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October, 2024

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New lens help!

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Tanner-D
Posts: 2061 - Karma: 4,116
Hey guys so I'm looking at vintage glass because I don't have a ton of money. I mainly shoot video so that should be taken into consideration. I currently have a t2i with the following lenses:

Tamron 17-50 f/2.8
Pentax Super tak 50mm f/1.4
Canon 55-250 kit

I was thinking about a 35mm or a 135mm. I would like a sharper lens for longer shots on the tripod so I feel like the 135mm would be good for that. I know some focal lengths are awkward on a crop body so I was wondering if these were good focal lengths. Perhaps there are some vintage lenses that are at other focal lengths that might be good for me.

In short which kind of lens should I add to the mix. Much appreciation and plus K for help.
Jul 8 2013 8:55PM
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SamColby
Posts: 644 - Karma: 2,006
if it were me, i would get a 35mm. As i'm sure you know, a 35mm on a crop sensor body like the t2i is actually around 50mm, and a 50mm lens is more like 70mm, i believe. That being said, the 50mm lens is still more accurite to what your eye sees, and on a crop sensor body, simply move backwards to get a wider shot. For video, it seems like you have a more than decent lens kit, if your filming a lot of skiing, i would look into a UWA, anyone on here would tell you the tokina 11-16 is the way to go, and i would agree with them. But you mentioned your on a budget, so the tokina is out of the picture at the moment. What i would say, don't get the 135, you already have that length in the telephoto, save your money and get something wide, such as the tokina. you have a solid range of focal lengths in your lenses already.
Jul 8 2013 9:31PM
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SamColby
Posts: 644 - Karma: 2,006
sorry for double post, but i realized throughout my rant my advice may have been confusing...

if you are dead set on buying a vintage lens right now, get the 35mm, but if you can hold off and save your money, get a more useful/ higher quality piece of glass, like an UWA.
Jul 8 2013 9:32PM
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Tanner-D
Posts: 2061 - Karma: 4,116
Are there any particular 35mm that have a good reputation.
Jul 8 2013 10:41PM
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plorr
Posts: 3131 - Karma: 528
Not vintage, but the Rokinon/Samyang/Bower 35 1.4 is fantastic, and also reasonably cheap.

If youre looking for cheaper than that a nikon or olympus 35 f2 would be a good bet.
Jul 9 2013 12:35AM
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SamColby
Posts: 644 - Karma: 2,006
Well said ^
Jul 9 2013 12:45AM
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MLeone
Posts: 725 - Karma: 72
I would definitely get a vintage 135 if I were you. Sure it's covered in your 55-250 but a 35 would be covered in your 17-50's range and the 55-250 is inferior. Just look on Keh dude, I got a vintage rokkor(minolta) 135 f/2.8 that I use all the time and it's super sharp. Cost me $30
Jul 9 2013 9:38AM
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Tanner-D
Posts: 2061 - Karma: 4,116
Ok so right now I;m looking into the pentax smc 135mm f/3.5. Thoughts on this lens?
Jul 9 2013 10:07PM
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SamColby
Posts: 644 - Karma: 2,006
can you find anything faster? if your looking into primes, get something fast
Jul 9 2013 10:54PM
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McLS
Posts: 1985 - Karma: 6,454
hi i bought the smc pentaxM 135 a few weeks ago as it was going cheap on ebay (still is I think), got it for €25 and i would not recommend it, especially if you mainly shoot video:
its only pros are that it's compact, light and cheap, but its a bitch to focus with dslr, really not as sharp as i expected, and has big lack of contrast. Image quality is good though, but i used it pretty much only for landscape. So if u didn't have anything else, id go for it cos its really cheap, but its going to be a pain to film and the result won't be too satisfying either, and i don't see why you'd use it with the lenses you've already got.

Sonunless you really fell the need to buy one now, like TacoLiger said, save up for a UWA, it's definitely worth it.
Jul 10 2013 6:26AM
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MLeone
Posts: 725 - Karma: 72
why not get the one i suggested?
Jul 10 2013 6:57AM
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