Hey Diane,
The T-50 is a feature poor camera, to be sure, but like many point-n-shoots, it does take good pictures, especially when you consider the fact that it accepts Canon FD lenses.
I'll never forget a motorsports shoot I was at years ago, it was a major NHRA drag race, and there was another guy there shooting for some magazine whose name I've since forgotten, who was shooting a T-50 with a Canon 200mm f/4 lens. I had my F-1s and my big telephotos, and had to ask him what was up with his rig. He said the T-50 was reliable and took great pics (and that the 200/4 FD was an exceptionally sharp optic, which I happen to agree with), and was basically a camera he didn't have to worry about. If it got thrown around or run over or whatever, he wasn't out much, but in the mean-time he was getting the shots he needed.
Well, his endorsement wasn't enough to make me want to rush out and add a T-50 to my collection, but it did make me think. Guess it takes all kinds.
About your new (old) Albinar lenses, as it so happens, when I first started out shooting 35mm some almost 30 years ago, I bought an Albinar 28mm and 80-200 zoom. The 28mm was kind of on the soft side, and I can't say I recommend using it unless you don't have a 28mm, and then I'd say "Sure use it, until you get a good one, then retire it." But the 80-200 is a different story. Mine was the 80-200 f/3.9 -- constant aperture -- made in Korea. It was a surprisingly good optic. I sold it sometime in the late 80s when I became convinced that it must not have been very good since it didn't cost much, plus I had bought nicer zooms by then, and didn't use it anymore. Well a few months ago, I ran across a copy on eBay for dirt cheap, and bought it, just for old times sake more than anything else. The darn thing's in mint condition, doesn't look like it's ever been used.
So I decided to test it against a Nikkor 80-200 f/4.5, a zoom of known high quality. I have to give the edge to the Nikkor, but it's by a whisker only. They are very close in terms of sharpness. Color and contrast are also very close. Interestingly, the Albinar has a slightly shallower depth of field, even at, say, f/8, than the Nikkor does.
So, if you don't have a decent 80-200 or 70-210 or whatever, you might give this lens a try. You just might be surprised.
Michael
