3 Notes

5 steps to shooting with vintage lenses on your Canon digital SLR

This is the first article in a series I plan to write about digital photography with vintage lenses, so where better to start than a 5-step guide on how to get started?

Shortly after buying my Canon 450D I was keen to start expanding my lens collection, however my budget didn’t stretch to buying a bag full of prime lenses so I started looking in to the possibility of using older lenses. These older lenses were built way before the advent of auto-focus and apertures so there is a little bit more work involved but once you get the hang of them the quality of the results can be outstanding for the price.

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9 Notes
Frozen Spider’s Web on Flickr. This weekend we had our first hard frost of the year, which made a perfect reason for me to get outside and test out some of the news lenses I’ve acquired over the last week. This photo was taken with a Jupiter-37A which is a 135mm f3.5 on an M42 screw mount. This particular lens dates from around 1991 so it’s over 20 years old and yet to look at you could mistake it for brand new. I’m having great fun with my collection of vintage lenses and the Jupiter-37A is quickly becoming one of my favourite, with a beautifully engineered 12 blade aperture that closes down in a near perfect circle. Using these old lens with their manual focus and apertures has taught me much more in a few weeks about taking photos than years of digital AF point and shoot. I’m planning to share some of what I’ve learned later this week when I finish writing up my beginners guide to shooting with vintage lenses.

Frozen Spider’s Web on Flickr.

This weekend we had our first hard frost of the year, which made a perfect reason for me to get outside and test out some of the news lenses I’ve acquired over the last week.

This photo was taken with a Jupiter-37A which is a 135mm f3.5 on an M42 screw mount. This particular lens dates from around 1991 so it’s over 20 years old and yet to look at you could mistake it for brand new.

I’m having great fun with my collection of vintage lenses and the Jupiter-37A is quickly becoming one of my favourite, with a beautifully engineered 12 blade aperture that closes down in a near perfect circle.

Using these old lens with their manual focus and apertures has taught me much more in a few weeks about taking photos than years of digital AF point and shoot. I’m planning to share some of what I’ve learned later this week when I finish writing up my beginners guide to shooting with vintage lenses.

18 Notes
The Moon on Flickr.Finally a photo that is almost in focus, at least to the point of being acceptable. The next time I try I shall have to set up the tripod and use a shutter release so I can increase the exposure time slightly and lower the ISO.

The Moon on Flickr.

Finally a photo that is almost in focus, at least to the point of being acceptable. The next time I try I shall have to set up the tripod and use a shutter release so I can increase the exposure time slightly and lower the ISO.

12 Notes
Helios Test Shot on Flickr.Via Flickr: Helios 44M 2/58 lens. Handheld @ f4 on my Canon 450D. I really cannot believe the sharpness of this lens, it’s the first manual focus I’ve bought and I’m so impressed. This particular lens is older than I am! They really don’t make them like they used to.

Helios Test Shot on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Helios 44M 2/58 lens. Handheld @ f4 on my Canon 450D.

I really cannot believe the sharpness of this lens, it’s the first manual focus I’ve bought and I’m so impressed. This particular lens is older than I am! They really don’t make them like they used to.

3 Notes
Happy New Year 2012 on Flickr. Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2012! I’m never any good with resolutions so I won’t be making any, however I hope that I can continue to learn more about digital photography and that I can find enough interesting things to keep my blog up to date.

Happy New Year 2012 on Flickr.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2012!

I’m never any good with resolutions so I won’t be making any, however I hope that I can continue to learn more about digital photography and that I can find enough interesting things to keep my blog up to date.

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