Posted by David Clapp on September 24, 2008 at 3:56 AM
Nikon 35mm f1.4 AI-S with Canon Adapter, its had the aperture tab removed so it doesnt foul the mirror. It wont fit Nikon cameras with this modification. This lens is really excellent for portrait, close up and soft focus effects as well as a landscape lens. Sharp edge to edge at f11 to f16.
£120
SOLD TO THE MAN IN THE GREEN HAT.
Olympus Zuiko 21mm f3.5 - single coated lens with Oly / Canon adapter
Very sharp lens indeed, just now surpless to requirements.
£120
Contax 28-85 f3.3 with Canon adapter. Superb piece of glass, you can shoot it wide open at the 85mm end with superb results. This one has an Auto Focus confirm adapter that is 100% accurate (you just depress the shutter button half way and your AF lights in the viewfinder flash when in focus). Infinity focus is bang on the mark. I dont know why I am selling it really.
£300
All these lenses are manual focus manual aperture and great for photographing fast moving BIRDS FROM HIDES!! Honest.
Well I have to try.... nothing wrong with any of them, its just that I now have my alternative glass sorted and these would fund a new one I am lusting after.
Remember you cant stay shooting wildlife all the time, get into landscapes too its just as rewarding.
What are you lusting after.... A Zeiss Distagon? Nikon 12-24?....
Posted by David Clapp on September 24, 2008 at 7:14 AM
Well many as it happens as always, its just getting some collateral together. Ideally I would like the Nikon 14-24, but some more Pentax MF lenses would be handy.
Posted by Andy Astbury on September 24, 2008 at 2:22 PM
Make that 14-24 top of the shopping list David - I love mine and wouldn't get rid for anything.
Sharpness and definition are just staggering
Posted by Elliott Neep on September 25, 2008 at 6:06 AM
What would be THEEE sharpest landscape lens on the market today? Could be standard 35mm or MD... A field I am looking to explore more and more. Sounds like the Nikon 14-24 is up there... any more offers?
for digital, one of the LF schneider digitars, probably the 35mm... alternatively a 21mm Zeiss.
Posted by David Clapp on September 25, 2008 at 7:36 PM
Sharp landscape lenses are in all sorts of brands, here are some old and new 35mm choices
- The 21mm Zeiss is utterly unbeatable and can still out resolve the 1DsIII sensor. Expensive and a niche market, be prepared to part with £1500 for a 15 year old copy if you can find one. There is a new one on the scene very soon, I am keen to try them out back to back.
- The 24mm f1.4L is just awesome as well but there is copy to copy to variation just like all Canon wide angle glass.
- The Contax 28mm f2.8 represents the best value wide angle in its class, for the money it just cant be beat. For £150 you can have biting sharp edge to edge sharpness at f8 f11.
- Then there's the Contax 35-70 f3.3, lightweight also with macro, and just as sharp as the primes I kid you not. My copy has no CA at all at all focal lenghts. Its unbeatable at f5.6, all the way to f16. £200-£250 well spent
- The Olympus 21mm f3.5 is a super bargain lens and looks really strange on a 1DsIII. Around £130-160. A great alternative to the Zeiss 21mm. The 24mm Zuiko is also well sorth the investment. £80
- The Nikon 14-24 represents the pinnacle of wide angle lensmanship, I will do a report on this on my 1DsIII in the near future when I get mine up and running.
- The 70-200 f4L IS just cant be beat for biting sharp images with great colour rendition and perfect weight.
Posted by Mike Smith on September 26, 2008 at 7:06 AM
I can't argue with David's set up, its just about as good as it gets, I would add two other lenses to the list, the Oly OM 18mm and the Oly OM 35mm PC shift lens, both great performing lenses.
The key issue to getting alternative glass to work well is the lens adapter, investing in one well sorted adapter per lens mount system saves a lot of heartache and head scratching in the long run. The American made Cameraquest adapters are probably the most reliable, but undeniably the most expensive, other makes are appearing. As a generalisation the cheap 'flebay' jobs are junk quality with poor machining tolerences which can result in image focus variation across the image or no infinity focus. Zeiss lenses have a very fine tolerence due to the lens register distance, you will not achieve infinity focus if the adapter is too thick. (think extension tube issues).
There is one obvious advantage for landscapers, old legacy manual focus lenses have aperture scales making hyperfocal focussing so much easier, well it should, but that, unfortunately is another topic in its entirety
Discussion
9 replies£120
SOLD TO THE MAN IN THE GREEN HAT.
Olympus Zuiko 21mm f3.5 - single coated lens with Oly / Canon adapter
Very sharp lens indeed, just now surpless to requirements.
£120
Contax 28-85 f3.3 with Canon adapter. Superb piece of glass, you can shoot it wide open at the 85mm end with superb results. This one has an Auto Focus confirm adapter that is 100% accurate (you just depress the shutter button half way and your AF lights in the viewfinder flash when in focus). Infinity focus is bang on the mark. I dont know why I am selling it really.
£300
All these lenses are manual focus manual aperture and great for photographing fast moving BIRDS FROM HIDES!! Honest.
Well I have to try.... nothing wrong with any of them, its just that I now have my alternative glass sorted and these would fund a new one I am lusting after.
Remember you cant stay shooting wildlife all the time, get into landscapes too its just as rewarding.
Sharpness and definition are just staggering
- The 21mm Zeiss is utterly unbeatable and can still out resolve the 1DsIII sensor. Expensive and a niche market, be prepared to part with £1500 for a 15 year old copy if you can find one. There is a new one on the scene very soon, I am keen to try them out back to back.
- The 24mm f1.4L is just awesome as well but there is copy to copy to variation just like all Canon wide angle glass.
- The Contax 28mm f2.8 represents the best value wide angle in its class, for the money it just cant be beat. For £150 you can have biting sharp edge to edge sharpness at f8 f11.
- Then there's the Contax 35-70 f3.3, lightweight also with macro, and just as sharp as the primes I kid you not. My copy has no CA at all at all focal lenghts. Its unbeatable at f5.6, all the way to f16. £200-£250 well spent
- The Olympus 21mm f3.5 is a super bargain lens and looks really strange on a 1DsIII. Around £130-160. A great alternative to the Zeiss 21mm. The 24mm Zuiko is also well sorth the investment. £80
- The Nikon 14-24 represents the pinnacle of wide angle lensmanship, I will do a report on this on my 1DsIII in the near future when I get mine up and running.
- The 70-200 f4L IS just cant be beat for biting sharp images with great colour rendition and perfect weight.
The key issue to getting alternative glass to work well is the lens adapter, investing in one well sorted adapter per lens mount system saves a lot of heartache and head scratching in the long run. The American made Cameraquest adapters are probably the most reliable, but undeniably the most expensive, other makes are appearing. As a generalisation the cheap 'flebay' jobs are junk quality with poor machining tolerences which can result in image focus variation across the image or no infinity focus. Zeiss lenses have a very fine tolerence due to the lens register distance, you will not achieve infinity focus if the adapter is too thick. (think extension tube issues).
There is one obvious advantage for landscapers, old legacy manual focus lenses have aperture scales making hyperfocal focussing so much easier, well it should, but that, unfortunately is another topic in its entirety