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Hidden gems among lenses
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  • @vicharris The Hexanon's zoom ring is smooth and well-damped, though the internal lens movement is a little scratchy. The focus ring is super smooth, but it extends and rotates the front filter threads along with it. What's really unusual about this lens is that the zoom mechanism is completely internal, and does not change the length of the lens. So gear up the zoom ring to your follow focus, it's that good!

  • I can't find any of these with 1:3.5 here in Europe, while a very similar looking 1:4 is readily available (the 1:4.5 is completely different, being a one-touch). Does anybody know if they are comparable in quality and handling?

  • Probably not that rare, but I bought a Tokina constant f4 28 - 85mm zoom from Ebay recently for £21. Nice (if heavy) lens that is parfocal with internal zoom - so the lens doesn't gain in length as you zoom in on a subject. Quite soft/milky wide open (f4) but close it down beyond f5.6 and it's fine. I de-clicked it so have a smooth free running iris and the focusing ring is very smooth. Images will "milk" out if pointed towards a large bright light source (like the sky!!) but I'm currently trying to see if a large lens hood will help here. Some footage shot in a local National Trust garden here ...

    ... this is ungraded straight out of the GH2 with a standard 6000k white balance and CP-L filter.

  • I'd like to second the opinions about Minolta MD 28 f2.8 posted earlier in this thread. It is very sharp and good contrast. The only thing that I do not always like about it is the somewhat harsh bokeh at full aperture. But for this there is inexpensive cure, Minolta MD 45 f2. One full aperture brighter image with similar sharpness and really nice and smooth bokeh. A cinematic lens.

    If you wanted a lens that is sharp at wide open aperture, close focus lenses often behave like that. One macro lens was already mentioned in this topic, but I would add Minolta Macro Rokkor 50 mm f3.5, which can focus down to 1:2 ratio. With the supplied adapter goes to 1:1. It is very sharp at full aperture f3.5. These lenses are already a bit harder to come by.

    And one more "sleeper" could be the Tokina 17 mm f3.5. It is an old design but the image is nicer and more "organic" than for example Lumix 14 mm. According to Ken Rockwell this lens has low contrast at full aperture, but I have found that using a proper hood helps. The front element is very close to the front edge of the lens and being extra wide gathers a lot of light from wide sector.

  • Speaking of the hidden gems, is Pentacon 30 mm f3.5 considered as one? I learned from photographers that this is a really desired Meyer Lydith lens design that should pick especially yellow hues well. Very inexpensive and comes in M42 thread connection.

    As soon as I get one, I will post how it works for video.

    Edit: I highly liked the video above with Tokina 28-85 f4. I suppose this is the RMC series? It was also mentioned the lack of contrast at full aperture, but I recommend testing a really good hood that has no reflective parts inside. This could help.

    I have Tokina AT-X 28-85 mm f.3.5-4.5 lenses in several lens mounts and the first one I tested was in Canon FD mount. There is a little bit of ghosting in the image, meaning that the out of focus items in front of the sharp focus area are not nicely blurred. However, further investigation revealed that the Canon FD mount allows a bit of play sideways atleast in this lens/adapter combination. It is possible the lens is not fully centered. The other one I have is in Nikon F mount and will be able to see if the problem goes away in that version. The price is very good for those lenses, so hopefully will be able to recommend it later.

  • @aki_hartikainen Take a look at the Tokina 28-70 2.6-2.8 Japanese Version. The newer ones are not great but the older one that has that variable iris, seems to be the best. Honestly, I can't see the 2.6-2.8 shift when I zoom and it's an awesome lens. Internal zooming and I got one with a broken autofocus for nikon from Adarama for $150. I mixed it with Rokinon 35mm footage and it's dame close.

  • Do you know if that one is the famed Angenieux desing? One of the Tokina 28-70 f2.6-2.8 lenses would be designed by Angenieux. The autofocus lenses tend to be a bit bulkier, so I have so far picked the older manual focus versions, of which AT-X 24-40 f2.8 is a good one. I am hoping that my path will cross with the Angenieux Tokina soon, though.

  • @vicharris There were a number of variants of the Tokina 28-70mm ATX Pro. The one I have looks exactly like the f2.6-2.8 with the screw-on 77mm hood, except that it's labeled f2.8. Here's the best write-up I've found on them:

    http://nikonglass.blogspot.com/2009/11/tokina-at-x-pro-28-70mm-f26-28.html

  • I must be crazy but I wasn't that impressed by the 28-70mm. I had it and sold it, definitely not usable at 2.6, and even 4 seemed pretty soft

  • @MattRobertson that sounds unusual, because I have been delighted to find that all Tokinas I have used have had good sharpness even at aperture wide open. These include several manual AT-X zoom lenses, as well as RMC 17, 24 and 28 prime lenses. All are good, if not great, aperture wide open but contrast is improved using as tight hood as the angle permits and with reflection absorbing padding on the inside.

    Edit: actually, I have to mention a Tokina built Vivitar 35-105 f3.5 close focusing zoom lens that is a bit soft at full aperture. But there are reports on the Internet that the same design branded as Tokina is a newer and improved version with decent sharpness even at aperture wide open. This is a rather heavy lens with internal zoom.

  • Tokina 28-70mm variations are NOT hidden gems.

  • The Pentacon 30 mm f3.5 could be, though. I was aware of the filmic quality of the Pentacon 135 mm f2.8, so I was not surprised to get very fine images from it. But I did not know about the Meyer Lydith design 30 mm being so highly regarded by many. And it can be had for a few tenners.

    Supposedly the Pentacon 50 mm is not in the same league.

    Pentacon lenses were made in East Germany in the lens factories that remained on that side of the border using often the same tools and designs that they had used originally.

  • I'm not sure if the Canon EF 35-80mm f/4.0-5.6 III lens can be classified as a gem, it is rather a "toy" lens. Nonetheless this used to be the lightest compact zoom EF lens (175g). Surprisingly, the lens performs not too bad even wide open with my Micro Four Thirds camera, http://www.flickr.com/photos/igor29768/5343794365 For sure, I'll be very happy to replace it with the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8, but the Panasonic f/2.8-lens is double in weight in comparison with the Canon :-)

  • I just bought a Hexanon 80-200/3.5 .. I have found one available adapter, a kipon (bower). Is anybody aware of any others before I purchase?

  • The Vivitar (or Kiron) 28-85mm f2.8-3.8 is an amazing lens. I owned the Kiron version which was a rebranded Vivitar. It was nicknamed "The Stovepipe". I used it for interviews with my AF100 and GH2. I picked it up for $20 at a local pawnshop and it ended up being one of my best lenses. I eventually sold it with my AF100. It comes in many mounts.

    http://www.fdreview.com/lens-review.php?itemid=329

  • I owned the Kiron version which was a rebranded Vivitar.

    Yep, just in reverse, as I know.
    Vivitar never made lenses themselfs, they even did not make designs for most lenses.

  • Old russian Zorki and Jupiter lenses are excellent, one can get them for peanuts today. After the soviet army has stolen whole the Zeiss factory in 1945 (including the glass) they re-built the factory in Krasnoyarsk (Moscow region) and produced the lenses and cameras there. There are only very few different focal lengths available and three different mounths as much I know, RF bayonet (same like Contax) M42 and M39 (attention: the screw is slightly different than Leica's). The real little gems are the ZM (or SM) lenses made before 1952 as original Leica's stolen glass has been used for those lenses. The problem of bubbles in the glass was solved after 60-s, although the IQ of the "bubbled" lenses is also lovely. The Jupiter lenses from 70-s are great (first two numbers of the serial No contain year code). Be aware that the serial Nos of the oldest lenses didn't contain year codes. If you want to buy some of the rare, oldest ZK lenses, make sure you get a coated one ....must have (russian) letter "P" in red colour. Later produced lenses were coated anyway. The coating layer is VERY soft! The Jupiter lens 85mm f/2.0 is kind of getting popular nowadays, but the other Jupiter lenses are nearly unknown.... real little gems.

  • Try to get a Jupiter 3 these days! It's not a hidden gem any more, you pay premium for any decent sample.

    Plus, BTW, I wouldn't call it "stealing", it was openly taken as compensation for war damage. Russian mathematicians improved on German formulas and even at the height of the cold war Soviet lenses won a grand price at Brussels world expo.

    Unfortunately, quality control was lacking. For some lenses you need to buy (=hunt down) 3 or 4 samples to get one that's fine. BTW, beware of any early nineties samples. After the end of SU, quality control got too bad. Some lenses are still in production today and got back on track again.

  • @nomad Zeiss factory owners haven't made damages, but their factory has been taken away. Call it however you like, but please not in this topic.

    So I think the real gem is ZK 50mm f/2.0, the predecessor of Jupiter 8, but it is very rare- almost impossible to find. Jupiter 3 is fast lens, but try also to get ZK 50mm/1.5 instead. It is its predecessor and very rare lens, and also made by stolen german glass. Those lenses were produced only arround 1948-1951 and are real gems, with historical and optical value.

  • More recommendations...

    M42 screwmount SLR lenses:

    • Helios 44-2, Russian 58mm/f2 M42, can be found on flea markets for $10-20. Renders beautiful images, a cult lens.

    • Pentacon 200mm/f4 (=Meyer Görlitz 200mm/f4). Excellent super tele lens that can be found cheaply second hand.

    C-mount lenses:

    • Cosmicar (=Pentax) 25mm/f1.4, the ultra-cheap alternative to the Panasonic 20mm or 25mm lenses. Hardly vignettes on the GH2. Even better, but more expensive: Schneider Cine-Xenon 25mm/1.4, delivers beautiful images, reaches infinity focus.

    • Fujian 35mm/f1.7, this Chinese c-mount lens can be had on Ebay new for $20 and even covers the APS-C-size sensors (also available with SLR Magic rebranding for more than $100), reaches infinity focus;

    • more from Cosmicar: 75mm/f1.4, the $100 Ebay alternative to the $700 Olympus 75mm/1.8. Sharp, no vignetting, good contrast, reaches infinity focus.

    • Cosmicar 22.5-90mm/f1.5 zoom, least vignetting of a c-mount zoom on GH1/GH2 without ETC, reaches infinity focus, example on

    • Ernitec 6.5mm/f1.8, vignettes but still beautiful as an extreme wide angle lens - fantastic sharp images with gorgeous colorful flares [used for most of this video:

      ]

    C-mount lenses to be used in ETC mode:

    • Tamron 4.0-12mm/f1.2 [equivalent to a 10-30mm Micro Four Thirds lens], excellent super wide angle zoom, costs ca. $120; infinity focus with thin adapters.

    • Cosmicar 8-48mm/f1.0-1.2 [equiv. to 20-120mm M4/3rds], fastest zoom lens ever, can be found cheaply for around $120.

    (Second the opinion on the Jupiter-3 50mm/f1.5. Great lens for the GH2 because of its compact size and stepless aperture. The Jupiter-9 85mm/f2 is great, too, and has a stepless aperture ring as well.)

  • go full frame with vg900 and all lenses will be gems

  • I went through a box where I had put 'junk maybe gem' lenses, that I acquired from ebay and local stores just before I bought my GH2. I was still tossing up between canon and panasonic.

    I think I may have found one, it's a 'Soligor Auto Zoom 75-260mm f4.5' it is a T4 mount, and was according to research manufactured by Tokina in about 1969, also branded as Vivitar.

    The front element rotates when focusing.
    The barrel lengthens slightly when zooming.
    It has a rotating tripod mount.
    I haven't shot charts yet - it's looks really sharp at f8 on my DP6
    It's parfocal .. I assume that is what they mean by 'Auto Zoom'

    Here is a wiki entry:
    http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Vivitar_T-4_75-260mm_f/4.5_Tele-Zoom

    Search for 'soligor auto zoom 75-260 review' and you'll find some write ups and sample stills.

    The T4 mount adapter are problematic because of scarcity.
    Mine came with a Nikon adapter, and I scoured the planet and purchased both a Canon adapter and a Minolta MD adapter.

    I don't know enough about Nikon and Canon mounts to identify what mount they are. I think they are FD canon and F Nikon.

    I'll add this .. If anybody is Nikon based and want's to try T4 lenses I'll sell the Nikon for $20 plus postage

  • BTW, I found the Tokina f4 28 - 85mm for a decent price, but it's not really par focal. My sample doesn't look like it's damaged.

    Still quite usable, since zooming doesn't change the length and even focusing doesn't change it much. Plus, breathing is minimal for a zoom.

  • Yashica ML 35-70 f3.5-4.8 appears to be nearly perfect zoom on the GH1 and focuses close also. Lens body is plastic but otherwise well made. This lens renders nothing but beautiful and zeiss-like images. Anything that is not in the sharp focus is rendered nicely. I can not say the same for all lenses. Perhaps not a hidden gem, but a gem nonetheless. Also, contrast is slightly less than the very contrasty ML prime lenses, perfect on digital with a little less dynamic range.

    ml3570f3548.png
    1920 x 1080 - 2M
  • @nomad "BTW, I found the Tokina f4 28 - 85mm for a decent price, but it's not really par focal. My sample doesn't look like it's damaged."

    If the lens is supposed to be parfocal but is not, then the adapter length is a suspect. Not all adapters are made to a very high tolerances. I've compared several different adapters for the same lens mount and have found differences in the length that can be measured in millimeters, a long distance in optics.