Any recommendations for a vintage 35mm full-frame lens for Sony?
Kevner wrote:
I guess it depends on how vintage you want to go. I have had and have the following:
M42 Mount
Fujinon 35mm EBC - Excellent lens, should have kept it.
Mamiya 35mm SX - requires the correct adapter otherwise you have to mod the lens. Also sold under Rollei brand
Pentax 35mm 3.5 SMC - ok, but not great.
Canon FD
35mm SSC Concave front - excellent lens, is discolored and requires a little extra work in post.
C/Y Mount
Contax 35mm (not Zeiss) - better lens than expected. Sold to purchase another lens. Regret selling
OM - 35mm 2.8. Ok, nothing special
Kodak Retina (DKL Mount) - 35mm Curtagon - Lots of character, but never gets very sharp.
My suggestion would be to get an M42 mount adapter and go from there. Quite a few of the "character" lenses can be found in that mount and even though prices have risen quite a bit can be found for less than new lenses.
One final suggestion. It's not 35mm, but I have a copy of the Voigtlander 40mm Heliar collapsable lens that requires the Voigtländer M to E adapter. It's one of my favorite lenses and has that vintage look I think you are after. I don't have any experience with the M mount he liars, but this might be an option.
Thank you for the suggestions, do you remember which aperture the fujinon lens you liked a lot was? I have an m42 adaptor already trying out the helios.
I'm tempted to pick up that OM 35/2.8 which you said wasn't all that special just becuase it's quite cheap and might give me an idea, plus the size seems reasonable...
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Yogifi wrote:
what I'm hoping for currently which is like a walk-around street lens that I can use on a digital body but give me a quite authentic film look without too much difficulty in post.
I am absolutely convinced that it is completely pointless to search for a lens that makes a digital photograph look like an analog one. It simply doesn't work, at least not without skillful image editing. Films have completely different gradation curves than digitally generated image files.
I appreciate that and I know it's not going to be fully authentic, I just want to get a little closer, see if it's worth the trade-off. I'll try! I haven't tested extensively but with the 35/f1.4 AIS and the mir24-h they've felt not too far off. The mir24h just isn't great at infinity.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
35 lux pre-asph (very vintage)
Pentax 31/1.8 (light vintage)
Pentax M 35/2 (very vintage)
MS Optics 35/1.4 (moderate to heavy vintage)
MS Optics 36/1.3 (very vintage)
CY 35/1.4 (moderate vintage)
Simera 35/1.5 (light vintage)
Always wanted to try the Minolta 35/1.8–looks to be moderate to heavy vintage.
The new Brighten Star 35/1.4 is $200 and looks very vintage.
Thanks for the suggestions, will take a look at them properly.
The build of the birghten star looks nice. I also want that minolta as I think it's smaller than the nikon. Just hard to find in good condition, at least from my search today.
The pre-asph lux I've seen compared but on film to the Nikon 35/1.4 AIS and I bet it would be nice but outside of my budget for this experiment The nikon I justified with actually using it with the nikon fm2 film camera.
Just might be nice to have a digital option for when I want to make things a bit easier on myself when shooting.. and harder in post.
Any recommendations for a vintage 35mm full-frame lens for Sony?
Kevner wrote:
I guess it depends on how vintage you want to go. I have had and have the following:
M42 Mount
Fujinon 35mm EBC - Excellent lens, should have kept it.
Mamiya 35mm SX - requires the correct adapter otherwise you have to mod the lens. Also sold under Rollei brand
Pentax 35mm 3.5 SMC - ok, but not great.
Canon FD
35mm SSC Concave front - excellent lens, is discolored and requires a little extra work in post.
C/Y Mount
Contax 35mm (not Zeiss) - better lens than expected. Sold to purchase another lens. Regret selling
OM - 35mm 2.8. Ok, nothing special
Kodak Retina (DKL Mount) - 35mm Curtagon - Lots of character, but never gets very sharp.
My suggestion would be to get an M42 mount adapter and go from there. Quite a few of the "character" lenses can be found in that mount and even though prices have risen quite a bit can be found for less than new lenses.
One final suggestion. It's not 35mm, but I have a copy of the Voigtlander 40mm Heliar collapsable lens that requires the Voigtländer M to E adapter. It's one of my favorite lenses and has that vintage look I think you are after. I don't have any experience with the M mount he liars, but this might be an option.
Thank you for the suggestions, do you remember which aperture the fujinon lens you liked a lot was? I have an m42 adaptor already trying out the helios.
I'm tempted to pick up that OM 35/2.8 which you said wasn't all that special just becuase it's quite cheap and might give me an idea, plus the size seems reasonable...
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Yogifi wrote:
what I'm hoping for currently which is like a walk-around street lens that I can use on a digital body but give me a quite authentic film look without too much difficulty in post.
I am absolutely convinced that it is completely pointless to search for a lens that makes a digital photograph look like an analog one. It simply doesn't work, at least not without skillful image editing. Films have completely different gradation curves than digitally generated image files.
I appreciate that and I know it's not going to be fully authentic, I just want to get a little closer, see if it's worth the trade-off. I'll try!
nehemiahphoto wrote:
35 lux pre-asph (very vintage)
Pentax 31/1.8 (light vintage)
Pentax M 35/2 (very vintage)
MS Optics 35/1.4 (moderate to heavy vintage)
MS Optics 36/1.3 (very vintage)
CY 35/1.4 (moderate vintage)
Simera 35/1.5 (light vintage)
Always wanted to try the Minolta 35/1.8–looks to be moderate to heavy vintage.
The new Brighten Star 35/1.4 is $200 and looks very vintage.
Thanks for the suggestions, will take a look at them properly.
The build of the birghten star looks nice. I also want that minolta as I think it's smaller than the nikon. Just hard to find in good condition, at least from my search today.
The pre-asph lux I've seen compared but on film to the Nikon 35/1.4 AIS and I bet it would be nice but outside of my budget for this experiment The nikon I justified with actually using it with the nikon fm2 film camera.
Just might be nice to have a digital option for when I want to make things a bit easier on myself when shooting.. and harder in post.
Any recommendations for a vintage 35mm full-frame lens for Sony?
Kevner wrote:
I guess it depends on how vintage you want to go. I have had and have the following:
M42 Mount
Fujinon 35mm EBC - Excellent lens, should have kept it.
Mamiya 35mm SX - requires the correct adapter otherwise you have to mod the lens. Also sold under Rollei brand
Pentax 35mm 3.5 SMC - ok, but not great.
Canon FD
35mm SSC Concave front - excellent lens, is discolored and requires a little extra work in post.
C/Y Mount
Contax 35mm (not Zeiss) - better lens than expected. Sold to purchase another lens. Regret selling
OM - 35mm 2.8. Ok, nothing special
Kodak Retina (DKL Mount) - 35mm Curtagon - Lots of character, but never gets very sharp.
My suggestion would be to get an M42 mount adapter and go from there. Quite a few of the "character" lenses can be found in that mount and even though prices have risen quite a bit can be found for less than new lenses.
One final suggestion. It's not 35mm, but I have a copy of the Voigtlander 40mm Heliar collapsable lens that requires the Voigtländer M to E adapter. It's one of my favorite lenses and has that vintage look I think you are after. I don't have any experience with the M mount he liars, but this might be an option.
Thank you for the suggestions, do you remember which aperture the fujinon lens you liked a lot was? I have an m42 adaptor already trying out the helios.
I'm tempted to pick up that OM 35/2.8 which you said wasn't all that special just becuase it's quite cheap and might give me an idea, plus the size seems reasonable...
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Yogifi wrote:
what I'm hoping for currently which is like a walk-around street lens that I can use on a digital body but give me a quite authentic film look without too much difficulty in post.
I am absolutely convinced that it is completely pointless to search for a lens that makes a digital photograph look like an analog one. It simply doesn't work, at least not without skillful image editing. Films have completely different gradation curves than digitally generated image files.
I appreciate that and I know it's not going to be fully authentic, I just want to get a little closer, see if it's worth the trade-off. I'll try!
nehemiahphoto wrote:
35 lux pre-asph (very vintage)
Pentax 31/1.8 (light vintage)
Pentax M 35/2 (very vintage)
MS Optics 35/1.4 (moderate to heavy vintage)
MS Optics 36/1.3 (very vintage)
CY 35/1.4 (moderate vintage)
Simera 35/1.5 (light vintage)
Always wanted to try the Minolta 35/1.8–looks to be moderate to heavy vintage.
The new Brighten Star 35/1.4 is $200 and looks very vintage.
Thanks for the suggestions, will take a look at them properly.
The build of the birghten star looks nice. I also want that minolta as I think it's smaller than the nikon. Just hard to find in good condition, at least from my search today.
The pre-asph lux I've seen compared but on film to the Nikon 35/1.4 AIS and I bet it would be nice but outside of my budget for this experiment The nikon I got to use with the fm2n. Just might be nice to have a digital option for when I want to make things a bit easier on myself when shooting.. and harder in post.
Any recommendations for a vintage 35mm full-frame lens for Sony?
Kevner wrote:
I guess it depends on how vintage you want to go. I have had and have the following:
M42 Mount
Fujinon 35mm EBC - Excellent lens, should have kept it.
Mamiya 35mm SX - requires the correct adapter otherwise you have to mod the lens. Also sold under Rollei brand
Pentax 35mm 3.5 SMC - ok, but not great.
Canon FD
35mm SSC Concave front - excellent lens, is discolored and requires a little extra work in post.
C/Y Mount
Contax 35mm (not Zeiss) - better lens than expected. Sold to purchase another lens. Regret selling
OM - 35mm 2.8. Ok, nothing special
Kodak Retina (DKL Mount) - 35mm Curtagon - Lots of character, but never gets very sharp.
My suggestion would be to get an M42 mount adapter and go from there. Quite a few of the "character" lenses can be found in that mount and even though prices have risen quite a bit can be found for less than new lenses.
One final suggestion. It's not 35mm, but I have a copy of the Voigtlander 40mm Heliar collapsable lens that requires the Voigtländer M to E adapter. It's one of my favorite lenses and has that vintage look I think you are after. I don't have any experience with the M mount he liars, but this might be an option.
Thank you for the suggestions, do you remember which aperture the fujinon lens you liked a lot was? I have an m42 adaptor already trying out the helios.
I'm tempted to pick up that OM 35/2.8 which you said wasn't all that special just becuase it's quite cheap and might give me an idea, plus the size seems reasonable...
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Yogifi wrote:
what I'm hoping for currently which is like a walk-around street lens that I can use on a digital body but give me a quite authentic film look without too much difficulty in post.
I am absolutely convinced that it is completely pointless to search for a lens that makes a digital photograph look like an analog one. It simply doesn't work, at least not without skillful image editing. Films have completely different gradation curves than digitally generated image files.
I appreciate that and I know it's not going to be fully authentic, I just want to get a little closer, see if it's worth the trade-off. I'll try!
nehemiahphoto wrote:
35 lux pre-asph (very vintage)
Pentax 31/1.8 (light vintage)
Pentax M 35/2 (very vintage)
MS Optics 35/1.4 (moderate to heavy vintage)
MS Optics 36/1.3 (very vintage)
CY 35/1.4 (moderate vintage)
Simera 35/1.5 (light vintage)
Always wanted to try the Minolta 35/1.8–looks to be moderate to heavy vintage.
The new Brighten Star 35/1.4 is $200 and looks very vintage.
Thanks for the suggestions, will take a look at them properly.
The build of the birghten star looks nice. I also want that minolta as I think it's smaller than the nikon. Just hard to find in good condition, at least from my search today.
The pre-asph lux I've seen compared but on film to the 35/1.4 and I bet it would be nice but outside of my budget for this experiment
Any recommendations for a vintage 35mm full-frame lens for Sony?
Kevner wrote:
I guess it depends on how vintage you want to go. I have had and have the following:
M42 Mount
Fujinon 35mm EBC - Excellent lens, should have kept it.
Mamiya 35mm SX - requires the correct adapter otherwise you have to mod the lens. Also sold under Rollei brand
Pentax 35mm 3.5 SMC - ok, but not great.
Canon FD
35mm SSC Concave front - excellent lens, is discolored and requires a little extra work in post.
C/Y Mount
Contax 35mm (not Zeiss) - better lens than expected. Sold to purchase another lens. Regret selling
OM - 35mm 2.8. Ok, nothing special
Kodak Retina (DKL Mount) - 35mm Curtagon - Lots of character, but never gets very sharp.
My suggestion would be to get an M42 mount adapter and go from there. Quite a few of the "character" lenses can be found in that mount and even though prices have risen quite a bit can be found for less than new lenses.
One final suggestion. It's not 35mm, but I have a copy of the Voigtlander 40mm Heliar collapsable lens that requires the Voigtländer M to E adapter. It's one of my favorite lenses and has that vintage look I think you are after. I don't have any experience with the M mount he liars, but this might be an option.
Thank you for the suggestions, do you remember which aperture the fujinon lens you liked a lot was? I have an m42 adaptor already trying out the helios.
I'm tempted to pick up that OM 35/2.8 which you said wasn't all that special just becuase it's quite cheap and might give me an idea, plus the size seems reasonable...
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Yogifi wrote:
what I'm hoping for currently which is like a walk-around street lens that I can use on a digital body but give me a quite authentic film look without too much difficulty in post.
I am absolutely convinced that it is completely pointless to search for a lens that makes a digital photograph look like an analog one. It simply doesn't work, at least not without skillful image editing. Films have completely different gradation curves than digitally generated image files.
I appreciate that and I know it's not going to be fully authentic, I just want to get a little closer, see if it's worth the trade-off.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
35 lux pre-asph (very vintage)
Pentax 31/1.8 (light vintage)
Pentax M 35/2 (very vintage)
MS Optics 35/1.4 (moderate to heavy vintage)
MS Optics 36/1.3 (very vintage)
CY 35/1.4 (moderate vintage)
Simera 35/1.5 (light vintage)
Always wanted to try the Minolta 35/1.8–looks to be moderate to heavy vintage.
The new Brighten Star 35/1.4 is $200 and looks very vintage.
Thanks for the suggestions, will take a look at them properly.
The build of the birghten star looks nice. I also want that minolta as I think it's smaller than the nikon. Just hard to find in good condition, at least from my search today.
The pre-asph lux I've seen compared but on film to the 35/1.4 and I bet it would be nice but outside of my budget for this experiment
Any recommendations for a vintage 35mm full-frame lens for Sony?
Kevner wrote:
I guess it depends on how vintage you want to go. I have had and have the following:
M42 Mount
Fujinon 35mm EBC - Excellent lens, should have kept it.
Mamiya 35mm SX - requires the correct adapter otherwise you have to mod the lens. Also sold under Rollei brand
Pentax 35mm 3.5 SMC - ok, but not great.
Canon FD
35mm SSC Concave front - excellent lens, is discolored and requires a little extra work in post.
C/Y Mount
Contax 35mm (not Zeiss) - better lens than expected. Sold to purchase another lens. Regret selling
OM - 35mm 2.8. Ok, nothing special
Kodak Retina (DKL Mount) - 35mm Curtagon - Lots of character, but never gets very sharp.
My suggestion would be to get an M42 mount adapter and go from there. Quite a few of the "character" lenses can be found in that mount and even though prices have risen quite a bit can be found for less than new lenses.
One final suggestion. It's not 35mm, but I have a copy of the Voigtlander 40mm Heliar collapsable lens that requires the Voigtländer M to E adapter. It's one of my favorite lenses and has that vintage look I think you are after. I don't have any experience with the M mount he liars, but this might be an option.
Thank you for the suggestions, do you remember which aperture the fujinon lens you liked a lot was? I have an m42 adaptor already trying out the helios.
I'm tempted to pick up that OM 35/2.8 which you said wasn't all that special just becuase it's quite cheap and might give me an idea, plus the size seems reasonable...
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Yogifi wrote:
what I'm hoping for currently which is like a walk-around street lens that I can use on a digital body but give me a quite authentic film look without too much difficulty in post.
I am absolutely convinced that it is completely pointless to search for a lens that makes a digital photograph look like an analog one. It simply doesn't work, at least not without skillful image editing. Films have completely different gradation curves than digitally generated image files.
I appreciate that and I know it's not going to be fully authentic, I just want to get a little closer, see if it's worth the trade-off.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
35 lux pre-asph (very vintage)
Pentax 31/1.8 (light vintage)
Pentax M 35/2 (very vintage)
MS Optics 35/1.4 (moderate to heavy vintage)
MS Optics 36/1.3 (very vintage)
CY 35/1.4 (moderate vintage)
Simera 35/1.5 (light vintage)
Always wanted to try the Minolta 35/1.8–looks to be moderate to heavy vintage.
The new Brighten Star 35/1.4 is $200 and looks very vintage.
Thanks for the suggestions, will take a look at them properly. The build of the birghten star looks nice. I also want that minolta as I think it's smaller than the nikon. Just hard to find in good condition, at least from my search today.
Feb 20, 2026 at 02:12 PM
Previous versions of Yogifi's message #16990426 « Any recommendations for a vintage 35mm full-frame lens for Sony? »
The nikon I justified with actually using it with the nikon fm2 film camera.