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Which first legacy lens?
- Thread starter teefin1
- Start date
That'd be a very good choice. Not only because it's great, but because the OM mount offers an extensive lens line up that is excellent, and affordable for most. I have several OM lenses and can vouch for them.
Dioptrick
TalkEmount All-Pro
Oly legacy lenses also have this smallish compact build to them (almost rangefinder size, but not quite) which suits the NEX body very well, cosmetically speaking. IQ is excellent too from what I hear. In comparison, other SLR legacies look pretty big and cumbersome on the NEX.
I recon it's a pretty good start. Make sure you ask the seller if there's no scratches and fungus on the glass and that the apertures are snappy and free from oil.
I recon it's a pretty good start. Make sure you ask the seller if there's no scratches and fungus on the glass and that the apertures are snappy and free from oil.
One that I am looking at reads:
The aperture diaphragm operates smoothly and there is no oil on the blades
Positive and smoothly operating focus ring
Aperture ring clicks positively at each f-stop
The one thing I have noticed is that the iris can sometimes re-open a little slowly after being stopped down but only when the lens is facing vertically down or up. Otherwise it is nice and snappy.
I don't really understand the implications of the iris issue?
The aperture diaphragm operates smoothly and there is no oil on the blades
Positive and smoothly operating focus ring
Aperture ring clicks positively at each f-stop
The one thing I have noticed is that the iris can sometimes re-open a little slowly after being stopped down but only when the lens is facing vertically down or up. Otherwise it is nice and snappy.
I don't really understand the implications of the iris issue?
Yep, decent lens (I have one). Very common, so don't pay too much and you can be picky about which one/s you choose to bid on or 'buy it now' as there are plenty of them (I would avoid any with any issues/problems and select only 100% feedback positive sellers with clear descriptions and photos of the lens).
I read somewhere that the version with 'Made in Japan' written on the front is better than the one with just 'Japan' written on the front, but I have no idea how accurate this info is and even if it is the case wether you would notice in normal use (ie: without extreme pixel peeping) is debatable.
The only slightly odd thing is that the aperture ring (on my version anyway) is in front of the focus ring and on all my other legacy lenses (non Olympus) the aperture ring is behind the focus ring (nearest to the camera body). Of course if this is your first legacy lens you won't find this odd at all you will just think it's 'normal' and I guess it must be for Olympus OM lenses, but as none of my other lenses are like this it makes it the odd one out for me.
These are not my photos (found them via a Google search for Olympus OM 1.8 on Nex) but will give you an idea of what the lens is capable of: Olympus OM Zuiko Auto-s 50mm f/1.8 - a set on Flickr
Plus some reviews of this lens (not Nex specific) here:
http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1279
I read somewhere that the version with 'Made in Japan' written on the front is better than the one with just 'Japan' written on the front, but I have no idea how accurate this info is and even if it is the case wether you would notice in normal use (ie: without extreme pixel peeping) is debatable.
The only slightly odd thing is that the aperture ring (on my version anyway) is in front of the focus ring and on all my other legacy lenses (non Olympus) the aperture ring is behind the focus ring (nearest to the camera body). Of course if this is your first legacy lens you won't find this odd at all you will just think it's 'normal' and I guess it must be for Olympus OM lenses, but as none of my other lenses are like this it makes it the odd one out for me.
These are not my photos (found them via a Google search for Olympus OM 1.8 on Nex) but will give you an idea of what the lens is capable of: Olympus OM Zuiko Auto-s 50mm f/1.8 - a set on Flickr
Plus some reviews of this lens (not Nex specific) here:
http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1279
asimkalkan
TalkEmount Regular
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2012
- Messages
- 37
Helios 44M 58/2 can be good one
kevistopheles
TalkEmount Hall of Famer
Just about any of the manual focus lenses from the major manufacturers (Konica, Minolta, Olympus OM, Pentax K mount, Pentax Super Takumar, Canon FD, Nikon etc.) will work. The adapters are cheap and you can get great results form any of them. We each have our favorites for a variety of reasons but in all honesty it's tough to go wrong with any of them. I like the sharpness and rendering of Konica Hexanon lenses and the feel and smoothness Super Takumars but I've tried a number of different lens brands and with a few exceptions most have been very good.
FSU lenses (former Soviet Union) are plentiful and cheap. Add to that the fact that most are clones of prewar designs by Zeiss and Leica and if you get a good one (let's just say that build quality in some of the factories in the former Soviet Union was sometimes "unpredictable") they are great values. My personal favorite among the FSU lenses is the Helios 44.
FSU lenses (former Soviet Union) are plentiful and cheap. Add to that the fact that most are clones of prewar designs by Zeiss and Leica and if you get a good one (let's just say that build quality in some of the factories in the former Soviet Union was sometimes "unpredictable") they are great values. My personal favorite among the FSU lenses is the Helios 44.
quezra
TalkEmount All-Pro
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2012
- Messages
- 1,055
+1
I have not seen any pics here from any of the other legacy adapters that consistently disappointed me to the extent where I'd avoid any of the mounts. I went for Canon FD because it was dirt cheap and I haven't been disappointed so far, nor have I felt I've "graduated" out of it yet. I do think of all the other adapted shots I've seen, I like the Konica AR pics, and it has one of the smallest adapters, so that would probably be my next venture if I were to go for more adapted lenses. But yeah, I think anything works, that's the beauty of 50 years of competition in the camera market!
markoneswift
TalkEmount Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2012
- Messages
- 390
Hello there - I use Canon FD 50mm F/1.8 and Canon FD 28mm F/2.8 mostly. Here's a window lit portrait with selected colour - FD 50mm
Sony NEX-C3 / Canon FD 50mm F/1.8 - Ethan Bowler by markoneswift, on Flickr
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Sony NEX-C3 / Canon FD 50mm F/1.8 - Ethan Bowler by markoneswift, on Flickr
kevistopheles
TalkEmount Hall of Famer
Hello there - I use Canon FD 50mm F/1.8 and Canon FD 28mm F/2.8 mostly. Here's a window lit portrait with selected colour - FD 50mm
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Sony NEX-C3 / Canon FD 50mm F/1.8 - Ethan Bowler by markoneswift, on Flickr
That is lovely. Did you do the monochrome + red in Photoshop?
kevistopheles
TalkEmount Hall of Famer
When folks ask me what I like the best it often comes down to the properties of an individual lens. For instance I like to have a close working distance and really rather like that 40-50 focal length so my favorite lens at the moment is my Vivitar 28/2 close focus in Minolta MD mount because that gives me the equivalent of a 42/2 with a minimum focus distance of about 6 inches.
Now, I will say that of al the manual focus lenses available Minolta and Canon FD appear to be some of the best values. They both can be had more cheaply than some of the other brands and have some truly terrific lenses in their lineups.
kevistopheles
TalkEmount Hall of Famer
I have always heard mixed opinions about the 45/2 (some love it others no so much). It's certainly small and pretty cheap and better constructed than the Hex 40 (as much as I like the Hex 40). I too have been tempted many times to pick one up but until recently I have never had any Rokkor lenses (or adapters). I'm interested to hear what you think if you grab one.
Yes, I have this one - but I never quite liked it as much as my 50mm f1.7 for some reason. But it's a personal thing and other people may love it (in fact someone recommended this to me saying they prefer it to the 50mm f1.7, so I got it but found my preference was the other way around). As with any of these old lenses I also may have got a less than optimum copy of course. In any case it's pretty cheap as people tend to go for 1.7 and 1.8 lenses in this focal length rather than 2.0 (even though there is hardly any difference and my 45/2 is sharper wide open than my 50/1.7) so not much to lose by trying it out.
Oh - I just posted a thread asking for 28mm suggestions with a criteria of close working distance and fast(ish) and straight afterwards read your post here - will need to check out this one. Thanks! Don't really know much about Vivitars except that their Series 1 macro is pretty good.
markoneswift
TalkEmount Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2012
- Messages
- 390
Thanks ! There's no PP at all in that shot. It was just using window light and selective colour from in-camera
davect01
Super Moderator
I have one and love it. For a general purpose, small prime lens you can not get much better. The only issue is that you have to stand back a bit when using it.
I just posted this thread wherein I used that lens.
https://www.talkemount.com/f15/sports-equipment-1507/#post11068
kevistopheles
TalkEmount Hall of Famer
My Konica 40/1.8 is the same in that it is small, sharp and relatively inexpensive. I like the lens a lot but the MFD is a bit long for my tastes. Of course you gotta spend more to get something that improves that significantly. The Pen-F 38/1.8 for instance is, smaller, sharp (even wide open) and has a shorter MFD (about a foot) but you're looking at around $200.
The 40/1.8 is pretty nice, but for having both, the PEN 38 blows it out of the water. I was really interested in the 45/2, but I'm afraid the 38 sets the bar a little too high.
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