Which MF 50mm F1.4 for 5d?

[b_m5]

<p>The EF 50mm F1.4 is a bit out of budget and I am not a huge fan of AF as well. Which MF lens would recommend for 5D?<br>

I was thinking about Takumar (quality and simple conversion, but might need filing the rear of lens), Nikon or Olympus Zuiko. Which would you recommend?</p>

[jackie_baisa]

<p>An Olympus Zuiko lens will not mount onto a Canon camera. I don't know anything about Takumar lenses. If you cannot afford the 50mm/f1.4, how about the very affordable 50mm/f1.8 (the "nifty fifty") for only $100. It's a fabulous little lens for the price and fits on all Canon cameras. Don't get me wrong; the f1.4 is worth every penny more, but the 1.8 will really work well, for the budget-conscious photographer.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>I think the Takumar 1.4 is the radioactive lens that yellows. The Takumar 1.8 is a nice little lens -- came standard on the Spotmatic F. The 2.0 is the same lens. It was simply labeled differently for the cheaper Spotmatic 500, so that the Spotmatic F owners would feel they had gotten a nicer lens for the extra money they spent. Nikkor would be your other obvious mount, if you want to go with vintage non-Canon MF. If needed, you can trim the black aluminum shield on the rear of the lens with a good pair of scissors.</p>

[b_m5]

<p>Jackie, none of the lens mentioned will mount on 5d. They all need a special adapter (e.g. M42 to EOS or OM to EOS). However, some problems arise with certain combinations. For example, FD to EOS adapters have to have an additional lens element to focus to infinity (reduces quality or adds flares) or the particular Takumar 50mm 1.4 is a bit too long.<br />Btw, I have EF 50 1.8. A nice little lens, but I want 1.4.<br />Sarah, what did you mean by "radioactive"?</p>

<p>P.S. I am not interested in anything darker than 1.4 as I already have Canon 50mm F1.8</p>

[dennisgg]

<p>35mm lenses that can be adapted:<br>

Olympus OM, Leica R, Pentax M42/Screwmount, Pentax K, Exakta, Nikon, Praktica Bayonet, Contax/Yashica bayonet<br>

Medium Format lenses that can be adapted:<br>

Hasselblad, Pentacon Six, Mamiya 645, Pentax 645, Pentax 6x7<br>

Possible 35mm, but require optical element for infinity focus or no element for macro/close focus only:<br>

Minolta MD<br>

Canon FD<br>

If you do an eBay search like EOS Leica R or EOS Pentax 645, you will find the adapters.</p>

[dennisgg]

<p>BM - as for the radioactive lenses see:<br>

http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_lenses<br>

Nikkor-O 35mm f1.4, Pentax Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 are 2 that I have. they are somewhat yellowed (tint to glass from the radioactive material, but I have heard that exposure of the lens to sunlight from an indoor window can reduce or eliminate the yellow tint).</p>

 

[zml]

<p><strong>>>radioactive</strong><br>

Some lenses made before nineteen-seventy-something, including Pentax Super Takumar 1.4 and a few Canon offerings, used radioactive thorium oxide in the glass and are measurably, albeit mildly, radioactive at close distances. No biggie - you get more radioactive exposure on a short airline flight than you'd get from the Takumar unless you swallow it whole.</p>

[bobatkins]

<p>I suspect that you'll find little difference between the 1.4 and 1.8, but if you really crave f1.4 the old Pentax screw mount 50/1.4 lenses tend to be pretty cheap. I have one and it's OK. They do yellow with age, but that's not much of an issue on digital as any slight yellow tint can easily be corrected.</p>

<p>The 50/1.4 M42 Takumar <em>may</em> just hit the mirror at infinity focus. If you have a slightly thicker then standard adapter it may clear, if you have a slightly thinner than standard adapter it may hit. If you shift focus to a hair under infinity, it will clear and infinity will still be in good focus.</p>

<p>I have to say though that 99% of the time I just use my 50/1.8. Image quality isn't very different, bokeh isn't very different and having AF and an autodiaphragm just makes life so much easier.</p>

<p>What you really want is a 50/1.2...</p>

[ken schwarz]

<p>I have a Takumar 50/1.8 from the early '70s and it works on the 5D2. Its design is pretty much the same as the modern Canon 50/1.8 and all other 50mm lenses since coating technology got good enough to make the design practical. I read somewhere that Gauss designed it and I guess he got it right. I'm fascinated to learn that the yellow color is associated with age. I thought it was the coating technology of the day.</p>

<p>While the buttery-smooth focus and build quality of these old lenses is just marvelous, they are a royal PITA to use on a modern camera. It's tough to judge correct focus without using Live View. And, you must manually stop-down the lens to your desired aperture not just for metering but for the actual shot. Stop-down metering is mostly accurate, but you should use the histogram to make sure.</p>

<p>If Canon were to issue such a lens today they would be pilloried, and rightly so, for making such a hard-to-use piece of equipment.</p>

 

[jackie_baisa]

<p>Are all of these lenses mentioned less money that the standard AF 50/f1.4? Some of these sound like vintage lenses... (I know nothing about trying to mount external lenses onto a Canon system, so that's why I am asking.) What is the purpose of this? What benefit is it to buy a MF lens, a special mount, and have seemingly less functionality? (Not trying to be sarcastic here.)</p>

 

[bobatkins]

<p>Many of the lenses are quite a bit cheaper than a new EF 50/1.4. That's the main reason to use them.</p>

<p>However some people think that some older (and newer) manual focus lenses are slightly better optically than the equivalent Canon lens, so they are prepared to suffer the problems of focusing and (in most cases) stop down metering to get a few more lp/mm in the corners of the frame, or slightly smoother background blur.</p>

<p>Just as some audiophiles have "golden ears" and can hear things normal listeners can't, so some photographers have "golden eyes" and notice image defects that normal viewers probably would not even be aware of.</p>

 

[John Crowe]

<p>The Nikon 50mm f1.4 AIS. Get the cheap adapter from jinfinance on eBay. </p>

<p>You might find a deal on a Contax/Zeiss 50/1.4 T* Planar.</p>

[yog_sothoth]

<p>The Zeiss C/Y 50 1.4 is very nice, but the C/Y 50 1.7 is at least as good and costs less. I love my C/Y 50 1.4 and many of my favorite photos were taken using that lens.</p>

[fotograf]

<p>Why are my posts being deleted?</p>