Lens Advice

[weebz]

So I recently bought a Sony NEX 5N and I want to adapt older rangefinder lenses to it. The end goal is get a film body to run the lenses on as well. I leaning towards the M mount, mostly because I really like the new Zeiss Ikon as a potential future camera. I've been looking into Voigtlaner lenses and really like what I'm seeing. I want fast glass, f/2 or better, and Summilux is way too expensive for me. So to wrap-up I'm looking for f/2 or faster and not too expensive, preferably M mount but open to other options. Thoughts?

 

[jayvo86]

Why not look at an old Canon or Nikon lens?

They are great lenses that you can get really cheap.

 

[Brian Legge]

That is a huge range of lenses.

What focal length(s) are you thinking? What sort of look do you want (very modern, classical, etc)? Coated vs uncoated?

The Voigtlander and Canon lines of lenses are great. As are the Nikkors. And russian glass if you can find something that focuses correctly. Rendering style aside, condition may be more important than anything as you're talking about glass 5-95 years old depending on what you go with.

 

[markbarendt]

Weebz

Please check your PMs

 

[peter_n]

The faster CV glass is new rather than old. I'd get just one and see how you like it. The 35/1.4 is well regarded and you can pick them up used pretty easily. The older CV glass is very good too but the newer lenses are built much better. I upgraded from the old LTM 15/4.5 to the new M mount version and couldn't believe the difference in build quality. Get yourself a standard lens (for the APS-C format) and give it a run.

 

[weebz]

I wanted to stick with something not much older than the 70s for the glass. I think I'm sold on the M mount now. I did some research yesterday on the Bessa R2a and it looks perfect and pretty cheap considering, any thoughts on that camera? The first lens I would like to get is either the 35 or 40 Nokton, and then go from there...

 

[kbrede]

If you're looking at the Zeiss Ikon, why not look at the ZM lenses as well?