Five Uncommon Reasons To Use Vintage Lenses PLUS "How To" tips.

[@1957PLATO]

Great video. I see a people are getting tired of the clean look of digital and the clean sound of digital. Analog is back.

[@dongummphotography]

So true! People are using film cameras, fountain pens, typewriters, analog stereo equipment and the list goes on.

[@steveworthington930]

Hi Don, recently discovered your channel, as an Olympus convert from Canon your insight,s are excellent. In fact you have given me a "light bulb" idea. You have to create your own diff style to the herd to stand out, vintage glass maybe the answer? A un digi look if you wish, thank you, Steve UK.

[@alangamble3236]

Hi Don ..great video. To get the best out of the cameras stabilisation you need to change this in the super control menu to match the focal length of the vintage lens. The EM1 mkii and the EM5 mkiii enable you to save the manual lens info which is really useful.

[@dongummphotography]

Thank you! That is true and I should have mentioned that!

[@raymeedc]

~ At 73 years of age, besides all else, my connection with the analog world in practical every day fashion does my soul good in more weighs than won❣️

[@raymeedc]

I have a handful of modern automatic lenses, primes & a couple of miniscule zooms, but the bulk of my shooting is done with my collection of about 30 or so vintage lenses, half of which are my beloved m42 Takumars. None but Leica are as well built or can match the heavenly focusing/aperture actions on a well cared for Super-Tak 👌 ….. & relatively dirt cheap in most cases ta boot‼️

[@dongummphotography]

You are right, shooting vintage lenses and shooting vintage film cameras feeds my soul. I also collect and use a few typewriters as well!

[@dongummphotography]

@@raymeedcI used to shoot rangefinder leica cameras, both screw and M mount and I also used the Takumars. I don't think the SMC Takumar lenses take a back seat to those Leitz lenses in any way at all!

[@raymeedc]

! DITTO !

[@test40323]

Great tips for vintage lenses. I've always been a chicken when buying vintage worrying about mold/fungus and not knowing if I'm getting a radioactive glass.

[@dongummphotography]

Thanks for watching. Mold or fungus is easy to spot when you look through the lens. Any fuzzy looking spots or spider web looking stuff in the lens indicates there is a problem. As far as radioactive lens elements, the thorium used in lenses emits such low amounts of radiation that many other things in your life expose you to higher levels of radiation. Airline flights, smoke detectors and even eating a banana can expose you to more radiation than a camera lens with thorium in the elements. If a lens with thorium has turned yellow or brown, exposing it to UV or sunlight for a day or two will remove the coloration.

[@test40323]

@@dongummphotography , you're right - I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to radiations, don't want a third eye. Kidding aside, can smell be another good indicator of mold/fungus or bacteria?

[@dongummphotography]

@@test40323 some can say they can smell mold in a lens but my experience is that I can often smell the moldy camera bag the lens was stored in but away from that I can't. In most cases the lens is sealed up enough that little odor escapes. That being said, my wife could probably smell it from 50 ft away!

[@thegreatvanziniphotos5976]

Having fun with an Argus c3 adapter for my Fuji cams. Great vid.

[@dongummphotography]

Now thar's an adapter I haven't tried. Will have to look for one.

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

Excellent observations. I've been using old MF lenses on Panasonic MFT bodies for quite awhile as well. I've found that the these lenses actually work better now than they ever did on the original film bodies. As you mentioned, focus peaking is hugely useful. I actually focus with the aperture stopped down to the shooting f stop. The advantage is that the peaking outline indicates without ambiguity exactly what the depth of field is. The EVF or panel display adjusts gain automatically so the scene is clearly visible even with the aperture stopped way down. Unlike using a split prism or rangefinder patch, focus peaking also eliminates the need to focus and recompose. Just compose the frame as you would. Peak what you'd like to be in focus, even if it's off in the corner of the composition somewhere. Oh, lastly, I set the EVF/panel display to monochrome. This way the peaking outline (I prefer red) is always clearly visible even if the scene hue happens to coincide predominantly with the peaking color.

[@dongummphotography]

What is your favorite vintage lens?

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

@@dongummphotography I have a Contax G1 film camera and its family of three lenses at 28mm, 45mm and 90mm. The 45mm Planar f2 is something quite extraordinary. It does not flare. The resolution excellent, so good that fine details pop. It's optically amongst the finest of lenses. Period. It is fundamentally and recognizably Zeiss. The focusing, however, is a major weakness. It's mechanically harder to use than any of my other lenses, and the primary reason why it stays home more often than I'd really like. The problem is that the G mount lenses are, while all mechanical are meant to be used on an autofocus body. This is done with a screw mechanism. A small motor in the body couples to the screw on the lens, which then moves the appropriate lens groups. The focus feel when adapted then depends on the mechanical design and quality of the adapter. Mine really kinda sux. Even if this weren't so, the screw mechanism was never designed for manual use and can't match the buttery feel of a true manual lens helical. Still, if you stumble across this at an estate sale for cheap - get it.

[@robertmeyerson1618]

If I can add one more aspect of shooting with vintage lenses... It makes me slow down and work the shot.

[@dongummphotography]

What is your favorite vintage lens?

[@robertmeyerson1618]

I guess, if I had to choose among my dozen lenses, I would have to say it's the Nikkor 24mm f2.8.

[@DannyB-cs9vx]

Maybe worth mentioning, a full frame lens on a 4/3 will have double the focal length as what is written on the lens. Where this is a problem is when you want a wide angle lens. If you put a 24mm full frame lens on a 4/3 camera It becomes a 48mm lens. Some companies make adaptors with reducing lenses in them. The ones I have used have a .71 factor, but some go as far as .64 I believe. 48mm x .71 then makes it a 34mm which is still a full frame 68 as far as viewing angle is concerned. No real way to get a wide angle lens for a 4/3 using a lens made for full frame or 35mm film.

[@dongummphotography]

That is true but the teles are great and a 50mm becomes a great portrait lens at an equivalent focal length of 100mm!

[@DannyB-cs9vx]

@@dongummphotography My math did have an error. I doubled the factor twice. a 24mm full frame would be a 48mm full frame equivalent in a 4/3. So if one used an adaptor with a reducing lens, it would be 48 x .71 = 34mm full frame or a 17mm in a 4/3 camera. Not as bad as I thought. With an adaptor without a reducing lens it would stay at48mm full frame equivalent.

[@michelangeloc.4265]

Most vintage lens you can repair and clean easily. New lens are all plastic and electronic. If broken are only good for litter ☺️

[@sbcwinn]

But how do I use my Olympus with a manual lens?? The focusing part I get. But how do I handle exposure?? Do I set the camera on shutter priority ?? What stops the lens down?? Do you have to open up the aperture after each exposure?? I just bought a c-mount ccd lens to try. Can you please explain how to use it? Thanks.

[@dongummphotography]

The lens should be set to stop down manually. Set the camera to Aperture Priority and the camera will chose a shutter speed that works with the aperture you set. The camera display will compensate a bit when you stop the lens down so unless the light is low you can see the display with the lens stopped down.

[@sbcwinn]

Thanks for the clear reply. It is much appreciated.@@dongummphotography

[@EverettRudolph-n2m]

Hi Don. Just found your channel and really enjoying your helpful style. I’m a newbie (73 yo). What do you mean when you wrote: “The lens should be set to stop down manually.” ??

[@whfowle]

There is a definite difference between the old lenses and the modern ones. Most are manual focus as apposed to the modern auto focus which often have motors in them. This adds weight and so the companies are trying to reduce the weight as much as possible by using newer non metal construction. Time will prove how long these new lenses last.