Second hand camera lenses

[AlistairW]

Hello,

There are plenty of second hand 135mm prime focus lenses on ebay. I am thinking of buying one purely for astro on my modified DSLR. What should I look out for when buying a lens and are their any pitfalls or things I should avoid.

Thanks

Alistair

[ronin]

Really it is simply a lens that is designed for the better end of the market rather then the point and press side. In Canon it is (I think) the L glass ones, not sure about the other makes.

I see that LCE in Bath have a couple of Zeiss and Leica lens in stock, does not say what camera so maybe you buy lens and adaptor. The Zeiss is a 50mm f/2, the Leica's seem to be 90mm items.

LCE-Bath

If you have a Sony then make sure you get the correct fitting, Sony appear to have at least 2 options and maybe 3.

Really it will be a case of Google is your friend: 2 browser tabs, LCE (or other) in one Google and a search in the other.

Most lens are zooms so a prime is likely to be slightly uncommon, try Bristol as well as Bath, and you would need the right focal length prime. Get out at night with a zoom and see what focal length you use, then get one a little smallerfor just a bit more view.

If you take your DSLR along, always a good idea, then do not expect the autofucus to work overly well, the astro mod may well cause this aspect trouble.

[SteveNickolls]

Hi Alistair,

I can heartily recommend the Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC if you can get hold of one. It's reviewed here-http://www.lenstip.com/442.11-Lens_review-Samyang_135_mm_f_2.0_ED_UMC_Summary.html 

You can get new for somewhere over £300 from many retailers.

Cheers,
Steve

[Uranium235]

+1 for the Samyang f2.... its about as good as it gets:

And there are loads of other examples on the forum to demonstrate just how good it is.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

This was taken with my 50-year old 135mm Super-Takumar f3.5 (at f3.5). Cost: £18.40. 

(38 minutes with a modded DSLR.)

I've posted it fairly large so that you can see any defects in the image. The corner stars aren't perfect but are pretty good, it takes better starfields than my Canon 200mm f2.8 L. On the other hand the deep red of the Ha looks a bit soft to me, I'm not sure if this is due to lack of signal or if the short wavelength is a little out of focus. I'm going to try shooting the starfield and nebulosity separately sometime, refocusing after putting my Ha filter in. It's not as good as the modern Samyang but is fantastic for anyone looking for a really cheap AP lens, I've yet to get the best out of it.

If you're interested, I put together a quick guide to budget lenses for astrophotography. What make of camera are you using please? I can't see the modded DSLR in your sig.

 

[Gina]

Asahi Takumar, Super Takumar and SMC lenses as used to be used on Pentax SLR film cameras, are really superb, especially for narrow band imaging and wider field using astro cameras but also for DSLR imaging as has been shown.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

3 hours ago, Gina said:

Asahi Takumar, Super Takumar and SMC lenses as used to be used on Pentax SLR film cameras, are really superb, especially for narrow band imaging and wider field using astro cameras but also for DSLR imaging as has been shown.

Yes, it was your superb narrowband widefields at 135mm that made me question whether the Ha is quite in focus in the image I posted above.

[Stub Mandrel]

I like my Zeiss 135mm f3.5 Sonnar. Sharp as a razor. Don't know what I paid back in the 80s...

[RichLD]

I'm going to recommend the Jupiter 11A and 37A for narrowband - in my experience they are amongst the sharpest of the Russian lenses, up there with the Tairs. 

I've used the Super MC Taks and they are also very good. One thing to consider is that all lenses without ED and/or aspherical elements will all give considerable CA when used wide open on broadband imaging - you may also suffer some coma or astigmatism.

For the 135mm focal length, your best choice by a country mile for broadband is the Samyang 135 f/2, which kicks the pants off my Canon 135 f/2 L for astrophotography. Outside of 135mm,  my personal favourite is the Nikkor ED180 f/2.8, which is superb for broadband imaging - I use aperture masks (step down rings) on mine to take it to around f/3.6 and get very clean, virtually CA free images.

For narrowband I'm recommending the Jupiters but all the lenses mentioned in this thread will give great results.

HTH

Rich 

PS I've got a Jupiter 11A for sale in the classifieds that is surplus to requirements as I already have 2 other 11As and 2 37As. Just sayin' 

 

[Alien 13]

+2 or is it +3 nothing else gets close to a Samyang although the Takumars are good for the price..

Alan