$8 Lens

[cdifoto]

Got it as a set of 2 lenses on eBay for $15.98 including shipping.

10D + Lentar 35mm f/3.5 @ f/4. Lomo Action applied.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/lentar35/2007-03-03-003.jpg

[RichNY]

Great shot. Don do you realize that at this rate you are going to have a full bag of glass where you've spent more money on the bag then the glass?:D

[cdifoto]

Great shot. Don do you realize that at this rate you are going to have a full bag of glass where you've spent more money on the bag then the glass?:D

No doubt. I have a $25 Lentar 28mm f/2.8 on the way. :eek:

And get this...the Lentar 135mm f/3.5 has as many aperture blades as the Meyer-Optik! :eek: :D :eek:

[Nickcanada]

great find! I think that is one of your best around the house shots.

[cdifoto]

Thanks Nick.

[RichNY]

While each lens has a slightly different bokeh, they all tell the same story- time to put down the camera and paint that mailbox:D

Where have you been having such great luck finding your recent lenses?

[cdifoto]

While each lens has a slightly different bokeh, they all tell the same story- time to put down the camera and paint that mailbox:D

Where have you been having such great luck finding your recent lenses?

eBay. This "set" was from a seller that didn't know what they had. The description was sparse and the pics were bad. I wasn't sure I could even mount them to my adapter but they were cheap enough to take a chance.

The $25 one on the way I'm not sure why it stayed so low. Opening bid was $19.99 so I bid $20 and no one else touched it. Pics were decent and the seller was a camera seller but not with huge feedback (good percentage, just a relatively low number).

[RichNY]

Don-Do you see anything that will compare favorably with my 85mm? I'd feel much better giving it up Monday if I had something to replace it with- not that the 70-200 is going to be a poor choice- just a heavy one.

[cdifoto]

Not really. I plan on keeping mine because it has both fast autofocus and is usable wide open. There's a Russian made Jupiter-9 which is 85mm f/2 but it's soft as can be wide open. Some say it's intentionally portrait-soft rather than mush-soft. Sharpens up by f/4 or so by most reports. Can be had for $115 plus shipping new or about $80 used. No autofocus though, just like all these screw mount lenses with adapters.

[Sungrazer]

I like that shot, Don. What's Lomo Action?

[cdifoto]

I like that shot, Don. What's Lomo Action?

Thanks.

Lomo:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=275545

[VTEC_EATER]

Thans kind of a cool effect. I think the British television show "TopGear" (see link below) uses effects similar to this in their show all the time. The high contrast, blown highlights, and vignetting really makes for "dramatic" effect on what would be a rather "boring" photo. No offense on the photograph at all, just commenting on the stylized post-processing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8KuetZuOAc

[michaelb]

What type of adapter do you use for these lenses Don and what is your favorite of these type of lenses thus far?......I many have to start looking for some of these lenses for experimentation purposes.....looks like fun!

[jamison55]

Fun stuff, man!

[cdifoto]

Thanks Jamie and VTEC. The shot was definitely boring, I know. It begged for the Lomo action though, IMHO and that made it worth keeping.

Mike I don't really have a favorite. I use an M42>EOS adapter from eBay. Cost me $18 including shipping. They're abundant on there. I'm gonna hafta get a K-mount adapter here sometime though cuz I was just offered a Miranda MS-1 film camera, 3 lenses, and 2 small flashes for the cost of shipping.

[cdifoto]

Here are a few more from this L killer glass. :)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/lentar35/2007-03-05-001.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/lentar35/2007-03-05-002.jpg

[FLiPMaRC]

Thanks.

Lomo:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=275545

:cool: Thank you very much. :)

[cdifoto]

No problem Flip.



The $25 Lentar 28mm f/2.8 showed up this afternoon. I haven't had a chance to shoot with it for real, but here are some snaps.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/lentar28/2007-03-05-008.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/lentar28/2007-03-05-014.jpg

[noyjimi]

pretty soon, we'll need a Lentar section here on dcrp, moderated by CDI :D

thanks for sharing, that's some good stuff

[cdifoto]

Thanks Noyj. It flares like a mofo but there's no hood and it's not coated either [as far as I know] so it's kind of expected. I like it enough that I might see about getting a hood for it.

[FLiPMaRC]

No problem Flip.

Beau Hudspeth's Lomo Effect (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=278899)
:) :D With CS2

Original
http://www.pbase.com/flipmarc/image/75301266/large.jpg

Lomo
http://www.pbase.com/flipmarc/image/75301267/large.jpg

Lomo2
http://www.pbase.com/flipmarc/image/75303215/large.jpg

[nqjudo]

Don,

I have to thank you for starting this thread. It sparked my interest to experiment with M42 mount lenses. I picked up an EOS-M42 adaptor and a Lentar 135mm f/3.5 for about 30$ total. The lens arrived today. I had a little trouble focusing as I don't have a focusing screen but overall I had a blast. It was a completely different pace taking my time and focusing manually. It felt like a different kind of photography altogether. It probably won't be my last M42 mount lens.

[cdifoto]

Is your Lentar 12 bladed? That's the one I have if it is! :D

For the price...or even for 5x the price...it's a great lens! Flares like a mofo though. :eek:

[nqjudo]

Yup, 12 blades indeed. Pretty sweet. I took about 50 shots with it today and I did get some flare on a few shots. Gotta get myself a focusing screen though. I found focusing pretty though. I'm going to see if I can pick up a fish eye on the cheap as well.

[cdifoto]

I tend to treat it like an f/4 or f/5.6 lens as far as sharpness goes. I figure I can't manually focus in the dark anyway so I might as well use it as a daylight lens and stop down. Not only does the sharpness improve, it also gives you a little more DOF to play with and therefore more keepers.

I treat my Meyer the same way. It's ok wide open but it comes into its own at f/4 and usually just stays there because of that.

I almost had a focus screen installed on the 30D but I'm glad I didn't since I sold it and moved on to 1D's. Focusing is easier with 'em, although still not ideal. I've got the split prism screen on my wishlist at B&H since they're easily interchangeable...just kinda waiting until I'm ready to throw an EF 1.4x and/or 2x Tcon into the order.

[fionndruinne]

Nice lookin' stuff. I like the idea of using old lenses, and they give some very unique results.

Could I get something similar that would be usable with my D40? I'm still a bit new to SLRs, so I don't know what exactly I need to look for. Any suggestions? I don't mind manual focus, of course, and wouldn't be bothered with messing around with metering as well.

[cdifoto]

Nice lookin' stuff. I like the idea of using old lenses, and they give some very unique results.

Could I get something similar that would be usable with my D40? I'm still a bit new to SLRs, so I don't know what exactly I need to look for. Any suggestions? I don't mind manual focus, of course, and wouldn't be bothered with messing around with metering as well.

Since metering is through the lens, it's no different than having a fully compatible lens attached. You do lose Aperture Priority mode though since there's no communication between camera and lens, therefore the camera has no way of knowing what aperture the lens is set at.

Go on eBay and look for a Nikon to M42 adapter to use standard screwmount lenses. You'd need a Pentax K to Nikon adapter if you want to use lenses with the Pentax K (bayonet) mount.

Adapters are cheap and so are lenses. Lots of fun and quality glass to be had. See some samples here (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30702). :)

[fionndruinne]

A M42 to Nikon F/AI mount is what I'd be looking for, correct? It's listed as compatible with D50 & D70 etc., so should work with the D40.

How do I work around the lack of aperture communication? Is there typically an aperture ring, then I set the aperture in camera to the same?

All of this lies outside my experience so far. But it sounds fun. :D

[cdifoto]

A M42 to Nikon F/AI mount is what I'd be looking for, correct? It's listed as compatible with D50 & D70 etc., so should work with the D40.

How do I work around the lack of aperture communication? Is there typically an aperture ring, then I set the aperture in camera to the same?

All of this lies outside my experience so far. But it sounds fun. :D

Yeah that's the right adapter. Aperture is controlled on the lens itself.

[fionndruinne]

Alright, snazzy!

[coldrain]

Nice lookin' stuff. I like the idea of using old lenses, and they give some very unique results.

Could I get something similar that would be usable with my D40? I'm still a bit new to SLRs, so I don't know what exactly I need to look for. Any suggestions? I don't mind manual focus, of course, and wouldn't be bothered with messing around with metering as well.
No, you can not do that on your D40. For whatever reason Nikon have thought of, you can NOT meter with older MF lenses mounted, not even when they are old Nikkor lenses.
On a Canon EOS or a Pentax (or and Olympus) the camera will just measure the light coming through, with whatever aperture you set.
With your Nikon D40 the camera will just refuse to meter, and you will have to use a separate light meter to know how to set shutter speeds/ISO/aperture.

The Nikon D200 and D2X(s) CAN meter with older Nikkor lenses. If they can with older Canon/M42/Pentax K-mount or whatever old lenses mounted with adapters is unknown to me. And why Nikon does not want you to meter with older lenses on a D40(X), D80, D70(s), D50 is also unknown to me.

Another reason maybe, why a D40 is less of a bargain as it seems to be? ;)

Oh, and the ironic thing is, that I can meter fine with an older Nikkor lens mounted via a Nikon -> EOS adapter on my EOS 350D, but you can not meter with the same lens on Nikon cameras except the 2 top models.
How is that for "backward lens compatibility"?

[fionndruinne]

Another reason maybe, why a D40 is less of a bargain as it seems to be?

No, because manual metering's not terribly hard. Shot-to-shot metering of the same subject won't require separate adjustment, usually, and you can get interesting results that auto-metering doesn't get.

[nqjudo]

Don - Yes, for sure I found focusing a lot easier using larger apertures. On a tripod, I would focus with the aperture wide open and then close it down for the shot. Another thing I noticed, at least in my case, was that focusing was easier in high contrast situations like the photo I posted. That was hand held. This has been a great experience and I guess it also debunks the belief of a few that you need a 1500$ lens on your camera to take a nice picture.

[coldrain]

No, because manual metering's not terribly hard. Shot-to-shot metering of the same subject won't require separate adjustment, usually, and you can get interesting results that auto-metering doesn't get.
It does require you to have a light meter.

To you nothing that the D40 lacks is a down side. In a way a bit odd.
I rather prefer lenses to also offer AF, and the camera to also offer some metering. To a camera that lack that, that is.

[fionndruinne]

It's called a willingness to work with limitations. It's a result of growing up without a whole lot, and relying on ingenuity. This is what makes me a little different from today's consumer: I'm willing to let what I do be shaped to some extent by what options and limitations are available to me, rather than wanting everything possible. I don't have the mindset that every single feature is something I need to have. That's very prevalent these days - just go read the Cnet forums, for one.

Besides, those who work within a set of boundaries dictated by their equipment have turned out some of the best work I've ever seen. Too many options isn't always a good thing.

[cwphoto]

That shot is a work of art Don. Your experiments with cheap lenses is making me feel very sheepish indeed. :o

[cdifoto]

That shot is a work of art Don. Your experiments with cheap lenses is making me feel very sheepish indeed. :o

Baaaaaaah.