Newcomer seeking lens explanations...

[mountain_dwells]

<p>Hi all ...</p>

<p>A few years ago I developed an interest in <strong>film photography</strong>, and was fortunate enough to know several people who dabbled in the vintage form, and they were quite knowledgeable about specific qualities of film cameras (and digital cameras) and the merits of skill and beauty in photography. But I was younger then and my mind freer, and though they tried their best to be patient and simple with me, whenever I thought I learned something of importance or received an answer to one of my many queries, it would exit one ear soon after entering the other, because I found they were never quite able to translate the techno-babble into easy-to-remember info. The knowledge seemed to get lost in translation.</p>

<p>I want to learn. I'm ready to learn. And I thought it best to <strong>start with the basics</strong>. </p>

<p>I'm interested in the quality and variations of <strong>film cameras and their lenses</strong> - for starters, <em><strong>I need to understand the specifics of the hieroglyphs written on different lenses</strong></em>: what they mean, and what they translate to in photographic form. </p>

<p>I have in my possession 5 beautiful film cameras. Four were purchased on ebay in the last 5 years, and were made sometime in the last 50 years. I also have a lovely little newly-made plastic creature which was a gift from a friend, bought on the Lomography site. Anyway....<br>

Here's my query :</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Can someone please <strong>explain the descriptions on lenses</strong>, specifically (the ones visible on lenses of 3 of my cameras) :<br>

<strong>1:1.9</strong> <em> f=50mm FM </em>[ X-Fujinon ]<br>

<strong>1:2</strong> <em>50mm SMC </em> [ Pentax-M Asahi Optical Co.]<br>

<strong>1:1.7 </strong><em>50mm MD ø 55mm </em>[ Rokkor-X Minolta ]</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>I bought these cameras (<em>Fujica, Pentax, Minolta</em>) thinking they looked exactly like what I was looking for: a vintage film camera like the many I'd seen in vintage photographs, aswell as the suspected creators of those beautiful vintage snapshots. <br />Later I learned they were called SLRs (so before I knew what they were called you can imagine the charades trying to describe the kind of camera I was after), and there was mention that they required 2 or 3 lenses to suit all my needs.</p>

<p>How I understand it is that each of these lenses is a "Prime" lens(?). A fixed lens that doesn't zoom, and the 50mm is a staple in many kits. Right? <strong>But what about those ratios and the letters? What do these translate to in image-form and capturing capabilities? </strong><br>

<strong><br /></strong>I realise a lot of enthusiasts, professionals and shutterbugs may read this and scoff at my puny comprehension. But the truth is I'm seeking someone who can explain simply, and then in-depth, like an eager student seeking a patient and insightful teacher, so that I can widen my own understanding, further my photographic education. We can't all teach ourselves from articles on the net, and while I have shot with these cameras on many occasions, gradually becoming acquainted with their slight variations, strengths, weaknesses..<strong> I'm yet to understand the actual meaning and purpose behind these scribings</strong> (among other things).</p>

<p>I'm going at this alone right now, and lacking a flesh-and-blood friend to show me the ropes I figured I'd turn to the ever-knowledgable world-wide-web of experts. So if you have the experience, the understanding, and the appreciation of passing on know-how and lessons to a newcomer, like handing down stories, songs, language, skills and tradition through the generations, then I look forward to our conversations, starting with this one.</p>

<p>Dwelling from the mountains, I hope to hear from you soon. <br>

: )</p>

<p> </p>

[david_gardner6]

<p><strong>1:1.9</strong> <em> f=50mm FM </em>[ X-Fujinon ] This is a 50mm focal length, f1.9 aperture lens. (The focal length is the distance between the focal point, which is inside the lens, and the film/sensor plane. Short form, bigger numbers from the subject closer, smaller numbers show more of the subject but make it seem farther away. The aperture is a measurement of the maximum amount of light the lens will transmit to the film/sensor. It's a dimensionless measurement based on the ratio of the aperture opening to the focal length. The smaller this number, the better the lens will perform in low light, all other factors being equal.) <br>

<br /> <strong>1:2</strong> <em>50mm SMC </em> [ Pentax-M Asahi Optical Co.] A 50mm focal length, f2 lens. PRobably very similar to the above. I'm not a Pentax guy so I don't know what the SMC means, but I'm guessing that it identifies the lens family. <br>

<br /> <strong>1:1.7 </strong><em>50mm MD ø 55mm </em>[ Rokkor-X Minolta ] A 50mm, f1.7 aperture lens. Sightly better low-light ability, if those numbers are to be believed, than the other two, but not a huge difference. </p>

<p>A prime lens is a lens with a fixed focal length, yes. The 50mm in full frame digital and 35mm formats, is what's called a "normal" lens, meaning that its focal length of roughly equivalent to the measurement across the film frame.</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>"<strong>SMC</strong>"= Super Multi Coated, relative to the lens` anti-reflective coating system. <br /> Pentax-M: second generation of the "K" type (bayonet) mount lenses, developed by Asahi Optical Co. Fully mechanical quality lenses, they doesn`t have any electronic connection. The ones I still keep are characterized with a silver ring at the front of the barrel.</p>

[SCL]

<p>Go to your local library and borrow a copy of The Photographer's Handbook by John Hedgecoe, or get a used copy online. It is packed with easy to understand basic and more advanced info like you are seeking, and much more, explanations in simple easy to understand English with over 1200 illustrations and pictures. You will thank me profusely.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>In short, the two most important are focal length (in mm, as per your example 50mm), which is basically how 'zoomed in' the image looks. Low value (i.e. 18mm) is wide angle of view (called wide angle lenses for that reason), while a high value (i.e. 300mm) is a narrow angle of view (typically called telelenses).<br>

The other value, normally described as f/xx or 1:xx, is the maximum aperture of a lens. A lower value (i.e. f/2 or f/1.7) means the lens can let through more light; in the image this will result in a more shallow depth of field. But wider apertures means more optical issues, weight, size and much more expensive lenses, so that's why not all lenses are f/1 lenses.<br>

Next to that, each and every brand has letter combinations to describe additional features, as the SMC described by Jose. You really need to check those per-brand. For example, in-lens optical stabilisers are called IS for Canon, VC for Tamron, OS for Sigma and VR for Nikon - their marketing departments clearly never held a meeting on that one ;-) Just to show that the list of abbreviations easily grows quite long.</p>

<p>While I am definitely a lens-addict (and if unleashed I could talk for ages about the quirks in my preferred lenses), when starting out with photography, I would not recommend such discussions as a starting point to learn more about photography. Understanding the role aperture plays, generically, is very important - but it's something you need to learn (in my view!) in the context of learning how to expose properly (consider the book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390">Understanding Exposure</a>"), and how the values you set for your exposure influence the image you're about to make. The second you learn about aperture, you do need to know (and understand) shutterspeeds as well - it cannot be seen in isolation. Lens and camera in unison.<br />When learning, something simple as a 18-55 kitlens that comes with most DSLRs and mirrorless cameras is plenty useful (and performs more than well enough), as they give you an idea of what different focal lengths look like, and they've got the versatility to suit a wide range of needs.<br>

My apologies if I've misunderstood where you find yourself in your learning curve, but in case I did not misunderstood, I hope it gives a bit a pointer on where to start the studies.</p>

[paul_noble]

<p>The ratios on those lenses refer to the f-stop, or aperture size of the lens.</p>

<p>A ratio of 1:1.9 indicates that the focal length of the lens is 1.9 times the diameter of the maximum aperture opening. On a 50mm focal length lens, that is 26.3mm. If the ratio is 1:2, as on the Pentax lens, the opening is 25mm.</p>

<p>This ratio is important in determining the exposure for each image. The larger the opening, the more light is passed through the lens while the shutter is open.</p>

<p>Some lense have slightly odd maximum apertures, such as 1.9 or 1.7. However, most of them usually go to "standard" f-stop values. Those values are 1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 32. Note that each stop is approximately 1.4 times the last. Actually its the square root of 2, which is 1.414.</p>

<p>What this progression means, is that each stop creates an opening with half or double the area of the one on either side of it. For example, f/8 allows twice as much light through as f/11 does, and half as much as f/5.6 does. This is very convenient.</p>

<p>Shutter speeds on most modern cameras are also in steps that double or halve the amount of time the shutter is open. For example, many SLR's have shutter stops of 1 second, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/6, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500 and 1/1000.</p>

<p>If your light meter tells you, say, that for the film (or ISO setting in a digital camera) you are using, "A" proper exposure is 1/500 at f/4, you can get an equivalent exposure (and increase the depth of field), but using 1/250 at f/5.6, or 1/125 at f/8. Each "stop" you close down the lens, you open up the shutter speed. In the example I gave, each exposure has half the aperture area and twice the shutter open time as the previous. In total, the same amount of light energy strikes the film/sensor.</p>

<p>An excellent book on the subject of exosure is Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". He does a great job of explaining all this and gives many examples of "correct" exposures that result in significantly different images. He calls this the difference between a "correct" exposure and a "creative" exposure.</p>

<p>Don't apologize for asking these questions. We were all where you are right now, once upon a time. For some of us, its been longer than we would like to remember.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>By the way, on the much more abstract level, although those SLR's may use additional lenses, and may suit your needs if you get them, they do not require them. If they work as they are, they will work well with the lenses they have. I do not know the Fujica, but I have a Pentax of that sort and it's quite good, and I have had a number of similar Minoltas and they are also very good. </p>

<p>In the world of Minolta lenses, MD designates the kind of meter coupling the lens has. MD is the last manual type, compatible with all modes in all metered SLR's, and backward-compatible. </p>

[jerry_gitomer1]

<p>For the Minolta lens, that is the <strong>1:1.7 </strong><em>50mm MD ø 55mm </em>[ Rokkor-X Minolta ].<br>

For any lens the number following the slashed o is the size in millimeters of the filters that can be mounted on the lens. Filters were frequently used with film cameras when using black and white film in order to achieve special effects. For example a red filter will add drama to cloudy skies. <br>

</p>

[glen_h]

<p>For a beginner, you shouldn't need to worry about the maximum aperture.</p>

<p>If you are buying new lenses, or expensive used lenses, it can be important, as some lenses are really expensive. But for now, don't worry about it. (You will soon need to know about aperture, though.) All the lenses you find will be just fine.</p>

<p>You do need to know about focal length, pretty early, though. Smaller numbers mean wider angle. It won't take long looking through an SLR viewfinder to learn how wide is wide, and narrow is narrow. Usually this is after an f= but not always.</p>

<p>For a 35mm film camera 50mm is normal, and usually cheapest. Personally, I like 35mm, just a little wider, especially for indoors where you can't always get back far enough. It is nice to also have a telephoto, which these days is often a zoom lens, when things are farther away. Especially good if you like to take pictures of wildlife.</p>

<p>Don't be confused by the number after the <em> ø</em>. That tells the filter size, the size of the front of the lens to hold filters and lens caps. Often in eBay and other places, this will be confused for the focal length.</p>

<p>A zoom lens will have a range of focal lengths, like 70-200mm.</p>

<p>There are a lot of very affordable lenses for older film SLRs, many of which also work with newer digital SLRs. You can get very good lenses for $10 or so at thrift stores.</p>

<p>There is the complication of lens mounts, knowing which lenses work on which cameras. That isn't easy to explain, though.</p>

 

[Matthew Currie]

<p>Just a little addition here. The 50/1.7 MD lens mentioned is one I have, on an X700, and it is superb. Most of the basic 50 mm. lenses of that time are, but that particular one is pretty hard to beat. Minolta manual lenses tend to be pretty easy to find, with third party manufacturers well represented, and they are often very cheap. All Minolta manual cameras that have built in meters will function fully with an MD lens, and later ones that require an MD lens for program and shutter priority modes will still meter and work in other modes with an MC lens.</p>

[glen_h]

<p><br />A little more about maximum aperture and why you don't need to worry about it.</p>

<p>A smaller number means you can set the aperture to let more light in. This is especially important when in darker places, or for action that needs fast shutter speeds. But a smaller number makes the lens harder to make, and much more expensive. Professional photographers often enough need such lenses, and hopefully can afford them. It makes less difference in the price of used lenses. </p>

<p>You didn't say why you are interested in film cameras. Not that you shouldn't be, but it can make a difference. I started doing black and white darkroom work when I was nine years old, about the same time I started in photography. I still enjoy darkroom work, and so film cameras to go along with it.</p>

<p>And, as you have notices, there are many good film cameras for very low prices, down to about $10 for many. Manual focus lenses, even ones that work on new digital SLRs, also are easy to find down to $10. You can easily spend more for lunch at a fast food restaurant! </p>

<p>In addition to film SLRs, you might also buy an older digital SLR. The prices drop fast enough on them, though older ones use harder to find CF cards. Often I carry both a film and digital camera around, and might even use both on the same scene. </p>

<p>You might also find older rangefinder cameras fun, though you might also need a light meter to go with one.</p>

<p>Most of the SLRs you find today have a built-in light meter, though you will have to find the battery to go with it. Sometimes that is hard, and they might be expensive. </p>