a little different. With the exception of the 57mm, I got decent to amazing deals on them, often with working film bodies.

The 28mm f/1.8 is one I'd also like to get. I got really lucky getting the 21mm as the person didn't know what they were selling. I told her what she had, offered her 2.5x what she was asking, and she decided to sell it to me rather some other person who was most certainly going to flip it. It's a nice sharp lens, but the build is more like a Tokina (the producer) than the 60-70's Konica-made lenses.

I agree.

One thing I've noticed about Konica lenses in general is that they often have grease problems. Due to the shorter flange, they missed the DSLR years, only being able to adapt to M-mount. I probably need to service most of them. Any suggestions for grease?

Also, I've heard that declicking Konica lenses is a bad idea. Has anyone done that? I'm not really sure if I would, but I'd like to try on one.

Oh yeah, sounds like you’re only missing a few. I also scored great deals by just waiting around until something reasonable came up. I refuse to spend top dollar on vintage glass when it can always be found cheap if you’re patient. 
 

I bid on a 21mm a couple of weeks ago that went for just about $500. Given that there’s a Tokina wide for much less out there I decided to let it go. 
 

The Konicas are only now starting to get some attention for video finally after the rehouse projects at Ancient Optics and Old Fast Glass.

I’m working on a speedbooster project to mount on Fuji APS-C. Really tough because of the short flange distance but I found an ALPA speedbooster that works if I make a custom adapter. 
 

[John Matthews]

10 minutes ago, Ninpo33 said:

Oh yeah, sounds like you’re only missing a few. I also scored great deals by just waiting around until something reasonable came up. I refuse to spend top dollar on vintage glass when it can always be found cheap if you’re patient. 
 

I bid on a 21mm a couple of weeks ago that went for just about $500. Given that there’s a Tokina wide for much less out there I decided to let it go. 
 

The Konicas are only now starting to get some attention for video finally after the rehouse projects at Ancient Optics and Old Fast Glass.

I’m working on a speedbooster project to mount on Fuji APS-C. Really tough because of the short flange distance but I found an ALPA speedbooster that works if I make a custom adapter. 
 

The only "problem" I've found with all vintage lenses is the coatings. If you look at footage taken with the 40mm and then the 50mm f/1.7, there are significant differences. If you use multiple focal lengths on the same shoot, you need to stay within the same generation of lenses. For example the 21mm, 40mm,  and a newer zoom. Or, the 28mm, 50mm f/1.7 and 100mm, as they're made with similar coatings. I don't know how GL Optics gets away with that. The 57mm should probably only be used as a one and done lens as it's vastly different from all the other ones.

[Ninpo33]

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

The only "problem" I've found with all vintage lenses is the coatings. If you look at footage taken with the 40mm and then the 50mm f/1.7, there are significant differences. If you use multiple focal lengths on the same shoot, you need to stay within the same generation of lenses. For example the 21mm, 40mm,  and a newer zoom. Or, the 28mm, 50mm f/1.7 and 100mm, as they're made with similar coatings. I don't know how GL Optics gets away with that. The 57mm should probably only be used as a one and done lens as it's vastly different from all the other ones.

I suppose it depends on a few things, namely how yellow your 57mm has become and yeah, not mixing the older single coated versions or even the second gen MC versions. 

I honestly haven't had any trouble with mixing all lenses from the newest gen and maybe only need to do a slight adjustment in post for really, really subtle color shifts. Have you thought about the UV light trick with your? I remember there was a cheap IKEA light that people were using for a while with nice results. I should look back into that because I have a few M42 Yashica and Mamiya lenses that could really use it. 

[John Matthews]

17 hours ago, Ninpo33 said:

honestly haven't had any trouble with mixing all lenses from the newest gen and maybe only need to do a slight adjustment in post for really, really subtle color shifts. Have you thought about the UV light trick with your? I remember there was a cheap IKEA light that people were using for a while with nice results. I should look back into that because I have a few M42 Yashica and Mamiya lenses that could really use it. 

That's good to hear. We are usually talking about 4k 10bit files in 2025 and they should have that kind of latitude.

As for the 57mm f/1.2, I think you could just grey card it and it would be fine. I personally won't be trying to remove the yellowing. For me, that's just part of the charm.

[maxJ4380]

pardon my ignorance, wouldn't the yellowing add some kick to a sunrise / sunset? I guess that would make it a bit of a one trick pony. I have been thinking on and off about acquiring a "yellow" lens just for that particular reason. 

[mercer]

Sorry for the repost but after second thought, I realized that this wasn't shot with the Super Takumar 50mm 1.4, it was actually shot with the Nikon Nikkor 28mm f/2 N.C. non-ai lens. I was using the Tak a lot last spring/summer, so I just assumed that was it, but the close up bothered me so I went back to my notes. Anyway, I didn't want to misrepresent the lens...

[mercer]

Speaking of Nikkor non-ai lenses, I have a small set with the updated "c" coating, the 28mm f/2, 50mm 1.4 and the 105mm 2.5. All are in mint condition, but they could use a CLA.

Those old non-ai Nikkor lens' focus lubricant dries up pretty good, and although the focus is smooth and holds, it doesn't have the same dampening as older Taks or Minoltas have.

Anyway, can anyone recommend a lens tech in the US. I'm in the Philly area, so anywhere in the mid-Atlantic, northeast would work. 

[maxJ4380]

7 hours ago, mercer said:

 

Anyway, can anyone recommend a lens tech in the US. I'm in the Philly area, so anywhere in the mid-Atlantic, northeast would work. 

finding good service people is getting harder and harder i reckon, if all else fails maybe one of those lens rehousing services could help. If their pulling a lens apart and machining parts, cleaning and lubing a lens should be a piece of cake, but maybe not cheap... would depend on how you value the lens as to whether it is worthwhile or not. 

Btw i like what you doing with the black and white images care to share a little of your processing / workflow?

[eatstoomuchjam]

8 hours ago, mercer said:

Anyway, can anyone recommend a lens tech in the US. I'm in the Philly area, so anywhere in the mid-Atlantic, northeast would work. 

SK Grimes is one of the most famous lens technicians, though sadly is priced to match - located in Rhode Island.

https://skgrimes.com/product/repair-services/

[mercer]

16 hours ago, maxJ4380 said:

finding good service people is getting harder and harder i reckon, if all else fails maybe one of those lens rehousing services could help. If their pulling a lens apart and machining parts, cleaning and lubing a lens should be a piece of cake, but maybe not cheap... would depend on how you value the lens as to whether it is worthwhile or not. 

Btw i like what you doing with the black and white images care to share a little of your processing / workflow?

Thanks. I shoot raw video with either the 5D3 and Magic Lantern Raw or cDNG with the Sigma FP. Recently I've been treating their raw files as rec709 in Resolve's Camera Raw Tab and then after those basic adjustments, I use an S-Curve LUT, Log Wheels for micro adjustments and tweak the color channels in the RGB tab. Obviously, I'm going for a dark, moody image, but I have a horrible monitor so I'm never 100% sure what the final output looks like on other devices...

Basically, I just tinker with it. One day I'll make a movie that will be constructed of the coolest b-roll shots I can take with the most dramatic lighting possible. I've yet to come up with an interesting plot for that film.

[mercer]

Does anyone know the value of FD L series lenses? They ballooned years ago, and I was lucky enough to pick up a 50mm 1.2 L for a pretty decent price before they were compared to the K lenses. At the time I was only shooting video on the 5D3 and had it modded by Simmod to the EF mount and declicked. I didn't add a follow focus gear or a larger front ring since I pull focus from ring. I've checked eBay but the pricing seems to be all over the place.

[eatstoomuchjam]

16 hours ago, mercer said:

Does anyone know the value of FD L series lenses? They ballooned years ago, and I was lucky enough to pick up a 50mm 1.2 L

Assuming that you're talking about the price of the lens that you have, sold item search on ebay puts it between $700 and $1,000 depending on condition.  I'd guess that the simmod mount swap would put you near the higher end of the range.