Hi Folks,

I'm trying to get a sense of what the collective membership here thinks are some of the best alt lenses as far as saving money (ie cheaper than the non-alt version), and/or finding a lens that has a quality unlike the non-alt version (but, again, mainly for alt lenses cheaper than their other counterparts... so... no to the Zeiss 21).

In full disclosure: I'm asking because I'm writing a newspaper article about using alt lenses on modern DSLRs, and after being a member of this forum for some time, it's clear that this place is leading the way in many respects when it comes to alt lenses. In the next two weeks I may also contact a few members here to ask about their personal experiences with alt lenses (of course, any of you who have a good anecdote about alt lenses, like how you first got into them, or how you 'discovered' a lens no on was talking about before... cogito.... please feel free to EMAIL me in the meantime).

I'm not necessarily looking for recommendations on lenses or anecdotes from super-experienced members. Looking for a good cross section of opinions. Story will be for a mainstream audience-- one of the larger publications in the U.S.-- but not the one with the biggest circulation (I'm not going to share the name of the paper prior to publication, with the exception that anyone I end up interviewing for the piece will of course be told ahead of time what this is for). In any case, should be a fun project.

Cheers,

Russ

there's been alot of discussion on 'best value alt lenses', search a bit and I'm sure you can find them.

For me, the best deal/value is the Zeiss 28/2.8, I got mine for a bit less than $200 I think (5 years ago). I like it because it's cheap, and it's very good, much better than the Canon 28 that I tried out. It's been my main wide angle for the past 5 years!

I think the general consensus would be: Anything that says "Zuiko."

Zuiko and Zeiss 28 f/2.8 are definitely on my radar. Heard a lot about both. Have an OM 24/2.8.

Thanks for the suggestion guys. Hope to hear more!

Russ

I think hands down the best bargain alt lenses are the Zuiko 28 f/3.5 (I got mine mint for $45 with case and hood), and the Takumar 50 f/1.4 lenses. Cheap and excellent.

The Zuiko 28/3.5 is simply stellar across the whole frame, and it's so compact and lightweight. Many here compare it favorably to the Zeiss 28 f/2.8, for 1/4 the cost...hard to beat. Also, hard to believe that most UV filters cost more than it.

Also, considering the image quality I get from it, the Zeiss Sonnar 85 f/2.8 would be up there too. Of my alt lenses I like its rendering the best (followed closely by my Rokkor 58/1.2, and for different reasons). Extremely sharp, beautiful colors, exquisite microcontrast, very nice bokeh and compact, all for $230. Hard to beat.

my personal preferences:

zeiss 28/2.8
zeiss 50/1.7
zeiss 85/2.8
zeiss 135/2.8
mamiya 80/2.8n or better mamiya 80/1.9
oly 18/3.5

My vote is for (based on my samples) the: Oly 28/3.5 or 24/2.8 , more $ for the 24mm and no better optically then the 28.

Oly 50/1.8 late version, it's sharper, then the Tak 50/1.4 until about f4 where they are both sharp. The Tak is more dreamy opened up and has its own magic, so either depending on your preference.

Oly 100/2.8 not much talked about but a very nice lens, sharp small and light.

Canon FL 55/1.2 very usable wide open currently inexpensive for a f1.2 but requires some work to adapt.

tm

zuiko 55 or 50 /1.2
A fraction of the price/size/weight of Canon's equivalent
So many other 50's with similar or arguably better qualities, like the Pentax SMC-A and the Nikon Ai-S which is still in production I think and can be had brand new.

I don't have as much experience with alternative lenses as many of our members do, but I've been in the game long enough, I guess.

The big thing for Canon users is what alternative lenses can offer on the wide end as that seems to be where Canon is weakest.

1. Olympus OM 21/3.5
Smallest 21mm (49mm filter threads); reasonably priced at $300-$400; comparably low contrast makes for extremely flexible RAW files; has a tendency to flare in a very characteristic way (red ring)

2. Contax 28/2.8
Readily available; characterizes the microcontrast that Zeiss lenses are famous for; $250-$300; many people start here

3. Olympus OM 50/1.4
Pleasant softness wide open (glow); comparably low contrast makes for extremely flexible RAW files; excellent resolution stopped down; smaller than most other 50/1.4 lenses; pleasant (but not the best) bokeh; a bargain at $50-$100

4. Contax 35-70/3.4
Rivals primes at all focal lengths at f/5.6 and smaller (wide open performance is lacking); light; characterizes Zeiss' typical microcontrast; handles flare exceptionally well; can be considered a landscape photographer's go-to lens for the focal lengths it covers; a bargain at $300-$400

Can't think of a 5th right now.

I find myself pulling out my Tamron 90mm 2.8 macro lens not just for macros but for some great portrait shots as well. It's very sharp and obviously can also do macro so it's a good all around lens. I got mine for 300 on ebay which I think is a great price for a very good lens.

Instead of just 50mm or 28mm many mentioned here,
I found the following cheap and good and covers a lot of ground with F2.8 and faster ( except for 300mm )

For lens less than $100
Zeiss Jena Sonnar 180mm 2.8 zebra ( Great color like all the zeiss glass )
Zeiss Pancolar 50mm 1.8 zebra (I definitely prefer this over my Pentax SMC 50 1.4 )
For lens less than $150
Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm 2.4 ( beatiful color and very good for close up )
For lens less than $200
Tamron adaptall 70-200mm 2.8 ( sharper than my old Canon EF 70-200 2.8 L ) Probabaly the best all around zoom lens at this price.
Pentax SMC 300mm F4 ( very compact and super sharp )

Leica-R... unbelievably low priced for *real* Leica lenses.

Not sure if it is just the image quality of these lenses that sets them apart from the modern "ultrasonic" - "super nano/multi coated" - "made for digital" - "handed down by the Canon/Nikon gods" - "uber priced" lenses.

There's also the fact that these old alternative lenses were made very well and have lasted 20+ years and continue to work just fine. The fact that these lenses are built better than most of the $1500+ lenses of today speaks quite a bit about the quality of work/craftmansship that went into them. Also worthile to note is how compact these lenses are compared to modern counterparts.


Tamron 17mm f3.5 - nice sharp corners - prefer it to the Canon 17-40L - very compact and around $300/$350 - even less if you find one in user condition

Tamron 25mm f2.5 - Tamron color and sharp to boot

Olympus 24mm f2.8 - enough has been said about this one

Contax 25mm f2.8 - probably the sharpest 25mm you could get for under $500

Olympus 28mm f2.8 - a little better than the 28mm f3.5

Olympus 35mm f2.8 PC Shift - best value shift lens for the $$$'s - usually around $500-$550 - it puts the canon 24mm f3.5 TS-E to shame

Olympus 50mm f1.8 - probably the best 50mm lens you can get for $30

Olympus 55mm f1.2 - 1/6th the cost of a Canon 50mm f1.2 L and it doesn't have focus issues like the Canon "L"

Olympus 35-70mm f3.6 - very impressive for a zoom and under $200 usually - Similar- probably a bit better than the wonderful Nikon 35-70mm f2.8

Contax 85mm f2.8 - Zeiss pop and around $250 - a forum favorite perhaps

Olympus 85mm f2.0 - I prefer this over the Zeiss - compact and nice bookeh

Tamron 90mm f2.5 Macro - it's sharp alright - smaller and cheaper than the canon macro

Zeiss Jena 135mm f2.8 M42 - dirt cheap and wicked sharp - close focus makes it a good lens for macro (sorta)

Olympus 200mm f4.0 - again cheap and sharp for 200mm

Zeiss 80-200mm f4.0 (or the Lecia 80-200mm f4.0 if you have $$$'s to spare)

Tamron 500mm f8.0 Mirror Lens - the best value if you want tele and have decided that you will only shoot 500mm on a bright sunny day - those birds better cooperate and stand still for a while


If you are selective and are patient enough to find good bargains, and can live with a lens that doesn't look like new (but have good glass), you could have just about every focal length mentioned above for under $2300



Then there's the other end of the spectrum which includes the Zeiss 85mm and 55mm f1.2, Zeiss 21, Converted N lenses, the Nikon 28mm f1.4 or 58mm f1.2, some of the pricey Leica's, etc, etc, which go for $2000 - $6000+

Edited by pascal03 on Aug 21, 2008 at 05:25 AM GMT

A lot has been said about the Contax CZ 28/2.8, but my favorite has to be a beat up SMC Takumar 55/1.8 that I bought for $32. Beautiful bokeh, easy to focus, and a relatively lower contrast (compared to Canon, Olympus) which is good for portraiture.

mh2000 wrote:
Leica-R... unbelievably low priced for *real* Leica lenses.

I picked up a "3-cam late" version of the Leica 35/2 R Summicron (Canadian) for $360. The colors are more natural to me, and perhaps less contrasty when compared to the 35L.

Don't overlook Yashica (the Y in C/Y). Any ML prime is a winner at current prices, although you have to work a bit to find FLs other than 50mm. Here, for example, is the 200/4 ML @ f/11, with an extension tube, on 1Ds. Crop is 1x scale. Lens should cost about $100.




P.S. Image background is artificial.


Edited by rico on Aug 21, 2008 at 12:06 AM GMT

>>Olympus 50mm f1.8 - probably the best 50mm lens you can get for $30

I have one of these on my OM-1... it's nice and has charm, but really, I prefer the lowly Canon EF 50/1.8 for most images... I have a Super-Tak 50 as well... it does have *some* "magic," but I don't really feel compelled to use it... I'm happiest using my EF 50/1.8 (when I just have to have AF) or my Summicron-R 50 which is just all around great/superb...

The Zuiko macros (20/2, 38/2.8, 80/4 and 135/4.5) with the 65-116 tube. Amongst the finest macro lenses around. Not cheap but cheaper than the Canons...

The Vivitar series 1 macros (90/2.5 and 90-180/4.5) are great value lenses.

Zeiss 28/2.8

Kiron 105/2.8 Macro

A lot of the zuikos. Most are cheap and very good. Easy to adapt to Canon.

A

If you are just looking for cheaper lenses then there are plenty of them around, as stated by all of the above. On the other hand I find that the best value comes from buying a lens just once and ENDING the search for something better. Sometimes this means buying the most expensive lens of it's kind in the first place, not after having tried everything else and then finally settled where you should probably have started!

The R 50/cron is possibly the best of it's kind yet very cheap.

Point is, looking for the cheap option can end up being a false economy.

If the publication has the kind of circulation you insinuate, I'm not sure these will be bargains for long. The alternative lens market has yet to register in teh mainstream, as far as I can tell.
Be sure to warn your readers about the problems of manually focusing on entry level cameras, right up to xxD series... For most, the extra optical quality will be far outweighed by the fact that most of their shots will be out of focus (as mine were for some time on a 30D).

Yes yes please tell your readers to stay away from all manual lenses

JohnJ wrote:... looking for the cheap option can end up being a false economy.

and a waste of precious time.

Best deal does not mean cheap, does it?

cz 2.8/28
L 2/35
CZ 28-85
CZ 35-70
oly 3.5/28

at prices from 20$ to 400$

CZ 28/2.8, 135, 50/1.7, 35-70/3.4, 60/2.8 Macro S, 35/2.8
Leica 35/2, 50/2, 60/2.8 macro, 180/3.4 APO (before the recent price jump)
CV 40/2, 58/1.4, 90/3.5 APO, 180/4 APO
A lot of the Ai/Ais Nikkors
Mamiya M645 MF glass

Ok, I'll add in my opinion based on my experience.

Pentax SMC Takumar 50/1.4 - under $50

Contax Zeiss 28/2.8 - around $250

Contax Zeiss 85/2.8 - around $250

Leica R 90/2.8 - $150 (great price)

Now for the dark horse....

Leica 560/6.8 for under $900.


Now I'd also say my Contax Zeiss 100/2.0 at $600 was a wonderful buy but some may consider that expensive.

Contax 35-70 f3.4 - a little pricey now, but what a lens ! As good as any primes within its range
Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f1.4 - Dreamy, beautiful, cheap. One of my secrets!
Leica 90mm f2 summicron - the Leica '3d' for cheap
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 - Wow wow, cheap
Zeiss jena Flektogon 35mm f2.4 - Wow, amazing
Minolta Rokkor 58mm f1.2 - Some grinding to make it work, but OMFG, amazing!
Canon 70-210 f4L (IS or not) - Amazing lens(es)
Sigma 30mm f1.4 - few-trick pony, but what a good job of those tricks
Zuiko 24mm and 28mm (f2.8 or f3.5)
Canon 400mm f5.6L No better birding lens!

There's all my secrets!