old low-contrast EF mount lenses?

ziffmclaren

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I'm looking for older autofocus EF mount zoom lenses. Specifically ones with low contrast and low to medium sharpness and if it has a tendency to flare all the better. No need for them to necessarily be Canons, aftermarket manufactures are fine as well (maybe preferred..) I'm assuming the first generation lenses (late 80s to early 90s) are my best bet and I've seen the canon 35-70 mark I but have heard mixed reviews as to its performance (I'm looking for low performance!) And I know about the canon 28-80 as well. Both of those fall right around the zoom range I'm looking for but I'd be particularly interested to hear any other suggestions. And, as a matter of fact, I'd love to hear about any telephoto zooms that meet these criteria as well.
 
Why?
 
I would go for one of the old analog Rebel kit lenses like this one


They should be pretty terrible in terms of color, contrast and sharpness. Expectations were low in the film days.
 
Nigel Wilkins wrote:

Why?
Because in general I find the higher contrast and sharpness of newer more efficient lens designs and digital sensors to produce far less pleasing results aesthetically. Older lenses help to make my digital files look like they were shot on film ;)

Kreitmann wrote:

I would go for one of the old analog Rebel kit lenses like this one

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/lens/ef/data/standard_zoom/ef_35~80_4~56ii.html

They should be pretty terrible in terms of color, contrast and sharpness. Expectations were low in the film days.
I believe that is the second generation of the lens I mentioned in my original post though I mistakenly listed it as a 35-70mm.

CameraCarl wrote:

Why not smear vaseline on an old filter if you want to get artistic effects?
The vaseline may be a little more artistic than I'm looking for :) I shoot mostly old manual lenses on my canon (my mamiya sekor 80mm 1.9 is my favorite) and I'm looking more for something that I can throw on quickly in situations that warrant the use of autofocus. If it came down to using vaseline I would just opt to net the lens for more control and imo more pleasing aesthetic results.
 
ziffmclaren wrote:

I'm looking for older autofocus EF mount zoom lenses. Specifically ones with low contrast and low to medium sharpness and if it has a tendency to flare all the better. No need for them to necessarily be Canons, aftermarket manufactures are fine as well (maybe preferred..) I'm assuming the first generation lenses (late 80s to early 90s) are my best bet and I've seen the canon 35-70 mark I but have heard mixed reviews as to its performance (I'm looking for low performance!) And I know about the canon 28-80 as well. Both of those fall right around the zoom range I'm looking for but I'd be particularly interested to hear any other suggestions. And, as a matter of fact, I'd love to hear about any telephoto zooms that meet these criteria as well.
some old quantray lenses must fit this bill
 
Like today, Canon had 3 grades of lenses. The kit lenses were the lowest tier. They are all plastic, rotating front element, small filtersize, f/5.6 at the long end, loud AF sound. best thing, they are cheap to get.

Anything with a metal mount, USM or IS is probably a middle class lens. I use a EF 28-105 3.5 - 4.5 USM sometimes. It is far from an L lens or a prime, but still OK between f/5.6 and f/16.


Kreitmann wrote:
I would go for one of the old analog Rebel kit lenses like this one

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/lens/ef/data/standard_zoom/ef_35~80_4~56ii.html

They should be pretty terrible in terms of color, contrast and sharpness. Expectations were low in the film days.
I believe that is the second generation of the lens I mentioned in my original post though I mistakenly listed it as a 35-70mm.
 

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