7 Favorite Vintage 50mm 1.8 / 1.7 compared. Compact, sharp, and a sleeper!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.ย. 2024
- Our first episode in the 50 / 50’s series! I’ll take a look at some of the 50 or so normal lenses in my collection, and hopefully help you determine which would help take your photography to the next level.
Today we look at lenses adapted to my Full Frame (24MP) Sony A7II with Olympus 50mm f/1.8, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8, Konica 50mm f/1.8, Pentax-A 50mm f/2, Minolta Rokkor-X 45mm f/2, Sakar 50mm f/1.7, X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.9 lenses. These are all compact, even when adapted and provide a normal field of view.
Special shout-out to Maryanne, our wonderful model. She’s available for modeling, acting and speaking engagements - visit maryannemistre... and enjoy working with a professional with the most positive energy you’ll ever meet.
And if you’re into bicycling and in the NY/Philly area, check out Kopp’s Cycle www.koppscycle... a super cool spot where the employees can talk vintage mountain bikes and vintage Leica’s in the same conversation.
So why a special series concentrating on the ubiquitous 50? Or lenses in that general range (from 45 to 58mm)?
There are no vintage lenses more important, flexible and prevalent than so-called “normal” lenses.
There are so many reasons why a 50 is a great lens.
1 - They are cheap and readily available. You’ll be hard pressed to visit a garage sale, flea market or thrift store and not find one of these attached to a vintage camera. These deliver the best bang for the buck in vintage lenses.
2 - They almost always deliver professional-quality results. Unlike vintage zooms or some longer or shorter vintage primes, these are going to take your photos to the next level once you have mastered using them. These are insanely sharp, even compared to modern lenses. And they deliver fantastic background blur for subject separation.
3 - You can shoot almost anything on them. APS-C, Full Frame, Landscapes, Portraits, low light. Shallow-depth of field, street photography. With a close-up filter or an extension tube, they’re great macro choices. Unless you need fast autofocus or extreme telephoto or wide angle, your 50 can get the job done.
4 - If you like vintage photography for the history or experience or even the nostaligia, you know that 50’s were the standard lens that came with all those classic vintage cameras of yore. So use them the way everyone, whether pro or budding amateur did. Maybe it’s the same camera or lens your Mom or Dad used. Or a grandparent.
5 - and for today’s review especially, these are small, inobtrusive easily carried. Even when I had a pro event shoot with thousands of dollars autofocus zooms weighing pounds each, I throw a small, fast 50 in for those moments you need something fast that you can focus precisely.
So which should you pick? Assuming you’re going to adapt these to mirrorless, they’re all around the same size with adapter. There’s no easy answer, and it does depend on what you shoot.
If I had to leave the house with just one lens? I was surprised at the outcome.
The Konica 50mm f/1.8 gave one of my favorite rendering for portraits and it does a great job on landscapes. One of the last lenses Konica produced for SLRs, I believe it’s manufactured by Tokina.
The Fuji x-fujinon 50 f/1.9 was a complete surprise.
The Nikon Series E has really nice build quality - even though the e-series was more of a consumer-grade lens group. This is a sought after lens, and probably the most expensive of the group. Worth it?
The Olympus is a tiny gem, like the Nikon. Although not as tiny once you adapt it, it’s light and a joy to use. I loved the portrait rendering, stopped down, does it hold up in street photography?
The little Minolta 45 is well-regarded online and in anecdotal reviews. Is this copy good?
I don’t know who makes the Sakar, but it feels like a Ricoh 50 1.7 or Sears. Maybe Cosina? Seems very similar to Pentax lenses so maybe they were involved? How did it do?
Bigest surprise? The Pentax-A f/2. I love Pentax k-mount lenses, and the 35 f/2 A and 50 f/1.4 A are two of my favorite lenses.
O
e important point I’ll throw out there. I’ve loved my Yashica 50mm f/2 or 1.9 lenses. I don’t have one on me at the moment, but I’d be interested to see how they fared among the others in the group. What other lenses would you like to see compared to this bunch? The Konica 40 f/1.8? O
thers?
We will look at lots of other “normal” primes, including all the popular ones from Canon and Minolta in future videos. So stay tuned.
I am really glad I came across your channel! The Minolta 45mm f/2 was my first vintage lens (came with an SRT-201 for a total $5) and it is the lens that started my Minolta collection. I was very glad to see it featured in this comparison. Thank you for the work you put into your videos! Have a wonderful weekend.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Do subscribe if you get a chance! I’m working on a comparison of 5 different Minolta normal lenses in the works, I’m sure you’d enjoy! Thanks again for watching.
Thanks for all the hard work you put into this comparison. That Fujinon is a pleasant surprise.
Really appreciate it! And you’re so right, never would have considered it if I wasn’t on the lookout for 50’s for this test….So glad I gave it a try!.
Although my experience with Fujinoin lenses is with medium format items, not 35mm, I've always found Fujinons to outstanding, as good or better than similar from other makers. The best enlarging lenses Fuji made in the past are so good, that over a few years, I've acquired a set of them to replace my El-Nikor lenses.
@@randallstewart175 it makes me want to find some more, especially since I invested in an adapter… plus the adapter is pretty small, an unexpected plus!
Great work. Thank you.
My preference: Carl Ziess jena Pantacolar 1.8.
But I also really like the Konica 50mm 1.7 for skin colors. He is part of my Konica team with my favorite lens the 21mm f4...
I have a zebra version of that CZ take. Apart that I need to get back together … it would be great in my next comparison! I’ve also got 2 Konica 50 f1.7s and an f1.8 that I’m certainties going to add to the mix! Thank you for the encouragement! It will help me to get some more comparisons out soon!!
@@cheapshotslensreviewsandph3559
The version zebra is very beautiful but it is generally very radioactive...I chose the black MC version.
@@ericchouinard8075 indeed… one of the reasons I’ve been very thoughtful / patient about re-assembly… lol!
@@cheapshotslensreviewsandph3559 Yes it would be nice to ad Pancolar Zebra f1.8 and Konica 50mm 1.7 to comaprison. Great tests. Keep going. 👌
@@ZOly62 Unfortunately my Pancolar is in pieces at the moment. But at some point I definitely want to check it out, especially against some of my other German 50's!
THANKS! I like this kind of tests, but I don't always find my favorite lenses, so it's missing the Konica Hexanon 50mm f1.7 better than the 1.8, the famous Nikkor 50mm f2 (with rubber nose black) the famous Ricoh XR rikenon 50mm f2, ((japan, the poor man's summicron) etc....
I love the Yashica 50 f2 or f1.9, compact and easy to use - you should also compare with the Pentax smc 50mm f1.7
should be compared with some m42 55mm f1.8 f1.7 f2....like Mamiya. (part of which is thorium)
Tak 50 F2? Yeah ok.... However the Tak 50 F1.7, now there is a sharp lens and would have been a worthy contender in this shootout. 2nd vid of yours I have watched, keep up the good work.
Thanks! I have the 1.7, and plan to do a review of it against a slew of other 1.7’s. Or in a radioactive lens showdown, I’m not sure which… some say the F2 is the same as the 1.7 with a special baffle. But like you, I think they’re totally different animals. Check out the 1.4 review, I think you’ll like it!! thanks for watching!
I love takumar 50mm 1.4
You should try the never Olympus Zuiko 50mm f1.8 (Not F.Zuiko). It blows the older F.Zuiko away and is almost as sharp as the CZ Planar 50mm.
Really? That’s great to know… maybe we do a little comparison as part of the next series? I’ll have to keep an eye out, great comment thanks for watching!!
@@cheapshotslensreviewsandph3559 Why not compare them to a CZ planar and Tessar as well?
@@AlvaysClever68 There are definitely more reviews coming - I do have a 1.8 Pancolar (zebra) and if I come across the others, will definitely add them. FYI - all my lenses are purchased for $50 or less so my options can get a little tight! Some great lenses, but that means I need a great buy!
Oh wow… just found the regular Zuiko in my collection! A showdown is in the works!
Are you going to put out any more videos? Love these comparisons
I have so many more on deck! A review of 28 f3.5’s is done but I need to edit! And I have 3 or 4 other 50’s comparisons. Work has been busy though, but I will get some more out soon!