VINTAGE LENSES - A GUIDE VER 1.

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By Stephen W. DaVega
FORWARD
This is compilation of information from various sources, including articles and
forums. I put it together because of the amount of time is was taking to wrap my
head around all the possibilities and limitations when it comes to vintage glass. If
there are additions or corrections please email them to me at
[email protected]

1- What is Vintage Glass?
Vintage glass is a reference to the group of lenses from the MF
(manual focus) era (1890s to 1990s). Though most usable vintage
glass will be post World War II. The technologies in the making of
glass have changed very little, thus vintage lenses are of often of
comparable quality to modern lenses. While not all vintage lenses
have good optical quality, a lot of the higher-end lenses are just as
amazing as todays higher-end lenses: the only difference being
that older high-end lenses are reasonably priced.
Note: Some of these lenses from the 50s, 60s and 70s have little
air bubbles in them, but this isnt a sign of bad glass: quite the
contrary actually. These air bubbles indicate the use of high end
glass: the hotter the glass is when molded, the better the optical
quality, but also the more air bubbles there are. These bubbles do
not affect the optical quality or focus of the lens.

2- Advantages of Vintage Glass
a. Smooth, long through focusing, often over 300 degrees of
rotation. Rings are bigger, much smoother and the focus throw
(the amount of degrees the lenses has to be turned from MFD
(minimum focusing distance) to infinity is much higher,
resulting in being able to make much finer adjustments.
b. Manual lenses always have hard stops at each end of the
focusing range (Canon EF lenses keep spinning - messing up
any follow focus marks) .
c. Mechanical (and hence faster) aperture adjustment on the lens
(modern lenses which are controlled electronically via the
camera).

d. Some of these lenses have step-less aperture adjustment, just

like Cine lenses, essentially making them low budget cine-style
lenses.
e. Manual aperture rings (where available) can usually be de-
clicked for smooth aperture control.
f. Build Quality. Solid Metal Construction, less plastic. Pretty
much every lens produced before around 1985 is made with
metal. Lenses made before 1975 are 100% metal. Soviet made
lenses in particular are made durable and heavy.
g. Unique optical performance, film-like quality to image, often
interesting and smother bokeh and amazing flares. Sometime
referred to as character(really optical imperfection or
glorified optical defects).
h. Price. Often much much cheaper than there AF (auto focus)
and CINE counterparts.
i. Good investment (unlike modern glass). Appreciating in value.

3 - Disadvantages of Vintage Glass
a. Not all vintage lenses are good. A lot of them have poor
sharpens & contrast, a lot of chromatic aberration and
vignetting, but so do the modern low end lenses that still cost
mode than a good vintage lens.
b. Lenses from the 60s and earlier will generally be uncoated or
single-coated and will flare easily.
c. When shooting stopped down (at higher f-stops) the
viewfinder darkens significantly. You can compose your image
first and then stop down. On your LCD it shouldnt darken
(your camera compensates for it).
d. Manual focus (this can be an advantage or disadvantage
depending on your point of view).
e. Very few good older zooms out there. Note: The first zoom
lens dates from the late 50s zoom lenses have seen a
tremendous amount of optical increase in the 20 years. Not
untill the 80s was there any zoom lens that was worth getting
or that came anywhere near the optical quality of primes.
Few can compete with newer, AF lenses (while there are some
that trump any AF zoom in terms of IQ (image quality), like
Zeiss 35-70.
f. Older Wide Angle lens are extremely expensive.

4 - Disadvantages of Contemporary/Modern Glass for Video

a. Focus- Auto Focus does not work well on video, creating
breathing.
b. F/stop exposure is controlled via camera and cant be done via
lens.
c. The focus throw of AF lenses is often noticeably shorter than
manual/vintage lenses.
d. Plasticy, cheapy construction.

5 What Works and What Doesnt Work?
Each brand of camera has its own idiosyncrasies. What lenses
work and which ones dont for which camera? Here are the
basics:

Modern Nikon cameras work with most vintage Nikon lenses, but
they wont work with most third-party lenses (like Olympus,
Canon or Pentax).

Modern Canon and Olympus cameras dont work with most
vintage Canon lenses, but they will work with most third-party
lenses (Nikkor, Pentax, Mir, Helios, Carl Ziess Jena, etc.).

Pentax cameras work with nearly all Pentax lenses, and any third-
party lens that uses the Pentax mount.

Sony cameras work with some Minolta lenses and lenses with
M42 style mounts.

6 The Brands Lenses

a. Nikkor
Non- AI (auto indexing) (1959-1977) - Non indexing
Good with Canon
AI (Auto indexing) (1970s-1980)
AIS (Auto Indexing shutter) (1982)
b. Leica
c. Zeiss
d. Carl Zeiss Jena (Zeiss)
Sonnar,

 Biometar
Flektogon
Opton
e. Mir
f. Mamiya
g. Helios
h. Pentax
i. Olympus
j. Pentax
k. Tair
l. Carl Ziess Jena
m. Voigtlander
n. Orestor Meyer-Optik


7 Types of Mounts Adaptability.
The Following is list of mounts that are adaptable to the named
Camera/Mount Type.

Canon (EOS) adaptable mounts:
Nikon (F-mount)
Pentax (K-mount)
Pentax Screw (M42)
Praktica - Screw (M42)
Olympus (OM-mount)
Contax/Yashica (C/Y-mount)
Yashica FR, FX
Contax RTS
Contarex
Petri Bayonet
Ricoh Bayonet
Tamron (T/T2 screwmount. Similar, but not the same
as M42)
Leica R



Nikon (F) adaptable mounts:
Tamron (T/T2 screwmount. Similar, but not the same
as M42)
Leica (R-mount. Replacement Mount) Not to be confused
with M-mount. You cant adapt M.
Older Nikon (F-mount)
Many Leica R, Olympus, and certain other lenses can be
used on Nikon by replacing the rear mount; this is a
modification of the lens itself, not a lens adapter per se.
The modification is generally reversible.

Micro 4/3rds adaptable mounts:

Olympus OM
Olympus MF-2
Four-thirds
Olympus MMF-1 adapter
Panasonic DMW-MA1
4/3 to micro-4/3
Leica M

Four Thirds adaptable mounts:
Olympus OM
Olympus MF-1
Pentax
Contax
Leica M
Leica R


Leica M adaptable mounts:
Nikon F
Leica R


Sony NEX adaptable mounts:
Nikon F
Leica M
Pentax K


8 Types of Mounts History and Details
Notes - Most brands have their own mount to attach a lens to a
camera, while some used mounts by other manufacturers or made
lenses for other camera brands.

Older cameras used a screw mount that used a thread to screw a
lens onto the camera. Later on, the bayonet replaced the more
common screw mounts, because they were easier to use, as well
as more secure.

Nikon F-mount -Introduced in 1959, this fitting type is still being
used in Nikon digital SLRs. Nikon F-mount can be adapted to EOS
cameras. Nikon F-mount lenses can be mounted on Leica M9
cameras using the Novoflex Lens Mount Adapter - Nikon Lens to
Leica M Body adapter. Nikon F-mount can be mounted on Sony
NEX with a Voigtlander adapter. Not many lenses can be adapter
for Nikon, but Nikon has never changed its mount, allowing you
to shoot with any Nikon glass that was ever made for a Nikon SLR


Pentax K-mount -Introduced in 1975, this fitting type is still
being used in Pentax digital SLRs. sometimes referred to as the
"PK-mount", is a lens mount standard for mounting
interchangeable photographic lenses to 35 mm single-lens reflex
(SLR) cameras. It was created by Pentax in 1975, used by all
Pentax 35 mm and digital SLRs since; it is also used by the Pentax
K-01, a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera introduced in
2012. A number of other manufacturers have also produced many
K-mount lenses and K-mount cameras


Canon EF-mount Introduced in 1987, this fitting type is still
being used in Canon digital SLRs. Older Canon lenses require
adaptors. Many lenses can be adapted to modern Canon EOS
cameras. Canon changed their SLR mount two times (first from FL
to FD, then from FD to EF), allowing you only to use Canon glass
from 1986 or later.


Minolta Alpha, A or AS-mount
Introduced in the mid-1980s, this type of fitting was later adopted
by Sony and will fit Minolta and Sony Alpha DSLR cameras.

Minolta MD, MC or SR-mount
Introduced starting in 1958, these fittings are generally
compatible with each other and with vintage, manual Minolta
SLRs. They can be used with some DSLR cameras, including Sony
and Minolta products, with the use of an adaptor.

Four Thirds mounts
This standard is used in a number of modern digital SLRs,
including Olympus and Kodak cameras.

Leica R Mount - The standard method of connecting a lens to the
Leica R series of 35 mm single-lens reflex cameras. The mount is
descended from those used for the Leicaflex, Leicaflex SL and
Leicaflex SL2 SLR cameras, but differs in the cams used to
communicate lens aperture information to the camera. 3 cam
lenses are compatible with all of the Leica SLR cameras, while R-
only lenses have a slightly different mount shape that will not fit
on the earlier cameras.

Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with
the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the
Leica M series up to the current film Leica M7 and digital Leica M.
Leica M lenses can be mounted on Sony NEX with a Voigtlander
adapter.

M42 mount/Pentacon/Praktica It is more accurately known as
the M42 1 mm standard, which means that it is a metric screw
thread of 42 mm diameter and 1 mm thread pitch. It was first
used in Zeiss' Contax S of 1949. This is was/is a very common
35mm film camera mount for Russian and German lens/cameras.

T-mount is a standard lens mount for cameras and other optical
assemblies. The T2 version is a screw mount using a male
M42x0.75 metric thread on the lens with a flange focal distance of

55 mm and a mating female thread on a camera adapter or other

optical component. This thread form is referred to as T-thread.
(This should not be confused with the M42 lens mount which is
also 42 mm, but has a 1 mm thread pitch.) adapter called T/T2-
Ring is needed to adapt a T-mount lens to any camera body
without optical correction to achieve infinity focus.

M39 lens mount is a screw thread mounting system for attaching
lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily rangefinder (RF) Leicas. It is
also the most common mount for Photographic enlarger lenses.

Contax/Yashica (C/Y Mount) - Like the first attempt at forging
an alliance with Pentax, Zeiss designed a new common lens
mount, known as Contax/Yashica mount (C/Y) to be used on
cameras bearing both marques.

Olympus OM System (O = Olympus, M = Maitani) was a line of
35mm single-lens reflex cameras, lenses and accessories sold by
Olympus between 1972 and 2002 (some accessories were sold
until early 2003). The system was introduced by Olympus in
1972, more than a decade after Nikon, Canon, and other
manufacturers had established their own SLR ranges.

9 - Flange to Film Distance

The factor that determines whether a lens can be used on your
digital camera or not, is the flange to film distance (FFD). This is
the distance from the rear lens mount of your lens to the cameras
the focal plane (film/sensor). This is sometimes referred to as
register distance.

Canon EOS:

44.0mm < short enough to allow many adapters

Leica R:

47.0mm

Leica M:

27.95mm

Nikon F:

46.5mm

Olympus OM: 46.0mm

This is why you can adapt Nikon to Canon, but not Canon to
Nikon. Canons register distance is shorter. A canon lens on a
Nikon would hit the Nikons mirror.

If the FFD distance for your camera is bigger than that of the lens
you want to adapt, you wont be able to, because the (camera)
mirror will hit the rear element of the lens.

Any lens where the register (FFD) distance to its designated
camera (Canon lens to Canon Camera, Nikon Lens to Nikon
Camera, etc.) is longer than that of the camera you are adapting it

to (i.e. Nikon to Canon), you should be able to adapt it. You have to
take into account the size of the adapter ring though.

Even though the FFD might on paper be big enough, a lot of the
older lenses have a rear element that protrudes a little into the
camera when focused at infinity. This prevents the mirror in your
SLR to move up, because it hits the rear element of camera, thus
preventing from taking an image.

This is one of the reasons why you wont be able to adapt vintage
glass (or you can adapt it, but cant focus to infinity, resulting in
you being able to use only half of your lens).

10 - Adapters
A lens adapter requires some thickness to adapt a lens to a
camera body. Generally speaking, a minimum of 2mm is required.

For a lens adapter to allow infinity focus, its thickness must match
the difference in flange focal distance.

Nikon F - 46.5mm to Canon EOS 44.0mm = adapter of
2.5mm

11 Adapters, Sensors and Issues

Full frame sensor cameras have a bigger mirror than crop
cameras (while often having the same FFD like Canon) some
lenses can only be adapted to crop frame sensor, while the Full
Frame cameras wont have mirror clearance.



Full Frame vs. Crop Frame

Nikon has two different sensor sizes

35mm (FX) i.e. full frame
1.5x (DX) i.e. cropped frame (sometimes referred to as "focal length
multiplier")
Canon has three sensor sizes:

35mm i.e. full frame

1.3x (APC-H) i.e. cropped frame (sometimes referred to as "focal
length multiplier")
1.6x.(APS-C) i.e. cropped frame (sometimes referred to as "focal
length multiplier")

You can buy an optical adapter to prevent the mirror from hitting
and allowing you to use lenses with a shorter FFD than the
cameras (e.g. Canon to Nikon) but those adapters GREATLY
decrease the optical quality of your lenses, making it pointless to
do so.

Notes:
While Minolta/Sony uses an FFD of 44.5 (0.5mm bigger than
Canon) it cant be adapted because of issues with mirror
clearance.

Most Minolta (Rokkor) lenses can be converted to the EF mount
though (changing the mount, not adapting it).

Because of the mirror and super short FFD, any lens that was
made for an SLR can be adapted to mirrorless cams.


10 SPECIFIC LENSE THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Russian
MIR-20M 20mm F3.5 prime lens (m42 mount)
Mir-24H 35mm f2.0
Volna-9 50 2.8 macro
Helios 44-2 58mm (m42 mount)
Helios 40-2 (85mm f1.5
Helios 44M-6 58mm f2.0
Helios 40-2 85mm f1.5
Jupiter 6-2 180mm f2.8

Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0

Tair 11A 135mm f/2.8 (m42 mount)

Zenitar 16 mm F/2.8 MC

German
CARL ZEISS Jena BIOMETAR 120mm f/2.8
CONTAX Distagon f/2.8 28mm Carl Zeiss
Meyer Goerlitz Trioplan 100mm f/2.8
Meyer-optik Grlitz Lydith 30mm f/3.5 (M42)
Porst 35mm f1.8
Porst 135mm f1.8
25mm Distagon T* f2.8 - Carl Ziess
28mm Distagon T* f2.8 Carl Ziess
28mm Distagon T* f2.0 Carl Ziess
35mm Distagon T* f2.8 Carl Ziess
50mm Planar T* f1.4 Carl Ziess
85mm Planar T* f1.4 Carl Ziess
135mm Sonnar T* f2.8 Carl Ziess
200mm TeleTessar T* f3.5 Carl Ziess
20mm Flektogon MC f2.8 Carl Ziess
24mm Kiron Kino f2.0
35mm Flektogon MC f2.4
50mm Pancolar MC f1.8
80mm Pancolar MC f1.8
135mm Sonnar MC f3.5

Japanese/Korean/Chinese
Super Takumar 50mm f1.4
Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm 1.4
Minolta MC 58mm f1.2 Rokkor
Mamiya Sekor 55mm f1.4

American
Vivitar 90mm f2.5 macro
Vivitar 28mm f2.0
Vivitar 24 mm F 2.8
Olympus Zuiko 50mm f1.8
Olympus Zuiko 28mm f3.5

24mm f2.8 Olympus Zuiko

21mm f3.5 Olympus Zuiko
16mm f2.8Zenitar
50mm f1.4Pentax-M SMC Takumar
35mm f/2 -Pentax Super Takumar
28mm SMC Pentax f3.5








11 -RESOURCES

http://top35mm.com/

http://www.vintagelensesforvideo.com

http://oomz.net/135/

http://www.mflenses.com

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/photography/hands-
reviews/use-m-mount-and-m42-lenses-mirrorless-cameras

Listed all the flange distances, check it out here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance


List of Camera Mounts and Registers (Focal Flange Distances)
http://www.markerink.org/WJM/HTML/mounts.htm