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  #11  
Old 2nd December 2018, 12:03 PM
Quendil Quendil is offline
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The lens I use the most is probably my Olympus 35-105mm zoom. I also have a Hoya 135mm that I prefer to the 135mm Olympus version. I also use the Olympus 50mm and a Tokina 28mm. I have lost of other lenses for the OM system that I don't use that often. The one I don't have is the 35mm which I will probably get in the future.
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  #12  
Old 2nd December 2018, 04:42 PM
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PanFrank PanFrank is offline
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My favourite lens for small format is the Minolta MD 24mm, outstanding wide-angle. For medium format the Carl Zeiss 120mm, very sharp macro lens. For large format my almost 100 year old Schneider Xenar 300mm, brilliant!
Best, Frank
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  #13  
Old 2nd December 2018, 11:15 PM
Renato Tonelli Renato Tonelli is offline
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My favourite lens for 35mm is 40mm; I have Pentax 40mm for my Pentax LX, a Voigtlander 40mm for the Leica M2, a Rollei 40mm for the Leica LTM and finally, the fixed-mount 40mm on the Rollei35.
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  #14  
Old 3rd December 2018, 09:22 AM
Paulographic Paulographic is offline
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I don't know whether it's my favourite but my most used lens on 35mm has been an older 35-70 f3.5 zoom Nikkor, the constant aperture with a 72mm filter size. More than 50% of my work on Nikon cameras has been done with it. Closely followed by the 24mm f2.8.
Others I've liked in the past have been a 28mm f2.5 Vivitar in the 1970s used on a Yashica TL Electro-X, the standard Yashinon on that was pretty good as is the Yashinon on my 124 TLR.
For head and shoulders portraiture the 150mm Zenzanon on the Bronica SQ
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  #15  
Old 3rd December 2018, 01:25 PM
jeztastic jeztastic is offline
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The f3.5 80mm on my Yashica 24 is great, but to be honest all I really need are the Pentax-M or A 50mm f1. 7 and Sigma Super-Wide 24mm f2.8. That and my Pentax MX body.

My favourite is my Pentax-A 50mm f1.7, if I have to choose just one. It holds up fine on my Sony A7ii as well.
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  #16  
Old 3rd December 2018, 01:31 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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These kinds of threads are fun. Always interesting to read about other people's experiences and preferences.

As for me, in medium format I am really liking the 75mm Xenotar in my Rolleiflex 3.5E. I also have a 3.5F with a Planar, which is an outstanding lens, but the Xenotar seems to have a softer, richer look to it that is very appealing. Still amazingly sharp, as much as the Planar as far as I can tell, but tonality wins in this contest. The Agfa Solinar in my Isolette gets an honourable mention - it creates a kind of creamy tonality to the images that is so nice, while still being very sharp....a wonderful lens.

For 35mm, my all time favourite has got to be the 40mm Sonnar in my Rollei 35SE. I am repeatedly blown away by the sharp and tonally rich images this little lens creates. And I really like the 40mm focal length....so versatile. If I had to have only one camera on a desert island, this would be it. Second place goes to the Pentax M 120mm f2.8 for my MX camera -- great sharpness, nice tonality, focal length that is perfect for street and people shots, makes a compact and light combo paired with the little MX body...what's not to like?
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  #17  
Old 3rd December 2018, 02:43 PM
John King John King is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SvendN View Post
These kinds of threads are fun. Always interesting to read about other people's experiences and preferences.

As for me, in medium format I am really liking the 75mm Xenotar in my Rolleiflex 3.5E. I also have a 3.5F with a Planar, which is an outstanding lens, but the Xenotar seems to have a softer, richer look to it that is very appealing.
Years ago I also had a Rollie 3.5f with a Xenotar. Yes it was without doubt sharp, but also by far and away the lens with the most contrast. I had to modify my B&W development to get a reasonably easy printable negative - But oh yes what tones and quality if you got it right.
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  #18  
Old 3rd December 2018, 02:55 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John King View Post
Years ago I also had a Rollie 3.5f with a Xenotar. Yes it was without doubt sharp, but also by far and away the lens with the most contrast. I had to modify my B&W development to get a reasonably easy printable negative - But oh yes what tones and quality if you got it right.
Interesting comment John. What film/developer combo gave you the high contrast? For 120 film I mostly use HP5 with Perceptol, which is a pretty soft combination, so I guess that's why I never noticed contrast being excessive with this lens. I shot some TMY in full noon sun with this camera recently, which I have yet to develop...I will be curious to see how that turns out.
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  #19  
Old 3rd December 2018, 10:33 PM
John King John King is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SvendN View Post
Interesting comment John. What film/developer combo gave you the high contrast? For 120 film I mostly use HP5 with Perceptol, which is a pretty soft combination, so I guess that's why I never noticed contrast being excessive with this lens. I shot some TMY in full noon sun with this camera recently, which I have yet to develop...I will be curious to see how that turns out.
I used Agfa C41 for colour, yes I had problems with this too. I know this for definite, because that was all I used for C41. As for B&W, if I remember correctly it would probably have been either Rodinal (The original Agfa) diluted 1 to 25 or Ilford ID11 diluted 1 to 1. I cannot be more exact. The film I cannot be certain either, but probably FP4. I have no idea about the colour stock.
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  #20  
Old 4th December 2018, 02:11 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John King View Post
I used Agfa C41 for colour, yes I had problems with this too. I know this for definite, because that was all I used for C41. As for B&W, if I remember correctly it would probably have been either Rodinal (The original Agfa) diluted 1 to 25 or Ilford ID11 diluted 1 to 1. I cannot be more exact. The film I cannot be certain either, but probably FP4. I have no idea about the colour stock.
Thanks John. Good to know. I'm not surprised that FP4 would give you problems, esp. with Rodinal at 1:25. I've struggled with contrast in FP4 as well, no matter what the lens. Once I switched to Perceptol as a developer things got a lot better. I'm inclined to think it was your film-dev combo rather than the Xenotar lens, although I could be wrong as yours was a later lens than mine and Schneider might have changed something.

Paul - apologies for the thread drift. Back to favourite lenses....

I would add the Agfa Apotar on another Isolette (now sold) as an honourable mention. This is another lens that renders smooth creamy tones. Wonderful! There's something magical in that old Agfa glass.

I'm starting to use a Minolta Autocord TLR now, recently acquired, and have been impressed with the results. Too early to pass a verdict, but so far I like it very much.

Am I the only one talking about lens tonality rather than just sharpness? In my mind, it is actually more important than resolution, aesthetically speaking.

Best,
Svend
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