Originally Posted by
jim10219
It all depends on what you want to do! Are you planning on using film or paper? Because if you're going with film, you'll definitely need a shutter in the lens, which will increase the cost. But if you're going paper, the speeds may be slow enough (depending on light) to get away with just using a lens cap as a shutter. Also, are you looking for a wide angle, normal, or a longer focal length (what they would call telephoto in the DSLR world) lens?
You can probably find a 90mm in your budget if you look for something like an Optar or Schneider Angulon. They're going to be older and smaller lenses with limited coverage, which means you may not get much movements from them. They're also probably not as sharp as the newer 90mm lenses, though they're also no where near the same size. But a more modern Nikon, Fujinon, or Schneider 90/8 lens will likely be over your budget if it's in decent condition.
You could probably find a bunch of 135-180mm lenses in this price range. Those can vary quite a bit in quality and price, as some will be older designs and some will be newer ones, but they'd all be in the "normal" lens category. They make good all around lenses for general use. I have an old Zeiss Tessar 135mm f:4.5 in a Compur shutter that works pretty well, but is uncoated. I got it for free with a camera body, but I bet you could buy 2 within your budget. They're pretty cheap, even if they're in great shape, but make sure you get one in good shape. They're old, so a lot of them are broken or non repairable. Then I have a Fujinon 150mm f:5.6 in a new Copal shutter. It's a superior lens and will push the limits of your budget, but is a fully modern lens with multi coating and a very sharp, modern look. As a bonus, you can remove one of the elements on that lens to get a longer focal length lens, though the aperture effectively doubles and you love some of the edge sharpness when you do that.
So you have lots of options. What you need to do first if figure out what kind of pictures you want to take, then the right lens will be easy to figure out!
Bookmarks