Are Those Old Lenses from the 50's and 60's Any Good on a modern DSLR? (Page 5): I have never shot Sony my main camera's are Pentax , i would be surprised if the Sony stabilization...

blackest Loc: Ireland

bonjac wrote:

Well here was my thinking, I have several m42 primes. It sounded like you had used m42s on an a77 which I believe has the same stabilization as the a99. So, it seemed to me I would get the same results with the a99. Thanks for your help, Jack

I have never shot Sony my main camera's are Pentax , i would be surprised if the Sony stabilization wouldn't work similarly.

Looking at

https://community.sony.com/t5/Alpha-SLT-DSLR-Cameras/In-camera-stabilization-with-manual-lenses/td-p/127893 seems you need a chip to tell the A99 the focal length, that was in 2013 things might have changed.

Pentax bodies can be bought quite economically thou.

bonjac Loc: Santa Ynez, CA 93460

blackest wrote:

I have never shot Sony my main camera's are Pentax , i would be surprised if the Sony stabilization wouldn't work similarly.

Looking at

https://community.sony.com/t5/Alpha-SLT-DSLR-Cameras/In-camera-stabilization-with-manual-lenses/td-p/127893 seems you need a chip to tell the A99 the focal length, that was in 2013 things might have changed.

Pentax bodies can be bought quite economically thou.

Thanks!

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

rook2c4 wrote:

One of the reasons I opted for Nikon as my DSLR system is the fact that I can use many old manual lenses on it without the need for an adapter. As I also use Nikon film SLR cameras (Nikon FE and F90) regularly, I can conveniently use the same lenses for both film and digital cameras.

My last Nikon film cameras were the FE and N70, and I had several nice lenses I used on them. One of them is the original 500mm f/8 mirror lens (not the lighter f/11 one released later) and I have successfully used it on my D7000 DSLR. (I've not tried it on my D7100, which replaced the D7000 when it went belly up last spring.) Although I still have my full-frame lenses, and could use them on the D7100, I prefer to just mount my new 18-200mm VR2 zoom designed for the DX format (and lighter). It is a comfort to know that the older lenses would still work, though (I have tried a couple and know).

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

Blurryeyed wrote:

I quite often see this question asked here and of ... (show quote)

I don't know if they are any good on a DSLR, but most of them are fantastic on a micro four thirds camera. Of course, there is the occasional Sears/Monkey Ward lens which should never have been screwed onto a camera in the first place, but what was good then is great now.

forjava Loc: Half Moon Bay, CA

"...there are a few of us here..."

First of all, I'm in love with your dog!

I'm using a Nikon and I bought an Asahi Pentax Takumar 135mm f/3.5 (SMC and maybe later than yours) on Oct. 19th ($38 shipped, now in transit) and a 55mm f/2 on the 21st ($50 shipped, now in transit).

My new lensless adapter (~$10) has already arrived, a Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter (M42 to Nikon v.2 (Chrome)) -- call 866.812.1107. I have heard it is not useful at infinity but that is not where I shoot. Hope it is the right adapter for Nikon; we'll see.

Blurryeyed wrote:

I quite often see this question asked here and of ... (show quote)

Ghent

I have an adapter for my Bronica ETRS Zenzanon lenses to my Nikon 7000. I also use lenses from my original Nikon F2. They fit perfectly without an adapter.

The image quality of the Bronica lenses is stunning (I believe that they are Nikon lenses manufactured specifically for Bronica), but they work best on a tripod, as there is no electronic stabilization.

The smaller sensor format makes the focal length effectively longer. However, since it uses a smaller image cone, the corner detail is incredible.

Sadly, no one makes an affordable sensor back for the 645.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

blackest wrote:

I have never shot Sony my main camera's are Pentax , i would be surprised if the Sony stabilization wouldn't work similarly.

Looking at

https://community.sony.com/t5/Alpha-SLT-DSLR-Cameras/In-camera-stabilization-with-manual-lenses/td-p/127893 seems you need a chip to tell the A99 the focal length, that was in 2013 things might have changed.

Pentax bodies can be bought quite economically thou.

I have boxes of Spotmatic bodies in my garage, many of the lenses I have purchased have arrived on camera bodies and I can't just bare to throw them into the trash.... I am sure that if someone were interested enough I could find them one that I could send if they pay the shipping.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Blurryeyed wrote:

I have boxes of Spotmatic bodies in my garage, many of the lenses I have purchased have arrived on camera bodies and I can't just bare to throw them into the trash.... I am sure that if someone were interested enough I could find them one that I could send if they pay the shipping.

If you were willing to take effort to catalogue them I suspect you might get quite a few takers for that offer. It is getting progressively easier to use old lenses. Even if only used for artistic purposes, they have much value in my opinion.

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

Old lenses can be exceptional. I have an old Russian 50mm f/2 in Nikon mount that I use on 6D, but most of my old-lens fun is with my Leica M rangefinders. I often use a Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f/1.5 Sonnar that was made in 1937, lacks coatings and even has air bubbles in the glass. It is a STUNNING lens on Leica full-frame M-E (M9) and M Monochrom.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

I've put Fotodiox Nikon F mounts on 9 of my Leica-R lenses. They focus at infinity, are as good with digital as with film, and can be reverted back if I desire. I kept 5 lenses original to use with my Leicaflex SL and SL2 cameras. Probably any modern lens that is much better would cost more than I could justify. I also have an adapter to use Visoflex M39 mount lenses on Nikons. Old as they are, the image quality is great.

dhowland

I LOVE love love my vintage Pentax lenses, though most I have I think are from the 70s.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

forjava wrote:

"...there are a few of us here..." br b... (show quote)

You probably will have an issue with infinity focus, earlier someone posted in this thread a registration listing of most lenses made, the Nikons and Pentaxes both have a greater registration distance than the Canon EOS bodies, I can use both on my camera with great success because my adapter only needs to space for proper registration, your new adapter will probably exceed that distance by a small amount which will not allow infinity focus. Hopefully it will not be so much that using a small aperture can overcome.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Blurryeyed wrote:

I quite often see this question asked here and of ... (show quote)

I love using these old lenses on my DSLR's, I just like the way they handle, I truly enjoy using manual focus and I like that I can usually stop down to/f32 or /f45 with those old lenses, and their IQ is just as good as newer lenses! Here are a few examples of some older Pentax lenses I use with my Canons. Well, only one image downloaded, but I guess it'll do.

(Download)

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

speters wrote:

I love using these old lenses on my DSLR's, I just like the way they handle, I truly enjoy using manual focus and I like that I can usually stop down to/f32 or /f45 with those old lenses, and their IQ is just as good as newer lenses! Here are a few examples of some older Pentax lenses I use with my Canons. Well, only one image downloaded, but I guess it'll do.

Thank you. Nice!

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

speters wrote:

I love using these old lenses on my DSLR's, I just like the way they handle, I truly enjoy using manual focus and I like that I can usually stop down to/f32 or /f45 with those old lenses, and their IQ is just as good as newer lenses! Here are a few examples of some older Pentax lenses I use with my Canons. Well, only one image downloaded, but I guess it'll do.

I see that you are using the 6X7 lens on your camera, I have not tried those.... not sure that I can afford to, my collection already with the 35mm lenses is probably worth a few thousand dollars, for instance I have multiple copies of the 8 element 50mm, then the 7 element and also the Super-Multi-Coated, and so on..... multiple copies of the 28, 35, and so forth all the way up to the 200mm which I have f/3.5, f/4, and the f/5.6 all being unique. Hopefully I will score a 300 f/4 this weekend, had a f/5.6 but let it go before I started collecting. The only lenses that I have been disappointed in were the 28mm's and the 35mm f/2 which does not come close in image quality to the f/3.5. Still looking for a 35mm f/2.3 hopefully that will finish my collection.