Will vintage lenses help me find the way?

[dgatwood]

The manual focus M42 lenses on ebay are in general cheap enough - stick to the Pentax lenses if you're on a budget, as the Zeiss lenses seem to demand a premium. For most of them, there are reviews if you google the lens.

I'd add Helios to that list for the same reason. They're very inexpensive, but they're good lenses. I've had a lot of fun doing portrait photography with a Helios 44M (58mm f/2). As long as I don't focus at infinity, it works just fine (and if I do, I'd better remember to put it into live view first, or else I get a mirror hang). If infinity focus were crucial, I'd probably choose to sacrifice a little bokeh quality and use the 44M-4, which does not snag the mirror.

 

[gigabellone]

In the end i have decided to drop the idea of getting vintage lenses. Good ones are as expensive as EF lenses, plus the cost of adapters. I'll be picking up a used Canon EF 28-135 next week for 200€. It covers almost all the focal lengths i'm interested in (except 24mm), and i'll be able to sell it with few (if any) loss. Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[unfocused]

In the end i have decided to drop the idea of getting vintage lenses. Good ones are as expensive as EF lenses, plus the cost of adapters. I'll be picking up a used Canon EF 28-135 next week for 200€. It covers almost all the focal lengths i'm interested in (except 24mm), and i'll be able to sell it with few (if any) loss. Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think you made the right decision.

 

[Dylan777]

In the end i have decided to drop the idea of getting vintage lenses. Good ones are as expensive as EF lenses, plus the cost of adapters. I'll be picking up a used Canon EF 28-135 next week for 200€. It covers almost all the focal lengths i'm interested in (except 24mm), and i'll be able to sell it with few (if any) loss. Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think you made the right decision.

+1...if you not in hurry, wait for x-mas holidays. BH has great deals on EF and L lenses.

 

[gigabellone]

+1...if you not in hurry, wait for x-mas holidays. BH has great deals on EF and L lenses.

I'm envious of the low prices on camera gear in USA.
I think that the shipping costs and customs fees would nullify any savings.
And i can't see myself staying for a whole year with just a 28-135 and a nifty fifty....

 

[mrsfotografie]

+1...if you not in hurry, wait for x-mas holidays. BH has great deals on EF and L lenses.

I'm envious of the low prices on camera gear in USA.
I think that the shipping costs and customs fees would nullify any savings.
And i can't see myself staying for a whole year with just a 28-135 and a nifty fifty....

+1, we suffer from a lot more tax :

 

[Artifex]

+1...if you not in hurry, wait for x-mas holidays. BH has great deals on EF and L lenses.

I'm envious of the low prices on camera gear in USA.
I think that the shipping costs and customs fees would nullify any savings.
And i can't see myself staying for a whole year with just a 28-135 and a nifty fifty....

+1, we suffer from a lot more tax :

I don't know where exactly you are from, but in Québec (Canada), it is a bit ridiculous! Gear sold at B&H is cheaper with taxes, customs and shipping than here before taxes (and we have 14,975% of taxes).

 

[mrsfotografie]

+1...if you not in hurry, wait for x-mas holidays. BH has great deals on EF and L lenses.

I'm envious of the low prices on camera gear in USA.
I think that the shipping costs and customs fees would nullify any savings.
And i can't see myself staying for a whole year with just a 28-135 and a nifty fifty....

+1, we suffer from a lot more tax :

I don't know where exactly you are from, but in Québec (Canada), it is a bit ridiculous! Gear sold at B&H is cheaper with taxes, customs and shipping than here before taxes (and we have 14,975% of taxes).

I'm in the Netherlands, 21% tax :-\

 

[Artifex]

+1...if you not in hurry, wait for x-mas holidays. BH has great deals on EF and L lenses.

I'm envious of the low prices on camera gear in USA.
I think that the shipping costs and customs fees would nullify any savings.
And i can't see myself staying for a whole year with just a 28-135 and a nifty fifty....

+1, we suffer from a lot more tax :

I don't know where exactly you are from, but in Québec (Canada), it is a bit ridiculous! Gear sold at B&H is cheaper with taxes, customs and shipping than here before taxes (and we have 14,975% of taxes).

I'm in the Netherlands, 21% tax :-\

Ahahahah, well, you beat us!

 

[sagittariansrock]

...improved upper body strength...

This made me laugh so hard!
Yesterday I packed up my backpack with my all of my FF gear and tripod (2 zooms, 1 camera, 1 extender, 1 flash), and realized there is no way I can hike with that.
Since it is still less than what wedding photogs carry, I am amazed at their strength!

 

[sagittariansrock]

In the end i have decided to drop the idea of getting vintage lenses. Good ones are as expensive as EF lenses, plus the cost of adapters. I'll be picking up a used Canon EF 28-135 next week for 200€. It covers almost all the focal lengths i'm interested in (except 24mm), and i'll be able to sell it with few (if any) loss. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Good to know you have already made a decision- but I'll add my 2 cents just in case. You say 50mm seems slightly too long, you might need a 28-35mm range in that case. If you are not sure, buy the 35/2 used and try it out. If you are sure, then you can get the 35/2 IS or Siggy 35/1.4 and be happy for a while
Something to think about. While 28-135 is a very versatile lens (my 2nd lens, and the first IS lens I owned), the pictures with 28-135/6D might not be remarkably better than the T2i/18-55.
While a FF is good enough to even make a f/4 zoom shine on it, I don't see the point of not taking advantage of the great depth of field and using fast lenses if I can.