Mailbox: top lens, bottom price

A TOP CLASS ADDITION TO THE CANON FD COLLECTION

For those who keep their eyes open, great deals are still to be had! I got lucky with a lens I've been wanting to buy for months. I was consistently outbid on eBay and I started to feel as if there was some sort of conspiracy to keep me from acquiring this particular lens: the Canon FD 85mm 1.8
But when I was in Austria, lying on my hotelbed after a day's skiing with my son, I browsed the Dutch eBay-site and noticed someone had just posted this lens ( probably an elderly man, judging by the slightly old-fashioned and very concise written description!). I wrote to him asking what he wanted for the lens and when he said €50,- I knew I was about to make a great deal. (I had bid more than twice as much for lesser copies of this lens!) According to the seller it was in mint condition. And when it arrived in the mail a few days later I saw he was right. It was a beautiful, shiny copy. In addition, it came with the original sun hood, a UV filter and the original lens pouch. A steal!
This is a classic; a great portrait lens renowned for its faithful reproduction of colors and lack of distortion. Bargain hunting can be very gratifying...
(Warning: collecting lenses can be addictive and hazardous to your wallet.)

MINT LENS, ORIGINAL POUCH AND LENS HOOD

Mailbox: Canon FD 20mm 2.8

CANON FD 20MM F2.8

I really needed a wide angle lens to cover the wide end of my Canon FD lens collection.An obvious choice was the Canon FD 20mm 2.8 because it is generally considered a very good lens and it's fairly fast. But I had my mind set on the Tokina RMC 17mm f3.5.  (more on that one soon!)
Little did I know that I was going to run into my former brother in law who -as it turned out after many years- is really big on prime lenses and has been building an impressive collection over the last 3 to 4 years. I visited him in his home and was delighted to see that the whole house seemed to 'breathe lenses'. The computerscreen showed the familar eBay-page with a big lens on it, there were lenses standing in every corner and cupboard and the livingroom table was turned into a little showcase of special interest lenses. It goes beyond the scope of this entry to delve into the various exquisite pieces of glass he showed me, but you can imagine there were some real rare beauties to be admired.

LIKE MOST LENSES FROM THE CANON FD SERIES: A VERY SOLID LENS

 The talk turned to Canon FD lenses and my brother in law disappeared into a closet and returned with 2 copies of the Canon FD 20mm 2.8. One of them looked like new and the other used, but very good. He had bought the 'like new' one for a very good price and said I could have the other for a good price. How could I resist? So... welcome to the family, Canon FD 20mm f2.8.
First thing I noticed with a big, wideangle piece of glass like this: you need a lens hood to resist flare and low contrast images. I can't wait to go into town to do some testing with this lens and compare it to my other prime 20mm: the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 20mm f4!

FD 20MM INCLUDING THE FD TO MICRO 43 ADAPTER FOR USE ON GH2

Candid Camera (or how I learned to love my Canon FD200mm)

Mailbox: Canon FD 200mm F4

CANON FD 200MM F4: GREAT DOCUMENTARY VIDEO LENS

I found this addition to my -still expanding- Canon FD collection for €45,- and I was very curious to see how this lens would function on my Panasonic GH2 because of the crop sensor- this is a 400mm - serious tele-lensing! I was afraid that it would have a very limited use as a video lens because of the long focal distance. Every little jitter would be visible and I'd have to use a tripod 100% of the time!
But this lens really surpised me in a positive way and it has proven to be an absolute joy! First of all, it is very light, much lighter than it's more light-sensitive brothers and sisters... So that's a definite plus because you don't have to carry a rock around. It is a relatively inobtrusive lens and for street-shoots this is wonderful because no one notices you filming them! You are 50-100 feet away! And focusing is so creamy smooth that there is no jitter whatsoever. (although you have to use a tripod, of course)

Everyone's drooling over fast lenses but who needs a fast lens outside? This lens is sharp, has good color rendition, nice bokeh and a really nice feel about it. I shot a lot of iceskating with it the last few days and this lens shines! Never thought a telelens could be so much fun. For the money it's a no-brainer. A great video-lens for documentary shots where you like to observe people -or animals- in their natural habitat, unaware of camera's pointing at them. Highly recommended!

LOOKS HEAVY BUT IS VERY LIGHT AND PORTABLE

NICE WIDE GRIP FOR EASY FOCUSING

Mailbox: Canon FD 24mm 2.8

CHROME SNOUT VERSION

The wider a lens you search, the more rare and the more expensive it gets. This was the only 24mm Canon FD lens I found on a Dutch second hand site and at around €60,- not a real bargain compared to eBay prices but it looked very reliable and buying in Holland saves a lot of stamps. (plus the fact that I've been having some issues with TNT post here in Holland as far as overseas packages is concerned... poor delivery, bad service)
But to get back to this lens: it looks great, is the 'chrome snout' (love that word 'snout') version and everything works and feels great. This is one heavy lens, quite a bit heavier than my FD 50mm 1.4 and just as big. Nothing wrong with the build quality!
Only thing I've noticed is that seems to be a little slack between my adapter and the lens. No effect on the picture quality but I like a tight fit... for my gear, that is.

HEAVY METAL: CANON FD 24MM 2.8

Testing my 'film-lens' collection

Earlier this year I bought a set of Carl-Zeiss Jena and Meyer-Optik prime lenses that had been modified for film-use. The seller had made the aperture-rings click-less for smooth, jitter-free aperture adjustment and every lens had a custom-made gear ring for easier focussing, with or without follow-focus.
The seller considered this a set 'that belonged together' because the footage of these lenses was supposed to cut well together and the lenses cover a nice range from 20mm to 135mm.
Meanwhile I had been bitten by the lens-bug and have acquired quite a few other lenses, impulsively or because I had really liked the footage that was shot with that particular lens. I have shot a lot of footage with all these lenses but never really tested that first collection of Carl-Zeiss Jena's and Meyer-Optik's.
In the next week I'm planning to put this collection to the test and see what makes these lenses special.

CLICK-LESS APERTURE RING AND CUSTOM GEAR RING

The Great 50mm 1.4 Shootout

I own two great 50mm prime lenses: the Canon FD 50mm 1.4 and the Super Takumar 50mm 1.4 I They are both fast, sharp and I love the images they produce. Since they're both 50mm 1.4 it is interesting to see how these two wonderful lenses perform and how they compare in a number of different situations.

Mailbox: Super Takumar 50mm 1.4

The Super Takumar 50mm 1.4: at the wrong end of the camera

An item I bought on eBay and had sent to my father in the US many months ago: the Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 It's a beautiful lens and I plan to show you what it can do in the next weeks during my travels in the USA. I need a 50mm lens like I need another hole in my head but this one cuts so well with the Panasonic Lumix 20mm 1.7, I couldn't pass it up.
This lens is in pristine condition, everything smooth and clean. For around $90,- you can pick up a real nice one on eBay right away but there are cheaper ones to be had. This is a good investment: this lens will retain its value.

And another 4,- lens!

I exchanged 2 of my 4,- lenses because they were defect and got two with M42 mounts. One of them is a Pentacon 50mm 1.8. It has a little slack in the focus ring but seems to work fine otherwise. I made a few quick snapshots around the house and I had a hard time to get proper focus closeby. Shot at 1/100 shutter but maybe I should have gone faster to eliminate handshake. A little further away it got better.

Mailbox: rare Wollensak lens

 

The latest victim of my C-mount frenzy has arrived and it's a beauty: a rare Wollensak 1 inch 1.5 Cine-Velostigmat. It's in great shape, considering its age. This lens must be at last 50 years old, looking at the materials and the history of the company. The Wollensak firm branched off Bausch & Lomb in 1899 and started producing lenses a few years later. It's heydays were in the 50's and it went bankrupt in 1972. I am all for recycling and reusing and find it great that new use is being found for all these great products from the past. If it wasn't for the M43 camera's, these lenses would have rusted away and ground to dirt in dumpsites. A few would have been preserved by collectors or found their way to musea. But now they're back and in demand, taking pictures again of a world quite different from what they saw 50 to 100 years ago.

Video with the 60,- Vivitar zoomlens

I've been taking some photographs with the Canon 550D/Vivitar 70-210 and it was time to shoot some proper video with it. After some failed attempts at recording moving images (shaking portable tripod, forgetting memorycard, no LCD viewfinder) I finally got around to taking along my heavy Manfrotto sticks and all the necessary accessories.

Canon 550D and Vivitar series 1, 70-210mm f3.5 from Filmersblog on Vimeo.

Beautiful budgetlens: Vivitar 70-210mm 3.5 (series 1)

Last year I paid 65,- for this lens, including the original leather lenspouch, ND-filter, manual and shipping from the States. This is one heavyweight lens, especially after working with all these 50mm lenses. It's a zoomlens with a macro-function. Here are some pictures with the Vivitar mounted on the 550D: beautiful color, saturation and bokeh, sharp but not harsh. Jeez, I sound like a wine-connaisseur... (click on pics for large view)

 

Mailbox: Mamiya-Sekor 50mm 1.2

I need another prime 50mm lens like I need a hole in my head. Actually, there's a hole in my wallet- and it needs to be stuffed. A modest hole because I paid 18,- for this lens. I found it on an online marketplace and even though the seller lives in another part of Amsterdam, I asked him to send it to me because I'm short on time. The guy sends me a crushproof, customized cardbox filled with newspaper and the lens is wrapped in bubble plastic in a beautiful leather pouch. And a screw-on sunshade is also included. It is heartwarming to see how people can take pride in their merchandize, no matter the value. It makes the lens even more special.

Why did I buy it? Because I saw some great photo's people had taken with it. (I know, the lens doesn't make the photographer, or filmer, but it can be inspiring...) And because I liked the look. It was cheap. I'm not just buying mind you. I'm shooting a lot of pictures. Most of it is crap but there are some beauties. I'm learning a lot about photography; skills that I can apply to my videowork as well. It's interesting to see how much these two are alike and yet completely different. Got some great shots with my Vivitar Series 1, 70-210mm, f3.5. A beautiful budget lens. Will post them soon.

Mailbox: television lens, Cosmicar 25mm 1.4

I'm going a little nuts with the lens business. A buying frenzy has taken possesion of me but I promise this is the last one in this series of C-mount 16mm lenses. (there's just 2 more coming from the States- a birthday present from my wife! although she doens't know it yet...)
This Cosmicar-for-Bolex lens is a 25mm 1.4 version and in absolute pristine condition. It produces this wild, swirly bokeh. Can't wait to shoot video with it on my GH2.

Pics by a 4,- lens: the Petri 28mm 2.8

I walked out yesterday with the Canon 550D with the 4,- 28mm lens mounted to it and realized too late I had forgotten my LCD viewfinder. Since 'summer' has hit Amsterdam a few days ago, light is bursting through every crack of the city and overexposing everything and everyone. Nobody's complaining, mind ya... We usually don't see this weather before June.
But it was impossible to judge exposure without an LCD viewfinder. And I didn't have the right size ND-filter. Here's nonetheless a few pics I took (click on them for larger size).

NOSHIE

On the waterfront

bridge

ONE LAST TIME: WATERFOUNTAIN AT 1/4000 SHUTTER SPEED

The next 4,- lens

As mentioned in a previous post a few days ago, I bought 6 lenses for a smashing total of 25 euro's just to see what these 'dump-priced' lenses are capable of. I am new to the 'wonderful world of lenses' and I am very attracted to the whole concept of aesthetic subtleties, the way one piece of glass treats light differently than the other and how that affects sharpness, color and bokeh. (the 'bokeh' phenomenon in and of itself is worth an essay all by itself: the mystical word, the way it occurs, the followers and haters of its varying appearances...) But also: the build of the lens itself. The differences and similarities between the way they were manufactured 10 or 50 or 100 years ago. And how old, useless lenses become hot items.

4,- for a prime 50mm 1.8

There's fewer and fewer of these little secondhand shops; usually run by elderly hobbyists that make a few (extra) bucks by selling vintage stuff. This store in Amsterdam specializes in old photographic equipment and (8mm) filmprojectors. I believe this shop is one of the few in Europe that has a generous stock of spare light bulbs for 8mm projectors.
He also has boxes full of lenses, old Pentax camera's, spare caps, straps, filters and one giant 35 mm projector (100 kilogram?) that will most likely never leave the shop. And it's all crammed up till the ceiling and organized in a way that only the proprietor will ever understand. And sometimes even he has no idea...

Mailbox: 15,- multicoated UV filter and 2,- step-up ring

46-52mm step-up ring with 52mm LCW variable ND filter

Luxury problem: you have several camera's and want to be able to use your lenses and filters on both of them. Enter the world of adapter rings, step-up rings, stacking and threading.
I was particularly looking for a solution to mount my 55,- LCW variable ND-filter, which I bought for my Canon 50mm 1.8, on my Panasonic pancake 20mm 1.7 The step-up ring cost me less than 2,- and thus saved me over 50,- A great solution.

Lumix pancake with Kenko multicoated UV filter

I paid 350,- for the Panasonic pancake lens and needed to protect the glass with an UV-filter. The Kenko seems to represent good value for the money: 15,- for a multicoated piece of glass. I'll post some tests later to show the affect on picture quality.

Mailbox: a 6mm 1.2 for 14,99!

I read about the possibilities of adjusting a Pentax 6mm f1.2 to fit the Panasonic GH2 and use it in crop mode. That's a wide, fast lens and that usually means big bucks. In this case the writer mentioned a 9,99 pricepoint and that's a deal even the most deprived of filmers can afford.
There were more great deals to be found for this lens, the author said, but, as these things go, word spreads fast and many of the really cheap 6mm's were gone in the blink of an eye. But with a little bit of searching on national eBay-sites, I found a German seller who was selling a whole batch of them. It wasn't 9,99 but at 23,- incl shipping still a decent deal. These lenses are B-stock which means they could have imperfections.

I owed you one

The day before yesterday I showed off my new prime lens collection minus one: the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 25mm f4. So here goes: she's got the stage all to herself. The Lego trainset was still out on the floor so I put on my conductor's cap back on and blew the whistle. It's not quite as smooth as a Konova slider, but a lot longer! Here's to boys and their toys...


I owed you one: back on track from Filmersblog on Vimeo.