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50-135mm wide aperture lens
  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    Anybody have any recommendations for a lens between 50-135mm with wide aperture?

    All the panasonic zoom lenses have a lowest f setting of 4.0 (can't afford 35-100 x lens!!)

    Looking for something that wont break the bank and a well made converter that wont break!

  • 38 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    http://personal-view.com/talks/discussion/4090/85mm-f1.4-rokinon-samyang-lenses/p2

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    Anybody used a 2 x teleconverter with 12-35 x lens?

    I've found an Opteka 2.2x 58mm thread that might work.

  • vicharrisvicharris

    Don't put shitty glass in front of good glass. You can't beat the Rokinon 85mm for the price. And it's pretty small. I just bought the cine version and am actually selling the normal version if you are interested.

  • tiredtired

    Canon FD 85mm f1.2 canon FD 100mm f2 since the best adaptor on the market is only $50, there's no debate http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Canon-FD-FL-to-AF101-AF100-G2-G3-GF3-E-PL3-GH2-E-P3-micro-4-3-adapter-/251021722531?pt=US_Lens_Adapters_Mounts_Tubes&hash=item3a720f83a3

  • soundgh2soundgh2

    Contax Zeiss or Zeiss ZF ZE 100 F2 Makro is very nice

  • RRRRRRRR

    meyer optik / pentacon 135mm / 100mm f2.8 are very nice cinematic lenses and not insanely expensive. Cheap adapters. Depends on what you need them for though.

    I´ve tried the 70-200mm f2.8 zoom from Sigma in Alpha mount. Glass is nice but it´s not parfocal and it´s not dirt cheap.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    Canon FD 100mm f/2.0 is fantastic straight from open iris. If you are lucky it won't cost even half of what Rokinon does.

    Nikkor Ai 105mm f/2.5 is also great and not so expensive, when fully open it is just a touch smoother than tack sharp Canon. Only matter of taste- I love both lenses. If you re-sell it some day, Nikkor is the best choice, you will get what you paid for it.

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    @vicharris which mount do you have? might consider this in the new year. How much?

    @tired Canon 85mm a bit out of my price range but looks great. @soundgh2 same for the Zeiss, i could get the 35-100 x for less to be honest.

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-85mm-1-8-USM-Lens/dp/B00005NPOB/ref=sr_1_20?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355621349&sr=1-20

    Canon EF 85mm 1.8?

    Cant seem to find any cheap Canon FD 100mm in uk

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    okay now im reading about being able to change aperture and how i would need to set it on a Canon body first then remove. As i dont have a Canon, how do you set the aperture to wide open without one?

  • ahblezaahbleza

    One lens which I have and particularly like is the Olympus 75mm f1.8. I'm really hoping this will work on the BMCC MFT, but am not holding my breath.

    It's not quite 80mm but not far off -- but sharp as hell.

    http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympus-m-zuiko-75mm-f1-8

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    not that cheap though... but yes looks like a great lens

  • astrabanastraban

    Maybe you know that but in case of not... Apart from proper mft lenses (like the fine olympus) prefer lens with manuel ring aperture control. That s why many prefer vintage lenses (beside optical characteristics and lower prices) or modern one completly manual (a la samyang 85mm). You can control aperture of EF lenses but with pricey electric adapter or not so good adapter with iris in them... Or a canon body. Shitty workflow :-)

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    @astraban thanks for clearing that up and no i did not know all of that so appreciate the insight. Care to share some suggestions for vintage lenses?

  • astrabanastraban

    There is some good advice already. Nikkor, FD or minolta are the most popular of the not so expensive vintage lenses. Try to find tests online to see what is more close to your taste. They have different characteristic on color rendition, bokeh, flare, etc. But if you like sharp image (you ve mentionned the 12-35 pana) it s'difficult to beat modern lenses : olympus 75mm or the less pricey samyang 85mm.

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    came across this website

    http://www.keh.com/

    wish there was a UK equivalent, i'm looking at $33 dollar lenses that will cost $60 to ship :S

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    although if i buy two this wont be so bad...... hmmmmmm :D

  • DjangoDjango

    I have two older Nikons both pre-ai, the 85mm 1.8 and the 105mm 2.5, and they are both are a joy to use and not that expensive. I have used the Samyang/Rokinon 85mm, and I prefer the Nikon.

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    i've ended up going for some old manual Canon FD lenses, 50mm 1.4 & 135mm 2.8.

    Got an FD to mft converter as well.

    All in all came to around £130 including shipping from the US for two low-light lenses albeit with manual focus/aperture.

    For the shots i need them for (tri-pod mounted) this will not be an issue and i'm looking forward to what kind of 'look' i get with these. I've heard the canon lenses can be a little bit softer than the panasonic ones, anybody heard or know differently?

    Thanks to the advice from this topic this has definitely got me into looking at vintage lenses!

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    i've ended up going for some old manual Canon FD lenses, 50mm 1.4 & 135mm 2.8.

    This perfectly compliments topic title - search for a 80-100mm wide aperture prime lens for MFT .

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    okay so i've ventured away from where i started the topic.... i'll give you that, but i must admit i had not seriously considered old glass before so maybe i should change the topic. :)

    I like the samyang 85mm but it was still 4/3rds and i would still need to get a converter anyway. So then when i saw some of the prices for what are described as great condition lenses, i'm thinking i could save a fair amount of cash here.

    Why have Panasonic not made some decent telephoto prime 1.8-2.8 lenses?

    The nearest is the Olympus 75mm 1.8 but some £500-600 in uk is just not doable for me.

  • meemee

    Helios 85mm f1.5. Soft around the edges, but bright and low price, plus m42 mount which equals very cheap adapters all over the place. Got my m42 adapter for $10 I think. http://www.photozone.de/pentax/149-helios-40-2-85mm-f15-m42-to-pentax-review--test-report

  • nomadnomad

    Or the Jupiter 9, great Russian lens with lots of blades = always round aperture.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    Yes, I agree with nomad - and if you go for great Jupiter-9 try to get it with original lens hood as that lens is unusable without the hood. Finding proper hood later is sometimes real nightmare as many earlier samples have narrow filter thread 49 x 0,5mm. It is out of standard, so only push-on 51mm or click-in 49mm hoods work.....both very rare to find!

  • nomadnomad

    I agree that it's flare prone – coating is the weak point of early Russian lenses.

    While it's very difficult to find the original hood, I didn't have any trouble finding a replacement on Ebay: just went for those folding rubber hoods, they come in all sizes, including 49mm. My Jupiter-9 is from 1964, though. Could be that earlier lenses have a different thread. I never tried on the first J-9 I had in hand (from 1959) since I didn't keep that because of severe yellowing and grinding focus thread. The one I have now is a wonderful piece.

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