On a budget: fast Vintage Wide-Angle lenses for your M43?

[Mike Loanzon]

I'm antsy to take photos and I want to try a 24 or 28mm lens to allow me some in-door casual shooting.

I'm currently using an Olympus EP-5. I enjoyed shooting with my pentax 50mm F2 but the view is just too narrow, though the aperture does help a lot. I'm waiting and saving up for the big sales near december to get my hands on a panasonic 25mm but for now I want something I can use that's faster than the kit, but gives good bokeh and colors (yes, i like bokeh but i know that isn't what defines a good photo.)

I live in the Philippines where, sadly, it isn't easy to get my hands on a lot of the rarer/nicer vintage lenses for cheap. so that pentax cctv lens is out of question. I've considered cctv lenses as well, but i don't like that the corners get too soft even when i don't want/need them to. although it will likely be a fallback.

currently i see these options:

vivitar 28mm f 2.8

kiron 28mm f2.8 (considering this because it needs the same adapter i use for my pentax lens)

Yashica 28mm f2.8 (pricey but if the quality is good then why not)

1. any other common vintage lenses I should keep an eye out for?

2. For those who have tried these lenses or similar lenses, how do they fare on your m43 systems?

3. I've noticed some people mentioning that the aperture number on some lenses don't really give the expected adjustment in terms of how much light they're supposed to be letting in. Any explanations/tips for this?

again, shooting situation is dinner parties and some candid shots. lighting is usually lacking so I need as much light as i can get. (i know how hard it can be shooting manual lenses, i've enjoyed it so far)

note that ideally it shouldn't go anywhere near 100$ since i hear that's how much the pana 25mm goes when it's on sale.

 

[gary0319]

OK...you got me confused. You want wide angle, but talk about using a 24-28mm lens. I don't consider those focal lengths to be "wide" for M43. For indoor gatherings I would look to something in the 12-14mm range.

Not sure of any vintage 12-14mm lenses, but I had a Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 that worked great and cost about $100 on the used market. Maybe look at an inexpensive 14-42 zoom kit lens. These can be had for under $100, used or refurbished.

 

[Jouko]

First: Remember the crop-factor. They legacy wides will behave more like a "normal" in mFT-system, not like wide angle lenses. So, with a 28mm lens you'll get a FOV of 56mm lens (about). Cropping to the center, you know. In this system the "normals" are around 25mm.

F-stops remain the same. F2.8 is F2.8. But the DOF will also be the same you'll get from a 28mm lens at F2.8 - or with a 56mm lens at F5.6.

T-stops ( transmission) is bit harder - it will depend on lens costruction and design, quality of the glass, coatings etc, so it varies between the manufactures and lenses more. But it is always less than the F-stop, even with modern lenses. Thumb rule: F2.8 is lets light in for T3 or less. About the same with new ones, too, so you won't lose there...

So, for a wide angle lens you need to search for something wider than 20mm - and they can be quite rare, and usually not too fast.

I have some old Zuikos, (21mm, 28, 35, 40 etc), old Edixa Westromat 35mm M42, Konica Hexanons, have used some old Canon FD-lenses... All behave differently. Common rule: full open, the faster the lens is, the softer (or dreamier) it is. Good or bad - depends what you are searching for. Sharpest of the bunch are the Hexanon 40mm f1.8, and Zuiko bellows macro 80mm, image style quite "modern". But sharpness is not everything, and sometimes overrated. I like the dreaminess of the Zuiko 28mm f2 wide open...

All above lenses became sharp enough for usual shooting at F5.6 -F8.

For a sharp and "easy" lens take a look at Sigmas 19mm and 30mm F2.8 lenses. AF, EXIF etc work, For wider ones the zooms starting from 12 or 14 mm are good or exellent choises - some better than others. The old FT version Zuiko D 12-60mm f2.8-4 is still one of the best all rounders, and can be found for reasonable prices used. It needs the FT-mFT adapter, and focusing can be slowish in other than EM1-bodies, but it works optically very well even wide open, EXIF works and so the IS system is easy etc.

I hope this helps.

Cheers!

Jouko
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[markusw]

I tried a Voigtlaendet 24mm for Leica M... not good...

 

[Mike Loanzon]

OK...you got me confused. You want wide angle, but talk about using a 24-28mm lens. I don't consider those focal lengths to be "wide" for M43. For indoor gatherings I would look to something in the 12-14mm range.

Not sure of any vintage 12-14mm lenses, but I had a Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 that worked great and cost about $100 on the used market. Maybe look at an inexpensive 14-42 zoom kit lens. These can be had for under $100, used or refurbished.

Thanks for the reply! my bad I was a little sleepy when I'd written it. My train of thought followed the idea that since they're vintage lenses, most of them were made "wide" for full-frame use. Sorry for the confusion. The lens itself is wide although i understand that on my m43 system it'll look the way a 50-56mm would look on a full-frame. i've been using the 14mm so far but i was looking for more bokeh (although i understand bokeh isn't everything it's still something i enjoy playing around with). the 14-42 kit lens I also have, but the aperture (and bokeh) aren't exactly things i enjoy working with. I was half hoping someone would say it was easy to find the 28mm F2.

 

[gary0319]

OK...you got me confused. You want wide angle, but talk about using a 24-28mm lens. I don't consider those focal lengths to be "wide" for M43. For indoor gatherings I would look to something in the 12-14mm range.

Not sure of any vintage 12-14mm lenses, but I had a Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 that worked great and cost about $100 on the used market. Maybe look at an inexpensive 14-42 zoom kit lens. These can be had for under $100, used or refurbished.

Thanks for the reply! my bad I was a little sleepy when I'd written it. My train of thought followed the idea that since they're vintage lenses, most of them were made "wide" for full-frame use. Sorry for the confusion. The lens itself is wide although i understand that on my m43 system it'll look the way a 50-56mm would look on a full-frame. i've been using the 14mm so far but i was looking for more bokeh (although i understand bokeh isn't everything it's still something i enjoy playing around with). the 14-42 kit lens I also have, but the aperture (and bokeh) aren't exactly things i enjoy working with. I was half hoping someone would say it was easy to find the 28mm F2.

Well, as I'm sure you are discovering, wide, fast, and cheap rarely come together. But, good luck on the search, and if you find this "holy grail" keep it under your hat...or, the cheap part will disappear.

 

[umptious]

The problem with vintage wides is a combination of

- The crop factor

- The problems in designing around an SLR mirror box. When you can't have the rear element of a 28mm that distance from the film, you have to use a very complicated design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angénieux_retrofocus

Really good vintage wides are therefore rare and expensive and sort after by people shooting A7 series cameras - who spent thousands of dollars on their camera bodies so don't mind paying big money for glass

 

[yanisha]

Get yourself an Olympus 14-42mm kit lens, maybe used to save a lot of money. It will give you a 28mm-84mm FF equivalent fov and AF. Your 50mm gives a 100mm fov. There are other kit lenses also from Olympus and Panasonic that have the same or similar focal lengths. There is also the Olympus 12-50mm which is 24-100mm equivalent.

 

[mentos77]

Because of your budget and location just Google for reviews of what is available. Pentax is a great mount as it seems a bit cheaper and there is a brilliant review website. But then again, the adapters dont cost much. I have a great 28mm f2.8 which was probably about $40, forgot the name.

Just as important as reviews is the condition of the glass. Thoroughly ask and then check for dust, fungus, haze and dirt.

The Panasonic 12-32mm seems very unfashionable in Manila, so I would keep an eye on the Mirrorless Trading Philippines Facebook group for a cheap one, it is a brilliant lens. The 14mm can be found below 5k too.

 

[Messier Object]

The Olympus OM Zuiko 28mm f/2.8 is a reasonably good performer.

Used prices vary considerably to over USD 200, but there seem to be a few good looking clean lenses on ebay at more reasonable prices around USD100

here's a review of the lens

Loading…

www.casualphotophile.com

you would need an OM to m,43 adapter

Peter

 

[enossified]

In the film days, wide angles faster than f2.8 were very expensive and are rare in the used market. If you're looking for something faster than f2.8, you'll have to be patient.

Personally, I would just use the zoom while saving up for a faster prime lens. The 14-42R II lens is f4.5 at 25mm, that's only 1-1/3 stops slower so from an exposure perspective it's almost a wash, crank down the shutter speed or raise the ISO by that amount. Plus you still get autofocus and the other benefits of a native lens.

 

[Travis Butler]

OK...you got me confused. You want wide angle, but talk about using a 24-28mm lens. I don't consider those focal lengths to be "wide" for M43. For indoor gatherings I would look to something in the 12-14mm range.

Not sure of any vintage 12-14mm lenses, but I had a Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 that worked great and cost about $100 on the used market. Maybe look at an inexpensive 14-42 zoom kit lens. These can be had for under $100, used or refurbished.

Thanks for the reply! my bad I was a little sleepy when I'd written it. My train of thought followed the idea that since they're vintage lenses, most of them were made "wide" for full-frame use. Sorry for the confusion. The lens itself is wide although i understand that on my m43 system it'll look the way a 50-56mm would look on a full-frame. i've been using the 14mm so far but i was looking for more bokeh (although i understand bokeh isn't everything it's still something i enjoy playing around with). the 14-42 kit lens I also have, but the aperture (and bokeh) aren't exactly things i enjoy working with. I was half hoping someone would say it was easy to find the 28mm F2.

From what you're saying, I think you're probably out of luck. As others have noted, anything wider than 28mm in the film days was uncommon, adding wide aperture makes it even rarer on sites like eBay. Under $100 is pretty unlikely.

There's one possibility I can suggest. A few companies sell 'native' M4/3 manual lenses for under $100 on eBay; the two brands I'm familiar with are 'Wesley' and 'Kaxinda', but there appear to be others. They almost always come from Chinese sellers, and best guess is that they're repackaged CCTV optics in a metal body with a M4/3 mount. That said, they're easier than using a C-mount lens with an adapter, and the quality can be surprisingly good; I had a Wesley 34mm/1.7 that took some good shots.

Wesley 34/1.7

Not too bad, compared to the 20/1.7:

LUMIX 20/1.7

A couple of other shots:

Wesley 34/1.7

Wesley 34/1.7



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[hindesite]

I'm antsy to take photos and I want to try a 24 or 28mm lens to allow me some in-door casual shooting.

I'm currently using an Olympus EP-5. I enjoyed shooting with my pentax 50mm F2 but the view is just too narrow, though the aperture does help a lot. I'm waiting and saving up for the big sales near december to get my hands on a panasonic 25mm but for now I want something I can use that's faster than the kit, but gives good bokeh and colors (yes, i like bokeh but i know that isn't what defines a good photo.)

I live in the Philippines where, sadly, it isn't easy to get my hands on a lot of the rarer/nicer vintage lenses for cheap. so that pentax cctv lens is out of question. I've considered cctv lenses as well, but i don't like that the corners get too soft even when i don't want/need them to. although it will likely be a fallback.

currently i see these options:

vivitar 28mm f 2.8

I have one of these in FD mount, and I have tried it on m4/3.

Its rubbish.

Many of these "wide angle" lenses were acceptable in film days because people were limited in how they viewed the output, and also blown away by the newish wide angle look - so a lot of the cheaper (and hence more common) lenses are not the best on m4/3.

And you'll be paying a lot more for the high quality brand name ones, and still getting something that is better covered by a m4/3 native lens or zoom.

The Pentax 25/1.4 is actually very inexpensive, and gives a pretty decent output. I quite like it.

 

[SpinOne]

I'm antsy to take photos and I want to try a 24 or 28mm lens to allow me some in-door casual shooting.

I'd look for a Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 pancake. Especially if getting decent vintage lenses is difficult where you are.

A vintage lens will have a wider aperture, but won't have any camera aperture control, won't have AF, won't report any data, won't have any corrections, will be larger and heavier.