| Vintage Lenses on Digital SLRs | ||||
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There are two very important things the affect the outcome of how a photo is captured. One is the film and the other is the lens. Most avid photographers already argue, ad nauseam, about the pros and cons of the digital sensors over film. However, few ever consider the lens. Frankly, both the film and sensor are designed to do one thing and that is to capture as accurately as possible the image delivered the by lens. Thanks to digital tools, much of the response of film can be duplicated in post. Adding a manual film lens completes the equation. In regards to the lens. If we ignore things such as auto focus and electronics, we are left with essentially a metal tube and glass. Even simpler, the key component of the lens is the glass, it's formulation, coatings and arrangement. Keeping that in mind, it's now easy to understand that there are some very old lens designs that are still every bit as good as today's. In fact, some render a look and feel that has been lost with modern lenses. In a world where we've all grown up looking at images made with these old lenses, it is sometimes refreshing to find familiarity. When you take into account that many vintage lenses are pennies on the dollar vs. modern lenses at today's prices. It's worth considering. Finally, it's just plain fun. Warts and all. Disclaimer#1: I am not an expert in the field of vintage lenses, and I may not be the best advocate for any particular lens. I am open to correction in any inaccuracies I may present. This is simply a fun and subjective experiment and I will share my findings here. Disclaimer#2: I am not affiliated with any particular vendor, sponsor, or other. Nor am I recommending or promoting any particular lens, nor shall I make a guarantee that your lens will perform as well (or as poorly) as the examples I have herein. |
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The lenses (in order of testing): |
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 Vivitar 200 Preset |
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 Russian Helios 44M (Zeiss Biotar Copy) |
 Sun Optics 80-210 |
 Canon FD Lenses |
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 Enna Munchen 200mm f4.5 |
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