are these lenses worth buying? at DVinfo.net

Andrew Todd · January 9th, 2006, 08:01 AM

Are these lenses and converters worth buying? which ones?

-Access Auto Tele Converter 2x, P-MC for C/FD

-Vivitar Auto Tele Converter 1.5x-5

-Focal MC 2x Converter

-(4) Vivitar Auto 2X Custom Tele Converter, Model 2x-1

-Variable Auto Tube

-Soligor MP Auto Tele Converter 2x for C/FD

-Tristar Telephoto Lens for AF35M-II

-Kogaku f=135mm 1:4 Lens

-Mamiya-Sekor Auto f=135mm 1:28 Lens

-Computar TV Lens 8.5mm 1:1.3

-Canon Fd 135mm 1:2.5 Lens

-Albinar 55mm 80-200mm 1:39 Macro Lens

-Petri Auto 1:4 F=200mm Lens

-TriStar Wide Angle Lens for AF35M-II

-PT Auto Teleplus 3x Lens

-PT Auto Teleplus 2x Lens

Bill Porter · January 9th, 2006, 11:01 AM

No.

10 character minimum

Andrew Todd · January 9th, 2006, 12:27 PM

even for cheap? they're for sale cheap as a whole lot. there's nothing i can do with them?

Ben Winter · January 9th, 2006, 01:08 PM

Canon Fd 135mm 1:2.5 Lens

I'd want that one. But that's about it.

Andrew Todd · January 9th, 2006, 01:23 PM

if i could get these all for $50 i could sell the rest seperately and make my money back though couldnt i?

Bill Porter · January 9th, 2006, 02:43 PM

It's amazing how you can tell someone "No" and they'll fish for what they want to hear! :)

If they were worth anything someone else would be buying them. I can't see that any of them would be what you want. I wouldn't want the 135mm F2.5. There are F2.0's out there and they'll be better even when stopped down to F2.5.

There are no shortcuts. Sorry, bud. Just buy the right lenses and be happy knowing you're joining the club and paying the same dues we all did.

Andrew Todd · January 9th, 2006, 03:10 PM

bill, im obviously a novice when it comes to these still lenses. So if i ask a question on here and you dont want to offer any *useful* information then dont bother replying. Im just trying to learn here. when you look for lenses you dont try to find the best deals? I find that hard to believe

Bill Porter · January 10th, 2006, 04:30 AM

My original answer of "No" was extremely useful, even if you didn't want to hear it! :)

Ben Winter · January 10th, 2006, 07:48 AM

Andrew, don't let Bill discourage you from looking for good finds. As much as Bill might not think so, you can get amazing deals on some really nice lenses. I just picked up a 55mm 1.2 (a really fast, normally $200-$300 lens) off ebay for $70 because there was a tiny piece of dirt inside the outer lens (which I promptly took care of). Before that, I picked up a $220 Century Optics +7 macro for $70 used, in great condition. Most of the time you do get what you pay for, but if you've got a stiffly stifferson deciding that for you, you just might luck out.

Bob Hart · January 10th, 2006, 11:34 AM

If you can get them for $50 and move some of them on, then I can't see any problem. Some of the stuff is sit in the bottom of the box forever material. Depending on the actual mounts, the two 135mm lenses are worth a look.

f2.8 in a 135mm is not necessarily bad. It might not be okay for a device which uses the full still-camera frame, but for 24mm x 18mm. I am using an old Tamron adaptamatic 135mm f2.8 for Nikon. Its got a nice big wide piece of glass in the back end and it is fine.

Not all 135mm lenses were born equal and the Kogaku may be weird.

But then again, a $10 CIMKO 28 - 85mm f3.5 - f4.6 for Nikon zoom gave me great results and the best "crashzooms" ever as an effect.

Bill Porter · January 10th, 2006, 11:39 AM

[QUOTE=Ben Winter]Andrew, don't let Bill discourage you from looking for good finds.
My posts show nothing of the sort. I tried to discourage him from buying bad finds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Winter

As much as Bill might not think so, you can get amazing deals on some really nice lenses.

Again, I never said anything of the sort. Check your facts before you try to put words in my mouth.

Ben Winter · January 10th, 2006, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Porter

There are no shortcuts.

I dunno, that translates to "you can't spend cheaply on lenses" to me. I'm using Babelfish though.

Ken Lamug · January 11th, 2006, 11:24 AM

andrew, check out what those sell for on ebay and see if you can make any money... if so, why not right? use the money you make for other parts.

Bill Porter · January 11th, 2006, 02:00 PM

I'm not sure it's Babelfish. If it is, what are you translating into? ;-)

What I meant was, there are no shortcuts, meaning, you have to buy correct lenses. You can't just buy incorrect ones and have them work because they were a really good deal or because you really want them to work.

I see this in motorsports all the time. Guys buy the wrong camshaft because it was cheap. Then they want to know what they can do to work around reality, in order to use it. Nope. "Huh? Can't I just run a shorter header primary to bring back some top end power to offset the cam being such short duration?" Nope. Now you wasted money on a cheap cam, AND gotta buy the right one in the end anyhow. Now how cheap was that cam? (camshaft, not camera :)
There's no shortcut around getting the right gear. Best you can do is get a great price on the right gear!

Carl Jakobsson · January 12th, 2006, 11:55 AM

I agree with what's stated above. One thing I've learnt is that it's cheaper and less frustrating buying good stuff from the beginning.

Quoting the famous swedish character farbror Barbro:
"Det finns inga genvägar fram till det perfekta ljudet!"
(There are no shortcuts getting the perfect sound!)

January 9th, 2006, 08:01 AM	#1
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	are these lenses and converters worth buying? Are these lenses and converters worth buying? which ones? -Access Auto Tele Converter 2x, P-MC for C/FD -Vivitar Auto Tele Converter 1.5x-5 -Focal MC 2x Converter -(4) Vivitar Auto 2X Custom Tele Converter, Model 2x-1 -Variable Auto Tube -Soligor MP Auto Tele Converter 2x for C/FD -Tristar Telephoto Lens for AF35M-II -Kogaku f=135mm 1:4 Lens -Mamiya-Sekor Auto f=135mm 1:28 Lens -Computar TV Lens 8.5mm 1:1.3 -Canon Fd 135mm 1:2.5 Lens -Albinar 55mm 80-200mm 1:39 Macro Lens -Petri Auto 1:4 F=200mm Lens -TriStar Wide Angle Lens for AF35M-II -PT Auto Teleplus 3x Lens -PT Auto Teleplus 2x Lens __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi Last edited by Andrew Todd; January 9th, 2006 at 08:50 AM.

January 9th, 2006, 12:27 PM	#3
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	even for cheap? they're for sale cheap as a whole lot. there's nothing i can do with them? __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

January 9th, 2006, 01:08 PM	#4
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	Canon Fd 135mm 1:2.5 Lens I'd want that one. But that's about it. __________________ BenWinter.com

January 9th, 2006, 01:23 PM	#5
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	if i could get these all for $50 i could sell the rest seperately and make my money back though couldnt i? __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

January 9th, 2006, 03:10 PM	#7
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	bill, im obviously a novice when it comes to these still lenses. So if i ask a question on here and you dont want to offer any useful information then dont bother replying. Im just trying to learn here. when you look for lenses you dont try to find the best deals? I find that hard to believe __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

January 9th, 2006, 11:01 AM	#2
Bill Porter Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ventura, California, USA Posts: 751	No. 10 character minimum

January 9th, 2006, 02:43 PM	#6
Bill Porter Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ventura, California, USA Posts: 751	It's amazing how you can tell someone "No" and they'll fish for what they want to hear! :) If they were worth anything someone else would be buying them. I can't see that any of them would be what you want. I wouldn't want the 135mm F2.5. There are F2.0's out there and they'll be better even when stopped down to F2.5. There are no shortcuts. Sorry, bud. Just buy the right lenses and be happy knowing you're joining the club and paying the same dues we all did.

January 10th, 2006, 04:30 AM	#8
Bill Porter Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ventura, California, USA Posts: 751	My original answer of "No" was extremely useful, even if you didn't want to hear it! :)

January 10th, 2006, 07:48 AM	#9
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	Andrew, don't let Bill discourage you from looking for good finds. As much as Bill might not think so, you can get amazing deals on some really nice lenses. I just picked up a 55mm 1.2 (a really fast, normally $200-$300 lens) off ebay for $70 because there was a tiny piece of dirt inside the outer lens (which I promptly took care of). Before that, I picked up a $220 Century Optics +7 macro for $70 used, in great condition. Most of the time you do get what you pay for, but if you've got a stiffly stifferson deciding that for you, you just might luck out. __________________ BenWinter.com

January 10th, 2006, 11:34 AM	#10
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,476	If you can get them for $50 and move some of them on, then I can't see any problem. Some of the stuff is sit in the bottom of the box forever material. Depending on the actual mounts, the two 135mm lenses are worth a look. f2.8 in a 135mm is not necessarily bad. It might not be okay for a device which uses the full still-camera frame, but for 24mm x 18mm. I am using an old Tamron adaptamatic 135mm f2.8 for Nikon. Its got a nice big wide piece of glass in the back end and it is fine. Not all 135mm lenses were born equal and the Kogaku may be weird. But then again, a $10 CIMKO 28 - 85mm f3.5 - f4.6 for Nikon zoom gave me great results and the best "crashzooms" ever as an effect.

January 11th, 2006, 11:24 AM	#13
Ken Lamug Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 45	andrew, check out what those sell for on ebay and see if you can make any money... if so, why not right? use the money you make for other parts.

January 11th, 2006, 02:00 PM	#14
Bill Porter Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ventura, California, USA Posts: 751	I'm not sure it's Babelfish. If it is, what are you translating into? ;-) What I meant was, there are no shortcuts, meaning, you have to buy correct lenses. You can't just buy incorrect ones and have them work because they were a really good deal or because you really want them to work. I see this in motorsports all the time. Guys buy the wrong camshaft because it was cheap. Then they want to know what they can do to work around reality, in order to use it. Nope. "Huh? Can't I just run a shorter header primary to bring back some top end power to offset the cam being such short duration?" Nope. Now you wasted money on a cheap cam, AND gotta buy the right one in the end anyhow. Now how cheap was that cam? (camshaft, not camera :) There's no shortcut around getting the right gear. Best you can do is get a great price on the right gear!

January 12th, 2006, 11:55 AM	#15
Carl Jakobsson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Lund, Sweden Posts: 122	I agree with what's stated above. One thing I've learnt is that it's cheaper and less frustrating buying good stuff from the beginning. Quoting the famous swedish character farbror Barbro: "Det finns inga genvägar fram till det perfekta ljudet!" (There are no shortcuts getting the perfect sound!)