Five Beautiful Blurry Background Vintage Lenses

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Күн бұрын

Five of my favourite background blur producing lenses for mirrorless, reviewed and discussed, with sample images.
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Пікірлер: 114

@LuzzBightyear 4 жыл бұрын

you sounded like you sneaked up in the midnight to make this video without disturbing your wife

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

You're not far off the mark - I recorded it early one morning when only me and the cat were awake!

@MrK67017 4 жыл бұрын

3 50mm 2 135mm 1. @ :58 Pentax Takumar 50mm F1.4 2. @ 2:51 Helios 44-2 50mm F2 3. @ 5:40 Sumitar 50mm F2 4. @ 8:50 Jupiter 11 135 F4 5. @11:51 Olympus 135mm f3.5 E Zuiko

@nicsiu3261 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for showing them here

@scotthansenmtbt4110 4 жыл бұрын

Your channel is my absolute favorite! You got it going on brother! I love vintage glass!

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks, glad you're enjoying the channel!

@rileysmithphoto 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for always doing these. I hope at some point you get your hands on a rigid Summicron 50. If you love the Summitar you will no doubt be over the moon with the Summicron.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I would so much love to try one! Maybe someday...

@tedphillips2951 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the time & effort you put into your utube channel they very informative & interesting. I have both the 135mm lenses you reviewed & agree they are both nice lenses to use. I bought a Fed 2 because of one of your videos & really like using it. I actually sold my Canon P because I prefer to use the Fed.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

The Fed 2 is an unsung treasure, a really nice camera, and so cheap too. Glad you're enjoying the videos!

@knubben 4 жыл бұрын

Ive got Jupiter 8 and 11 for my alpha7 and they are lovely :) Also have Minolta MC Rokkor - PF 50m f1.7 also a beast :)

@ianhand5006 4 жыл бұрын

Great video, as usual!

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks Ian, glad you're still enjoying them!

@HansBaier 4 жыл бұрын

Before the video came out, the Zuiko 135mm was already on the way to my home. Can't wait!

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Enjoy!

@Zainphotography 4 жыл бұрын

You liked it?

@brianwinkleblack6817 4 жыл бұрын

My favorite 135mm is the Meyer Optik Gorlitz 135mm f2.8. It has 15 aperture blades and keeps creamy smooth bokeh even stopped down.

@jonlouis2582 4 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed this a lot. I am going through some old equipment for possible sale, and can confirm what you said about the Helios 44 lenses. It seems the oldest produce more swirled bokeh, the newer ones only seldom. All mine are as sharp as can be, even one with a lot of scratches. I agree with your assessments of the other lenses as usual, except the Jupiter 11 which I have never seen. Thanks again.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!

@alanstanway6118 4 жыл бұрын

Always informative vlogs, usually on long overlooked lenses. I'm sure that if you visit any UK car boot sale you can still find cheap lenses from the lesser manufacturers (Chinon, Cosina, Konica, Yashica etc) which were often soft round the edges of the frame and will give hours of endless bokeh fun!

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Glad you're enjoying the videos, thanks for watching!

@BaddaBigBoom 4 жыл бұрын

Another great review. Subbed/thumbs up. One of my favourite old lenses for blur is the Pentacon 135 2.8, it's one of a few lenses I've found that is referred to as "bokeh monster".

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

@alanread6596 4 жыл бұрын

Another excellent video

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

@irfanchooify 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, the leica killing me !

@i.alegre9401 4 жыл бұрын

Love the Zuiko 135mm f3.5. Extraordinary lense for street photography and portraits indeed.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

It's lovely, one of my favourites!

@hidefstef 4 жыл бұрын

This guy is making lenses sound like sex lol.... awesome video man! Love your channel!

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Many thanks, very glad you're enjoying them!

@epic3662 4 жыл бұрын

I own the Zuiko 50mm f1.4 one.. IMO this lens also produces a smooth dreamy bokeh, it's Amazing! in fact I shot an entire wedding event with it :)

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

It's a fantastic lens, easily up to any shoot you can throw at it. One of my absolute favourites!

@palmereldrich Жыл бұрын

The Takumar 70-200 F/4 is wonderful also. Stupidly sold my 35mm stuff when i went to 6×6 format. Looking for it again.

@chrisswink4047 2 жыл бұрын

I love using my Zuiko 135mm f3.5 and my Zuiko 50mm f1.4 on my OMD EM5. In fact these are the only lenses I use on it. Waiting on my adapter to arrive for my F Zuiko 38mm 1.8. After watching this video and another of yours where you have discussed the Helios 44-2 I am looking on ebay for that lens now.

@zenography7923 2 жыл бұрын

Make sure you buy the KMZ version - others aren't as good!

@geekinthegarden3927 4 жыл бұрын

Nice video thanks. Others you might want to look at are the Mir 1B 37mm f2.8, Jupiter 9 and Jupiter 37A. I use m42 lenses on a micro four thirds adapter. This way I can use a straight adapter, a focal reducer (changes the crop factor to 1.44 instead of 2), a tilt shift adapter or a Helicoid adapter which means that I can turn any m42 lens into a close focus lens.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

A helicoid adaptor sounds like a really useful piece of kit - I'm going to look into them very soon. Thanks for watching!

@geekinthegarden3927 4 жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 this is the style I use. www.amazon.co.uk/KECAY-Mount-Focusing-Helicoid-Adapter/dp/B01HM29V2G For micro four Thirds it expands quit a bit because of the difference in the flange lengths means that there's space for a reasonable length of helicoid.

@key2adventure 4 жыл бұрын

And the Helios covers the sensor of my Hasselblad X1D, amazing on that camera. A 15dollar lens on a 5000 dollar camera :-)

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Now that's an eclectic combination!

@anbar5675 3 жыл бұрын

As always an interesting video. In my opinion, the Helios 44 Silver, is a quality lens, ideal for portraiture (even if the swirl effect is quite disturbing for me). To be honest, I am not enthusiastic with other Helios versions (44-2 etc.). Also the f1,4 Takumar is very soft for my taste, at least the two samples I owned some years ago.

@zenography7923 3 жыл бұрын

I found the Tak 1.4 a bit too soft too - for me the 1.8 is better.

@markharris5771 4 жыл бұрын

I never really took to the 135mm lens until I got my Zuiko and Praktica lenses, I always considered it a 'portrait' lens. Goodness knows why, as I don’t normally restrict lenses like that. I do think of getting other lenses such as the Jupiter 11 for my Zorki, but I quire like how the 50mm makes you work for the image. I’m also too lazy to use a second view finder. As always a superb video, I could listen to you talking all night.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

50mm is my preferred length on a rangefinder - using other lenses with them is more difficult than with an SLR. Although framelines certainly make things easier, as in the Leica M cameras, but I don't have an M! Glad you're enjoying the videos, thanks for watching!

@mitya_ka 4 жыл бұрын

There is also a very cool portrait lens of 92/2 from the Soviet diaprojector gives an excellent picture. If it is skillfully adapted. Center/edge resolution is 100/50 lines. Perfectly blurs the background. And also Jupiter-37a and Tair-11

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Not sure what a diaprojector is, but the lens sounds very interesting! Thanks for watching.

@mitya_ka 4 жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 If interestingly I have a lens 2/92 done under the bayonet of Nikon F, in a corps from mir-38b. I can send to you for a review.

@mitya_ka 4 жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 Thank you for reviews that you create for people!

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

@@mitya_ka That would be wonderful, I'd love to review your lens. If you email me at Zenography11@gmail.com we can discuss. Thanks!

@mitya_ka 4 жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 Sent a letter, check your mail. Thanks!

@josephfarrugia2350 4 жыл бұрын

Congrats on the video. Please do mention what amera such lenses are mounted to when reviewing. What camera were the sample images shot on please?

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Hi there, all shot on the Sony A7. Thanks for watching!

@pvillez 4 жыл бұрын

The Richard Attenborough of vintage lenses.

@zenography7923 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, that is indeed a compliment!

@blaspayri7722 4 жыл бұрын

excellent and beautiful demonstration of these lenses capabilities, with really inspiring images. It could be useful for the viewers to have more text stating the lenses that are used in each shot and the configuration, and also some more text describing the lenses in the description of the video. Which camera did you use? I suppose the lenses will behave differently on different sensor sizes, and that the lens adapters or speedboosters will play a role also.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I always shoot on a full frame Sony a7, so original focal lengths are as designed. Crop sensors increase effective focal length, by about one third for aps-c (so a 50mm lens becomes an effective 75mm) and x2 for micro four thirds (a 50mm becomes an effective 100mm). Images shot while each lens is being reviewed and discussed are taken with that lens - perhaps I ought to make this clearer? Thanks for watching.

@chrisc7707 4 жыл бұрын

The 1950s Canon 50 1.8 (Leica thread mount) sits somewhere between the Summitar & Helios 44 for around $100 USD. Minimum focus distance of 3.5 ft, but I use it with a Leica M to Sony E helicoid adapter to bring that down to under a foot

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

That adaptor sounds really interesting - I didn't know they existed!

@charlesmorgan8440 4 жыл бұрын

Amusing that I have four of the five, not having a Jupiter 11. Some lovely images, particularly fine from the cheap as chips Zuiko 135mm (is there any system now as reasonable and as exquisite as an OM camera (mine an OM2n) and lenses that are so low in price?). I bought my Helios recently, the real problem not being availability but quality - of the six I looked at in one dealers, only one was easy to focus and free of haze. It (like the Summitar) is also prone to flare. But still, beautiful lenses for really low prices!

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

The OM kit is great value at the moment, let's hope it stays that way! The Helios is one of my favourite lenses bar none, partly because of the wild way it flares!

@ErwinRoossien 4 жыл бұрын

Nice. Personally I feel the Helios 44-3 looks better than the 44-2 because of the better coating used. Other than that it's the same lens. And would Def have a look at the Jupiter 9.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I'll certainly try the J9 someday, it has a great reputation!

@nocommentnoname1111 4 жыл бұрын

Like reading poetry.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@N0rdman 4 жыл бұрын

Hi, the 50mm Takumar that you have there is the 7 element version, there is a 8 element version that many prefer, I suppose you haven't tested them for character between them? Easiest way to tell them apart is the infrared focus mark, the 8 element version is between the f/4 and the central diamond, while the 7 element like yours is outside of the f/4 mark on the hyperfocal scale.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I've heard the 8 element version is a little nicer, but haven't tried it, though I'd certainly like to! Thanks for watching!

@MB-or8js 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video! Could you expand this to 35 mm vintage (rangefinder) lenses? Maybe Jupiter-12 lenses or alternatives? Much harder to find information about this focal length and bokeh blur.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

35mm lenses for rangefinders are somewhat thin on the ground, and I don't think they're the best lenses for bokeh; minimum focus distance is fairly long, and the wide(ish) focal length limits bokeh too. Thanks for watching!

@MB-or8js 4 жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 Yes, the bokeh can't be beaten with the one of a 50 mm lens. But looking at used rangefinder lens prices, the 35 mm ones are one of the most expensive, and I suspect that's due to demand. It's the ideal street shooter and all-around focal length. I have three 35 mm lenses, the Jupiter-12, one Leica M, and the CV 35/1.2 II. Huge performance differences, each has their pros and cons.

@gunfighterzero 4 жыл бұрын

you need to try some minolta rokkor glass. the 50(5cm) 1.8 super rokkor rangefinder lens, it is a real hidden gem, can be pricey though

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I've heard very good things about the Rokkors - would love to try one someday!

@gunfighterzero 4 жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 they are definitely worth a look

@caviannicuruso 3 жыл бұрын

Zenography try the rokkor mc 85mm f 1.7 :-)

@PublicUniverse 4 жыл бұрын

Ever try a Fujinon 55mm f2.2? Beautiful and perfectly circular soap bubbles. Cheap m42 lens too

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I think I may have one somewhere, must give it a try...

@jakoberiksen2944 3 жыл бұрын

I feel like you’re about to sell me something illegal when you say “a bit of the blurry stuff” hahaha

@zenography7923 3 жыл бұрын

A good sideline for Jessie and Walt perhaps?

@jakoberiksen2944 3 жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 It's too late for them I think but they should have while they still had some soul left

@xxGravyBabyxx 4 жыл бұрын

Hello, I was wondering if a helios 44 can fit on a m39 camera like the canon p? I am interested in the lens and I have seen some that are m39/m42 but I can't tell the difference. Thanks and love the channel!

@georgeparkins777 4 жыл бұрын

What do you mean m39/m42? Those are two different widths of screw threading, and in camera lenses they refer to two different lens mounts with no specifications in common. How can a lens be both? Do you mean a lens with an adaptor? I'm not giving you grief, I'm just confused.

@jonlouis2582 4 жыл бұрын

Hi Miguel, I have two of the early M39 Helios lenses, Canon P takes L39 mount, unless I have it mixed up. Anyway, the lens will mount on Leica/Canon RF but can only be used as a macro lens, it will not focus to infinity, and wouldn't couple to the rangefinder.Same thread, different flange distance.

@xxGravyBabyxx 4 жыл бұрын

@@jonlouis2582 thank you jon. I have been seeing a lot of helios 44 on ebay claiming that it focus perfectly on leica/canon RF. I have read on forums before that they dont focus to infinity. I'll make sure to stay away from it for my canon p. Thanks agaian!

@ErwinRoossien 4 жыл бұрын

Yes you can. Find a good ebay seller that states that the lens has been optimized for infinity focus.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I can only echo what everyone else has said - not possible I'm afraid. Thanks for watching!

@caldera878 4 жыл бұрын

Is the Canon F-1 the greatest unknown, sleeper camera? Or perhaps people hadn't heard of it yet relative to other hyped up cameras.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I haven't used the F-1, but hear it's a very nice machine... Thanks for watching!

@user-hb5dg4ch1v 4 жыл бұрын

Good video! Lenes asmr

@gunfighterzero 4 жыл бұрын

i know ive said this before but you really need to discover the magic of minolta.. the rokkor 58 1.2 is one of the undeniable kings of bokeh, the 1.4 is also very nice...

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Would love to try these - I'm looking for more lenses just now and will check these out.

@farid1406 4 жыл бұрын

Would you say the Helios 55 mil is better for swirl/overall character or the Helios 85 1.5?

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Both the Helios 44 (58mm, not 55mm) and the Helios 40 85mm will swirl in the right conditions, however the Hellios 40 gives much more. The 40 though is really an art lens; it's wackiness really is off the scale. I like the lens very much, although some might say it's a bit too wacky! There are three videos on it on this channel, so you can judge the results for yourself, but many prefer the 44 as it's more restrained in its effect. Also, the 40 is extremely large and heavy - definitely not a walk-around lens!

@farid1406 4 жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 Alright, thanks...I guess you know somethin' Jon Snow

@GruenerGandalf 4 жыл бұрын

Olympus zuiko 50mm f1.4 or f1.8 best lenses

@danielandujar5479 4 жыл бұрын

i've own the f1.8 no complain:)

@ekphotography 4 жыл бұрын

I have a guy offering me a Olympus Zuiko 24 f2.0 and a Yashica 50mm 1.4 for trade for a lens I never use. Planning on using it on a BMPCC4K and cannot find much information on the Zuiko 24mm f2.0? Any thoughts about that lens?

@edash360 4 жыл бұрын

I have the Zuiko 24mm 2.8 and the Canon FD 24MM F2. The Zuiko 2.8 has great resolving power for it's tiny size. I remember reading that the FD24MM F2 is a slightly better performer than the Zuiko 24 F2 but I haven't compared them side by side. My Canon FD 24 f2 is a little soft wide open but I still love the way it renders. The Zuiko lenses feel really great for manual focus, and I think the lenses lack of absolute critical sharpness will not be much of an issue for video use. I think if the lens is in good condition, I'd be surprised I'd be surprised if you are disappointed.

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

I've never used it myself, though I've heard it's outstanding! Thanks for watching.

@4FRodrigo 3 жыл бұрын

Vintage lenses explained my agent Smith - from the Matrix. LOL Good explanations, though!

@zenography7923 3 жыл бұрын

:) Thanks!

@georgantonischki1188 4 жыл бұрын

for Bokeh it's quite interesting if you use APSc or full frame

@zenography7923 4 жыл бұрын

Full frame is my preference, though aps-c is very nice too. Had a Nikon D80 some years back, followed by a D90 - both excellent cameras, though I preferred the colour from the D80.