Sir, you're a real gentleman... This is one of the best photography channels I've come across in a while.

These videos are prepared by a true teacher who cares for us the people as we make beauty with photography. Thank you for helping us to stop to see the creation before us through the medium of lenses.

I've watched so many of your videos on vintage lenses - thanks for the education! I can't wait to go hunting! Love the comment that you have to bond with the lens - I so agree! Its like a relationship when you go out shooting with it, you have to love it! Donation made - money well spent! Thanks again.

I really appreciate that you seem to have an affinity for simple, affordable lenses. I have a large collection built over many years, but my favorites are the humble Soviet and East German lenses of the 50’s and 60’s.

I think I've just found my favorite photography channel.

This is how an excellent informative video should look like! No fuzz about trying to be a film star like many ridiculously try, just concentrating on the issue and the facts. No wonder you got tons of viewers and subscribers. Keep up the really valuable work!

Thank you for the work you put in to your channel. I have watched your channel for about 8 months now and look forward to each new video. I have purchased many of your recommendations and have not been disappointed yet. I am loving using the vintage lenses and getting better with practice using them. I recently purchased the entire set of Konica lenses for under $150 US. They are beautiful lenses and produce beautiful photos. You are spot on!

I absolutely love your channel and soft spoken presentation, my favourite vintage lens channel. I don’t have a mirror less camera yet but am a long time Canon Dslr user and adapt my vintage lenses to them. I have been a passionate amateur photographer for 50+ years and in that time have built up a large collection of gear. In my early teens I used my dads Adox rangefinder camera and developed my first film aged 11. I was lucky to have a cousin 5 years older than me also into photography and when he upgraded or was short of money would sell me his unwanted gear very cheap. I have kept the majority of my gear over the years but the first camera I bought myself was a Kiev 4 aged 16 with my first wage and over the following months added the turret and all the available lenses. I regret to have traded these in . I progressed to the Zenith, Practicas with a variety of lenses that I still have. Then onto Yashica FR1 which I got for my 21st birthday and I added 3 lenses again still have. I lusted after the Contax RTS with Zeiss lenses and eventually got them but again I sold these on but wished I had kept them. Next was my favourites, Olympus which I still have 6 various bodies and about 15 lenses. Like you I love these and they adapt very well to my Canons. When the EOS line came out with autofocus I invested in that system and absolutely love them going digital 15 years ago. I am still passionate about my photography now as I was all those years ago and still get a massive buzz when out with my cameras.

Because of your Chanel I bought the industar 61 and love it. It's my favorite lense that I've ever used. I even have been taking chances and buying some other vintage lenses. I recently bought a kiron f/2 28mm with the pk mount. It's absolutely beautiful with its contrast. I can't wait to try more lenses for sure. Thank you for being so amazing.

Thank you for sharing the love of vintage lenses. I recently found a Canon FD 135 f2.4 which is so nice. It was $25. The only downside is that the focusing helicoid is missing one of the ball bearings, so that it will skip out while focusing sometimes. It is still one of my favorites. And the FD 50mm f1.4 which I have owned since the early nineties.

From the moment you said “Hello Zenographers everywhere”, I knew I would love this video

Yet another fantastic guide! So many good insights, this is 25 minutes VERY well spent. Thank you for your channel!

Fantastic video of the great vintage lenses I have most of them they are superb . Your video's are always excellent and are proof that vintage cameras and lenses are a pleasure too use I love them.

Thanks for expanding my vintage lens collection, and save quite a lot of money at the same time !

You are a true artist and raise the bar for image quality.

What a joy to watch your content!

I'm just in the extremely beginner stages of learning about cameras and just in the 1st 3 minutes I can tell you are extremely passionate about this.

this is an amazing and super helpful video. I just bought my first fixed 50 and it doesnt have the best focus outside of 1/2 a foot so i found a great zeiss lense due to this video. Thank you so much. you are an angel

Estoy empezando con la fotografía vintage con una OLYMPUS OM-1 heredada. Ahora con gente como usted me estoy enganchando a este tipo de lentes y cámaras. I am a beginner in vintage photography with an OM-1, now i am hooked to this all lenses. Thanks for all the information. Great teacher.

Wow! You really truly do love legacy lenses. It is great to see hear the joy in your voice as you fondle and caress each one. So do I! Shooting with manual lenses that are 50 to 75 years old is an almost sensual experience, particularly when compared to the modern lenses (which I enjoy as well, but not in the same way). These character of each legacy lens reflects its era and evokes the signature images from that era. Suggestions -- Canon FDs like the 135mm f2, Komine i.e. 28mm f2; Canon LTMs, especially 50mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.2 (if you can get a good copy) produce stellar, sensitive images; plus there are some amazing projector lenses with gobs of character from the Soviet era as well as Meyer Optics that are readily adapted (albeit with no aperture); and, of course, there are still some spectacular Soviet lenses that haven't yet made it to your podcast yet. That said, looking forward to see where you go from here ...

Hey, thanks a lot for sharing this great and incredible valuable knowledge, what a masterclass!!

love your video. I start with my vintage lens after watching your video. My collection forces on Minolta MC MD which include 24/2.8 35/2.8 50/1.2 85/1.7 135/2.8 with Sony A7, Fuji X-T3 bodies, they certainly bring me endless joys. And I may get old Minolta film camera in near future. Thanks again, great jobs and keep it.

Unintentional ASMR indeed.

Great calming voice... good for ASMR.

Nice video, and you lead off with the Jupiter 8. One of my favorites. I peeled one off a Kiev rangefinder (complete with the helicoid) and adapted it to my Fuji. Sharp, great bokeh, and good contrast. Great series of videos!

I've bought a few lenses thanks to you (Minolta 58mm 1.4, although newer MC-II version, MC Pancolar 50mm 1.8, Minolta 50mm F2, Jupiter 9, Flektogon 35mm 2.4 and more) . I knew them all and what they are capable of already (I do a lot of research as I enjoy the subject), but seeing your own experience with the lenses and the resulting images helped me decide and provided that little "push". Technical reviews are useful of course, but thanks to you I've got the "feel" of the lenses and I felt as if I've already used them myself. I'm not the one to comment on KZfaq videos often, or almost at all, but I feel it's time to say thank you for all the effort and shared enthusiasm. Greetings from Serbia. :)

your channel is superb ! many thanks for sharing all that passion with us !

8:15 Love this photo with the lady in red! Great channel

I have numerous old lenses from a wide variety of manufacturers that I’m able to adapt to fit my cameras a number of 58mm Helios 44-2 so I have reversed the front element in one of them and I’m getting some unusual effects that I rather like. Curiosity got the better of me recently and I purchased a old Praktica with a 42mm thread 50mm lens that I was told by my mentor over 60years ago not to ever bother buying the 3 element Domiplan but I’m loving it. Always enjoy your trips down memory lane of old vintage glass thanks again for another great vid.

Really enjoying your videos. Would be handy if you could show a close up of each lens for identification purposes. Cheers!

Great channel. I work in st Paul's and I often recognise your locations from my own lunchtime photo walks. As a predominantly film shooter I would also say that the bridge between some of these lenses and expensive counterparts is even less for analogue photography (particularly monochrome). The film stock used being a bigger differentiator in my opinion.

Great info...I just got a Nikon 55mm 2.8 macro lens for about a hundred bucks and LOVE the resolution and sharpness THANKS!

This is a superb video, thank you! I'm looking at vintage lenses for video so I'm hopping between your video and others to check which of these lenses go well with our cinema cameras. You have been very helpful indeed with some superb suggestions. I've subscribed and will have a look at your other videos. Thank you!

Thanks, very interesting and informative video!

Love your videos, very informative, thanks! I just got lucky with a Pentacon Auto 50mm f/1.8 that immediately became my favourite lens (and for which I paid mere peanuts :)

A really excellent, informative video. Thanks.

This is a great knowledge. Thank you very much for this video! 🙏

Very very interesting video and very super interesting lens collection. I would like to use all of them. In my little lens collection my favourite is Tamron Adaptal 2

Thank you so much for your videos. They are fantastic.

I always look forward to your videos! Prices on eBay in the US for many on the lenses on your list are relatively high, unfortunately.

It's crazy because this was two years ago, and recently I've gotten into vintage lenses and Nikon or Nikkor have actually been more affordable to get into compared to the FD's and some others. But that's only for now. Other wise love the introduction to new older lenses. Especially the Russian and german ones!

Thanks for another great video!

Great Video my friend!!!

I have to say I'm quite impressed and pleased with a Soligor 135mm F/3.5 that I have. Such a nice focal length for intimate photos, and it has some really nice blur wide-opened. A lesser known brand but a great and solid lens, most likely from the 70's as it came with a Minolta SRT-101. For me it was a great cheap way to figure out if I like these focal lengths before buying anything autofocus, which are more expensive. So now I also get blown away by the performance of my Minolta AF 135mm F/2.8 on the Sony A99, or on film too with a Minolta Alpha 7.

Canon FD 50mm 1.8. This is what I got myself. The light comes out so nicely natural.

The Pentax SMC 200/4 in the M42 mount is a sleeper lens. Excellent color and contrast.

Great vid, appreciate the incite.

First vintage lenses I got was Pentax-110 f/2.8 set for an APS-C sensor. The 24mm 2.8 is about the smallest and cutest lens I've ever seen.

You are so calming i love your video

Great discussion. Thank you.

Unknown gem: Ricoh 50mm f1.7 (not the 1.9) sharp wide open, King of low Light. Best 28mm I know: the Pentax K 3.5, not to be confused with the M. Not super cheap, but still affordable. I have to try those canon FD's and Hexanon's. I agree with you on the Super Takumar 50mm. Had them all, and sold them all. There are better options. I'll buy another 55mm takumar that I sold for no good reason. Thanks for this Nice video !

Thanks for this appreciation of lenses.

verry god explanation konsolidated knowledge greatings from germany

In Moscow Industar-50, -61, Helios-44, Jupiter-8 has price $4-$10.

Hi nice video, I use MF lenses on my Fuji Xe1 & Xpro1 cameras that I bought new. Because the cheapness of vintage lenses, i stick to M42 & Minolta because i had a lot of these lenses anyway, The Min MD 50 f1.7 and 28 f2.8 are astonishingley sharp on my Xe1. I also have a SENTON, 35-70 F3.5 short zoom ( made in Korea Minolta Copy) also superbly sharp , all my minolta gear works very harmoiusly . But my two favorite M42 lenses, ( and i have a shed load) are my Albert Shacht "Trevagon" 35mm F3.5 this is produces great pictures and is a work art, so compact and solidly made!! and my Voigghtlander Skoparex 35mm F2.8 made in Singapore from a Rollei design , again capable of beautiful images, but also like the Shacht, compact solidly made.

Amazing, thanks

Thanks for that. Lots of work goes into these videos. All of them make you use manual settings which can only be a good thing. May I recommend another Pentax SMC lens? - the 50mm f4 Macro (which you recommend in another video). It gives you a walkaround 50mm with the option to get very close too, all in a small, beautifully-made lens. (Might alarm the odd butterfly as you have to get close). The f4 max aperture doesn't bother me as I'd generally shoot at f5.6 or f8. I have it mounted on my Canon 5D mk1 body. Newer DSLR bodies give you high ISO to compensate, with very little noise. Lovely colours, very sharp and unobtrusive - cheap too.

Well done, thank you!

Why is this video so mesmerizing? I can't stop watching.

My goodness, what a wonderful video. Nice to know I'm not alone in my love of vintage lenses! I have a modest collection of Pentax lenses. Some are M42 mount and others are K mount. Pentax's M lenses (K mount) are just superb in build quality, feel, and the images they can produce. I also have (M42 mount) Super-Takumar 55mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.4 as well as several others. One of the reasons I like these manual lenses is of course they are cheap, but also how easy they mount on my film and digital Pentax cameras. What mount do you find most common in your vintage lenses?

Hello, Nigel! Thank you for this great overview. Do you know if Zeiss Pancolar is a radioactive one? I loved it's artistic rendering thinking to get one. Thank you for all your reviews!

Great video, thanks so much. One question: are this lenses usable with a DSLR and CMOS sensor? (22.3 x 14.9 mm)

Hi. You are right. Meyer Optik was founded in Görlitz in 1896. After the second world war started production again under the name of VEB Görlitz. In 1968 merged with Pentacon to take the name VEB Pentacon with headquarters in Dresden and 1985 merged again with VEB Zeiss.

Thanks very much, Sir. I liked the video...

Great video for a Sunday morning as I have some of the lenses mentioned. Do you have any experience with the Rollei 35 lenses, the 40mm f3.5 Tessar or Triotar's ?

Great video, only noticed by the group (photography with manual lenses (old & new) My favourites are the CZJ Biotar 2/5.8cm from 1941, the Biotar 2/5.8cm from 1947, the Ultron 1.8/50mm and the Zeiss-Opton 1.5/50mm as well as the 5cm from 1937. And then there is the Steinheil Quinar VL 2.8/135 the silver and very rare version.😁👌

You are a great person, thank you very much

The takumar 55 1.8 is actually uses slightly radioactive glass for better optics

19:05 the reason because Canon FD lenses are less appreciated then other manufacturer's like Olympus, Pentax and especially Nikon is because of the flange distance required: these lens are almost useless on all the most common digital DSLR because they have a very short flange distance and cannot be adapted to EOS mount focussing to the infinity, let alone Nikon F and Pentax K. The only users who sought after FD lenses were m43 video fans. Nowadays, with most manufacturers switching to mirrrorless, on their FF bodies these lenses are rising in prices because they are outstanding glasses and are perfectly usable to their full extent on RF, Sony E and Nikon Z mounts. Nikkor F lensenses, having the longest flange distance of all the vintage lenses, have been the most sought after because they can easily adapt to anything in the digital DSLR ecosystem and are considered native on all the digital Nikon FF DSLR bodies, but this also raised the price on the market and so are not much of a bargain. I have here, on my canon RP a Nikkor AF-50mm 1.4 D and an old Zuiko OM 50mm f1,8 and I must say the Olympus is by far the best lens wide open, so don't be fooled thinking high prices = better quality. There are some "unicorn" lenses that will probably bankrupt you, but these are for true connosseur and collectors: All the Aspherical canon FD lenses are almost unobtainable and will cost you thousand of €/£/$, because these are the lenses usesed by lens feticists like Kubrik in many scenes in masterworks like Barry Lindon. Topcon Exacta mount lenses are also extremely rare and expensive and can be still bought with almost the same design from Voightlander, but this is not really in the bargain area. BTW, Mamiya lens are excellent and cheap: the Sekor C 80mm f/1.9 was used in several scenes while filming "Interstellar" and it's still cheap!

i love this man 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I couldn't agree more about bonding with a lens , the dumpy little indistar 69 was an instant hit despite the extra fiddly aperture ring. .

Hello sir .. Thank you for this wonderful episode .. I have a question .. Is it possible to use Canon FD lenses on DSLR cameras crop or full trame? should I use an adapter? Thanks

Canon FD lenses are often overlooked because of their complicated breechlock mechanism and on/off aperture linkage which make it tricky to adapt onto adapters. It works as an effective deterrent for mirrorless users who don't want to fiddle with the Canon FD mount.

Very interesting video, thanks. Just a thought, could you please adjust your audio it is very low.

Yet another wonderful entertaining video! May I ask do you use these lenses on film or are they mostly used on digital cameras All the very best

how can you dislike this guy :(

Your spirit on vintage lenses is outstanding, appreciate that very much! "Negatively" I would say, prices could raise on such informative records you do! 😁

Thanks

Picked up a Staeble-Telexon 135 mm f3.8 that fits the old Paxette (39mm thread) 35mm cameras for 30 NZ $ Can't find out much about it and haven't used it yet ☹

Have you tried any vintage Yashica ML lenses? People seem to have forgotten them.

thank you!!!!

Hello, nice video :) I just bought a Helios 44-2 which will hopefully arrive next week. I am also thinking about buying a Helios 40. I would like to buy the new version because it is available for F-Mount (M42 wont focus to infinity unfortunatliy). Do you have any experience with the new version? I would like to know if it has the same quality and characteristics of the old one.

Have you tried the Mamiya 55mm and 50mm lenses in m42 mount? I've got two of the chrome nose Mamiya lenses and they give my Zebra Pancolar a run for its money. You're right about the Pancolar, it is fantastic.

Very nice video, would you share your knowledge on wider vintage lenses (40mm and below) for modern FF and APSC ?

I've been told the m42 to canon EF adapter needs to have its own glass, is this correct.

I'm new to interchangeable lenses having bought a mirrorless Sony camera just over a year ago and I love playing with vintage lenses, you were spot on when you said about bonding with them. There is something nice about using a lens that has decades of history and use. Thanks for your videos.

Can I get an adaptor for the Jena or Russian lenses to fit my Contarex ? . Any helpful info would be appreciated. Thanks.

Please,please can you let US know where to get the adapters you use ,thanks.

Ricoh p 28mm 2.8 and a Ricoh 50mm f2 on K mount. Excellent and cheap.

Have you ever seen tiny "bubbles" in optical glass of Helios 44-2? It seems no effect on image quality. Thanks for inspirational channel.

Meyer Optik Gorlitz Domiplan lenses are fantastic vintage M42 lenses with lovely Bokeh which can be picked up on ebay for 10 to 20 quid.

Hahaha, I think I bought that dud Russian lens. A Jupiter 8 that needed to be 8 mm closer to the sensor ,wierd bokeh and some interesting distortion, love it.

Dear Mr. Zenography. Thanks for another great video! I have learnt quite a few things from your channel and am very grateful to you for all the knowledge that you have shared with us. Some thoughts... I would love to know your first name! Reason? Saying thank you "Mr. Zenography" feels somewhat impersonal. Or perhaps you would like to keep your first name a secret? If that is the case that is fine. The intention is not to pry. But do consider sharing with us some name we can use so that we can speak to you more personally :) One thing I have definitely learnt from you... and I credit you for having made me be very discerning about this quality now is... the way lenses render the background. I love your reviews and agree with all your observations and choices with the exception of one thing... I can't stand swirly or harsh backgrounds at all. One thing I love is your relaxed, grown up, and calm presentation. And your authenticity and your desire to share with us great bargains in a time where many simply just don't have the money to buy the cameras and lenses pushed to us that costs many many hundreds or thousands of notes. Your channel is in stark contrast to way too much American-Canadian-centric imature vlogger produced photographic content that are just thinly disguised affiliate sales videos. One other thing I learnt from you is how wonderful the old Olympus Zuiko lenses are. Strange thing is I never paid any attention to them, ever. They were never ever on my radar despite me being into photography since the film days. Perhaps it was because none of my friends ever used an Olympus. As a teenager I started using an Exakta. Friends would all either have Minolta or Nikon. My first few digital cameras were Olympus and I have bought a few digital micro four third Oympus lenses. Again despite that... the old OM lenses just did not exist in my world. I just never saw them. But once I saw your videos and learnt from you and observed how the backgrounds render in these vintage Olympus OM lenses, I started seeking them out. I now have the 28mm, the 35mm, the 50mm 1.4 and 1.8, the 135mm and the 200 mm. It took me a long time to find it, but Olympus made a genuine OM lens to micro four thirds adaptor for owners to use these lenses on their micro four thirds cameras. There is so much to like about these lenses. Exactly as you have said in all your videos. And since I had the lenses, I then thought to myself... why not get a matching film body for them. And so I did some research and I then discovered the fabulous OM-1n. What an amazing camera. I bought one and I was very lucky that mine looks like new! My only criticism of the OMs is that the film advance lever doesn't offer a sufficiently satisfying level of refinement. Its good when you advance the film. But not great. And so for a very modest sum, I get a set of lenses that are small in size, optically sharp enough, light in weight, have great colors, render out of focus backgrounds beautifully and have a lovely to use focus ring. They can be used on digital and film cameras with great results, and for us more "ocd" types... as a set of lenses, they visually and aesthetically match each other! An idea for your channel mate. The reason I offer this idea is eventually you will have tested most vintage lenses. So I hope you intersperse other types of videos where we can benefit from your relaxed mature grounded presentation style. Perhaps you can ask us viewers to submit to you some of our photos taken with a particular vintage lens. You could tell us... hey in January 2021, how about anyone with a Takumar lens submit a photo. In February 2021 anyone with a Jupiter lens send a photo. So at the end of each month a different lens or family or make gets selected... you could go thru these photos and turn some of the ones you like into a short video slideshow. Think of it more as putting together a little narated showcase of what each particular vintage lens is doing and taking photos off around the world... it's NOT a competition. I think it will be amazing because of the idea of diversity. So once again mate... thanks for sending me down an enjoyable, rewarding and affordable path by introducing me to the magic of Olmpus OM Zuiko lenses and your mature, laid back, relaxed, value seeking, non pushy content... A great week ahead to you and all your viewers. Cheers! Zahari

Zenography, Excellent and learned review. Where do you buy these lenses from ? As a beginner, living in the UK, where do we go to find these? And could you please discuss how to find the best adaptors for use on modern digital DSLR's or Mirrorless cameras.

I'm an amateur photographer and I have a Canon 90d. I've listening to your videos for some time now and would like to take the plunge and get a couple of vintage lenses to play with. What would you recommend for someone with an aps-c camera who is starting out and where do you recommend that I get the adapters?

I’ve always assumed the vintage Nikon lenses got a higher price than the canons because they were still natively supported on modern Nikon SLRs, and even adaptable to Canon SLRs. Canon FD lenses have no simple solution for using with either. Of course now that they’re all easily adaptable to mirrorless cameras, all the prices seem to be going up.

I am adapting some old Nikon Ai lenses, one I used the 200 f4 is 55 years old.

I get some great images using a canon 100mm fd lens on my oly em10 mkii

Watching your videos made me go out and buy a Helios 44 serial # 0019725 Red P 13 blade, was used on a Start camera, it looks to be a bayonet mount. What adapter do you recommend to mount on a Sony mirrorless?

thank you for this video. Which would you recommend for product photography?