Why's this so cheap?

Mooching for lenses on eBay (and not really knowing anything about them) i came across this;

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Pentacon-1-8-50mm-Sharp-Lens-fit-Canon-EOS-DSLR-M42-Ext_W0QQitemZ350337665606QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item5191c08a46


Anyone care to tell me why it's so cheap? I have a 20D, and that listing says it's compatible with a 20D... Why isn't it €80 or so, like the manby other 50mm lenses?

Diabhal_Glas

Its manual focus and the optics may be of a questionable quality,

buy cheap buy twice

hbr

Deleted User wrote: »

Mooching for lenses on eBay (and not really knowing anything about them) i came across this;

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Pentacon-1-8-50mm-Sharp-Lens-fit-Canon-EOS-DSLR-M42-Ext_W0QQitemZ350337665606QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN?hash=item5191c08a46


Anyone care to tell me why it's so cheap? I have a 20D, and that listing says it's compatible with a 20D... Why isn't it €80 or so, like the manby other 50mm lenses?

It is not a Canon EOS mount lens. You will need to use an adapter between the camera and the lens and it will only work in manual modes. No electronic control of focus or aperture. The cost of the lens + adapter + shipping pushes the price into the €50 region. I think I would pay the extra few quid for a SH Canon 50mm with autofocus.

Corkfeen

I'd personally say that its more worthwhile to buy a canon nifty fifty. Its only an extra 50 max, i'm sure someone sold one for around 50 on adverts.;)

Corkfeen

Corkfeen wrote: »

i'm sure someone sold one for around 50 on adverts.;)

Yeah I've heard of them going cheap on adverts. I've never seen them myself though. Looks like a 50mm will be about €100 at it's cheapest.

gerk86

don't see any cpu contacts, it'll be manual aperture & focus control. Also pentacon sounds similar to a Falcon or Samyang type brand.

Cheers for the information guys


Edit:

Can anyone tell me the difference between Canon FD and EF lenses? I assume one is meant for digital and the other for film?

hbr

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah I've heard of them going cheap on adverts. I've never seen them myself though. Looks like a 50mm will be about €100 at it's cheapest.

I bought one a couple of weeks ago. €85 + shipping = almost €100. I saw a few SH ones for sale, but the asking price for all of them was too close to the new price.

I bought from this seller:
http://myworld.ebay.ie/sunflower1327/ Anyone that can sell a couple of thousand items without a single negative or neutral feedback must be pretty good.

There is an interesting page about using the Pentacon lens on an EOS camera here:
http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_pentacon50.html

pullandbang

Corkfeen wrote: »

i'm sure someone sold one for around 50 on adverts.;)

Yep, and I bought it

Brilliant lens for the money - pin sharp and great bokeh when it's open

hbr

Deleted User wrote: »

Can anyone tell me the difference between Canon FD and EF lenses? I assume one is meant for digital and the other for film?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_FD_lens_mount

melekalikimaka

pullandbang wrote: »

Yep, and I bought it

Brilliant lens for the money - pin sharp and great bokeh when it's open

I've found that the cheaper mf lens have nicer bokeh imo,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sikaheimo/2080180373/
that lens goes for bout 30 yos

Heebie

It's probably cheap because it's Soviet-era technology. I have some Carl Zeiss lenses with mounts for a Pentacon-6 that I use for tilt & shift work with an adapter.. the Zeiss optics are great.. I honestly don't know how good the Pentacon optics are.. I've never seen a Pentacon branded lens before. I think the Pentacon cameras stopped being made around the time the Berlin Wall fell.

From the description, it's probably not a Canon-mount lens.. but one that can be adapted to a Canon EOS with an "M42 Ext" adapter which is probably available from the same seller. (similar to this one: http://cgi.ebay.ie/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350330990853, which is an M42 adapter beign sold by the same seller.)

always a good idea to be careful about such things.. if you're not sure what it is.. I'd say stay away.

pullandbang

melekalikimaka wrote: »

I've found that the cheaper mf lens have nicer bokeh imo,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sikaheimo/2080180373/
that lens goes for bout 30 yos

Fantastic bokeh - but was it not shot with an f1.5 85mm as per the tags?

Tags

sister
summer
bokeh
boke
helios
40
helios-40
85/1.5
85mm f/1.5
85mm
f/1.5
anniina

DaireQuinlan

pullandbang wrote: »

Fantastic bokeh - but was it not shot with an f1.5 85mm as per the tags?

Yeah the helios 40 looks like. You'd be hard put to find them for less than 200 or 300 euros. For some reason they're one of those things that suddenly got immensely popular. It's bizarre, you can buy a (say) nikon 85mm 1.4 AIS for only slightly more if you get lucky.

gman2k

I was thinking of buying a 50mm Canon FD f1.4 on ebay, and using a FD to EF adaptor (I'm on a 7d).
Has anyone else ever tried doing this?

Heebie

I've got an old Canon Pellix QL with an FD f1.4 lens.. and using 50 ISO film with that lens results in absolutely amazing sharpness & detail. (My lens is the original that came with the body back in the mid 1960's.. all glass elements.. don't know how much the construction may have changed.. but if the price is right.. go for it. The worst you'll get is a really good, fast, sharp lens. At best you'll get a lens that'll blow your socks off... although make sure the seller guarantees it to be in working order.)

gman2k wrote: »

I was thinking of buying a 50mm Canon FD f1.4 on ebay, and using a FD to EF adaptor (I'm on a 7d).
Has anyone else ever tried doing this?

Instead of making another thread again...

Can anyone tell me why this is so cheap?


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/50-Tripod-for-CANON-SONY-PANASONIC-CAMERA-CAMCORDER_W0QQitemZ180476298243QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_TripodsSupports?hash=item2a0539c403



I don't know anything about tripods... but from flicking through the description it seems fairly good. Anyone care to tell me why it's so cheap/is best to avoid?

I'm kind of hovering over the 'buy it now' button... :P

Sorry to bump, but anyone able to offer any insight into the above tripod at all?

It seems too cheap...? But i want it.

Ghost Train

Deleted User wrote: »

Sorry to bump, but anyone able to offer any insight into the above tripod at all?

It seems too cheap...? But i want it.

Just light weight tripod, fine for basic stuff

Thirdfox

Hope it's not too late to give you my opinion...

I had one of these tripods (not exact one mind you) - cost me 5 euro in China...and well it was fine(ish). It's not very stable - the centre column is often worthless but for the price (and if you're not going to be in a windy situation) it can be useful to get a still shot.

Don't expect to be able to do micro-adjustments though - they often have a lot of play in the joints. And if you put a heavy camera/lens combo on it, expect it to fall over in a windy situation (I've had that almost happen to me before).

What I did instead after 2 years was buy a 50 euro Slik Pro 330DX - and that tripod I'm happy to use professionally - I've got it mounted with camera, lenses, flash etc and steady as a rock and allows for tiny adjustments.

I upgrade as needed and do not buy into the bythom argument that you should spend 600 euro once on an ultra tripod (Gitzo and the like) when in some cases a 5 or 50 euro tripod will do. Just be aware that the key utility of a tripod - being stable... isn't catered for *that* well with these kinds... unless you're mounting a pocket camera?

edit: the Slik was second hand - had some dents but functions fine - I'm not buying it for the cosmetics - got it off adverts.ie from a lovely gent.

Brilliant stuff thirdfox!

I appreciate the comment. I'll mooch on further so... No point in spending €25 on a tripod that won't do much for me. We're in Ireland, so I'll forever expect terribly weather and wind to be the norm.

Off to mooch more I go.

Can i ask.. is there anything to look for in a tripod? I obviously want it to be able to pan AND tilt, but is there anything else?

I remember Chorcai telling me I should look for one with foam on the legs, as it's easier to carry in colder weather (won't freeze your hands) but that wouldn't be a huge priority for me.

EDIT: Just noticed your comment Ghost train, cheers!

Thirdfox

Deleted User wrote: »

Brilliant stuff thirdfox!

I appreciate the comment. I'll mooch on further so... No point in spending €25 on a tripod that won't do much for me. We're in Ireland, so I'll forever expect terribly weather and wind to be the norm.

Off to mooch more I go.

Can i ask.. is there anything to look for in a tripod? I obviously want it to be able to pan AND tilt, but is there anything else?

I remember Chorcai telling me I should look for one with foam on the legs, as it's easier to carry in colder weather (won't freeze your hands) but that wouldn't be a huge priority for me.

EDIT: Just noticed your comment Ghost train, cheers!

Well - some people prefer to have a ball head instead of a pan/tilt head (I have the pan/tilt) - the ball allows you to twist the camera however way you choose... but a pan/tilt allows you to adjust in one plane of direction only (useful for those panoramas!)

The 330dx has foam on legs and is a brilliant "feature". But you could always buy some bubblewrap and use that instead.

The materials used in the tripod are important - aluminium while cheap and light results in a...cheap and light support - not all that steady (though as I said - can do the job).

Slik use AMT - aluminium, magnesium and titanium? I find that it provides a good balance between lightness and sturdiness...and cost

Gitzos use carbon fibre I believe - ultra light, ultra strong, ultra expensive...

Technically the best tripod would be a huge rock with a release plate in it - but the compromise is between price, steadiness and lightness.

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=97400 - here's what the 330dx pro looks like - I highly recommend it for light/medium setups (it can take my Nikon D90, SB600 flash and variety of lenses without any problems). The legs are independently adjustable so if you're on uneven terrain the legs can spread out at different angles - useful for real photographers - unlike the tripod you posted from ebay - legs linked at the bottom so you can't use it on a slope.

Some tripods also have spirit levels to tell you when you're stable - but I can buy a spirit level for cameras from dealextreme for a few dollars - highly recommended for panorama work - or just making sure you have an even horizon.

ThOnda

Those cheap ones are light, shaky, unstable, joints are loose, head is made pure from plastic so it cracks sooner or later and if you don't use it instead of light stand, don't get it at all.

Good tripods usually have only legs and middle column, no further scaffolding needed. Important factor is the load (in kilos) and should be always more than your heaviest combination of camera+lense+flash. Possibility to change the head is great once you step up from crop bodies to full format and L lenses (joystick head fail big times).

Rule of thumb is to stick to major brand names that won't sell something that would harm their reputation.

Thirdfox

Major brands being ones like:

Slik, Manfrotto - "budget" professional tripods

Giotto, Gitzo, Bogen - "premium" professional tripods

Or you could get a Chinese clone of the Gitzos - Benro tripods That's probably what I'd go for if I ever upgrade from my Slik.

edit: - "budget" budget tripod brands are Velbon and Hama... below that are the 5 euro "no-names"

DaireQuinlan

Thirdfox wrote: »

Or you could get a Chinese clone of the Gitzos - Benro tripods That's probably what I'd go for if I ever upgrade from my Slik.

I read some really dreadful review of the Benro tripods a while back. They look as nicely finished on the outside as Gitzos, but they guy took it apart and found really crude finishing and bad materials used wherever possible. It was a couple of years ago though so maybe they've sorted it out since.

gman2k

Just snagged the Canon 50mm S.S.C. f1.4 FD lens on Ebay for £62! (ok, have to get an FD/EF adapter also)

fathertrendy

Hey guys - quick question - I have a Pentacon 3.5/30 lens (made in the GDR!) that's a wee bit old...I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to adapt it to fit on my Nikon D3000

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Heebie

This will adapt a Pentacon-6 mount lens to your camera, and give you tilt capability:

http://araxfoto.com/accessories/tilt/

This will also do it, but give you shift instead of tilt.

http://araxfoto.com/accessories/shift/

I have one of teach of these for my Pentax setup.. and there are other lens-mounts.. I think one of them should work for whatever Pentacon lens you've got. (My lenses are Pentacon-6 that I purchased at fotaskoda.cz in Prague.)

There are other tilt/shift options out there.. and this these do NOT do combination shift and tilt, only one at a time.. but they're a lot cheaper than any alternatives I've seen.. and they'll get that Pentacon lens onto your Nikon, even if you don't want to do shift or tilt.

fathertrendy wrote: »

Hey guys - quick question - I have a Pentacon 3.5/30 lens (made in the GDR!) that's a wee bit old...I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to adapt it to fit on my Nikon D3000

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

DaireQuinlan

Heebie wrote: »

This will adapt a Pentacon-6 mount lens to your camera, and give you tilt capability:

30mm f/3.5 is very unlikely to be a medium format lens, probably an M42 mount for the praktica cameras. I actually have a 65mm in a pentacon 6 mount and one of those tilt adapters, I've always found it satisfactory.

fathertrendy

Heebie wrote: »

This will adapt a Pentacon-6 mount lens to your camera, and give you tilt capability:

http://araxfoto.com/accessories/tilt/

This will also do it, but give you shift instead of tilt.

http://araxfoto.com/accessories/shift/

I have one of teach of these for my Pentax setup.. and there are other lens-mounts.. I think one of them should work for whatever Pentacon lens you've got. (My lenses are Pentacon-6 that I purchased at fotaskoda.cz in Prague.)

There are other tilt/shift options out there.. and this these do NOT do combination shift and tilt, only one at a time.. but they're a lot cheaper than any alternatives I've seen.. and they'll get that Pentacon lens onto your Nikon, even if you don't want to do shift or tilt.

Cheers @Heebie! This is just what I have been looking for. Some reason this kind of obvious info has escaped me. Amateur alert..

fathertrendy

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

30mm f/3.5 is very unlikely to be a medium format lens, probably an M42 mount for the praktica cameras. I actually have a 65mm in a pentacon 6 mount and one of those tilt adapters, I've always found it satisfactory.

Cheers @DaireQuinlan. I'll check this out and what's available. Don't have a clue about the tilt/shift difference so will do some reading and investigating before purchasing the mount. My Dad had the lens in a bag for the past 20 years and I just discovered it! Am looking to get some kit together before purchasing a d7000. Thanks again!

fathertrendy

Not sure if this sounds silly, but as its a DX camera should that make a difference to the mount? The only ones Ive seen here are F mounts for Nikons.

DaireQuinlan

fathertrendy wrote: »

Cheers @DaireQuinlan. I'll check this out and what's available. Don't have a clue about the tilt/shift difference so will do some reading and investigating before purchasing the mount. My Dad had the lens in a bag for the past 20 years and I just discovered it! Am looking to get some kit together before purchasing a d7000. Thanks again!

I'd forgotten about this, just doing a quick search on google there, this is almost certainly an M42 mount lens. It's a screw mount at the back ? I've adapted M42 mount lenses to the F mount before, there are two types of adapters you can get. The first is just a plain metal ring that you screw the lens into which has a bayonet F mount. You won't get infinity focus with this arrangement. The second has a corrective lens in the adapter so that you get infinity focus. The cheap ones aren't worth bothering about though because the quality of the corrective optics isn't the best. The expensive ones will probably set you back the price of a 28mm/35mm nikkor AIS or so anyhow.