uncoated or single coated lenses for b&w?

Camerarabbit · Dec 23, 2020

Hello! I'm on the hunt for a nice uncoated lens for a 35mm body to do some black and white photography with pleasant diffraction. Pic of the kind of look I'm looking to match is attached - I love how the light coming through the subway windows blows out areas of the shots. I understand that single coated lenses from the 1950s can do the trick too. I have a Contax C/Y body and a Canon EF film body, but dont think either of those systems have lenses that fit the bill. Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!

MattKing · Dec 23, 2020

An inexpensive 70s era zoom lens may meet your needs too, although it can be hard to find a wide angle version.

Camerarabbit · Dec 23, 2020

MattKing said:
An inexpensive 70s era zoom lens may meet your needs too, although it can be hard to find a wide angle version.

My favorite focal legnth is 45/50. I'm wondering if a Yashica C/Y mount zoom would work well...

nzhang · Dec 23, 2020

If you want to adapt m42 screw mount lens To eos system, 58mm f2 lenses, or early Pentax auto takumar 55mm f2 will work.

BradS · Dec 23, 2020

Or you could use some steel wool to scratch the shit out of the front of your favorite 50mm lens.

Sirius Glass · Dec 23, 2020

BradS said:
Or you could use some steel wool to scratch the shit out of the front of your favorite 50mm lens.

+1

RLangham · Dec 23, 2020

Some nice early offerings from the Soviet Republics... Early industars for instance..
All for Leica mount

E. von Hoegh · Dec 23, 2020

CameronRabbit said:
Hello! I'm on the hunt for a nice uncoated lens for a 35mm body to do some black and white photography with pleasant diffraction. Pic of the kind of look I'm looking to match is attached - I love how the light coming through the subway windows blows out areas of the shots. I understand that single coated lenses from the 1950s can do the trick too. I have a Contax C/Y body and a Canon EF film body, but dont think either of those systems have lenses that fit the bill. Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!

There'

RLangham said:
Some nice early offerings from the Soviet Republics... Early industars for instance..
All for Leica mount

All single coated, too.
The op doesn't know what he wants. An uncoated double Gauss 50 is damn near useless, an uncoated Tessar is much better regarding flare but slower.
Single coated lenses are very good, unless lighting is very difficult they are indistinguishable from mc lenses.

E. von Hoegh · Dec 23, 2020

CameronRabbit said:
Hello! I'm on the hunt for a nice uncoated lens for a 35mm body to do some black and white photography with pleasant diffraction. Pic of the kind of look I'm looking to match is attached - I love how the light coming through the subway windows blows out areas of the shots. I understand that single coated lenses from the 1950s can do the trick too. I have a Contax C/Y body and a Canon EF film body, but dont think either of those systems have lenses that fit the bill. Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!

Look up the definition of "diffraction".

ic-racer · Dec 23, 2020

Effects like that can be achieved with something like petroleum jelly on a lens surface. Use the lens wide open for maximum effect. This exposure was made wide open with a modern multicoated lens and some petroleum jelly on a filter.

Sirius Glass · Dec 23, 2020

I recommend a Rodenstock Imagon lens "The Rodenstock Imagon is an achromat doublet photographic lens design uncorrected for spherical aberration used together with diffusion discs called sieve aperture. The lens is one of the classic professional soft-focus "portrait lenses" ".

flavio81 · Dec 23, 2020

CameronRabbit said:
Hello! I'm on the hunt for a nice uncoated lens for a 35mm body to do some black and white photography with pleasant diffraction. Pic of the kind of look I'm looking to match is attached - I love how the light coming through the subway windows blows out areas of the shots. I understand that single coated lenses from the 1950s can do the trick too. I have a Contax C/Y body and a Canon EF film body, but dont think either of those systems have lenses that fit the bill. Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!

Fomapan 400 and/or Shanghai GP3 can give more or less a similar look - it has poor anti-halation properties.

RLangham · Dec 23, 2020

flavio81 said:
Fomapan 400 and/or Shanghai GP3 can give more or less a similar look - it has poor anti-halation properties.

I haven't noticed but you're probably right now that I think about it. I've used both shanghai pan and Foma 100 and 200.

Ko.Fe. · Dec 23, 2020

Serviced Leica LTM camera and Summar 50/2 (most are not coated) will do. Soviet time lenses 20, 28, 35, 50 mm in same mount are all single coated.
I had, have all lenses I have mentioned, except 20mm one (Russar). Here is very big difference between uncoated Summar and single coated lenses. On bw film negatives. Colors are different as well.
Leitz made 50 f2 RF lenses after Summar, up to first Cron are single coated and their rendering is very different from SLR lenses.
Where was a thread about British photog who documented old British farmers life with Leitz lenses and some other older film cameras. He used single coated and uncoated lenses with great results. He has made his own lens hoods for old Leitz lenses to minimize flare and glow.
To get retro look, you should consecrate on darkroom printing. I often asked how old my photos are, if they are darkroom prints. I often use old single contrast grade fiber papers. Some are around fifty years old. Agfa and Ilford.

This one is on old FB chloro-bromide paper from PAL.

Camerarabbit · Dec 26, 2020

nzhang said:
If you want to adapt m42 screw mount lens To eos system, 58mm f2 lenses, or early Pentax auto takumar 55mm f2 will work.

Great idea, will look into this! How do you identify an early Takumar, and can you rec an M42 to EOS (or Sony FE) mount?

Camerarabbit · Dec 26, 2020

E. von Hoegh said:
There'

All single coated, too.
The op doesn't know what he wants. An uncoated double Gauss 50 is damn near useless, an uncoated Tessar is much better regarding flare but slower.
Single coated lenses are very good, unless lighting is very difficult they are indistinguishable from mc lenses.

Is there an uncoated Tessar that you can rec?

Camerarabbit · Dec 26, 2020

flavio81 said:
Fomapan 400 and/or Shanghai GP3 can give more or less a similar look - it has poor anti-halation properties.

Awesome, will look into this film - happy to know that its much cheaper than Hp5 / Tri-X. thanks!

Camerarabbit · Dec 26, 2020

Sirius Glass said:
I recommend a Rodenstock Imagon lens "The Rodenstock Imagon is an achromat doublet photographic lens design uncorrected for spherical aberration used together with diffusion discs called sieve aperture. The lens is one of the classic professional soft-focus "portrait lenses" ".

That's 4x5 no?

Sirius Glass · Dec 26, 2020

CameronRabbit said:
That's 4x5 no?

Yes, but then one can never have a camera that is too big.

nzhang · Dec 26, 2020

Auto-takumar lenses are one generation before super takumar, and two generation before smc Pentax lenses. You need manually charge the aperture using a handle located at rear of the lens, which is very cool looking. They are very well made and have great value. If used near wide open, it will behave in low contrast you will like. Also a few 55-58mm f1.4 m42 third party lenses are great when used near wild open.

Wallendo · Dec 26, 2020

CameronRabbit said:
Great idea, will look into this! How do you identify an early Takumar, and can you rec an M42 to EOS (or Sony FE) mount?

If you are willing to shoot digital with a Sony E-mount, you can purchase an inexpensive m39 adapter and use early FED and Industar lenses.
Otherwise you can pick up a m42 adapter for Canon or Sony E or A mount. All of these uses are for simple glassless adapters.
I suspect the look you want is probably best obtained with an old m39 lens. Unfortunately to use these, you either need to got an old m39 (ltm) rangefinder or go the digital route with Sony E-mount or similar.

Camerarabbit · Dec 26, 2020

Wallendo said:
If you are willing to shoot digital with a Sony E-mount, you can purchase an inexpensive m39 adapter and use early FED and Industar lenses.
Otherwise you can pick up a m42 adapter for Canon or Sony E or A mount. All of these uses are for simple glassless adapters.
I suspect the look you want is probably best obtained with an old m39 lens. Unfortunately to use these, you either need to got an old m39 (ltm) rangefinder or go the digital route with Sony E-mount or similar.

I have no problem with getting a new camera body to do this. Can you rec 1-2 m39 lenses and an m39 body?

Camerarabbit · Dec 26, 2020

nzhang said:
Auto-takumar lenses are one generation before super takumar, and two generation before smc Pentax lenses. You need manually charge the aperture using a handle located at rear of the lens, which is very cool looking. They are very well made and have great value. If used near wide open, it will behave in low contrast you will like. Also a few 55-58mm f1.4 m42 third party lenses are great when used near wild open.

by charge do you mean you have to cock the lens before shooting?

markjwyatt · Dec 26, 2020

M42 of Exakta mount cameras are a way to use a lot of nice older generation optics. The 50mm f2.8 Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar comes to mind in M42. Exakta is trickier because you have to find functioning Exakta bodies. They are out there, but M42 are much more plentiful.

nzhang · Dec 27, 2020

CameronRabbit said:
by charge do you mean you have to cock the lens before shooting?

If you use a Pentax body, this is useful for viewing with full aperture after pressed shutter. If you adapt to canon body, you just use the lens as manual lens, no need to worry about it. However it is a nice looking chrome piece and highlight the workmanship of Pentax lens of this period. Mounted on a all black canon body, more like a black car with a shining door handle. If you want wider angle lens, early Pentax 35mm f2.5 or f2 lenses will flare at wide open also.

uncoated or single coated lenses for b&w?

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uncoated or single coated lenses for b&w?

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