5 Vintage Lenses You Can Use on Your DSLR
- Pentax 85mm f/1.8 Super Takumar
- MC Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f/1.8
- Minolta STF 135mm f/2.8 T45
- Super Takumar 135mm f/2.5
- Carl Zeiss Jena 20mm f/4 Flektogon
- Where to Buy the Best Vintage Lenses
- Canon EF-mount
- Pentax K-mount
- Minolta/Sony A-mount
- Sony E-mount
- Samsung NX-mount
- Fujifilm X-mount
- Canon EF-mount
- Pentax K-mount
- Minolta/Sony A-mount
- Sony E-mount
- Samsung NX-mount
- Fujifilm X-mount
Photo by Caryle Barton on Unsplash
I love vintage lenses, and it’s my guess that you do too.
Vintage lenses add what no other piece of photography can to your photos. It adds nostalgia to them in a way that is both genuine and kitschy, depending upon how you shoot. Besides, there’s something so satisfying about a manual focus lens, isn’t there?
The issue, though is that when you go to buy a vintage lens you need to know exactly what you’re looking for because the vintage lenses that are still around on the market today are still around because they offer something exquisitely different than every other vintage lens.
Basically, if you don’t know what type of a vintage lens you’re looking for, you could accidentally end up buying something that 1) doesn’t work with your DSLR and 2) doesn’t work with the look you’re going for.
So, here are our 5 favorite vintage lenses that work with DSLRs.
Table of Contents
Best Vintage Lenses: Pentax 85mm f/1.8 Super Takumar
What Mark Holtze covers in this video is what I love best about vintage lenses.
He says, in reference to the Pentax 85mm, “this thing is built to outlast me.”
And they just don’t make lenses like that anymore.
This Pentax lens is best known for taking sharp photos at wide apertures, beautiful bokeh and honeycomb-shaped highlights that most consider an issue, but I consider a nice bonus.
This lens was created from 1962 to 1971, and unlike a similar Pentax that was created around the same time, the 85mm f/1.9 Super Takumar has no radioactive components (although I’m a little daring and might shoot with it for the day regardless).
You can find one of these bad boys for somewhere between $200 and $300.
Vintage lens photography on this Pentax is relatively easy because it has an M42 lens mount, which means this lens can attach to 35mm cameras, mostly single-lens reflex models, without any hassle.
M42 lens mounts are also so popular that you can pick up a M42 adaptor for almost all DSLRs.
Here is a list of current cameras that will work with this Pentax lens and a M42 adaptor:
Best Vintage Lenses: MC Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f/1.8
Carlosdisogra [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)] via Wikimedia Commons
This lens was crafted in East Germany from 1969 to 1990 and is mostly used for portraiture given it’s smooth transitions, sharpness and bokeh.
This lens can focus down to 13.8 inches, which is a huge plus for those of you who are into vintage-styled extreme close-ups.
Plus, this lens also utilizes an M42 mount.
I found a video by John Elfers that perfectly captures what I love best about this lens, it’s creamy close-ups:
Shooting with this lens is like shooting a neo-noir without trying!
Here is a list of current cameras that will work with this lens and an M42 adaptor:
Best Vintage Lenses: Minolta STF 135mm f/2.8 T45
Shao Zhang [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)] via Wikimedia
Ever heard of the Sony 135mm f/2.8 STF telephoto lens? This is that lens’s grandfather.
This lens uses apodization to thin the light at the edges of the lens in order to transition smoothly between in-focus and out-of-focus fields.
So, this lens shoots insanely sharp photos, but it can’t soft focus at all.
This is one of the more expensive lenses on my list. You can pick one up for around $600-$1,000.
This lens, unlike the previous two, uses an A mount.
As you can see in JoshuaStokesFilms lens test, this lens produces blue-tinted flares in a classic vintage lens way.
Best Vintage Lenses: Super Takumar 135mm f/2.5
s58y [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)] via Wikimedia
This is absolutely the best lens money can buy on this list and it’s because this lens can be found for anywhere between $75 and $125.
This lens was crafted from 1968-1971 and is known for its natural rendition, even though is uses a 6-bladed diaphragm.
It’s got excellent depth-of-field control, can isolate a subject in a way not many lenses of this generation can, and is built to last.
It also uses an M42 mount, which is convenient for those of us looking to get away with a vintage lens on the cheap.
Best Vintage Lenses: Carl Zeiss Jena 20mm f/4 Flektogon
Gisling [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)] via Wikimedia
This is probably the most fun lens on the list because it’s a gigantic ultra-wide-angle prime. It was produced from 1963 to 1978, again in East Germany, and is known for taking shots that compare with any of its modern counterparts.
It’s images are never distorted, even when you stop down to f/22, and while it has a 6-bladed diaphragm it handles highlights well and almost never produces a honeycomb pattern.
It also can focus down to 6.3 inches, which is unheard of with a lens of this stature.
Most of these lenses were produced with an M42 mount, but make sure you double check before you purchase one. They can be found for anywhere from $200-$400.
Where to Buy the Best Vintage Lenses
I use Lensfinder for all of my vintage lenses because of the impressive selection of lenses.
You can purchase lenses for well over $100,000 on Lensfinder, if that’s your thing, because Lensfinder is a second-hand store like eBay, but just for photographers.
I love being able to ask the seller questions about a lens before I buy it, and I especially like getting an answer. There’s nothing more frustrating than checking eBay 12 times hoping a seller responded, but in reality, some of the sellers on eBay don’t care to answer your questions because they know they are going to sell their stuff anyways.
Lensfinder also has an advanced search feature if you’re looking for something really specific, like maybe a Carl Zeiss Jena 20mm f/4 Flektogon.
You also know exactly what you’re going to pay because there’s no bidding and all the fees are really upfront on their website. What’s not to like about that?
Truly, if you’re in the market for a vintage lens to use with your DSLR, give Lensfinder a try.
