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prime vintage lenses for portraits/street photo


efem
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I'd second the Olympus 24 f2.8 or the Canon nFD if you're on a budget.

 

As mentioned the 25mm Contax is the weakest in that line and it's more like 26mm – all the others are great, but not cheap any more.

 

The better Minolta has a 55m filter thread, not 52.

 

 

I would still call most Contax glass "cheap". The 24/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2.8, 50/1.7, 85/2.8, 135/2.8 and 300/4 all sell for 100 (if you're lucky) to 150/200€. A 28-85 or a 35-70, that are sharper, even for Zeiss published MTFs, than the corresponding fixed focal lengths, go for 250 / 350€, as the 18/2.8, 180/2.8 or the 80-200. (Btw, I haven't had a chance to try them side by side, but from the images I've seen I have a very strong suspicion that the 28-85 Contax could mop the floor with many copies of the 24-70 Zeiss FE).

 

The really expensive ones are the 100-300 and the 35 and 85 f/1.4, or exotic glass like the macros, the fisheye or the 21mm. (with the exception of the 21, now that we have the Loxia, all still wort the price IMO)

 

About the 55mm filter thread: oops...  :rolleyes:

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The 60mm Macro can still be had for a reasonable price and it's a fantastic lens for portrait too. I second that most of the slower Contax lenses are great value for the money, but if you're really on a budget…

 

BTW, the 28-85mm does mop the floor with the 24-70, but that's an easy one. That lens doesn't really deserve a Zeiss label – at least the two I tested. I stayed with the Sony 28-70 'kit' lens as a cheap AF zoom for when I need it.

 

Sorry to correct you again, I think there never was a 24mm, only the 25 (which is more like 26mm from careful testing against a few other lenses). It's not really bad, if I say "weakest in the Contax line" that's still a very good lens. But landscapers need to know that it needs to be stopped down quite bit to get sharp on the edges. The Oly is sharper on the sides from WO. In the center the 25mm still has that Zeiss 3D feeling.

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The 60mm Macro can still be had for a reasonable price and it's a fantastic lens for portrait too. I second that most of the slower Contax lenses are great value for the money, but if you're really on a budget…

 

BTW, the 28-85mm does mop the floor with the 24-70, but that's an easy one. That lens doesn't really deserve a Zeiss label – at least the two I tested. I stayed with the Sony 28-70 'kit' lens as a cheap AF zoom for when I need it.

 

Sorry to correct you again, I think there never was a 24mm, only the 25 (which is more like 26mm from careful testing against a few other lenses). It's not really bad, if I say "weakest in the Contax line" that's still a very good lens. But landscapers need to know that it needs to be stopped down quite bit to get sharp on the edges. The Oly is sharper on the sides from WO. In the center the 25mm still has that Zeiss 3D feeling.

 

 

Today I don't seem to be able to get my numbers straight... :)

 

I wasn't particularly impressed with the 25 (AE version) when I shot it on a Canon 5D mk II, but from what I've read the MM version should be improved and another guy used it on the A7r and it was pretty great (can't find the link anymore, sorry), especially like you pointed out stopped down a bit to f/8 or f/11.

 

As for the 60, I have one of the older version (1:1) and while a tad heavy it is extremely versatile and blistering sharp. For quite a while after I bought it it was glued to my camera.

 

I really wish Sony or Zeiss hurry to put out a few more slow-ish AF lenses for landscapers. Not just for the price, but because I really don't want to carry a beast of a 1.4 lens when I already know I will be shooting it at f/11. The 28/2 is a right step in that direction, but we need at the very least IMO a reasonably priced 85/90/100mm and a compact 300mm.

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I have tested my old Olympus lenses and found the 35mm f/2.8 to produce excellent results.  I also have had good results from the 100mm f/2.8, but there are very good reviews of the 100mm f/2.  The f/2.8 lenses are affordable, the f/2 will be more expensive and not so easy to find, but at 35mm (the "ideal" street lens?) shallow DoF is irrelevant and at 100mm, 2.8 will produce a nice, shallow DoF.

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There is a Minolat 85/f2 which I use in combination with a 35/f2.8.

Quite sharp wide open, OK with flare, good contrast (but no Zeiss). Only 6 baldes, so use it wide open in backlit situations. Fine little lens if you can get one!

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+1 for the Oly 24mm f/2.8 and the Minolta 100mm f/2.5.  Both small, sharp and contrasty.

 

For 85mm, the C/Y 85mm f/2.8 is a gem.  Another option for 85mm is the Zeiss ZM 85mm f/4; this lens is small but built like a rock and razor, razor sharp.

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I used to have a Nikon 105f2.5 AIS some friend of mine gave me for a week. The lens was brilliant, but not ideal for low light (at this focal length, no IBIS in low light makes it hard to get sharp pictures), and quite hard to focus at f2.5. Plus, I didn't like having to press a button to magnify each time I had to focus...

 

However, it felt really sturdy, though small for the focal length, and I was a bit sad not to be able to keep it. A great lens, for sure !

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  • 4 weeks later...

The 60mm Macro can still be had for a reasonable price and it's a fantastic lens for portrait too. I second that most of the slower Contax lenses are great value for the money, but if you're really on a budget…

 

BTW, the 28-85mm does mop the floor with the 24-70, but that's an easy one. That lens doesn't really deserve a Zeiss label – at least the two I tested. I stayed with the Sony 28-70 'kit' lens as a cheap AF zoom for when I need it.

 

Sorry to correct you again, I think there never was a 24mm, only the 25 (which is more like 26mm from careful testing against a few other lenses). It's not really bad, if I say "weakest in the Contax line" that's still a very good lens. But landscapers need to know that it needs to be stopped down quite bit to get sharp on the edges. The Oly is sharper on the sides from WO. In the center the 25mm still has that Zeiss 3D feeling.

 

Indeed the 28-85 is a winner. I gt it to complement my selection of primes and must confess that I rarely take it off my A7II these days...

10575386_686359371507090_17290829683950212671699_686366248173069_9095719821770651929688_685025144973846_1163241723082574

12132470_686379888171705_429956653657293

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  • 2 weeks later...

The sunny weather in Hamburg provided an excellent opportunity to see whether the A7II with the CY Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 80-200 can be put to use in shooting situations where the subjects move faster than models or where there is a spontaneous opportunity...

13122916_711130699029957_851541529084399

my "hit rate" has room for improvement but I am blown away by the sharpness that this lens can deliver if and when I get the focus right

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The sunny weather in Hamburg provided an excellent opportunity to see whether the A7II with the CY Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 80-200 can be put to use in shooting situations where the subjects move faster than models or where there is a spontaneous opportunity...

13122916_711130699029957_851541529084399

my "hit rate" has room for improvement but I am blown away by the sharpness that this lens can deliver if and when I get the focus right

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  • 4 years later...
On 1/20/2016 at 6:33 PM, nomad said:

Congrats! Actually, the difference between MMG or MMJ is a myth, it would have been as good (and I'm writing this as a German).

But it's wonderful you've got such a great sample. BTW, if your 85mm f1.4 was that soft even at f4, it might have had some not very visible dirt inside.

contax planar 85/1.4 f2 sharp sharp, beautiful rendering, smooth transaction... f1.4 a little glowing , vitage character.. 

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