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theabortionator
April, 2025

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Fun/rare lenses that you've had a chance to play with

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S.C
Posts: 3071 - Karma: 2,517
whether it be a super fast aperture, super telephoto, super expensive, or just super rare lens, post it here with a picture and what you think of it

Nikon 8mm f2.8 Fisheye Ai-s

(my friend's, he got it for $600 at a yard sale)

Click for larger image

have only used it on a crop, on which it vignettes a bit

build quaity is superb though and its really fun to use. has some neat built in rotating filters that arent very useful for digital, but still interesting to use.
13 years ago
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
Canon 100-400 4.5-5.6L IS on a crop. It was crazy shooting with something that long
13 years ago
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S.C
Posts: 3071 - Karma: 2,517
that'd be a ridiculously long lens! and on that rebel that 85 looks much bigger than i thought it was
13 years ago
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
yeah it was fun. i borrowed it from my photo professor when we went on a field trip to the San Francisco zoo and i spent the whole time shooting birds from really far away haha
13 years ago
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Bloc_chain
Posts: 26051 - Karma: 4,433
i got to play with a noctilux 50 f1 at a camera store once, the guy made sure to note that the lens cost more then my birth before handing it to me
13 years ago
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TaySwift
Posts: 3436 - Karma: 1,616
this one time at camera camp, my friend let me use his 18-55mm 5.6 kit lens, it was fucking cool

13 years ago
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Downtofilm
Posts: 6896 - Karma: 20,395
I got to play around with this.
13 years ago
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the.cheat
Posts: 2859 - Karma: 171
oh my jesus thats big
13 years ago
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followCam
Posts: 1907 - Karma: 446
What the hell is that thing?!?!??!
13 years ago
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Santa-Cruz
Posts: 2236 - Karma: 11
serious look on the barrel
13 years ago
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followCam
Posts: 1907 - Karma: 446
I can see its a 85mm L lens, but the aperture on it?
13 years ago
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Gnarwall
Posts: 1180 - Karma: 50
think it is 1.2.
13 years ago
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.Max.
Posts: 2930 - Karma: 701
Also right on the barrel... It's an 85mm f/1.2L

I have a sigma 400mm f/5.6 (got for $5) that has usm autofocus, and pristine front and rear elements.

I've also got a Pentax 50mm f/1.2. Real sharp when stopped down to 2-8.

Other than that I haven't gotten to play with much.
13 years ago
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the.cheat
Posts: 2859 - Karma: 171
explain yourself.
13 years ago
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MLeone
Posts: 725 - Karma: 72
prob a yard sale or pawn shop
13 years ago
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.Max.
Posts: 2930 - Karma: 701
Local camera shop (LaZot for anyone in the burlington area) has these bins in the back full of used equipment, lenses, bodies, flashes, you name it. The majority of the stuff is just old MF lenses that have outdated mounts such as konica, or have broken mounts, focusing rings, apertures etc.

So one day I went digging through the bins and found this leather case, inside was that lens. Completely spotless, had both caps, and a 77mm uv filter.

It was a good day.
13 years ago
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the.cheat
Posts: 2859 - Karma: 171
you lucky bastard...
13 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
Auto NIKKOR Telephoto-Zoom 1:9.5 f=20cm ~ 1:10.5 f=60cm

(Not my photo but it's the same.)

Click for larger image

It weights 2,3kg and it's a glorious 50 centimeters long.
13 years ago
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MLeone
Posts: 725 - Karma: 72
.
13 years ago
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
so it's a 20-60 f9.5-10.5? What's special about it?
13 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61930 - Karma: 126,410
20cm = 200mm so its a 200-600 9.5-10.5
13 years ago
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
oh I missed the cm haha
13 years ago
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remster
Posts: 898 - Karma: 261
Woah
13 years ago
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Ethan.G
Posts: 1166 - Karma: 465
this is the best part about working at a camera store, i get to play with and use all the exotic lenses, canon 85 1.2, canon 50mm 1.2, canon 300mm 2.8 (not super special but it's a cool lens and surprisingly easy to handhold indoors). get to play with some nice equipment too like a hasselblad 500cm w/ 80mm 2.8 planar, a leica m6 (can't remember the lens) and those were both one customers cameras.
13 years ago
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
pretty fun

Click for larger image
13 years ago
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rigzz
Posts: 1768 - Karma: 147
ALWAYS wanted to try a tilt-shift lens. ALWAYS!
13 years ago
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
yeah it was pretty awesome for sure. i would never drop the money to buy one, but it was very entertaining for a few hours.

13 years ago
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gravel
Posts: 5524 - Karma: 42,374
That's sick! I'd love to try one out, but I do feel that tilt-shift lenses have become obsolete because you can get an almost identical effect in post
13 years ago
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123+ski
Posts: 2832 - Karma: 581
they do more than just selective focus. there are many applications for architecture because of how they let you manipulate the depth of field
13 years ago
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the.cheat
Posts: 2859 - Karma: 171
yeah they're actually made for purposes other then making things look small lol
13 years ago
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123+ski
Posts: 2832 - Karma: 581
got cut off, but they let you do things like having a deep dof at a very large aperture and many other things that can't be done in post. For selective focus you are right, but I feel that it still looks worse when done as an effect
13 years ago
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
is that the lens ajay rented?
13 years ago
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dispatchQ_main
Posts: 2619 - Karma: 629

Click for larger image

Pretty cool, its just an old ass telescope that you can hook a camera up to.

13 years ago
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gravel
Posts: 5524 - Karma: 42,374
well i should have held my tongue before speaking! but now i know something new.
13 years ago
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123+ski
Posts: 2832 - Karma: 581
no problem. Most of the time when you notice that it's a tilt shit lens is because of the selective focus anyways. Architecture photography and discussions on techniques for it aren't huge topics here
13 years ago
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MACAQUE
Posts: 2811 - Karma: 696
True. Also, large format cameras are tilt-shift. Very useful for landscapes.
13 years ago
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
actually i have read it is more because you can move the lens without changing perspective since you can simply shift the position of the lens. could be wrong that that is the primary reason, but i remember reading that somewhere. just seems like that would be the more practical application than manipulating the depth of field as far as architecture photography goes.
13 years ago
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FatWhore
Posts: 2213 - Karma: 1,098
Just a funny thing i got for my photography friend! http://http://www.google.com/imgres?q=weird+camera+lens&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=2489&bih=1308&tbm=isch&tbnid=dNQtSPBjmucyGM:&imgrefurl=http://jpgmag.com/news/2010/12/&docid=dX-9JqL_v6_UCM&imgurl=http://jpgmag.com/news/assets_c/2010/12/camera-lens-mug-43c1_600.0000001289365350-thumb-500x333-994.jpg&w=500&h=333&ei=nTMKT6HtBsH00gHYhcDbDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=822&vpy=134&dur=3706&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=95&ty=89&sig=104595794901976033258&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=168&start=0&ndsp=107&ved=1t:429,r:30,s:0
13 years ago
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FatWhore
Posts: 2213 - Karma: 1,098
also i have the adapter to do this!

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=rare+camera+lens&start=335&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=2489&bih=1308&tbm=isch&tbnid=dENQpURSeCkZnM:&imgrefurl=http://nexus404.com/Blog/2011/07/07/photojojo-device-lets-you-put-a-dslr-lens-on-an-iphone-give-your-iphone-camera-a-high-powered-dslr-lens-with-photojojos-new-adapter/&docid=aIVCtj8nby57OM&imgurl=http://nexus404.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads2/2011/07/iphone-DSLR.jpg&w=400&h=276&ei=DzUKT8ewIcLs0gHT4Z3zAg&zoom=1&chk=sbg&iact=hc&vpx=607&vpy=480&dur=330&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=201&ty=98&sig=104595794901976033258&page=4&tbnh=108&tbnw=156&ndsp=112&ved=1t:429,r:31,s:335
13 years ago
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rigzz
Posts: 1768 - Karma: 147
I bet that's what you were going for?

Click for larger image
13 years ago
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FatWhore
Posts: 2213 - Karma: 1,098
yeah
13 years ago
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TaySwift
Posts: 3436 - Karma: 1,616
has anyone tried these?
13 years ago
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kootenayklaus
Posts: 3914 - Karma: 2,179
Why you would hook an L-Lens up to an iPhone I have no clue, but that looks pretty damn cool and would be fun to play with.
13 years ago
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MLeone
Posts: 725 - Karma: 72
Not a super rare lens but I have a Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 that I found at my grandpas house and I got an adapter for my t2i
13 years ago
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rigzz
Posts: 1768 - Karma: 147
At 250$ the adaptor, I don't think much people has tried these!
13 years ago
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blatt
Posts: 5584 - Karma: 3,097
It was fun nbd

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13 years ago
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S.C
Posts: 3071 - Karma: 2,517
Click for larger image
13 years ago
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oil.
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 1,257
bump! this is cool stuff
13 years ago
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