50mm lens for Sony NEX-C3

[rasdeep]

I'm completely unfamiliar with Rangefinders, and Leicas and Voigtlanders are expensive, aren't they? Hahaha. We're forgetting my <S$100 budget.

I think you need to save more if your budget is less than $100. The closest options you have are the 50/1.8 from various brands which will be $120-150 at BnS. On top of that, you will also need an adapter that can cost $40-$80 depending on the mount and brand you are getting. Perhaps, you can also consider older generation 50/1.8 lenses from Nikon like AI'd lenses, or Minolta MD with metal bodies that can be had for $100 or less depending on conditions.

Those cheap CCTV C mount lens like 35/1.7 can be had for less than $100 including adaptor but mostly use for video because corner is really soft but can give you the "dreamy" effect if you like that.

 

[SCULDER]

I think you need to save more if your budget is less than $100. The closest options you have are the 50/1.8 from various brands which will be $120-150 at BnS. On top of that, you will also need an adapter that can cost $40-$80 depending on the mount and brand you are getting. Perhaps, you can also consider older generation 50/1.8 lenses from Nikon like AI'd lenses, or Minolta MD with metal bodies that can be had for $100 or less depending on conditions.

Those cheap CCTV C mount lens like 35/1.7 can be had for less than $100 including adaptor but mostly use for video because corner is really soft but can give you the "dreamy" effect if you like that.

not really. as I said before, Takumar is cost less than USD50. Adaptor can get aroud $30.
There's a new group with gallery & discussion if you want to know more about this lens : Flickr: 55mm takumar!

 

[aiest]

I think you need to save more if your budget is less than $100. The closest options you have are the 50/1.8 from various brands which will be $120-150 at BnS. On top of that, you will also need an adapter that can cost $40-$80 depending on the mount and brand you are getting. Perhaps, you can also consider older generation 50/1.8 lenses from Nikon like AI'd lenses, or Minolta MD with metal bodies that can be had for $100 or less depending on conditions.

Those cheap CCTV C mount lens like 35/1.7 can be had for less than $100 including adaptor but mostly use for video because corner is really soft but can give you the "dreamy" effect if you like that.

My budget is as such because from tracking a few weeks worth of auctions of eBay, I know its very possible. Prices in shops here locally (and also the ones on the WTSell cat here) are at least 150% to 200% that of the ones on eBay (even including shipping, and the adapters as well). I'm not looking for first hand, and am purposefully looking at manual lenses.

 

[rasdeep]

If you do not mind the wait or is prepared to camp on ebay, it is definitely cheaper. I went to flea markets and move-out sales when in the US and saw lenses that were $10 - $40 but some can be very bad shape. I have not seen such pricing in singapore.

But do note that you are also taking risks here because you cannot see the condition of the optics except for cosmetic condition from some pictures.

Personally, new items getting from ebay is quite safe (if you dont mind waiting for 2-3 weeks like i did) but used lenses, i'd rather buy from local where you can view, test and try.

 

[Anthony Lee]

not really. as I said before, Takumar is cost less than USD50. Adaptor can get aroud $30.
There's a new group with gallery & discussion if you want to know more about this lens : Flickr: 55mm takumar!

There are many variations of Takumars and a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 55f1.8 in good condition, clean glass, may cost more than SGD 100. I have most of the variations before and their quality is actually superseded by the later Pentax variations. I will prefer the later Pentax version, the K 55f1.8 and once in a while the BnS here will have one for about SGD 120-150. This is so because you are assured of good glass and normally good cosmetics and you can test and inspect it before you buy. There are also tons of 50f1.7 or f1.8 or even f2 available once in a while and most of these are normally good lenses. Watch out for the OM 50f1.8 and if you pay it bit more, go for one that has the inscription, "made in japan" in the front of the lens and also with serial no, greater than 5 million, I will go for this and forget about buying another 50. The older versions can be between SGD 50-80. The Pentax A or M 50f1.7 is also excellent and these are all newer versions of the Pentax Takumars and they are mostly selling below SGD 100. The Nikkor 50f1.8 ai or ais is also excellent and below SGD 100. The E series is even cheaper. Also there is the Canon FD 50f1.8, Minolta MD 50f1.7, the Helios as mentioned. Note that the Canon FL/FD adapter is thinner that most of the rest. If one is patient enough, try and get one locally as you can be sure that the condition will suit you, otherwise, wait for the next one. Although ebay is a good source of such lenses, be prepared to get a bad one, unless you buy one from a reputable seller, but then, the price will not be good. Personally, I will buy only after I have inspected and tested the lens, so I always buy here locally and pay a bit more.

 

[aiest]

There are many variations of Takumars and a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 55f1.8 in good condition, clean glass, may cost more than SGD 100. I have most of the variations before and their quality is actually superseded by the later Pentax variations. I will prefer the later Pentax version, the K 55f1.8 and once in a while the BnS here will have one for about SGD 120-150. This is so because you are assured of good glass and normally good cosmetics and you can test and inspect it before you buy. There are also tons of 50f1.7 or f1.8 or even f2 available once in a while and most of these are normally good lenses. Watch out for the OM 50f1.8 and if you pay it bit more, go for one that has the inscription, "made in japan" in the front of the lens and also with serial no, greater than 5 million, I will go for this and forget about buying another 50. The older versions can be between SGD 50-80. The Pentax A or M 50f1.7 is also excellent and these are all newer versions of the Pentax Takumars and they are mostly selling below SGD 100. The Nikkor 50f1.8 ai or ais is also excellent and below SGD 100. The E series is even cheaper. Also there is the Canon FD 50f1.8, Minolta MD 50f1.7, the Helios as mentioned. Note that the Canon FL/FD adapter is thinner that most of the rest. If one is patient enough, try and get one locally as you can be sure that the condition will suit you, otherwise, wait for the next one. Although ebay is a good source of such lenses, be prepared to get a bad one, unless you buy one from a reputable seller, but then, the price will not be good. Personally, I will buy only after I have inspected and tested the lens, so I always buy here locally and pay a bit more.

NICE! I'm actually slowly beginning to be keen on the Olympus OMs but some people say only the over-1 million serial numbers are good, some say only over 1.1 million, now here you say 5 million. I don't know what to think anymore! @.@

And, its not possible to find one that has both "made in Japan" *and* the serial number on the front. No space, dammit! XD

Also, Canon FD lenses are the cheapest of all on the second-hand market, but I'm not keen because I've been told that its horrible at night/dim-lighting photography (which I frequently do).

 

[Anthony Lee]

NICE! I'm actually slowly beginning to be keen on the Olympus OMs but some people say only the over-1 million serial numbers are good, some say only over 1.1 million, now here you say 5 million. I don't know what to think anymore! @.@

And, its not possible to find one that has both "made in Japan" *and* the serial number on the front. No space, dammit! XD

Also, Canon FD lenses are the cheapest of all on the second-hand market, but I'm not keen because I've been told that its horrible at night/dim-lighting photography (which I frequently do).

OM 50f1.4 with the word "japan" inscribed infront of the lens with serial no. greater than 1.1 million.

OM 50f1.8 with the words "made in japan" inscribed infront of the lens with serial no. greater than 5 million.

We are talking about 2 different lenses here. The way you are approaching this issue, you will get more confused. Just go ahead and pick any 50f1.8, the cheapest possible with the cheapest adapter and shoot. Very soon you will outgrow what you have and your real problem will begin. I have been doing this for a few decades and still never learn.

 

[aiest]

OM 50f1.4 with the word "japan" inscribed infront of the lens with serial no greater than 1.1 million.

OM 50f1.8 with the words "made in japan" inscribed infront of the lens with serial no greater than 5 million.

Oooo thanks for clarifying!

 

[wonglp]

No need to mention! Hahaha. Its no longer a rumour, its already confirmed to cost US$1600+

On our friendly local store, Chiff, the price is $1300. ;p
C h i i f C a m e r a s - Price List

There are many manual lenses to play with, once you start, it's hard to stop...seeking the best bokeh, best sharpness, latest copy with best coating, it's a long road down :bsmilie: Happy hunting. Having tried several 50s, I do like the OM 50/1.4 alot...mine's a silver nose old version.

 

[cantshoot4nuts]

how about a Horusbennu?
HORUSBENNU 50mm F1.7 Lens MF for PENTAX PK SAMSUNG + UV Filter NEW | eBay
About S$80 brand new + <$20 for a Pentax K to E mount adaptor from ebay,
Pentax PK K Lens To Sony NEX-3 NEX-5 E Mount Adapter | eBay
total cost will set you back about $100 odd.

The above are just examples and may not be the cheapest out there.
The savings can buy you another 25mm or 35mm CCTV lens to play with.

 

[wonglp]

Just to fuel the subject a little further, all from our local B&S:

Minolta MD50/1.7 for sale $90


A helios 44-2 for $70 - swirly bokeh!


Canon FD 50/1.8 for $50, now that's a steal!

Not sure still available, just need to buy an adapter from evilbay, take a few weeks though. With Nex u possible have the best manual focusing tool out there even without EVF. btw, i know none of them ;p

 

[Anthony Lee]

On our friendly local store, Chiff, the price is $1300. ;p
C h i i f C a m e r a s - Price List

There are many manual lenses to play with, once you start, it's hard to stop...seeking the best bokeh, best sharpness, latest copy with best coating, it's a long road down :bsmilie: Happy hunting. Having tried several 50s, I do like the OM 50/1.4 alot...mine's a silver nose old version.

I still crave for some of the OM lenses I sold when I switched from Canon FF to Pentax. Today, on the NEX, how I wished I still have that whole range. From my personal experience, if one cannot afford Leica or Zeiss, the best alternative will be the Om lenses. I still look forward to owning the 21f2, 24f2, 28f2, 50f1.2, 50f2 macro, 90f2 macro, 100f2 and possibly the 180f2. The 250f2 will be just too huge. Even at my age, I can still do some day dreaming once in a while.

 

[wonglp]

I still crave for some of the OM lenses I sold when I switched from Canon FF to Pentax. Today, on the NEX, how I wished I still have that whole range. From my personal experience, if one cannot afford Leica or Zeiss, the best alternative will be the Om lenses. I still look forward to owning the 21f2, 24f2, 28f2, 50f1.2, 50f2 macro, 90f2 macro, 100f2 and possibly the 180f2. The 250f2 will be just too huge. Even at my age, I can still do some day dreaming once in a while.

Ya I was enquiring your range of OM when u switched, OM is great for what it does, and generally smaller as well as very good smooth focusing. The voigtlander lenses are also very good for what is worth compared to zeiss and leica, for starter like TS the Slr 50:1.8 or Russian lenses are very good for it's price.

 

[metranquility]

Sorry for the long post below, this thread really struck a chord... so just wanna share my manual portrait lens journey...

Like you, I started looking at manual portrait lens, not satisfied with the kit 18-55. I started with the CCTV 35mm F1.7.

Being a newbie, it was not easy to work with manual lenses at first, but once I got into it, every sharp image became something satisfying, and pics tt can never be taken with the 18-55 materialized... but the CCTV 35mm had a downside .. wide open, it tends to vignette... there's a 'dark shadow' around the edge of the pics... kinda like a lomo effect, but not really desirable if you dun want this effect.


So I went into old SLR lenses.. the first I got was a 50mm F1.4 Minolta MD that I bought fr someone here..

I was shocked at the size of the adapter + lens package, something I had to live with.. but the pics quality was great with the fast lens ! however, another downside with the MD F1.4 is the softness when wide open (at F1.4)... there is this 'dreamy effect' around subjects, so not entirely sharp... but stopped down a few stops, and it is dead sharp (but most lens are like this, with exceptions below)


Well, I didn like the size, so I decided to go into pancakes. The first classic pancake I got for myself was the Konica Hexanon 40mm F1.8.

This was a wonderful lense, compact, smooth mechanism (with a nice 'click' sound when focus ring turned all the way), relatively sharper than the MD ... but.... as similar to all SLR lenses, the adapter is huge, so I still had a big package I didnt really like...

So I went thru a series of lenses, in my quest for sharpness and compactness... Olympus OM 50mm F1.8 (loved the color/contrast, but sold, cuz I already had my MD F1.4), Canon FD 28mm F2.8 (wanted to try 28mm, but sold this away cuz got my contax biogon), Konica Hexanon 50mm F1.7 (read that it was sharp, but in actual fact not as sharp as I wanted, so sold away)...

Finally, I found the most compact lens I had to date: the 1960-era Olympus 'Pen F' 38mm F1.8:

Short adapter, short lens, relatively fast at F1.8, easy to use 38mm range, and simply its Vintage quality made it a keeper... I still shoot with it very often.. super loved it... but it still had certain downsides:
a) still slightly (though less than my MD 1.4) soft wide open
b) no multi-coating (1960s mah), so can get quite a bit of internal reflections when shooting at light

So finally laid my hands on the lenses that are always on my camera now - the Contax G Carl Zeiss series

Super sharp wide open (both the 28mm F2.8 and 45mm F2), only slightly bigger than my oly pen f, the pair I got were simply my favourite lens to date. However again, they are not without downsides:
a) expensive ($500 upwards)
b) short focus throw (not really that smooth to focus, as they are autofocus RF lens, not SLR lens made for manual focusing)

So well, it is up to you to try out different lenses and decide what you want.. think what Anthony Lee said is very true :

Just go ahead and pick any 50f1.8, the cheapest possible with the cheapest adapter and shoot. Very soon you will outgrow what you have and your real problem will begin. I have been doing this for a few decades and still never learn.

 

[metranquility]

Oh, before I forget, if you want to do more research into Oly OM lenses, check out this link... it has everything you ever need:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/shared/zuiko/index.htm

 

[metranquility]

most Rangefinder lenses like the Russian Helios, Codina Voightlanders and most M42 lenses are nice and compact, but they have relatively longer minimum focus distances, so if you wanna shoot close ups like food and flowers, you may have a slight problem with these. But for portraits, of course, no issues. I like shooting food, so stayed away from these.

Well, for best bang for buck, my personal favs are the oly OMs, though I heard Canon FDs (and FLs) are great too. Both series have great range of lenses and are relatively cheap..

 

[aiest]

Oh, before I forget, if you want to do more research into Oly OM lenses, check out this link... it has everything you ever need: (URL link disabled)

Awesome! The "life story" of your NEX too XD Thanks! I hope I'm not the only noob learning something from this. Considering that the NEX is a bridge camera (part-compact, part-DSLR), I would expect there're more people like me who are freshly upgrading from a point-and-shoot and need to learn more about stuff like this.

 

[SCULDER]

whooooaaaaaa.... nice lenses metranquility!!
do u have shot samples with those lenses? specially the zeiss biogon

 

[aiest]

Yeah I wanna see pictures taken with the Zeiss!

And also, an update, I managed to find and settle for an Olympus OM 50mm f1.8 with the "made in Japan" inscription at the front and serial number 5204922. Got it online just minutes ago so I'm waiting anxiously to receive it. If in any way I got scammed (because I got it for really cheap, less than S$100), I will not feel too heartbroken (because it *is* that cheap!) But if its the real deal and priced lower because of the slight dent around the filter ring and the rough feeling in the focusing ring at one point (as described by seller), I think I got me a pretty good bargain. Wish me luck!

 

[metranquility]

Ok, I am not a pro at this, just went online to see how other people did it... so please let me know if I can find better way to illustrate sharpness.

I shot 4 photos, in this order: Contax G Carl Zeiss Planar 45mm F2, Konica Hexanon 40mm F1.8, Olympus Pen F 38mm F1.8, Contax G Carl Zeiss Biogon 28mm F2.8