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Vintage 200mm fastish lens (ebay)

hobsey

By hobsey
in The Astro Lounge

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hobsey

hobsey

Posted
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I didn't really know where to put this as it could be placed in a number of sections so please move if necessary.

Just a heads up if anyone is after a fastish vintage prime lens for some widefield AP, found one on ebay quite cheap.

I have this lens but yet to use it for AP, hopefully in the next couple of weeks but it does also take some very nice day time snaps.

This is the first one I have seen for sale.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mitakon-200mm-MC-f1-3-5-with-new-canonfd-to-eos-adaptor-/231329396076

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Knight of Clear Skies

Knight of Clear Skies

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f3.5 is much faster than a typical zoom lens, my 55-250mm is f5.0 or f5.6 at that focal length. I picked up a 200mm f3.3 M42 lens for about a tenner that I was hoping to use for astrophotography but unfortunately it won't quite reach infinity focus.

You might be better off with an M42 or Pentax K (bayonet) lens Hobsey. Canon changed the distance from the flange to the film/sensor when they moved from FD to EFS lenses, so they won't reach infinity focus without an adaptor with a glass element in it, which will slow the lens down and possibly distort the image. When buying adaptors look for ones that advertise 'infinity focus', some are thicker than others.

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DaveS

DaveS

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Hmmm OK, on the speed I will concede, for £20 you probably won't get a 200 f/3.5, but what I said about focus stands. A Canon FD to EOS adaptor *has* to have a lens in it, most give about a 1.2x increase in fl with concomittant increase in f ratio.

M42 lenses are usually considered a good bet for cheap.

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Alien 13

Alien 13

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I agree with the previous post that F3.5 is quite fast more so if the lens can be used wide open so a good quality F3.5 lens might be better than a F2.8 that has to be stopped down I have also found that although my kit IS lens is slow it can perform well wide open much better in fact than my nifty fity could at a setting of F5.6.

The M42 and Olympus OM system lenses are two types that can normally reach infinity focus with a Canon EOS adapter ( i have not personally tried any others) however this might be more difficult if the camera is astro modded.

Alan

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hobsey

hobsey

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You might be better off with an M42 or Pentax K (bayonet) lens Hobsey.

I already have this lens but in Olympus fit with an EOS adapter, I was posting just in case anyone else was interested, because generally the older 200mm cheaper lenses tend to be a bit slower.

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Knight of Clear Skies

Knight of Clear Skies

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Didn't realise yours was on an Olympus mount, I see Alien 13 uses on Olympus lens so hopefully yours will be OK.

In my experience M42 lens are generally fine with the right adaptor, although it seems to be a bit of a lottery. I've also just bought one on a Pentax K mount which happily goes past infinity. Would be interesting to hear if anyone has used anything else, I think I heard the Pentax 6x7 medium format lenses can also reach infinity on EOS bodies with a simple adaptor.

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hobsey

hobsey

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In my experience M42 lens are generally fine with the right adaptor,

I hope so as I have a 135mm 2.8 m42 lens coming and an adapter on order.

Tempted with this, 200mm f/3

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/vivitar-series-1-om-fit-autotelephoto-072mm-200mm-13-0-no-2852470-/251637740229?pt=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item3a96c732c5

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Alien 13

Alien 13

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I cant comment on this one but i have the 200mm F3.5 M42 version and it does work quite well wide open.

Alan

post-32578-0-92724000-1410976711_thumb.j

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melsky

melsky

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The Vivitar series 1 200mm F3 is in a different league to the other lenses mentioned and an absolute bargain, it's better than the Takumar 200mm F4, I used to have both before I bit the bullet and bought a Canon 200 F2.8L and I paid a lot more for it than what's being asked here.

Mel

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hobsey

hobsey

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The Vivitar series 1 200mm F3 is in a different league to the other lenses mentioned and an absolute bargain, it's better than the Takumar 200mm F4, I used to have both before I bit the bullet and bought a Canon 200 F2.8L and I paid a lot more for it than what's being asked here.

Mel

Well on that recommendation, I went a head and purchased it.

Looks like there is a little bit of dust in the optics but I will have ago at taking it apart and cleaning the optics.

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  • 2 weeks later...
hobsey

hobsey

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Had this delivered while I was on holiday and what a beautifully made lens it is too.

Been doing a bit of reasearch on it, pretty rare and don't show up for sale very often.

Can't wait to give it ago.

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DaveS

DaveS

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The old Vivitar 200mm f/3.0 (Is it marked Series 1?) is a clasic, from the days when Vivitar Series 1 optics were something to be recconed with.

DON'T take it apart unless you're a qualified photographic optics technician, with all the tools, it won't go back as it was, and you're likely to end up spending a heck of a lot more to have it fixed, if you can find someone to do it.

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hobsey

hobsey

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Is it marked Series 1?

It is indeed marked up as a Series 1. Seen on a few forums that it was highly sort after a not so long ago but as they very rarely came up, people stopped looking.

I have no need to take it apart as it is pretty much immaculate with no dust and beside a mark on the front optics which cannot been seen throught the view finder.

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