• Gear discussion thread v. "I own more nifty fifties than cameras they fit"
    2,522 replies, posted
I cannot take cameras that have a touchscreen seriously
[QUOTE=latin_geek;34648682]I cannot take cameras that have a touchscreen seriously[/QUOTE] its actually really really handy on my lumix g2
Hi guys, I'm thinking of buying a vintage lens or two for my Nikon D3100. I don't use it enough to justify spending £150 on a new lens, and I've seen on ebay that I can get a 50mm 1.8 M42 lens and an adapter all for under £30. Is this a good idea? Thnks
Its what I would do, in fact it is what I'm going to do if I get a DSLR.
[QUOTE=communistcat;34662000]Its what I would do, in fact it is what I'm going to do if I get a DSLR.[/QUOTE] cool, thanks Is there anything I should bear in mind? Like, any limitations of using that kind of setup?
[QUOTE=Alcapwne;34662011]cool, thanks Is there anything I should bear in mind? Like, any limitations of using that kind of setup?[/QUOTE] Well for a start, Nikon DSLR's don't meter with analog lenses mounted on them, so you will need a external lightmeter (or a lightmeter app on your smartphone) to do the metering for you. The Nikon F mount also isn't capable of (easily) adapting the most common variety of lenses, the M42 mount. I would steer clear of this mount for nikon because it requires a adapter with correcting glass to allow infinity. Those adapter have shitty glass in them (almost always) and reduce the light sensitivity and overall sharpness of your lens. Lens mounts i would recommend for nikon(from own experience): Old nikon F mount (or AI, AI-s) lenses (but not the NON AI versions!!!, if you want to mount those on your D3100 (or any other digital nikon dslr) you will need to modify them) Tamron Adaptall(-2) lenses (the Adaptall 2 SP line has some very neat lenses)
[QUOTE=frag4life;34662042]Well for a start, Nikon DSLR's don't meter with analog lenses mounted on them, so you will need a external lightmeter (or a lightmeter app on your smartphone) to do the metering for you. The Nikon F mount also isn't capable of (easily) adapting the most common variety of lenses, the M42 mount. I would steer clear of this mount for nikon because it requires a adapter with correcting glass to allow infinity. Those adapter have shitty glass in them (almost always) and reduce the light sensitivity and overall sharpness of your lens. Lens mounts i would recommend for nikon(from own experience): Old nikon F mount (or AI, AI-s) lenses (but not the NON AI versions!!!, if you want to mount those on your D3100 (or any other digital nikon dslr) you will need to modify them) Tamron Adaptall(-2) lenses (the Adaptall 2 SP line has some very neat lenses)[/QUOTE] thanks for the info, it's really useful :) regarding the M42 adapter glass, is it really that bad, because the M42 ones are so much cheaper than anything else and will it make a significant difference after editing etc. once its sized down to flickr size? thanks
[QUOTE=Alcapwne;34663299]thanks for the info, it's really useful :) regarding the M42 adapter glass, is it really that bad, because the M42 ones are so much cheaper than anything else and will it make a significant difference after editing etc. once its sized down to flickr size? thanks[/QUOTE] Well with the glass adapter you lose a lot of contrast in your overall picture, and it will also add gloomy look on your pictures sometimes. To get sharp results with these adapters you will need to stop down the lens a lot (to F8 or slower) to get decent results. I also heard that these adapters work better with longer focal lengths, anything below 85mm would be just not so good on whatever aperture. If you would want a cheap 50mm 1.8 lens i would suggest a Nikon Series-E 50mm 1.8 lens. You can sometimes find these lenses for about the same price as that m42 50mm 1.8 with adapter as mentioned before.
[QUOTE=frag4life;34663763]Well with the glass adapter you lose a lot of contrast in your overall picture, and it will also add gloomy look on your pictures sometimes. To get sharp results with these adapters you will need to stop down the lens a lot (to F8 or slower) to get decent results. I also heard that these adapters work better with longer focal lengths, anything below 85mm would be just not so good on whatever aperture. If you would want a cheap 50mm 1.8 lens i would suggest a Nikon Series-E 50mm 1.8 lens. You can sometimes find these lenses for about the same price as that m42 50mm 1.8 with adapter as mentioned before.[/QUOTE] ah okay, thanks a lot for your help I'll be on the lookout for E-series lenses
Hey Al there's this lens at my pawn shop [url]http://www.ebay.com/itm/170777850307?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649[/url] it's $70 there but i could talk them down i'm pretty sure, if you want i could buy it and ship it to you from the US if you want to cover the charges. it's in great condition.
[QUOTE=Trogdon;34670539]Hey Al there's this lens at my pawn shop [url]http://www.ebay.com/itm/170777850307?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649[/url] it's $70 there but i could talk them down i'm pretty sure, if you want i could buy it and ship it to you from the US if you want to cover the charges. it's in great condition.[/QUOTE] that's a brilliant deal, thanks a lot for the offer! It'll probably end up costing me close to £60 though from what I've calculated and I although that's still very little for a good lens, I'm not sure whether I'll use it enough to justify that thanks again for the offer though, it was very nice of you :)
you're welcome dude, let me know if you change your mind
[QUOTE=Trogdon;34670539]Hey Al there's this lens at my pawn shop [url]http://www.ebay.com/itm/170777850307?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649[/url] it's $70 there but i could talk them down i'm pretty sure, if you want i could buy it and ship it to you from the US if you want to cover the charges. it's in great condition.[/QUOTE] Dude you know that that is a pre-ai lens? So it won't fit ( you will damage your camera if you do try to mount it) unless you do the ai mod on it. ( it's also called the ai'd mod). The mod basicly needs you to sand down the aperture ring. It's not that hard though.
oh i had no idea lol, i just looked at it and it was in nice condition. i don't own any nikons myself but i check there occasionally to see if they have anything worth flipping. they also have a 135mm Canon EF f2L lens for $600 and an Olympus 4/3rds (not micro) 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 zoom for $400
just to the earlier conversation, my girlfriend uses a 50 1.8 E-series lens (f-mount) on her 3100. Doesn't meter as mentioned, but the focus points still work proper and you get the green dot at the bottom left of your viewfinder when the center point is considered in focus. Shows "lens not attached" unless it's set to M. It's really quite easy to fiddle with shutter speed and get results you like, but I'd suggest only using such a lens if you've got the time to sit back and think about your picture, rather than fast situations like sports or family events.
Is a D5100 worth the $200 difference over the D3100? Like, is it good, does it have a good community, accesories, is the moving screen flimsy, etc.
Put the cash aside for an upgrade later on in life, in my opinion.
So, I should get the D3100, then?
I still don't know if I should get the Canon F1 or the Canon EOS 3. bopie recommended the EOS 3 and a few others agreed but I feel that the EOS 3 is a bit too expensive for me right now since I need to put money aside for University and other expenses. Should I just buy an F1 and a 50mm for that since it's cheaper or save save save?
[QUOTE=iWumbo;34683839]I still don't know if I should get the Canon F1 or the Canon EOS 3. bopie recommended the EOS 3 and a few others agreed but I feel that the EOS 3 is a bit too expensive for me right now since I need to put money aside for University and other expenses. Should I just buy an F1 and a 50mm for that since it's cheaper or save save save?[/QUOTE] I'll shed my light of opinion on this too. The EOS 3 is a awesome camera, but it's just as having a modern DSLR. If you choose the Canon F1 you will something that is more unique in terms of operating it because it is way more manual and it does not choose things for you. So what do you most prefer? An almost digital camera with autofocus and all features that a DSLR can offer you, or the all mechanical experience with manual focus lenses and beating people to death with your camera? Either way you can't go wrong with either (i would like a EOS 3 or 1V too), but I would make a decision on what is important for you.
I might get an EOS 5
[QUOTE=frag4life;34684984] So what do you most prefer? An almost digital camera with autofocus and all features that a DSLR can offer you, or the all mechanical experience with manual focus lenses and[B] beating people to death with your camera?[/B][/QUOTE] reminds me of this photography teacher I had who said he hit a mugger with his camera when he was trying to steal it (an all metal square form factor Nikon, don't remember the model) and nearly knocked him unconcious.
carry tripod as effective anti-mugging weapon
A good enough tripod might be able to be used as a self defense weapon, but a monopod would be better this is now improptu blunt weaponry out of expensive gear thread
Was looking into getting the Sigma 30mm 1.4 but this guys thinks I should go with the Canon 28mm 1.8. [url]http://www.kenrockwell.com/sigma/30mm-f14.htm[/url] Thoughts? Keep in mind I'm using a 60d (more for video now a-days)
[QUOTE=Ohfoohy;34685693]Was looking into getting the Sigma 30mm 1.4 but this guys thinks I should go with the Canon 28mm 1.8. [url]http://www.kenrockwell.com/sigma/30mm-f14.htm[/url] Thoughts? Keep in mind I'm using a 60d (more for video now a-days)[/QUOTE] I love my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 but if you plan to change to a full frame EF mount camera you wouldn't be able to use it anymore.
[QUOTE=Ohfoohy;34685693]Was looking into getting the Sigma 30mm 1.4 but this guys thinks I should go with the Canon 28mm 1.8. [url]http://www.kenrockwell.com/sigma/30mm-f14.htm[/url] Thoughts? Keep in mind I'm using a 60d (more for video now a-days)[/QUOTE] well wider is always better for video, and if you ever went FF the canon would be better. but it does have about 2/3rds of a stop less light, so that's up to you.
[QUOTE=Trogdon;34685802]well wider is always better for video, and if you ever went FF the canon would be better. but it does have about 2/3rds of a stop less light, so that's up to you.[/QUOTE] I highly doubt I'll ever upgrade to a FF. I love my 60d and could never leave the screen behind. And just to clarify, the smaller the focal length the wider it is right?
[img]http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Pentax.png[/img] [img]http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/5D-mkii.jpg[/img] my how far we've come
the iphone alone is amazing when you think about it
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