Vintage lenses on a modern camera beginners questions forum. Dec 19, 2017 theres been a growing trend among digital photographers to use vintage lenses on modern mirrorless cameras. The new olloclip 4in1 for iphone 66 plus adds wideangle and fisheye lenses to your iphone as well as two macro lenses. Dimitrios tolios, photography geek, in the making for 25y. Vintage sets of cine lenses offer great value, despite them not having a few of the newer features that you get to enjoy with todays modern cine lenses. Get sharp, clear photos with this canon medium telephoto lens that delivers vibrant color and clarity with fast, quiet focusing. Vintage lenses will often times flatten the image, theoretically allowing more information in the highlights and shadows for post production. Instead of snuggling onto the phones corner, the new design sports a. That might not be the most important thing to consider in this whole piece, but it is a thing worth considering i used to drive an. Why are many modern lenses flat compared to older lenses nikon. The iphone has a great smartphone camera but it could be better. The 85mm focal length draws attention to your subject and transforms the background into a soft blur for professionalquality portraits and impeccably detailed closeup shots. The petzval lens is an 85mm lens that comes with an interchangeable.
What are the best vintage nikon compatible lenses that can be. Mar 10, 2015 there is no definitive answer, as all things are relative. Manual focusing is great stuff when using a manual focus lens, with an autof. Here is everything you need to know about making a vintage camera lens purchase on ebay. So, how do you get these vintage lenses on your modern digital cameras, you ask.
Is there anything about vintage lenses that may make them more difficult to use with a modern camera body, specifically like a lack of a veiwfinder, or anything else i might now know about at all. I thought for fun i would post this little item as it is a modern take on truly classic design. Finally, theres an argument to be made that, as sensor technology increases seemingly by the month, paying a premium for the latest sharpness and light performance is simply excessive. Among other reasons is that old manual focus lenses often sell for a fraction of the cost of their current autofocus counterparts, and the necessary adapters are both abundant and affordable. Sep, 2017 vintage sets of cine lenses offer great value, despite them not having a few of the newer features that you get to enjoy with todays modern cine lenses. But canon changed something in the ef lens system around the time of the eos 20d which stopped these old sigma lenses from working properly if you put them on a more modern camera such as the eos 5d mark iii then they will only work with the aperture fully wide open.
What is a cine lens and how is it different from a. Oct 27, 2015 comparison between cheap old vintage 50mm lenses versus a new expensive modern 50mm lens test on a canon dslr. There are markets for used old glass, markets for new glass that looks like old glass and, if that wasnt enough. Legacy lens vs modern lens in reply to sasoph dec 15, 20 i have the canon macro fd 50mm f3. Ultra wide fisheyes, super fast telephotos, stunningly sharp portrait lenses like today, they were all available decades ago. Vintage 50mm lens vs modern lens comparison cheap vs expensive lens nates. Oct 17, 2017 compatible with iphone 6s and above purchase in app store now s. Using old lenses on modern dslr and mirrorless cameras with. Both the iphone x and iphone 8 plus have a 12mp camera and two lenses on the back, along with the frontfacing selfie camera. He we see both lenses at full zoom, and clearly we have an advantage with the 105mm reach of the l lens on the film.
They created a concept and printed it with their makerbot 3d printer. When it comes to optical and precision mechanical components for machine vision, we set the standard. People tend to forget that the lenses are what make things inherently different. The lens has characteristics that wont be found photographing with anything else.
From big colorful flares to the catseye bokeh offered from early russian lenses like the helios 442 58mmf2, an adapted lens can do things your fancy modern glass. I have been collecting vintage prime lenses around the 50 mm fov for a couple of months now. Whatever lens you choose, be it vintage or modern, dont sit on the facts, number of elements, nor the shortcomings it has over another lens. Camera bags as we know them today are a rather new development. Vintage lenses on a modern camera beginners questions. The lenses secure to your iphones back and front camera with small metal rings thatre meant to stick with a light adhesive to the perimeter of your phones lens. My parents told me they tossed most of it when he passed including what i believe was a very old 1930s minolta semi 1. But, the iphone 6 shoots impressive images that are just as good, or better, than a standard pointandshoot. Theres a chance you will find you prefer the lower contrast of vintage lenses. Modern advancements have made amazing improvements in lens technology, which is to be expected. Typical to the mix for more modern yet vintage lenses vivitar series 1 70210, 90mm macro 1.
While sharpness and flare reduction are high on the list for modern lenses, often they can produce rather sterile images that make for easy color grading, but dont really have much character. Modern lenses have some advantages when it comes contrast, because coatings have gotten better, but there are some vintage lenses with great contrast like the contax yashica carl zeiss planar t series. Steve oakley sent over the video below in which he does a rather comprehensive. Vintage 50mm lens vs modern lens comparison cheap vs expensive lens. Every photography enthusiast knows that a vintage camera lens can lead to a whole new spectrum of creativity. Comparison between cheap old vintage 50mm lenses versus a new expensive modern 50mm lens test on a canon dslr. Spark creativity one of the most common reasons i hear for a slow down in the production of images is a lack of inspiration or creative block.
Most of the lenses are mounted on the iphone by a simple clip based mount technology that has been recently criticized by some photographers because it can obscure the view of wide angle lens. Back in the time before the use of computers, lenses were made by hand and had character to them. Jun 28, 2019 the iphone has a great smartphone camera but it could be better. Are cheap modern lenses better than expensive vintage lenses. Benedikt ernst pairing a vintage lens with a modern camera helps bring that older aesthetic to digital photography and. There is a feel to old film lenses that seems to have been lost in modern optics.
Photography used to be much more expensive in the past. The iphone x and 8 plus also have an optical zoom and a. Especially when he talks about kubrick and the old masters shooting these. Meyeroptik set to bring back another vintage lens with redesign. Still, theres one crucial area where the gap between the iphone 6 and a dslr really.
Old camera, modern lens vs modern camera, old lens. Top 9 classic lenses every collector should own contrastly. Especially todays cheap modern lenses are definitely not better as compared to expensive vintage. The main reason is the number of elements too many corrective lens elements rob light, making subjects appear dull and lifeless. Vintage 50mm lens vs modern lens comparison cheap vs. Just because a lens is perfect, doesnt mean youre going to like the images it produces. Vintage lenses top 3 ways to buy affordable prime lenses duration. Modern lenses are incapable of producing such depth and 3dimensionality for a number of reasons.
Vintage standard lens shootout jonasraskphotography. In less than a month the squidcam iphone lens went from an idea to a product. Jan 09, 2017 vintage lenses, especially those made prior to wwii, exhibit greater sample tosample variation than modern lenses, so if possible try it before you buy it. These vintage lenses allow you to capture many kinds of photographs, and they can work well with camera. Choosing a vintage lens for a digital camera is easy when you know what.
If you were a photographer in the film era you will have lusted after some incredible lenses. In many cases the construction of the lens is unique. Its a good question, and you can find a lot of good answers to it here. Dec 15, 2015 vintage lenses tend to render images in unique ways. Whether in the studios, in the large premiere theater or in the home cinema our products always set standards in taking and projection of films. At the academy level, five of the ten best picture nominees were shot on vintage lenses in some capacity. What are the best vintage nikon compatible lenses that can. If we allow ourselves to be shallow for a second, old camera lenses are just cool. Vintage lenses tend to render images in unique ways. The biggest differences are that ambitious vintage lenses are nearly always a result of handgrinding and collimation, where to achieve similar results todays makers use aspherical elements pressed by sigma for many lens designs, bonded polycarbanateglass hybrids by tamron on the same basis. A photo of a bad camera with a good lens taken with a good camera with a bad lens. I remembered that my grandfather had a vintage minolta camera collection, so i went inquiring.
Brands like canon, nikon, olympus, and minolta offer manual vintage slr lenses that are smaller, more lightweight, and can be used on most camera systemseven on compatible mirrorless cameras. Many of my recent photographs are taken with vintage lenses. Since joining the fujifilm mirrorless ecosystem, one of the things ive enjoyed most is using vintage manual focus lenses on the system. Optical excellence for analog and digital photography made in germany. Vintage lenses are usually held together by very easy to access screws, making them easy to take apart and declick. In addition, autofocus on mostly still subject isnt really that necessary, which means that you can use a vintage lens that.
There are a large variety of vintage lens types available, ranging from macro lenses to telephoto lenses that you can mount on your cameras body. Quickish little video on the differences between canon fd lenses and more modern lenses focusing on. Lens adapters allow you to use old lenses on digital dslr and mirrorless cameras. Using vintage lenses, with all of their flaws and imperfections, can help give your images a more filmlike look.
Depends on the dslr, some will give you more trouble than others. Vintage vs modern lens comparison canon fd lenses youtube. Meyeroptik is bringing back another vintage lens with a modern redesign. The three vintage lenses i use to create a film look. Aug 19, 2014 some vintage lenses have effects that are unique and look really good when properly used.
Great for studio work professional photographers shoot with modern made manual focus lenses when they work in a studio lenses made by leica, carl zeiss, schneider and so on due to the fact that they have great image quality. Pictured above is the recently redesigned version of the petzval lens. This image was shot with a prototype of the modern glaukar lens. There is no definitive answer, as all things are relative. Declicking a lens can be an extremely scary process, especially if you trying to declick a modern lens. Auckeys lens models like pla1 combine the properties of wideangle, macro and fisheye lenses which allow the users to capture different scenes with the.
Mainly, vintage lenses allow for a different experience photographically. This was the case, at least, until another modern vs. You cannot fairly or competently discuss modern high element count digital lenses without referring to the filter stack. Best vintage lens set recommendations macrumors forums. The pros and cons of using vintage lenses today light. From big colorful flares to the catseye bokeh offered from early russian lenses like the helios 442 58mmf2, an adapted lens can do things your fancy modern glass simply cannot. The lens modules themselves bear no such identification, but taiwanese manufacturers largan precision and genius electronic optical have been named as suppliers for the iphone 4, 4s and 5 with the iphone 5 manifests also listing japanese optical manufacturer kantatsu. Most modern lenses emphasize sharpness in the edges and corners where nothing interesting is truly happening most of the time. With a few addon lenses, the camera in your pocket becomes more versatile, capturing wider or closer shots. Moondog labs makes lenses and camera accessories that give filmmakers and photographers creative new tools.
Many older lenses have fungus in the glass and balsam optical cement separation, both deal breakers. Nikon had a couple of e lenses that were cheap then yet very sharp. From saving money to enjoying the shooting process and timeless image quality, come read and learn why you should have at least one vintage lens in your camera bag. The best lenses are always the ones you have with you. That might not be the most important thing to consider in this whole piece, but it is a thing worth considering i used to drive an old mini and it was the best car ive ever owned. Mar 14, 2016 a better and simplified education of lens design what plastic elements do vs. D5x00 and d3x00 wont autofocus with af and afd lenses and wont have metering with ai and ais lenses. In addition, autofocus on mostly still subject isnt really that necessary, which means that you can use a vintage lens that produces incredibly sharp. Well, just because these lenses may have been made many years before your canon 7d doesnt mean there arent resources available to get your lens mounted and functioning.
I still use nikon dslrs as my main camera system, and i cant see that changing in the foreseeable future. Apr 09, 2016 typical to the mix for more modern yet vintage lenses vivitar series 1 70210, 90mm macro 1. The squidcam iphone macro lens and iphone fisheye lens idea was born years ago, but founders charles mercader and sam dominguez acted on it on september 2012 just before the iphone 5 release. For the above reason, people who shoot wide angle vintage lens on a7s. Using old lenses on a modern dslrmirrorless camera. It is a modern belief that you are supposed to get perfect corner to corner resolution at the maximum aperture of the lens. Theres been a growing trend among digital photographers to use vintage lenses on modern mirrorless cameras. The camera should be able to set the shutter speed once you select an aperture. The first summicron to be created was the 50mm, which came out in 1953. Heres why you should use vintage lenses with your modern. But if you do drop your lenses, dont worry theyre quite durable because theyre made from aluminum alloy and element coated glass which also. A better and simplified education of lens design what plastic elements do vs. Jul 29, 2017 these particular lenses work by clamping onto your iphones camera and let me tell you, they clamp on tightly, so you wont have to stress about breaking your lenses while you snap your ideal shot. Our top 10 vintage lenses to use on digital cameras.
When you buy an interchangeable lens camera, youre entering a relationship with that specific brand and the lenses available for it. We are inventors and optics geeks with decades of experience in lens design and production, particularly for cameras and projectors. There are plenty of preowned vintage camera lenses to choose from on ebay. In 2000, the summicron 28mm was introduced to the world. Jul 22, 2017 this image was shot with a prototype of the modern glaukar lens.
The pros and cons of using vintage lenses today light stalking. Vintage lenses, especially those made prior to wwii, exhibit greater sample tosample variation than modern lenses, so if possible try it before you buy it. Zeiss vintage camera lenses are available to be paired with a wide range of different cameras. Old film era lenses going old school with modern cameras. The festival circuit is no different as it seems like every other dp at sundance this year shot on vintage glass as well. So, today i wanted to share a little something that i did last night. You can also use the metal magnetic plate thats virtually camouflaged on the back of your iphone. A guide to vintage lenses for your nikon dslr gear patrol.
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