Lenses that make you WOW! for $50 or less

[venchka]

froyd's poll of lenses for $500 with high WOW factor made me think about my own motley assortment of lenses accumulated over the ages with little or no thought. A quick mental inventory brings up a rather large number of lenses that I paid little or nothing for.

Lenses I got for free or no more than $50:

Rangefinder lenses:
Konica I with 50/3.5 Hexar lens. Dad bought this in Japan in 1950. I'm still using it. Fabulous lens.
Canon 35mm/2.8 LTM. Tiny. Robust. Unique character. A keeper.
Nikkor-S.C 50/1.4 LTM. A legend. This lens needs no further praise from me.

Speed Graphic lenses. All for free so far.
Kodak Ektar 127mm/4.7. Classic lens on the Speed Graphic press camera. Enough coverage on a press camera. Roughly equal to 35mm-40mm on a 35mm camera. Small. Sharp.
Voigtlander & Sohn Collinear II 7 7/8"/5.4 brass barrell. 100 year old beauty. Big. Heavy. A bokeh machine wide open. Plenty sharp stopped down.
Bausch & Lomb Rapid Rectilinear about 150mm/6.3 lens cells. Another oldie but goodie from around 1913. I am currently sharing the 127mm Ektar shutter with these cells. I'm looking for a shutter and lens board.
Tominon 105mm/4.5 macro lens. From an old Polaroid MP-4 copy camera. Decently wide on 4x5. Sharp up close and personal. Sharp enough at infinity too.

35mm SLR
Canon FD-BL 50/1.4 S.S.C. Another classic. Sharp. Sharp. Nice bokeh.
Canon FD 24/2.8 Lovely, small wide angle. One of my favorite focal lengths.

Bring on your nifty thrifty lenses.

[zuikologist]

Pentax SMC Takumar 50/1.4 - probably no introduction needed.

Tamron Adaptall 90/2.5 old version - imho very underrated, lovely bokeh

Canon LTM 50/1.8 black and silver - a great all rounder with excellent build quality

[ferider]

Olympus XA. Got mine for US 20.

[Keith]

The infamous Olympus lens cap ... the 50mm F1.8 Zuiko.

Buy one for $25.00 to $35.00 any time it seems and very under rated.

I have a Summaron 35mm f3.5 that came in a box of bits and pieces and owed me nothing ... it cost me $50.00 to get it CLA'd and it's a real gem for classic black and white on a screwmount!

[feenej]

Rokkor-PF MC 135 f2.8; Rokkor-PF MC 100mm f2.5; Minolta MD 35mm f2.8. Minolta Celtic 28mm f2.8. Only $8, $8, $16, and about $50, but I'd put them against any 35mm format lens out there. Never thought I'd be quite this po', but I still got high-grade optics.

[NickTrop]

Pentax SMC Takumar 50/1.4 - probably no introduction needed.

Ditto that... Best value, love mine. Shame it's on an SLR.

Also, the lens on virtually any classic fixed lens rangefinder. I also hear consistent raves about the Helios 103 and Jupiter 8. From personal experience the Sigma 24mm Pentax K is great, cheap, sharp (Photodo 4.4) wide.

Lots of 50's - including Chinons and "Sears" brands, and Ricohs.

Konica - in general, highly underrated lens maker. Pentax too. Also - lots of great portrait lenses in the 100mm range that go for pennies.

[bcostin]

For SLRs, the Auto Vivitar Wide-Angle 35mm f2.8 is nice. Sharp, nice bokeh, and available cheap in lots of mounts (mine is M42.) The Super Takumar 35/2 is also very nice, and a bit faster. Of course almost any Takumar lens is a pretty good bet.

I'll second the FD24/2.8. I found one at a good prince in ebay a couple months ago and it's spent a lot of time on my AL-1 since then.

[Brian Sweeney]

J-8 and I61L/D.

[payasam]

I-61 L/D, without a doubt. I also got, for around $50, a somewhat battered but clean J-12. An example of its work is attached.

[Ronald_H]

The lens on my my Canonet GIII. 20 euros and a camera attached to it for free!

[rover]

Rokkor-PF MC 135 f2.8; Rokkor-PF MC 100mm f2.5; Minolta MD 35mm f2.8. Minolta Celtic 28mm f2.8. Only $8, $8, $16, and about $50, but I'd put them against any 35mm format lens out there. Never thought I'd be quite this po', but I still got high-grade optics.

$50 or less, yes, that for me would be a bunch of MC and MD Rokkors, all very very good period, regardless of how little they cost now-a-days.

Real wow though, the J8 to me is a super little lens.

[robin a]

I-61 L/D, without a doubt. I also got, for around $50, a somewhat battered but clean J-12. An example of its work is attached.
That's a beautiful photograph.............Robin

[palec]

Elmarit 24mm for 50 bucks would make a big WOW... but only in my fantasy.
Sorry couldn't resist after finding Nikkor 50/1.4 in the list :)

[lZr]

I got my Indstar 61 L/D with Bessa R as kit lens

[wilt]

J8. Zuiko 50/1.8 and 1.4. Color-Minotar 35/2.8 (with camera included in the price).

[radiocemetery]

I vote for the Color Skopars that came attached to my Voigtlanders. Ditto on the Super Takumars that I got with my Spotmatic.

[julio1fer]

In fixed lens rangefinders, any of the small Olympus 35 series lenses are outstanding. The G-Zuiko in the 35SP gets my vote.

In rangefinder lenses, I like the Helios-103 (good reason to get a Kiev) and the Jupiters-8, 12 and 11. The I-61 L/D is also outstanding.

In SLR lenses, I believe that the best deals now are in old Canon glass. Pentax are excellent as well, but compatibility with their digital SLRs is pushing prices up.

[ChrisPlatt]

SMC Pentax-M 50/2.0 (1.7 if you're lucky)
XR Rikenon (or Rikenon-P) 35/2.8

[ChrisPlatt]

Pentax SMC Takumar 50/1.4
Tamron Adaptall 90/2.5 old version
Canon LTM 50/1.8 black and silver

Please tell me where to find any one of these for fifty bucks!

Chris

[OldNick]

I would agree with the recommendations for the Pentax SMC Takumar 50/1.4 and the Jupiter 12. While I paid a little more that $50 for each, I was selective and not shopping for bargains. Both lenses do a fine job.

Jim N.

[David Murphy]

Pancolar 50mm F1.8 for Exakta (sometimes can be had for about $50 with effort). Olympus 50mm F1.8 (about $20-30)

[Krosya]

All this is a bit misleading - I would imagine this whole thread should be about what anyone can actually buy for $50, not some exotic finds. For all we know someone could have found a black M6 with black Summilux for $50 on some garage sale, but it's not typical.
NO what can one really get for under $50 that will make you go WOW? I'm afraid nothing other than some russian glass like Industars/jupiters, which are pretty good in some cases.

[David Murphy]

I think this thread is good fun. Another one that can be sometimes had for about $50 with a little effort is the Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm F2.8 for Exakta or Praktina from the fifites or early 60's -- simply amazing. The M42 versions command more money.

[David Murphy]

Two more: Nikkor 50mm F2 H-C for Nikon F mount (non-AI) - killer sharpness - about $40-60 for a really good one. Also the 35mm F2.8 NAI for Nikon F.

[ferider]

One lens that has given me reliably very sharp and great results is the Zuiko 28/3.5. And it can be had for much less than US 50, usually.

Roland.

[David Murphy]

Oh yes I agree about the 28/3.5 Zuiko -- a great bargain -- just as sharp as the 28/2.8 which cost about 2.5X as much

[ampguy]

for RF: I-22, and I-50.

SLR: virtually all used K-mount lenses, including Chinon 50/1.9, 28/2.8 JC Penny, M42 18/3.4 Sigma (or was it Tokina or Tamron, I sold it).

Slightly above, but not much more is a Vivitar 35/1.9 in M42 mount.

[sakebalboa]

the yashinon 45mm 1.7 that comes with a camera attached to it

[shadowfox]

Wayne, what a fun and refreshing thread. After reading for the umpteenth time questions like Biogon or Summilux, my head starts to hurt :D

Here's my list:

On RF:
*Any* Zuiko-bearing RF that you can get for fifty bucks will have no trouble wow-ing anyone with decent taste.
Fed 50/3.5.
As said frequently, any good copy of Jupiter whatever, I have J8, J12, and J9.
Konica C35, this little guy has that special f2.8 lens that is really special.

SLR:
*Any* Zuiko that you can get for fifty bucks will have no trouble wow-ing anyone with decent taste :D
Konica AR 50mm (both 1.4 and 1.7 will wow you).
Chinon 50mm/1.9 will wow you.
And the stable of CZ Jena M42 optics like the Biotar 58/2, some flektogon on a good day can be had for almost fifty bucks :p
Don't overlook the super cute Industar 50-2 (clone of Tessar 50/3.5).
SMC Takumar 200/4 is quite awesome.
Tamron 28/2.5, it's very good.
Lastly, when you see a blue moon and you held your gaze just at the right angle on the monitor when you bid on the 'bay, you can get a Zeiss Planar T* 50/1.7 for fifty bucks, now that lens will wow anyone. period.

[ChrisN]

Did anyone mention the Helios 44-M? It's a copy of the Zeiss Biotar, 58mm f/2. Pretty common in M42 mount.

[payasam]

Thank you, Robin.

Back in 1974 I picked up a cheap but remarkably good Angenieux 28 mm, pre-set, for the Exacta that was my main camera. In today's money it would probably cost more than $50, though.

[rbiemer]

Did anyone mention the Helios 44-M? It's a copy of the Zeiss Biotar, 58mm f/2. Pretty common in M42 mount.

I haven't used the Helios 44 but I did buy a not too pretty( but very good glass) 58mm/f2 Biotar for a bit less than $50.
Rob

[owenreading]

As a student with a photography habit I've picked up some gems for very little:
- Olympus 35RC: dirt cheap because there's millions about and stopped down this lens is superb. It amazes me every time I make a print. 8x10 and larger darkroom prints are pin sharp and it's seemingly impossible to make it flare. I can't believe how good it is. Much better than my Canonet. I haven't tried the SP lens, but I believe it's even better.
- Pentax SMC-M 28/2.8 (K-mount SLR lens) - picked up for £25 (~$50) in mint unused condition and it's the best lens I have. Consistently sharp across the frame, flare-free and lovely to use. In fact it's the only lens that keeps me using my Pentax SLR.

[Florian1234]

As a student with a photography habit

Same here, being a student with a limited budget.

So I got a Jupiter 8 yesterday. I think I made a very good deal. The first results will be here end of this week, about thursday, I think.
I will post them in my flickr gallery then.

Also waiting for a J-9, which will hopefully be a good one, since I read about some to have flaws.

[shadowfox]

Did anyone mention the Helios 44-M? It's a copy of the Zeiss Biotar, 58mm f/2. Pretty common in M42 mount.


Agree with Chris, although the Biotar itself is not that expensive, it's a good bit less commonly found than the Helios 44. I don't have personal experiences with it but if it's really a good copy of the Biotar, I'd say that it's pretty much a given that this lens is one of the best values out there.

[jimi-the-jive]

Tokina 28mm 2.8 for a canon fd slr, 50 euro and the most amazingly pin sharp lens for something that was allegedly used constantly for 15 years, great d.o.f. brilliant for street photography,

also a polar 80-200 f4 for the same camera €6.

helios 53 f1.8, €40 with a kiev 4 attached

ps i'm also a broke student,