Old, manual lenses...anyone else still play around with them?

[unpopular]

No. I am the official TPF troll.

This will not be tolerated.

 

[480sparky]

No. I am the official TPF troll.

This will not be tolerated.

Yeah, but we like you........ but only because you bring us bacon!

 

[wfooshee]

Way back in the early days of auto-focus, I started looking around for a replacement for my ailing Canon AE-1. The Canon change to their mount to accommodate AF, versus Nikon's adaptation of the existing mount, persuaded me to get an N8008 as my new camera, since I couldn't use my existing FD-mount lenses either way. Having gone digital now, through a D50, a D5000, and now a D7000, I still very much enjoy the ability to use legacy glass, even though my inventory is not exactly deep. Currently I have an AI-converted 85mm f:1.8, and a non-AI 50mm f:1.4 (which I can only mount on my F4.) I also have an adapter ring with which I can mount the Voigtlander DKL-mount lenses from my dad's Ultramatic, of which that 50mm f:2 is rather nice.

With the 85-1.8:

The Voigtlander 50 attached to my D7000, with all three closeup rings attached. (Was playing with some macro stuff.)

Which took this picture of a circuit board in my laptop. (Just a touch of chromatic aberration caused by the closeup rings as you go out from center... )

 

[runnah]

Now, now everyone knows that it was impossible to get in focus photos before AF was invented. Just look at some of these shocking examples.

 

[Derrel]

Kilfitt was the first company to make a really fast and easy-focusing long telephoto lens for action work, used mostly by nature and sports/action shooters, but on a pretty limited basis. Shooting sports with manual focusing cameras and lenses was done as early as the 1880's, as far as I know, with very big Graflex plate box reflex type cameras, mostly for Major League Baseball games. These cameras were BIG!

In 1976, Nikon premiered the world's fastest 400mm telephoto, the 400mm f/3.5 ED~IF, an internal focusing lens, which had an adjustable focus tensioning system, allowing the user to make the focusing feather-touch, to quite heavy, and the lens also had a focusing pre-set "stop" which could be set by focusing on the desired distance, then turning the set-screw; the focusing ring would literally stop when it was cranked to that spot, but with more effort, the focusing ring could easily be moved past the pre-set distance, in either close or far directions.

The 400/3.5 is actually fairly easy to use for action sports. I've shot football, baseball, and track and field with mine, which is the 1981 Ai-S model. It had a "little brother", the 300mm f/4.5 ED~IF, which lacked the pre-set distance stop.

The 300mm f/4.5 on the right, when it is in proper order, has an exceptionally light, feather-touch focusing action; in both of these lens designs, only some very small and lightweight Internal Focusing elements move during the focusing process. The bigger, heavier front elements do not move at all, and focus ring movement is silky-smooth and very precise and well-damped.

 

[sabbath999]

Now, now everyone knows that it was impossible to get in focus photos before AF was invented. Just look at some of these shocking examples.

View attachment 110940 View attachment 110941 View attachment 110942

Congratulations, you have won the internet for today!

 

[480sparky]

Now, now everyone knows that it was impossible to get in focus photos before AF was invented. Just look at some of these shocking examples.

Unfortunately, our resident 28-year-old cellar dweller won't recognize those images.

 

[sabbath999]

Now, now everyone knows that it was impossible to get in focus photos before AF was invented. Just look at some of these shocking examples.

Unfortunately, our resident 28-year-old cellar dweller won't recognize those images.

Truth.

 

[Mr.Photo]

Personally I'm getting a bit annoyed that he hasn't been banned already. I actually dread coming here because he is like a bad disease that you don't want to catch.

 

[480sparky]

Maybe we can move the forum before he gets back. Just don't leave a forwarding address.

 

[unpopular]

Ilex Solar 5 1/2" 4.5 from the 1940s. You know Before sharpness was invented

 

[ruifo]

My old beauties: 28mm f/2.8 AI-S + 50mm f/1.2 AI-S + 105mm f/2.5 AI-S

 

[480sparky]

My collection of utterly useless, blur-inducing glass paperweights:

Oops. Sorry. I had an utterly useless, blur-inducing manual focus lens on the camera. Let me change that to an autofocus lens as we now know it's impossible to get an image in focus without the aid of modern technology.

 

[Mr.Photo]

My collection of utterly useless, blur-inducing glass paperweights:

Oops. Sorry. I had an utterly useless, blur-inducing manual focus lens on the camera. Let me change that to an autofocus lens as we now know it's impossible to get an image in focus without the aid of modern technology.

Boy I don't know how we ever did without it.

 

[Mr.Photo]

My old beauties: 28mm f/2.8 AI-S + 50mm f/1.2 AI-S + 105mm f/2.5 AI-S

I want a 105 2.5 AI-S soooooo bad. I have the 135 2.8 Ai and it's an absolute gem, but I still want the 105.