Lens Reviews

Archived listing of images and reviews of vintage and legacy camera lenses, a look at what's missing from your camera bag.

Features

• 28mm Legacies as 40mm Equivalent Primes, A Lens Preview - A 28mm wide-angle lens on an APS-C sensor is equivalent to 42mm on a full-frame, the sweet-spot focal length that mimics the human eye's natural perspective, which offers the environmental context of a wide angle with the subject separation of a normal lens.
• Legacy of the 45mm Focal Length Prime, A Lens Review - The 45mm prime bridges the gap between standard and wide-angle perspectives by offering a slightly wider field of view than the traditional 'nifty-fifty,' allowing images with environmental context while maintaining highly natural proportions and excellent subject separation.
• A Trio Of 40mm AF / MF Pancake Primes, A Lens Review - The Konica Hexanon AR 40mm F1.8 (1979), the SMC Pentax-M 40mm F2.8 (1976), and the Canon EF 40mm F2.8 STM (2012), are highly sought-after natural perspective lenses.
• Three Manual Focus Primes For Digital SLR Cameras, A Lens Review - Picking the Yashica ML 28mm F2.8 (1975), Minolta MD 45mm F2 (1978), and Zuiko OM 50mm F3.5 Macro (1973), as vintage legacy primes for optical quality and tactile focusing precision.
• Three Olympus Pen F/FT Manual Focus Primes, A Lens Review - A look at Olympus PenF F.Zuiko 38mm f/1.8, E.Zuiko 100mm f/3.5, and E.Zuiko 150mm f/4 MF as vintage legacies on a MFT (Micro Four Thirds) digital camera.

Canon

• Canon EF 35-70mm f/3.5~4.5 A (1988), Lens Review - A vintage, lightweight standard autofocus-only zoom lens introduced for Canon EOS film cameras, compatible with modern Canon EF-mount DSLRs, and full-frame or APS-C cameras (56-112mm equivalent).
• Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM (2012), Lens Review - A highly regarded pancake lens with excellent optical performance, less than an inch thick, and weighs just 130 grams, an ideal, unobtrusive everyday walk-around lens for both Canon full-frame and APS-C DSLRs.

• Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM (2014), A Feather In The Cap -A very popular, ultra-compact pancake lens designed for Canon's APS-C DSLR cameras only, weighs just 125 grams and measures 22.8mm, and a natural field of view equivalent to 38mm on a full-frame camera.
• Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5~5.6 II (2011), Lens Review - An ultra-lightweight, entry-level standard zoom lens exclusive for Canon APS-C DSLRs, launched primarily as an upgraded kit lens for the EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT), with a 29-88mm equivalent focal range.

Hanimex

• Hanimex 135mm f/2.8 MC Macro, Lens Review - An underrated and undervalued classic vintage medium telephoto manual-focus lens from the 1970s and 1980s with a unique twin-ring close-focusing macro mechanism.

Helios

• Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 (1950s), Lens Review - A legendary Soviet-eas legacy prime, famed for its "swirly" bokeh and vintage character, said to be the most mass-produced legacy lenses in history, seen in various slightly different iterations.

Industar

• Industar 69 28mm f/2.8 (Mid 1960s), Lens Review - A tiny, vintage Soviet pancake originally made for Chaika half-frame cameras, known for its unique, retro filmic rendering, popular for street and macro photography when adapted to modern digitals.
• Industar 69 28mm f/2.8 + An Olympus Attachment Lens - A legacy Industar 69 28mm f/2.8 M39 LTM, a half-frame lens, mounted with an Olympus Attachment Lens F=130cm.

Kiron

• Kiron 28mm f/2.8 MC (1980), Lens Review - A premium vintage legacy wide-angle prime lens originally produced by Kino Precision in Japan,known for its durable all-metal construction, excellent sharpness when stopped down, and multicoated (MC) optics.

Lumix

• Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 Asph. (2018), Lens Review - An ultra-compact, pancake wide-angle prime for MFT (Micro Four Thirds) cameras, with a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 28mm, an ideal lightweight choice for street, travel, and environmental portrait photography.

Minolta

• Minolta AF 50mm f/2.8 Micro (RS) (1993), Lens Review - The revered, 'Re-Styled' iteration of the world's first autofocus macro lens, upgraded with a rubberized focus grip, a focus range limiter, and a Focus Hold button, optically identical to the 1985 original.
• Minolta AF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 APO (1993), Lens Review - A compact, vintage lightweight Minolta A-mount telephoto zoom known for its apochromatic (APO) elements, and circular aperture for better bokeh, highly regarded as a "walk-around" tele, which covers a versatile focal range.
• Minolta AF Zoom 24-50mm f/4 (1987), Lens Review - A vintage Minolta/Sony A-mount full-frame constant-aperture lens known for its durable build and compact design, highly regarded as an excellent, lightweight walk-around wide-angle zoom lens.

• Minolta MC Celtic 135mm f/2.8 (Mid-1970s), Lens Review - A classic, budget-friendly vintage legacy produced by Minolta's Celtic line, the economy line with cheaper alternative to premium Rokkor lenses, still with excellent mechanics and optical performance.

Nikon

• Nikon AF-Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5~5.6 D (1995), Lens Review - A lightweight, compact, and highly affordable full-frame zoom lens, an entry-level kit lens for Nikon 35mm film SLRs and FX-format digital SLRs, an equivalent focal length of 42-120mm on full-frame cameras.
• Nikon AF-Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3~4.5N (1989), Lens Review - A compact, lightweight standard zoom lens (often called the MK II) optically and mechanically designed for vintage Nikon's 35mm film SLRs, can be used as well on modern DSLRs with a built-in autofocus motor.
• Nikon AF-Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 D (1995), Lens Review - A compact, fast-aperture standard prime lens with a classic optical formula and a physical aperture ring, a versatile choice for both vintage film bodies and modern DSLRs, excellent low-light performance.
• Nikon Micro-Nikkor AI 55mm f/3.5 (1977), Lens Review - A legendary, manual-focus macro lens renowned for its exceptional optical sharpness and flat field of focus, 1:2 magnification, part of the transition of Nikon lenses to the AI metering system.
• Nikon Nikkor AI-S 85mm f/2 (1981), Lens Review - An exceptionally compact, lightweight manual-focus telephoto lens highly regarded for its classic portrait rendering and robust metal build, slight softness and chromatic aberration wide open.

Olympus

• Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 (2004), Lens Review - A versatile, compact vintage telephoto zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 80-300mm, the second of the pair of kit lenses for Olympus E-300 and E-500 DSLR twin-lens kits.

• Olympus F.Zuiko PenF 38mm f/1.8 (1966), Lens Review - A compact vintage legacy prime lens equivalent as a standard normal 55mm on the half-frame 35mm Olympus Pen F/FT/FV system, celebrated for its tiny form factor, excellent sharpness, and unique vintage rendering.
• Olympus S.Zuiko OM MC 35-70mm f/4 (Late 1970s - Early 1980s), Lens Review - A compact and lightweight vintage manual focus standard zoom for the Olympus OM SLR film camera system, launched as a consumer-friendly, simplified variant of Olympus's original 35-70mm zoom.

• Olympus Zuiko OM MC 21mm f/3.5 (1979), Lens Review - A highly regarded, ultra-wide-angle legacy prime lens kKnown for its incredibly compact size, all-metal build, and excellent center sharpness, still a popular and affordable vintage choice today.
• Olympus Zuiko OM 75-150mm f/4 (1972), Lens Review - A compact and lightweight vintage manual focus telephoto zoom lens with a constant f/4 aperture, a two-touch internal zoom design, best stopped down to f/5.6 or f/8 for sharp, crisp images.

Pentax

• SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.4 (1975), Lens Review - A highly acknowledged vintage legacy celebrated for its exceptional build quality, smooth focus throw, and creamy bokeh, incredibly sharp with rich color renders when stopped down to f/4 or f/8.

• SMC Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8 (1984), Lens Review - A highly compact, all-metal manual focus wide-angle lens known for excellent handling, robust build quality, and outstanding value, usable on shutter-priority and program modes of Pentax film and digital bodies.
• SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm f/4 (1984), Lens Review - A highly compact, all-metal manual focus zoom with a constant maximum aperture and macro capability, delivers rich colors and solid sharpness, with some chromatic aberration and soft corners wide open.
• SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 (1985), Lens Review - An affordable, lightweight 'nifty-fifty' budget prime with a 5-elements in 5-group optical design, supports full program and shutter-priority modes on Pentax compatible film and digital bodies.

• SMC-Pentax-DA 18-55mm f/3.5~5.6 AL (2004), Lens Review - A highly regarded kit lens offering a versatile 27-82.5mm equivalent on APS-C DSLRs, a lightweight everyday or landscape lens with solid build quality, metal mount, and excellent optical performance.

• Takumar-A 28mm f/2.8 (1984), Lens Review - A manual-focus wide-angle Pentax K-mount prime lens built by Pentax as a budget-friendly alternative to their premium SMC prime lines, with full electronic communication with camera bodies.

Sigma

• Sigma Asph. IF Zoom 28-105mm f/3.8~5.6 UC-III (1999), Lens Review - A discontinued vintage autofocus zoom lens with an ultra-compact (UC) build and an internal focusing (IF) mechanism features a 7-blade aperture, a 0.5 m minimum focusing distance, made in various mounts.
• Sigma Zoom-γ 21-35mm f/3.5~4 (1979), Lens Review - A historic lens, significant for being the world's first wide-angle zoom lens, with a push-pull zoom design, all-metal construction, integrated floral-pattern lens hood, and an AF version in 1985.

Tamron

• Tamron SP Adaptall-2 28-80mm f/3.5-4.2 (27A) (1979), Lens Review - A vintage legacy manual focus zoom with Tamron’s interchangeable Adaptall-2 mount system, robust metal construction, BBAR multi-coating, and macro mode with a 1:3.4 magnification ratio.
• Tamron Adaptall-2 70-210mm f/4~5.6 (1988), Lens Review - A vintage compact, and lightweight manual focus telephoto zoom with Tamron's interchangeable Adaptall-2 mount system, adaptable to vintage film and modern mirrorless camera bodies with third-party adapters.
• Tamron SP Adaptall-2 90mm f/2.5 Macro (52BB) (1988), Lens Review - A legendary vintage manual lens celebrated for its exceptional sharpness, beautiful bokeh, and versatility, functions both as a tack-sharp macro lens, and an excellent short telephoto portrait lens.