Non-Canon Manual Focus Primes ....where do I get the skinny on them?

I see people in here often refer to extremely good prime glass....but don't come from the main boys (Canon, Tokina, Sigma, Tamron, etc....)

For example, the Peleng 8mm fieheye....

I shot a lot of years with my old man focus AE-1. So the thought of picking up some nice man focus glass + an adapter (if needed) peeks my curiosity.

The problem, of course, is learning about these lenses....and I haven't yet discovered a way to learn which lenses are popular for doing this kind of thing. As they say, I can't "search" when I don't even know what I should be looking for!

Is there any place to read up on these off-the-main prime lenses? I'd be happy to just find a post/link that lists a bunch of them....but no luck so far.

Thanks!

Take a look at http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/board/55 and here http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/
There are some fantastic 'old' manual lenses around and they are very light, which is a bonus when walking around. If you don't mind manual focus and stop down metering then they are well worth trying. Many of them are also very cheap. I have a Zuiko 24mm and Contax 28mm and 35-70mm and they are quality optics.
You will need adaptors to fit them to a Canon body, but they can be picked up quite cheaply on eBay.
Be aware that there can be issues with mirror clearance on a 5D and I'm not sure what body you have. Both these sites are very useful and there are numerous examples of images taken with these lenses.
Good luck.

weemannie wrote in post #8543279
Be aware that there can be issues with mirror clearance on a 5D and I'm not sure what body you have. Both these sites are very useful and there are numerous examples of images taken with these lenses.
Good luck.

Thanks, Trevor. That's a good start. I'm shooting with a 40D....and no plans to move up to FF anytime soon.

Here's another...great site for Contax lens info as it relates to Canon EOS bodies:

Canon/Contax Lens Compatibility

Glad to help. You may want to try this forum too http://forum.manualfoc​us.org/index.php

Look at my gear list. Send me a PM. I love to try and help people.

great links posted,
thanks for sharing!

You chose your camera well, Canons have one of the shallowest "Flange Focal Distance" (distance between lens mount and sensor plane) of all the modern DSLRs. Its even shallower than many old manual focus mounts.

The few mounts that need an adapter with glass to focus at infinity on EOS include Canon FD, all minolta and a few more.

The ones that work great are: Nikon F-mount, Olympus OM mount, M42 screw-mount, C/Y contax, Leica R mount, etc...

for a detailed list go here: http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Lens_mount

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=644277

kitacanon wrote in post #8545453
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=644277

Thanks!

If you guys have any recommendations for a *first* 50mm (give or take) + adapter combo for my 40D, I'd love to hear them. Preferably something f/2 or faster.

Here's what's prompting my interests....

I've been looking for a fast prime for a while now, testing out a few as time permits....but my wife has put a cap on my lens purchases for the year! Understandable, since we have our first baby due in March! So I gotta watch the checkbook.

I thought about going Nifty Fifty....but I'm not so crazy about the results in the 1.8-2.8 range. And that's what I really need. So that led me to the 50mm f/1.4....and I'm just not sold on the performance (especially the bokeh!). Love the 50mm f/1.2....but that's way overkill for my budget, even if I had the money!! Love Canon's 85mm/100mm lenses....but not in my price range right now. Thought about the 35 f/2....but these things are going for about $200 on Ebay.

And that's what got me to thinking....

Keep in mind I'm fairly new to the DSLR market....but I cut my photog chops shooting an AE-1 for almost 2 decades, going back to my HS photography class in the late 80's! Are there any tricks I need to know about about MF with a MF lens on an AF body? Big differences from the AE-1?

If it involves complicated physical modding, then it's probably not for me. I just want something that I can throw on (w/adapter of course!) and get to shooting!

I recommend either the SMC Takumar 50mm 1.4 (or the Super Takumar 50mm 1.4 - really the only difference is the SMC has more coatings on the lens which supposedly reduce lens flare), or the SMC or Super Takumar 55mm 1.8.

These guys are hard as nails, built to last, and so sharp you can cut your eyeballs on em, even wide-open. Stop them down and you'll start bleeding all over the place.

IMO, bokeh is pleasant, but nothing out of this world.

They come in m42 mount, which is a screw mount. m42 to eos adapters are plentiful on eBay, cost nearly nothing and are very easy to use. It's as easy as screwing the lens into the adapter, then mounting it on your 40D just like a normal EF lens.

Cheapest/best 50s to recommend would be the Pentax SMC 1.7 or 1.8 (forget which they made) and the F2 nikkor...$20 lenses....I like my 1.4 AIS Nikkor, a $100 step up....

My F2...a stellar lens...

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