FAQ
Vintage lens series
- Choosing a vintage lens – buying FAQ
- Choosing a vintage lens – classic focal lengths
- Choosing a vintage lens – more specialized focal lengths
- Choosing a vintage lens – some FAQ
- Choosing a vintage lens – some tech FAQ
- Choosing a vintage lens – things to consider
- Choosing a vintage lens – which brand?
- Did Darth Vader use a Zeiss lens?
- Examining a vintage lens － lens body and mechanisms
- Examining a vintage lens － optical anomalies (i)
- Examining a vintage lens － optical anomalies (ii)
- Glass from the past, aka vintage lenses
- Optical Anomalies – Are air bubbles problematic?
- Superfast lenses – the Taika Harigon 58mm f/1.2
- Superfast lenses – the Zoomatar 180mm f/1.3
- Vintage cameras and lenses – where to buy?
- Vintage lens makers – ISCO Göttingen (Germany)
- Vintage lenses – a 360° lens from the 1970s
- Vintage lenses – some general FAQ
- Vintage lenses – What do lens markings mean?
- Vintage lenses – Why are telephoto lenses so cheap?
- Vintage lenses – Why did early fast SLR lenses have focal lengths of 55mm and 58mm (and not 50mm)?
- Why choose a vintage lens?
Vintage lens makers
- The Grand Kilar?
- Vintage lens makers – Angénieux (France)
- Vintage lens makers – Astro-Berlin (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Dr. Weth Optik (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Enna Werk (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Feinmess (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Heinz Kilfitt (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Kern (Switzerland)
- Vintage lens makers – Komura (Japan)
- Vintage lens makers – Piesker (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Schacht (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Steinheil (München)
- Vintage lens makers – Tewe (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Zunow (Japan)
- Vintage lens makers – ISCO Göttingen (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Schneider (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers − Kinoptik (France)
- Vintage lens makers − Novoflex (Germany)
- Zeiss versus Zeiss : the postwar split
- Zeiss versus Zeiss : the trademark dispute
- Zoomar – the first zoom lens for 35mm cameras
Vintage superfast and ultrafast lenses
- Are modern ultrafast lenses useful?
- How a f/0.71 lens helped advance TB screening
- Should you buy a superfast lens?
- Superfast lenses – the original Noctilux 50mm f/1.2
- Superfast lenses – the Taika Harigon 58mm f/1.2
- Superfast lenses – the Zeiss Biotar 75mm f/1.5
- Superfast lenses – the Zoomatar 180mm f/1.3
- Superfast lenses – the Fujinon 5cm f/1.2
- The fastest vintage 50mm lenses ever made – light gathering behemoths
- Ultrafast lenses – the Noctilux 50mm f/1
- Ultrafast lenses – the Simlar 50mm f/0.7
- Ultrafast lenses – the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7
- Ultrafast lenses – the Zunow 5cm f/1.1 (and 58mm f/1.2)
- Vintage superfast sub-f/1.4 lenses – big light with a side of skepticism
- Why are superfast aperture lenses so big?
- Why are vintage super-fast lenses so expensive?
Vintage camera series
- Choosing a vintage 35mm (interchangeable lens) camera
- Choosing a vintage SLR camera – buying FAQ
- Choosing a vintage SLR camera – some FAQ
- Choosing a vintage SLR camera – technical FAQ
- Tips for inspecting vintage SLR cameras
- Vintage SLR cameras – the Alsaflex, a French SLR
- Vintage SLR cameras – the alternate mirror system of the Konica Domirex
- Vintage SLR cameras – the Mecaflex
- Vintage SLR cameras – The mythical Malik Reflex
- Vintage SLR cameras – the phantom Zunowflex
- Why choose a vintage SLR?
Vintage camera makers
Vintage digital cameras
- Vintage digital – the first full-frame DSLRs
- Vintage digital – the Olympus E-1
- Vintage digital cameras – What is the biggest problem?
Historical developments in photography
- A brief note on historical photographic patents in Germany
- Vintage camera makers – The origins of Pentacon
- Vintage camera makers – The origins of Zeiss Ikon
- War reparations at Carl Zeiss Jena – where did the dismantled equipment go?
- What happened to the Zeiss lens collection?
- Zeiss versus Zeiss : the postwar split
- Zeiss versus Zeiss : the trademark dispute
Need more info?
- Aperturepedia – vintage lens database
- More Than Just a Camera Lens Database
Zeiss
- Carl Zeiss Rangefinder Lenses (Photography in Malaysia)
Minolta
- Lens QA Works – Minolta lenses: tests, reviews, comparisons
- Minolta SR Lens Index and Classification
- the rokkor files – Minolta equipment, reviews etc.
- Minolta X Fujifilm – an insight into some Rokkor lenses
- Aperturepedia – Minolta SR (MC/MD) Lens Database
Olympus-OM
- Aperturepedia – Olympus-OM Lens Database
- Table of OM Lenses – by Hans van Veluwen
- Olympus Zuiko Lenses – at Photography in Malaysia
Asahi-Pentax
- Takumar Field Guide – An exception source on M42 and P67 lenses.
- Takumar – The eyes of the Spotmatic – lens index (French)
- Aperturepedia – Pentax K Lens Database
- Aperturepedia – Pentax M37 Lens Database
- The Evolution of the Pentax M42 Mount
- Early Pentax Takumar Lenses
- Early Asahi-Pentax Collection and History
Knowledge bases
- Photography in Malaysia – Canon, Nikon, etc. (a massive knowledge repository)
Analog Lenses
- A list of vintage super-fast 50-60mm f/1.2 lenses
- A visual guide to vintage 35mm SLR lenses on APS-C
- Are all 50mm lenses equivalent?
- Choosing a vintage lens – buying FAQ
- Choosing a vintage lens – classic focal lengths
- Choosing a vintage lens – more specialized focal lengths
- Choosing a vintage lens – some FAQ
- Choosing a vintage lens – some tech FAQ
- Choosing a vintage lens – things to consider
- Choosing a vintage lens – which brand?
- Diamonds Are Forever – the Nikon F
- Did Darth Vader use a Zeiss lens?
- Examining a vintage lens － lens body and mechanisms
- Examining a vintage lens － optical anomalies (i)
- Examining a vintage lens － optical anomalies (ii)
- Glass from the past, aka vintage lenses
- How a f/0.71 lens helped advance TB screening
- Keppler on the truth about lenses
- Old Lens Life magazine from Japan
- Optical Anomalies – Are air bubbles problematic?
- Rear Window – the 400mm lens
- Superfast lenses – the original Noctilux 50mm f/1.2
- Superfast lenses – the Taika Harigon 58mm f/1.2
- Superfast lenses – the Zeiss Biotar 75mm f/1.5
- Superfast lenses – the Zoomatar 180mm f/1.3
- The aesthetic appeal of mid-century vintage lenses
- The Eyes of Eagles (and why Zeiss used them to advertise its lenses)
- The fastest vintage 50mm lenses ever made – light gathering behemoths
- The Grand Kilar?
- The origins of Asahi’s Takumar
- The other NASA lens – the Angenieux f/0.95
- The Pentax (Asahi) 17mm fish-eye lens – 160 or 180°?
- Ultrafast lenses – the Noctilux 50mm f/1
- Ultrafast lenses – the Simlar 50mm f/0.7
- Ultrafast lenses – the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7
- Ultrafast lenses – the Zunow 5cm f/1.1 (and 58mm f/1.2)
- Using vintage fisheye lenses on a crop-sensor
- Vintage cameras and lenses – where to buy?
- Vintage lens makers – Astro-Berlin (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Feinmess (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Komura (Japan)
- Vintage lens makers – Piesker (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Schacht (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers – Steinheil (München)
- Vintage lens makers – Tewe (Germany)
- Vintage lens makers − Kinoptik (France)
- Vintage lens makers − Novoflex (Germany)
- Vintage lenses – a 360° lens from the 1970s
- Vintage lenses – Long focus vs. telephoto lenses
- Vintage lenses – some general FAQ
- Vintage lenses – was there a Biotar 70mm f/1.4?
- Vintage lenses – What do lens markings mean?
- Vintage lenses – Why are telephoto lenses so cheap?
- Vintage lenses – Why did early fast SLR lenses have focal lengths of 55mm and 58mm (and not 50mm)?
- Vintage lenses – Why do some long-focus lenses have so few elements?
- Vintage lenses: Beware of the “rare”
- Vintage superfast sub-f/1.4 lenses – big light with a side of skepticism
- Was this the fastest lens ever?
- What happened to the Zeiss lens collection?
- Where have all the lens names gone?
- Why are vintage super-fast lenses so expensive?
- Why choose a vintage lens?
- Why don’t cameras use plastic lenses?
- Why was the 50mm lens considered “normal”?
- Zeiss versus Zeiss : the postwar split
- Zeiss versus Zeiss : the trademark dispute
- Zoomar – the first zoom lens for 35mm cameras
Crafting Pixels 