Legacy glass on the latest greatest cameras
Apr 8, 2018 08:36:24 #
Ditto: "Modern computer based design and manucturing combined with new materials can achieve results that were much harder to do decades ago."
Peterff wrote:
Every lens has unique characteritics. Modern compu... (show quote)
Apr 8, 2018 08:54:20 #
When i started with digital back in 2008 with a D70s and a couple of Nikkor mid-zooms from my film bodies I was fine with the combo. It was only when I went FF with a D600 and understood Raw better and why FF was superior for my work did I begin to notice that my 35-70 and 70-300 3.5 -5.6's af & afd were not keeping up. It was at this time that I made the decision to move over to the faster legacy af-d primes and the VR2 70-300 AF-S plus a 80-200 2.8 af-d. I still use those on a D800 to this day. No complaints from my customers because I am not shooting the newer stuff.
It is possible that newer glass has an advantage for video.
It is possible that newer glass has an advantage for video.
Apr 8, 2018 10:29:17 #
John, among the many cameras I have and use, I shoot with a D700 and D800e. I've used 50-year-old lenses made for my Hasselblad on my Nikons. I like the result I get.
Oddly enough, I just attended a strobe seminar introductory seminar last Friday. Though short on strobe and long on Nikon equipment, it was very informative. Nikon makes its own glass. There are a couple hundred various recipes, all proprietary. Some lenses contain copper, some magnesium, some (fill in a metal), etc. Each formula refracts light a subtle was different than the rest. If one looks at the front element of different "gold ring" lenses they will look different. Each of the various lenses they make have a slightly different formula. This assures that the lens will focus exactly on the sensor. Thus, the newer lenses will produce better images. The newer lenses will resolve finer lines. However, the human eye can't resolve lines as fine as the lenses can. Something to consider.
--Bob
Oddly enough, I just attended a strobe seminar introductory seminar last Friday. Though short on strobe and long on Nikon equipment, it was very informative. Nikon makes its own glass. There are a couple hundred various recipes, all proprietary. Some lenses contain copper, some magnesium, some (fill in a metal), etc. Each formula refracts light a subtle was different than the rest. If one looks at the front element of different "gold ring" lenses they will look different. Each of the various lenses they make have a slightly different formula. This assures that the lens will focus exactly on the sensor. Thus, the newer lenses will produce better images. The newer lenses will resolve finer lines. However, the human eye can't resolve lines as fine as the lenses can. Something to consider.
--Bob
19104 wrote:
Lately I have been seeing that a lot of folks feel... (show quote)
Apr 8, 2018 10:40:55 #
Shooting vintage prime glass can be very rewarding; I do it a lot when I could use a VR lens instead. But understand, a tripod is your best friend without VR.
Apr 8, 2018 10:58:30 #
IMHO, the "nuts and bolts" of this topic goes this way: The camera/lens combination ALONE does not make the image. Mostly, it is the "nut" behind the camera that contributes the most. As a landscape shooter, I can say categorically that if I put my camera on a good sturdy tripod, focus properly, use a remote shutter release, and employ "mirror-up", I will get excellent detail in my shots whether I use "the best glass" of today or excellent vintage glass from film days. On the other hand, I have already found that if I hand-hold my Nikon D850, even with top quality/expensive glass, my images may very well be less-sharp than if I use a lesser expensive Sigma lens but employ all the "proper camera techniques" I mentioned above.
Apr 8, 2018 11:03:45 #
Doesn't look that sharp.
Blurryeyed wrote:
Being a legacy collector this thread caught my att... (show quote)
Apr 8, 2018 11:13:36 #
Fotoartist wrote:
Doesn't look that sharp.
Missed his eye a little bit, download, expand, and look at the hair close to his eye, I know of very few lenses that are tak sharp at f/1.4, I have both a Canon 50/1.4 and a Sigma EX 50/1.4 and this lens is as good as either.
Apr 8, 2018 11:25:23 #
Apr 8, 2018 13:08:14 #
I think we sometimes lose sight of the fact that there is more to what constitutes a good photograph besides resolution. If you were to look at many classic images of yesteryear the sharpness and grain would appear inferior compared to modern digital shots. Content should be a top priority over every pore and wrinkle being visible. As the late great composer and musician Duke Ellington used to say about music, "If it sounds good, it is good". The same type of thing could be said about your photos, "If they look good (to you) then they are good".
Apr 8, 2018 13:17:32 #
I would love to see this site start a Legacy Lens Forum, I know that there are several collectors on the site and I am sure that the sharing of knowledge and images would be insightful for many.
Apr 8, 2018 13:22:39 #
Blurryeyed wrote:
I would love to see this site start a Legacy Lens Forum, I know that there are several collectors on the site and I am sure that the sharing of knowledge and images would be insightful for many.
Apr 8, 2018 14:23:06 #
When I got my Sony Crop Sensor mirrorless SLR (A77 II) (NOT even the latest and greatest camera body) I essentially abandoned my collection of old (Late 1960's) Canon FD mount lenses from my old Canon film SLR's I was a little upset at giving up my favorite Vivitar 400mm f/4.5 manual focus, manual aperture lens. It was NOT an expensive lens even when I bought it. I bought a cheap 3rd party adaptor and mounted the Canon FD mount lens onto my Sony body, mounted the whole assembly on a tripod, prefocused where I thought a bird might land and waited. When a bird did land, this is the picture that I got through my "Legacy (IE old) glass. Look at it larger to judge the level of detail the lens is capable of.
I eventually just gave away the two Canon camera bodies, this lens and the adaptor as well as whole bunch of other FD lenses and accessories. Reason? It was too cumbersome to use for practical bird/wildlife photography. The convenience of autoexposure and autofocus is just too useful to give up.
I eventually just gave away the two Canon camera bodies, this lens and the adaptor as well as whole bunch of other FD lenses and accessories. Reason? It was too cumbersome to use for practical bird/wildlife photography. The convenience of autoexposure and autofocus is just too useful to give up.
Apr 8, 2018 14:31:49 #
cameraf4 wrote:
IMHO, the "nuts and bolts" of this topic... (show quote)
This is a shot using the much maligned Nikkor E 50mm f1.8 manual kit lens. Tripod, mirror up for the shot.
Download it and check out the tiny insect at the top of the bud. For the record I didn't realize it was there until later after shooting.
Apr 8, 2018 16:30:03 #
DaveC1 wrote:
This is a shot using the much maligned Nikkor E 50mm f1.8 manual kit lens. Tripod, mirror up for the shot.
Download it and check out the tiny insect at the top of the bud. For the record I didn't realize it was there until later after shooting.
Download it and check out the tiny insect at the top of the bud. For the record I didn't realize it was there until later after shooting.
Good one, David. Thank-you for proving my point so well.
Apr 8, 2018 16:40:59 #
Blurryeyed wrote:
Being a legacy collector this thread caught my attention so I grabbed an old Pentax Takumar 50mm f/1.4 M42 lens...Thorium Dioxide was used in many of these older lenses. I would put this lens up against Canon's EF 50mm f/1.4 any day of the week...
I have one of these that I picked up for $7 at a Goodwill store with a stuck filter and loose focus ring. I repaired it and stuck it on a M42/m43 adapter. Does pretty well on my micro four thirds cameras - of course, it has twice the DOF and corner sharpness is improved here. And yes, I tested it and it is definitely radioactive, most of it coming out the back end.
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