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The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories



 
 
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  #21  
Old January 24th 06, 04:43 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories

Funny, how many accounts of 'bad' lenses come from early in the
photographer's experience. Think about it.


  #22  
Old January 24th 06, 05:18 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories


"Randy Stewart" wrote in message I put a rock bottom
price
on it at a swap meet table and carried the guilt of selling it for several
years.


Yes. - At least the, "Billie Joe McAllister" solution carries no guilt......


  #23  
Old January 24th 06, 06:15 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories

I very briefly had a Vivitar wide angle zoom that was so bad I thought
someone had applied a heavy gaussian blur to the prints. I can't remember
the range 17-24 or 19-35 or what, but it was quite disgusting.

--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
A sample chapter from "Haight-Ashbury" is at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/writ/hait/hatitl.html

"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
ink.net...
The best and worst of anything are ultimately matters of
taste and experience. As there is no accounting for
taste and experience is what life deals you we should
not argue about someone's nomination.

What is/are the worst lens/es you every took a picture with?
Leaving out the plastic-fantastics: Dianas, Empire Babies and
their cousins.

My picks:

o Cambridge 135mm f2.8 pre-set T-Mount. Uniformly fuzzy at all
f-stops, could only be focused to a 'least fuzzy'. I bought
it second hand, it was in like-new condition, now I am wary
of 'mint' lenses.

o Cambridge 400mm f6.3 {?} pre-set T-Mount. You would figure
after one Cambridge, who would buy another ...

o Schneider Xenar 150/5.6 of 70's vintage. This was, I am
sure, a bad example but I went nuts trying to figure out why
the pics were all bad, depth gauges - micrometers - pictures of
newspaper pages, until I remembered:

o Agfa Apotar/Solina, purchased with many months saving at age
nine. The lens wasn't bad, but the focusing helix
was frozen; new camera packed in orange tissue with a factory
seal and the famous green-gunk disease had already hit --
the focusing ring turned but nothing happened. After a year
of fuzzy pictures it hits - it's not my fault, it is the camera's.
After I fixed it I obsessively kept re-checking the focus and
adjusting the lens my microns until the screw threads stripped,
then it was epoxy time and leave the lens alone.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com
Fstop timer - http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/index.htm



  #24  
Old January 24th 06, 06:46 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories


"Tony" wrote in message
...
I very briefly had a Vivitar wide angle zoom that was so bad I thought
someone had applied a heavy gaussian blur to the prints. I can't remember
the range 17-24 or 19-35 or what, but it was quite disgusting.

You must have sold it to that French guy that made this weeks, "Picture of
the Week"....:^)


  #25  
Old January 24th 06, 06:52 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories


"William Graham" wrote in message
...

"Tony" wrote in message
...
I very briefly had a Vivitar wide angle zoom that was so bad I thought
someone had applied a heavy gaussian blur to the prints. I can't remember
the range 17-24 or 19-35 or what, but it was quite disgusting.

You must have sold it to that French guy that made this weeks, "Picture of
the Week"....:^)

The next time you get rid of a lens like that, please throw it off the
Tallahassee bridge........


  #26  
Old January 24th 06, 07:09 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories

Nicholas O. Lindan wrote:


o Schneider Xenar 150/5.6 of 70's vintage. This was, I am
sure, a bad example but I went nuts trying to figure out why
the pics were all bad, depth gauges - micrometers - pictures of
newspaper pages, until I remembered:


I had a 135 f4.7 xenar that was equally bad. It even was a "linhof" sample?
It was my first 4X5 lens and I almost gave up on LF fighting with this
thing!

--

Stacey
  #27  
Old January 24th 06, 07:38 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories

seog wrote:
"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
ink.net...

The best and worst of anything are ultimately matters of
taste and experience. As there is no accounting for
taste and experience is what life deals you we should
not argue about someone's nomination.

What is/are the worst lens/es you every took a picture with?
Leaving out the plastic-fantastics: Dianas, Empire Babies and
their cousins.



I think the Russians/Ukrainians have that market sown up (with Chinese
closing fast). One of the first SLRs I owned was a Zenit with some atrocious
58mm lens (whose name now mercifully escapes me) my father smuggled from
Poland back in the early 70s. Well, it was great for portraits. It was the
first in a series of Eastern European gems he brought back over the years
including Kiev & Leningrad (or was it Stalingrad?) so I got to be pretty
familiar with their "quality" which later helped me appreciate real quality.


Actually, many Soviet/Ukranian are quite good. It's a matter of
checking/adjusting them and esp. checking the rangefinder on cameras
which have them.
  #28  
Old January 24th 06, 07:43 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories

Nicholas O. Lindan wrote:
The best and worst of anything are ultimately matters of
taste and experience. As there is no accounting for
taste and experience is what life deals you we should
not argue about someone's nomination.

What is/are the worst lens/es you every took a picture with?
Leaving out the plastic-fantastics: Dianas, Empire Babies and
their cousins.


I'm also leaving out lenses which were obviously damaged or defective,
as well as lenses which needed cleaning, adjusting & other tweaks (lots
of Soviet stuff in that last category).

Probably my worst lens "experience" was a Sigma 28-105 4.0-5.6 which a
magazine had given top points to.
Interestingly that was also the time in which I was taking my worst
photographs (the most snapshotty and least though-out).
The Sigma got traded in at loss in less than a year.


Only good primes now.
  #29  
Old January 24th 06, 07:47 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories

William Graham wrote:
"Tony" wrote in message
...

I very briefly had a Vivitar wide angle zoom that was so bad I thought
someone had applied a heavy gaussian blur to the prints. I can't remember
the range 17-24 or 19-35 or what, but it was quite disgusting.


You must have sold it to that French guy that made this weeks, "Picture of
the Week"....:^)



It seems like people can't recognise a subject anymore unless the
picture is frozen-action in oversaturated colour (do I sense the
influnce of digital here?)
  #30  
Old January 24th 06, 07:54 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.large-format,rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
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Default The worst lens you ever had ... a collection of stories

Mamiya 80/1.9f/ 645 Pro. Pure garbage. Never seen a "normal" lens with
so much distortion.

==
John - Photographer & Webmaster
www.puresilver.org - www.xs750.net
 




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