Favorite Classic Lens

I've been through many vintage and newer lenses. I always come back to the

Leitz 35/2 Summicron from 1968. It's compact, well made and delivers great results.

Well it os not particularly compact but one of my all time favourites is the Schneider Super Angulon. I particularly like the 65mm which on to 4x5 lage format works out to a 35mm equivalent of somewhere in the 22mm focal length. It has superb sharpness and great colour. This lens converted me to ultra wide angles and several decades later I still have the bug.

If I had to pick only one, it would be the 38/4.5 Biogon that is in a Copal #0 and that I shoot on a Century Graphic. On 2.25" x 3.25", not 2.25" x 2.25". Why give up the opportunity to crop?

 

If I'm allowed more than one, I have many that I use and won't give up, including 4"/2.0 Taylor Hobson Anastigmat (this one is a OPIC type), 47/5.6 Super Angulon, 65/8 Ilex Acugon, 80/6.3 Wide Field Ektar, 101/4.5 Ektar, 150/6.3 CZJ Tessar (made 1911-2), 165/5.6 Pro Raptar, ...

Number 1...the tiny Goerz Gold Dot Dagor 150/6.3 on a Synchro-Compur.

 

...and if I'm allowed:

 

Apo-Lanthar 150/4.5, Xenon 50/1.9, Nikkor 58/1.4.

In my mind 'the' classic (Nikkor) is the lowly, chrome barrel, 50mm f2.

50/2 Summicron DR

You can dump all your Zeiss and Leitz stuff. The Dick Tracy lens is in a class by itself. So There !

 

<a href="http://westfordcomp.com/classics/dicktracy/index.html"> Eat your hearts out. <a>

The 45mm 1.8 Hexanon on my Konica Auto S-2; followed by close runner-up: the 45mm 1.6 Hexanon on my Konica Auto S-1.6

For most vintage cameras I like to use Tessar designed lenses.

 

However, if you want a real lens on a real camera, Holga can't be matched!<div></div>

Todd, that Holganar has a nice look to it. I'm more of a Tessar, Skopar, Solinar fan.

In MF, the 101/4.5 Ektar, easily. In 35mm, I will never part with my 50/3.5 Industar-22. Hey, I like normal lenses, what can I say?

Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 in Contax rangefinder mount, 75mm f/3.5 Zeiss-Opton Tessar for the Rolleiflex Automat, and 75mm f/3.5 Rokkor for the Minolta Autocord.

If we are still holding to 1970 as the cut-off then I might choose the 135mm f/2.5 Canon FL. It could have been made as late as 1971 when the FD lenses were introduced. I have many 135 lenses in FD mount but I still sometimes use the 135/2.5 FL on an F-1 in stop-down mode.

I really like my 300mm uncoated Dagor.

My favorite(at the moment),for a number of reasons......the f3.5 50mm,coated Cintar.

I'm a boring person:

 

1. Carl Zeiss Tessar, excellent lens. Has a special feel to it.

 

2. Carl Zeiss Planar, almost too perfect. Therefore the second place. :-)

 

I DO love the Heliar and many doppelanastigmats as well, but they are not the lenses I use the most.

My real favorite lens was the 38/4.5 Zeiss Biogon as fitted on the Hassy SWC. I regrettably sold it due to the unavailability of MF film and processing o'seas.

85F1.9 Super Takumar and 35F3.5 Super Takumar. These are the lenses I use most and always deliver outstanding quality. As far as looks the best by far is the 135mm Juplen lens (see pic).<div></div>

<p>

Minolta 58mm F1.2<p>

Canon 55mm 1.2ASPH<p>

Helomar on a Bessa RF ( pre war )<p>

1930's 240mm F4.5 Heliar<p>

Dan<p>

<a href="http://www.antiquecameras.net">antiquecameras.net

85 mm RE Auto Topcor for Topcon. Big, heavy, tack sharp, and fast. It had it all, IMO. Stupidly, I sold one about 15 years ago and have kicked myself daily ever since.

35mm: Zeiss 4.5/21 Biogon for Contax RF, Zeiss 2/85 Sonnar for Contarex

 

6x6: Planar 2,8/80 (my one is a not-so-classic Rollei HFT for my R'flex SL66E)

Kodak 135mm/6.3 Wide Field Ektar (1948).

Leitz 50mm/2.0 DR-Summicron (1959).

Oh, YES, Dennis...The Topcon lenses (and cameras) are gems. They got out of the consumer business, but there's a reason that doctors and dentists still use Topcon SLRs for capturing medical images!

 

Another gem hidden in a most unassuming place is the Solagon 50/2 lens on the old Agfa Super Silettes and Ansco Super Memars.

 

Dave

For me and for 35mm cameras, the original Nikkor 50mm non collapsible f 2.0 lens (available for my Leica and your Contax) which focused to 13 inches (a couple of feet closer than the next best).

 

For medium format, the 80mm f2.8 for the original Mamiyaflex Pro C, it always had stunning sharpness.

 

For press cameras, I'm torn between two lenses, I had a Linhof with a 135mm f2.8 Xenotar (I have no idea why I sold it), and maybe the greatest press camera lens of them all, the 127mm f4.7 Ektar.

 

For view cameras, hands down Kodak Commercial Ektars. We loved them so much that when they were discontinued, Calumet and Ilex ray traced them and designed brand lenses using computer designs with optical glasses that were not available to Kodak at that time. The 10" 250mm and the 12" 305mm were my favorites of them all.

 

For enlarging lenses, The Computars that we created at Burleigh Brooks couldn't be beat. However, the 1950's 50mm f4.5 and the 75mm f4.5 Ektars were equivalent. Those enlarging Ektars were 5 element heliar/pentac style at which Kodak was exceptionally good.

 

Ok, I quit,

 

Lynn

Quite fond of my tessars: Early 135 Optar has vintage glow but sharp, later 135 Optar contrasty and sharp. Xenars 105 and 135 are excellently sharp and prefered for high detail images. Xenar 75 in my Rolleicord III makes stunning landscapes in B&W 8x10 prints. Have also taken a recent liking to an old 127 Wolly Velostigmat for shooting around town.

Wide in 4x5, the 90 Angulon.

For a longer vintage lens the classic Ektar 203.

And when all else fails, and fun is lacking, Holga.