Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Canon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

2 end

Archive 2014 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

YonathanZ
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Hi,

I love shooting my dog with my 50mm prime lens, but I definitely wish many times that I had a longer prime with me when I take him to the park. Anyway, primes such as the Canon 135mm would be great if they didn't cost $1000... So I'm willing to settle on an old/manual lens, since I rarely shoot him moving (I mostly plan and make him sit in a certain spot to achieve a certain composition).

I know there are those M42 lenses, and then there are also Nikon lenses (the old ones with aperture rings). I'm not really sure which is better. Anything in the 85-150 range would be OK.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Mar 09, 2014 at 02:30 PM

Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

best bang for your buck would be the 100/2
its the bigger bro to the 85/1.8 .
great IQ , fast AF and small and light to boot .

not that expensive new and a real bargain on the used market

Mar 09, 2014 at 02:43 PM

erikburd
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

+1 for the 85 f/1.8 or 100 f/2. Excellent bang for the buck.

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:02 PM

jcolwell
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

The 85/1.8 is an excellent AF lens.

For manual focus lenses, you should be on the Alt forum. The best start is to read the Alt Lens FAQ,

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1009663

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:12 PM

YonathanZ
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Hmm. How is the 100 f/2 in comparison to the 85 1.8? I know the 85 is a speed daemon when it comes to focusing - can this also be said on its (very slightly) bigger brother?

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:37 PM

Gochugogi
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

The EF 135 2.8 SF is petite, sharp and relatively affordable used, going for about $250 used. Albeit it has the older "sheeeeeeeet" sound AF motor the internal focus group makes it relatively fast. I found the longer reach more useful than my 85 1.8 USM for shooting around town.

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:45 PM

erikburd
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

From my understanding of the 85/100 lenses, they're pretty much twins with regards to their performance. It comes down to your preference on focal length.

I own the 85mm, not the 100mm.

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:50 PM

Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Yep the 85 & 100 are twins . 100 just as fast as the 85
100 suffers less from purple fringing apparently
Both great .

Mar 09, 2014 at 05:39 PM

anthonygh
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Why stick with primes?

I only ask as I have the 1.8 85mm mentioned above and it is a great lens.....but I also have the original (and not that expensive now s/h) f4 70 - 200L It too is fast, has great IQ....and I suspect if set at 85mm most people would be really pushed to tell the difference between images from it and images from the 85mm at f4. I say that from experience.

The zoom is more versatile of course...and bearing in mind DoF is partly a function of focal length you will have no trouble isolating your pet from the back ground should you want.

Mar 09, 2014 at 06:09 PM

Gunzorro
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Gochugogi wrote:
The EF 135 2.8 SF is petite, sharp and relatively affordable used, going for about $250 used. Albeit it has the older "sheeeeeeeet" sound AF motor the internal focus group makes it relatively fast. I found the longer reach more useful than my 85 1.8 USM for shooting around town.

And I'd like to add that it is VERY sharp when you don't implement the spherical aberration from the soft focus selector. It's a great lens! I just bought one from PetKal and love it. You can adjust the aperture in SF mode to get smoldering diffuse softness down to nearly undetectable softness at the #1 setting and just smaller than f/5.6.

In the neutral setting (0), it is sharp from f2.8. I find it compares favorably to my previous Contax/Zeiss 135/2.8 and Leica R 135/2.8, and better than the Pentax 135/2.5 and f/3.5 manual focus lenses.

Oh, and it has AF -- older AF, but accurate AF -- the lens works great on my 5D2, 1D3 and 1Ds3.

Well under $300 with lens shade and shipping.

Mar 09, 2014 at 06:38 PM

Coltrane
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Another vote for the underrated 100mm f2. But I do also like the recommendation of the 135mm 2.8 SF. Although I've never owned one, I've seen some great shots from this lens over the years. If you get the 135mm, get a used one. The price on the new ones are sky high, and as previously stated, used ones you can grab for $250 or even less.

Mar 09, 2014 at 07:02 PM

Gunzorro
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Here are a few FF examples taken wide open at f/2.8 at the "0" setting of the 135/2.8 SF during a comparison against the amazing Nikon 180/2.8 ED AIS lens with adapter to EF mount (another impressive choice with manual focus lens at an affordable price). The 180 was sharper, but the 135 acquitted itself very well against it. The lens gets considerably sharper starting at f/4 on up.

Minor PP in LR5.3.

Mar 09, 2014 at 07:11 PM

Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

anthonygh wrote:
Why stick with primes?
.

I did have the same thought .
I dont know what they go for used (and I dont really want to know as I WONT BE SELLING MINE

) but the old 80-200L is the 'daddy' as far as im concerened .

af not as quick or as sure (feels a bit 'nervous' in servo mode) as the later 70-200's but its still decent .and the IQ is 2nd to none

Mar 10, 2014 at 02:03 AM

Dudewithoutape
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

I think the key here is, how much do you want to spend? Do you care for unique rendering? What maximum aperture do you need; 2, 2.8, 3.5, 4?

Mar 10, 2014 at 02:07 AM

YonathanZ
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Dudewithoutape wrote:
I think the key here is, how much do you want to spend? Do you care for unique rendering? What maximum aperture do you need; 2, 2.8, 3.5, 4?

Not much at all. The 70-200 F4 is around $450 I believe, and that's too much. F4 is slow, too. I prefer primes anyway. I don't know about unique rendering...

The 135 2.8 SF is also out of budget, and I think I should stick to around 100mm, considering I'm using a crop-sensor body.

Mar 10, 2014 at 03:05 AM

Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

YonathanZ wrote:
Not much at all. The 70-200 F4 is around $450 I believe, and that's too much. F4 is slow, too. I prefer primes anyway. I don't know about unique rendering...

The 135 2.8 SF is also out of budget, and I think I should stick to around 100mm, considering I'm using a crop-sensor body.

are you sure the 135 is out of your budget?
http://www.keh.com/camera/Canon-EOS-Fixed-Focal-Length-Lenses/1/sku-CE06009000466N?r=FE
dont forget we're not talking about the 135L here . if about 200 bucks is over the budget then yeah your looking for cheap old MF primes . but be aware that any of the good alts have gone up in price agian due to the new lease of life they get on the Mirroless bodies .
and if your shooting dogs then Im not so sure I'd want to have a fast MF tele prime as manual focusing would be a test . and given that you say you shoot crop (what body) that test is likley to be even harder due to the small VF .

so keeping with canon AF options then they probably go

100/2
100/2.8 macro (usm version has ok af speed)
135/2.8 SF
200/2.8L (cheap for an L and great )

if you dont mind zoom then
you will also find early Sigma 70-200's around at very good money (the non DG and 1st DG were very good . avoid the closer focus later version as the AF was not as accurate)
or Tamron's 70-200 2.8 ( great IQ but the AF is not as good as the rest)
i mentioned the 80-200L but i doubt that will satisfy the budget

Mar 10, 2014 at 04:07 AM

YonathanZ
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

I don't think any 70-200 will be cheaper than the 135 2.8 SF. The 100/2 is actually $500, and so is the 100 2.8 (or maybe a bit more). I heard that manually focusing longer lenses is easier because it's easier to tell what's in focus. Is it true?

Mar 10, 2014 at 05:16 AM

Ian.Dobinson
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

YonathanZ wrote:
I don't think any 70-200 will be cheaper than the 135 2.8 SF. The 100/2 is actually $500, and so is the 100 2.8 (or maybe a bit more). I heard that manually focusing longer lenses is easier because it's easier to tell what's in focus. Is it true?

thing is I think your looking at new prices . a quick scan of KEH (not the cheapest source) has the 100/2 at $330

and I understand what you say by any 70-200 being cheaper than the 135sf but you will find much older sigma's down to near those prices .
the 1st gen version (not maked as a DG) and the 1st gen DG were probably their best ones . after those they went down the road of trying to make them focus closer and messed things up .

also I forgot you said its for crop . Sigma also did a 50-150/2.8 . its smaller than the 70-200 and a decent lens . they brought it out again with OS but while its meant to be great IQ its the same size as the 70-200 OS and not in budget .
Tokina made a 50-135/2.8 crop lens as well . but these are held in high regard as they were great . if you find one you may struggle to get it in budget .

as for MF on longer lenses being easier . well you can see whats i close focus easier because your DOF is thin. problem with that is if its slightly off then its Out of Focus .
and like i say crop Viewfinders are not great to focus with either . what Body are you shooting?

Mar 10, 2014 at 05:48 AM

jcolwell
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Dudewithoutape wrote:
... how much do you want to spend?

YonathanZ wrote:
Not much at all. The 70-200 F4 is around $450 I believe, and that's too much...

The 135 2.8 SF is also out of budget...

What is your budget, in dollars?

As mentioned by Ian, I think you need to reach a new understanding on used lens prices. If you can't afford the EF 135/2.8 Soft, then you're in trouble, because it's the least expensive of all the Canon prime lenses that have been mentioned.

Here's a summary of current Lens$db info for some of "the ususal suspects". The first group are AF and the second group MF. Of all these lenses, the best price/performance is probably the Rokinon 85/1.4.

Mar 10, 2014 at 06:35 AM

anthonygh
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Cheap, prime telephoto (manual/old is acceptable!)

Just been looking at 135mm MF lenses on ebay......some pretty cheap examples even when factoring in the cost of a decent adapter.

It was interesting to see many names that have long since disappeared but nethertheless, due to the simplicity and production numbers of these primes...almost all gave decent results.

Some names ( Pentax, Olympus etc) are now in demand again and prices are higher....but are they necessarily better lenses? The place to ask is the ALT forum I guess, where people are well into matching older lenses to modern bodies.

Mar 10, 2014 at 07:01 AM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Canon Forum \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.