p.1 #1 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
Not necessarily a 50mm lens. I have been enjoying experimenting with MF lens and have had good and bad experiences. Just wondering what might you guys with some more experience equate to the nifty fifty experience? What I mean is what alt lens should I be looking for that price/optical quality would really knock my socks off?
What I have now for alt lens:
1. Vivitar 24mm f/2.8 - This one knocks my socks off IQ wise and I got it for $45 off the B&S board
2. Minolta Rokkor 45mm f/2 - Recent Ebay purchase, cute little lens but IQ is less than impressive even stopped down.
p.1 #3 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
The 50mm f1.4-f2 lenses from just about every manufacturer are great deals, each with their own character. Aside from a couple "collectible" brands like Leica or Zeiss, there are dozens of 50mm f1.4-f2 lenses at the nifty-50 price point and lower, and they will all be fun to use.
Some personal budget favorites:
Takumar (SMC or "Super Multi Coated" for best flare resistant coatings) 28/3.5, 50/1.4, 50/4 Macro, 55/1.8
Oly OM Zuiko (again, multicoated versions for best contrast): 28/3.5, 50/1.4, 50/3.5 Macro
Mamiya M645 80/2.8, 80/4 Macro
More modern socks-knocking-off lens: Samyang/Rokinon 85/1.4 (gave up my Canon 85L II after getting this one).
p.1 #4 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
svassh wrote:
Not necessarily a 50mm lens. I have been enjoying experimenting with MF lens and have had good and bad experiences. Just wondering what might you guys with some more experience equate to the nifty fifty experience? What I mean is what alt lens should I be looking for that price/optical quality would really knock my socks off?
What I have now for alt lens:
1. Vivitar 24mm f/2.8 - This one knocks my socks off IQ wise and I got it for $45 off the B&S board
2. Minolta Rokkor 40mm f/2 - Recent Ebay purchase, cute little lens but IQ is less than impressive even stopped down....Show more →
i presume you mean the rokkor 45mm f/2, not the 40mm f/2 (which is a leica m-mount lens)?
i would say any pentax smc 50/1.4 would be my recommendation for low price awesome performance. if you want a really cheap actual nifty fifty, then the olympus OM 50/1.8.
p.1 #5 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
I will echo what mpmendenhall and sebboh said. Particularly, the OM 28/3.5 (since you said we could stray from 50mm). Probably the best value lens I have ever purchased and still one of my favourite lenses.
p.1 #6 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
sebboh wrote:
i presume you mean the rokkor 45mm f/2, not the 40mm f/2 (which is a leica m-mount lens)?
i would say any pentax smc 50/1.4 would be my recommendation for low price awesome performance. if you want a really cheap actual nifty fifty, then the olympus OM 50/1.8.
p.1 #7 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
cogitech wrote:
I will echo what mpmendenhall and sebboh said. Particularly, the OM 28/3.5 (since you said we could stray from 50mm). Probably the best value lens I have ever purchased and still one of my favourite lenses.
I just bought one for $40 dollars a few days ago, to compliment the 28/2 and 28/2.8.
I think almost any 50mm lens performs very well, even the cheapest and nastiest of them are quite good (I love my Industar 50-2, the piece of junk that it is, "I can't stay mad at you..."). A Zuiko 50/1.4 is cheap and excellent. The Contax 50/1.7 might be the pick of the bunch.
I think if you are willing to go up a notch, in money terms, then the Contax MM (not AE!) 28/2.8 is extremely difficult to beat without spending much much more. It's not a cheap lens, but I still think it wins the value/performance stakes simply due to it's actual performance which is not just 'excellent', but is outstanding.
p.1 #8 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
JohnJ wrote:
I just bought one for $40 dollars a few days ago, to compliment the 28/2 and 28/2.8.
Nice! I had a 28/2.8 once but I think it was a bad copy because it sucked compared to my 3.5.
I think almost any 50mm lens performs very well, even the cheapest and nastiest of them are quite good (I love my Industar 50-2, the piece of junk that it is, "I can't stay mad at you..."). A Zuiko 50/1.4 is cheap and excellent. The Contax 50/1.7 might be the pick of the bunch.
Indeed; for sharpness and contrast alone, the Contax 50/1.7 is ridiculous. However, it is typically 3x the price of the other 50s mentioned in this thread, so "not-so-thrifty", but still good value (and worth owning).
I think if you are willing to go up a notch, in money terms, then the Contax MM (not AE!) 28/2.8 is extremely difficult to beat without spending much much more. It's not a cheap lens, but I still think it wins the value/performance stakes simply due to it's actual performance which is not just 'excellent', but is outstanding.
I wish I had the same experience with the 28/2.8. Perhaps I had 2 AEs, I don't even remember.
p.1 #9 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
cogitech wrote:
...
I wish I had the same experience with the 28/2.8. Perhaps I had 2 AEs, I don't even remember.
I'm no Contax expert but I'm pretty sure that the MM design is different to the AE so they should really be described as 2 different lenses. They seem to be considered as just one lens, same name, physicaly almost identical, but they seem to be quite different in the way they perform. Getting off topic...
p.1 #10 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
My CY 28/2.8 is an AE, and I'm actually pretty happy with it. Center sharpness is unbeatable at all apertures, but falls to fairly terrible corners at f2.8 (my Oly 24/2.8 is far better for more uniform across-frame sharpness at all apertures). However, the corners have cleaned up nicely by f8. The lens is good for typical CY Zeiss contrast/colors/"pop". Perhaps an MM would be better; I've never had one to compare. I got my 28/2.8 before the recent waves of price inflation doubled the cost of most CY lenses; at today's prices, it's probably worth getting an MM version just to be "safe." However, if you stumble across a good deal on an AE 28/2.8 (maybe once everyone hears the "common knowledge" that all AE copies are worthless junk ), I wouldn't turn it down.
p.1 #11 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
My go to lens on my 1DIII is the MC Rokkor PG 58/1.2 It's slower siblings are nice too, and much cheaper.(58/1.4 & 50/1.4) but need conversion.
S-M-C Takumar 28/3.5 great little lens, as is the 50/1.4 and the 100/2.8, the 85/1.9 is great but pricy.
Yashica ML 50/2 check the Yashica image thread for others.
Nikkor's are nice too.
And of course the Helios 44 series, the KMZ(trapezoid logo)44-2 is cheap, common, and built like a tank.
p.1 #12 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
LightShow wrote:
My go to lens on my 1DIII is the MC Rokkor PG 58/1.2
I love my Rokkor 58/1.2 at least as much as the next guy but, at the going price, I'd hardly consider it in the same category as the "nifty/thrifty fifty".
p.1 #14 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
cogitech wrote:
I love my Rokkor 58/1.2 at least as much as the next guy but, at the going price, I'd hardly consider it in the same category as the "nifty/thrifty fifty".
The 58 1.4 version is pretty nice. There are some really thrifty options out there for manual focus. There are so many lenses under 200 dollars that are pretty spectacular.
p.1 #15 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
Thanks all, some good suggestions. I pulled the trigger on a Yashica ML 50/2 for $40 shipped after reviewing the Yashica image thread. That and my 24mm Vivitar should make a nice pair.
Would like to add a fast 85mm to the mix anymore ideas there? I'm looking at the Mamiya M645 80/2.8 but would like something a little faster.
p.1 #16 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
svassh wrote:
Thanks all, some good suggestions. I pulled the trigger on a Yashica ML 50/2 for $40 shipped after reviewing the Yashica image thread. That and my 24mm Vivitar should make a nice pair.
Would like to add a fast 85mm to the mix anymore ideas there? I'm looking at the Mamiya M645 80/2.8 but would like something a little faster.
Look at a Jupiter-9. It's a Russian 85/2 available in M42 and LTM mounts, cloned from the Zeiss 85/2 for the Contax RF system. They typically run a little under $200.
Another option is the Mamiya 80/1.9 for the M645 system. They're a little pricier and on the large side for the speed, but a good lens nonetheless.
p.1 #17 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
svassh wrote:
Thanks all, some good suggestions. I pulled the trigger on a Yashica ML 50/2 for $40 shipped after reviewing the Yashica image thread. That and my 24mm Vivitar should make a nice pair.
Would like to add a fast 85mm to the mix anymore ideas there? I'm looking at the Mamiya M645 80/2.8 but would like something a little faster.
Rokinon 85/1.4 Aspherical
I have used a lot of alt 85s, even converted a Canon FD 85/1.2 SSC Aspherical to EF mount in my search for the perfect 85. Then I tried the very affordable Rokinon (AKA Samyang, Bower, Vivitar, etc.) and loved it so much I sold all my other 85s. Not a $100 lens, but fantastic value any way you look at it.
p.1 #18 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
plasticmotif wrote:
The 58 1.4 version is pretty nice. There are some really thrifty options out there for manual focus. There are so many lenses under 200 dollars that are pretty spectacular.
I converted one and tried it. Meh. It was OK, but I was too distracted/obsessed with the 1.2 at the time.
p.1 #20 · What is the Nifty Fifty equivalent of Alt Lens?
cogitech wrote:
I love my Rokkor 58/1.2 at least as much as the next guy but, at the going price, I'd hardly consider it in the same category as the "nifty/thrifty fifty".
Did you finish the rest of that sentence? LightShow wrote:
It's slower siblings are nice too, and much cheaper.(58/1.4 & 50/1.4) but need conversion.
