My Best Vintage Lenses
This is just a selection of my vintage lenses, I think I like them. Just about all of these silver surfers are 50mm lenses, but the odd one is 35mm and the ones on the top are 25mm and 105mm lenses. Ive used every one of them and understand their strengths and many weaknesses. I have also learned basic lens repairs and most have been taken apart and put back together again.
Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 50mm f1.4 sample images
I purchased this lens in 2020, after seeing many reviews and sample images of its superb quality. I have used it on my Sony A6000 but mostly on the full frame Sony A7s with its twelve megapixels sensor. I can’t believe how good this lens is and the quality images it produces.
Just look at these tones.. This image was taken straight into the low winter sun without a lens hood and there was no flare present, something even a modern lens would struggle with. Using f2 to get a little more depth and tones rather than wide open which can be less contrasty.
Getting creative with f1.4 is fun… This shot was taken on a windy frozen morning in February 2021, Hand held wide open at f1.4. The colours were changed to help soften the contrast captured.
Frozen Swirls
Just before I returned to my car on a cold frosty morning I spotted this fallen tree which still had some leaves on it. The leaves were frozen and the sun was slowly working its way to melt the frost away. notice how the soft bokeh drifts into the background. This image was taken at f2.8 on my Sony A7s.