I was right about Manual Lenses but…

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Click here for links to the MF lenses I use!

Sony a7 IV

Sony a7S III

Metabones M to E Adapter

Fotodiox M to E AF Adapter

ZEISS 2.8/35 M Mount

ZEISS 1.4/35 M Mount

ZEISS 2/50 M Mount

ZEISS 1.5/50 M Mount

Leica 2/28

Leica 2/35

Leica 2/50

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Chapters
00:00 INTRO
00:38 1 Benefits of Manual Lenses
01:44 2 Manual Slows You Down! (Good & Bad)
03:33 3 Why using Manual on Digital Cameras is a DREAM
04:39 Thank you PPA!
05:31 4 No Metadata Conundrum
06:05 5 Not shooting at the widest aperture
06:52 6 Minimum Focus Distance isn't that great...
07:13 7 Using Leica Lenses on Sony Cameras
09:07 Our Future with Manual Lenses

[antant]

After a while using the manual lenses, you get used to where the in focus zones are at around 2m, 5m and infinity. So the more practiced you are at a focal length, the faster you are at taking a picture, because so much of it becomes automatic. After 2 weeks travel photography with manual lenses, I was pretty much as fast as my AF lenses and I was fine. The only time I needed AF was if I had a really animated subject or if I was very drunk.

[jordanjoestar]

The Olympus Zuiko lenses are incredible budget 80s lenses and they are crazy sharp and rival anything. Love swapping it off my 1983 OM2 right onto my mirrorless Sony!

[quentin]

I have shot with manuals on Sony for years now.
Mostly on vintage Nikon Ai / Ais.
The compactness and build quality is really something. Nothing comparable to today lenses (even if they are more durable).

And for street, i'm faster with manual lenses than autofocus because i can focus with my left and frame with my right at the same time. And it's really critical for fast changing subject when you have 1sec max to shoot.

99% of the time i'm in Aperture priority, iso auto, focus picking on the screen, f/8 as a base setup.
And i'm super fast that way.

Unfortunatly, there is one big problem. Modern sensors have become so good that even a small missfocus is really visible on the image. Expecially with sharp lenses.
And now that i have started to print my images big, i have found that some pictures who looks really good on screen and unusable for print and it sucks.
So after a few years on manual, i'm now back with autofocus to try if i have a better rate of success. We will see.

[angusmackay]

As someone who made the switch a number of years ago I regard this as a brilliant summary of exactly what's involved. I'm never going back. I had to use autofocus recently and it destroyed my enjoyment. The 28mm 'cron is the ultimate walkabout lens, IMO, the the 50 'lux ASPH is the best lens I've ever owned.

[SatanSupimpa]

The Leica lenses you're using are rangefinder lenses, they famously doesn't focus very close. SLR lenses will focus closer, but they need a longer adapter, that will make them a bit larger. Maybe you could go to the cheaper side and try some m42 mount soviet lenses. The Helios 44-2 is a classic, even used on the last Batman movie.

[gk]

Hey mate! I own a Leica M10 and tested / owned a couple of lenses, here are my impressions:

The Ultron 28mm f2 Version II is the best 28mm you can get for the system, it easily beats the Summicron in every regard and doesn‘t cost this much.
So does the Ultron 35mm f2, it is the better option than the latest Summicron 35mm f2.

For 35mm there are two lenses I highly recommend: The first one is the Nokton 35mm f1.4 MC Version II which has lots of character, a nice bokeh rendering (swirl, classic) and is soft wide-open - it‘s amazing in use as a artistic lens.
Next, if you prefer a modern 35mm or you want another one next to the Nokton, keep the ZEISS Distagon 35mm f1.4. This is the best lens I have ever owned and I had couple of Leica lenses or GM, ZEISS and Sigma lenses for Sony. That lens is optically almost perfect (can get some CAs in high contrast scenarios) and it is by far the better option than the Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE. Yes, it is a bit bigger but you get a image quality that is superior.

When it comes to 50mm, there are a lot to choose from.
The best one in my opinion is the Sonnar 50mm f1.5 that you already have. It has a unique rendering and is sharp when nailed the focus.
The best bang for your buck would be the Nokton 50mm f1.5 II which is tack sharp even wide-open and has a swirly bokeh.
The Planar 50mm f2 ZM is one of the sharpest lenses I have ever owned. It‘s optically perfect (except the little distortion) but keep in mind it is a 46mm and not a real 50mm. It‘s very similar to the legendary Contax 45mm f2 lens.
The 50mm f1.2 lens from Voigtländer another great lens, it is pretty sharp even wide-open, has some glows when shooting close and wide-open. Some say it‘s like a modern take of the Sonnar and being a bit faster - I still prefer the Sonnar because of its size.

When you want a small and lightweight telephoto lens, try out the Nokton 75mm f1.5 APSH - that lens is amazing and very well built.

My line-up is this one:
35mm f1.4 Nokton & 35mm f1.4 Distagon
50mm Sonnar f1.5 ZM
75mm Nokton f1.5

For 28mm I use a Leica Q, so no need for that lens but as said, the newer Ultron is a bang for the buck.

As said before, I had some experiences with Leica glass and unfortunately they were not this good. Some had huge problems with focus shift (not a problem on an EVF camera), others, from friends, has some serious issues and needed to be fix‘d from time to time.
The lenses I mentioned are not flaws at all, except the Distagon and the Planar. But they can easily be compared with the Leica lenses and some are even this good that they can beat them.

[namzilla]

Thanks for making this video! I started photography in High School in 2001. I shot with a Canon AE-1 with manual Canon FD lenses because that's what my dad had. He got it in the late 70's when he immigrated here. Because of cost and access to a dark room, I never picked up a camera again until I became a working adult four years ago. I got the a6300 because I read that vintage lenses could easily be adaptor to mirrorless cameras. I quickly added automatic focus lenses to my kit because I thought that they were far superior and never picked up my manual lenses again. I always disliked when my camera wouldn't focus on what I wanted, and it took me several tries before it would lock onto what I wanted. I didn't like how the fear of missed autofocus messed with my workflow. After attending a photo walk with Professor Hines in Seattle and watching this video, it's given me the confidence to pickup the manual lenses again! I love how I feel when I use HIS old vintage lenses FD Canon lenses. I feel like he's always with me when I take shots through the same lenses he did over 40 years ago.

[-grey]

Manual lenses used to slow me down, but then I got lazy and just stopped down to f6.4 and zone focus. Now I have the fastest focus around. No focus.

[dannyboy]

I really like your personality in these videos, it makes me prefer watching yours over others because of the entertainment

[joesnj]

For native manual focus options on emount check out

Voigtländer

35mm f2 APO
50mm f2 APO
50mm f1.2 Nokton
35mm f1.2 Nokton
40mm f1.2 Nokton

Zeiss
The entire Loxia line

These options have electronic contacts so you’ll get exif data and lens profiles.

[classicboy]

Get the voigtlander apo-lanthar lenses native to e-mount. The sharpest lenses that rival legendary g-master lenses, but with the extreme “pop” and color you love so much from the Leica lenses. Plus meta-data!

[tuongmac]

If you’re afraid of missing out the focus with high depth of field, then just scroll the focus ring while shooting continuously.

[robinte]

I shoot with old manual lenses since I began photography in 2017. In the beginning it was because of budget, but I was quickly drawn towards the look and workflow which shaped my photos. I still only shoot manual and I want to share my experience with different kinds of old lenses.


German lenses (Leica, Zeiss):

I never bothered to buy German lenses. The image quality is basically the best you can get in an old lens (from what I know). But you have to pay a premium for the better German lenses like the "Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm F2". How good, that basically every lens manufacturer started out by copying german lenses. But there are a few things to look out for...


Sowjet lenses (Helios, Tair, Jupiter):

Most of the old sowjet lenses are probably copies of Zeiss lenses. As is the "Helios 44 58mm F2". Those with a keen eye might notice the similarities with the before mentioned Zeiss lens. Down to the odd focal length, the Sowjets tried to copy everything. But Sowjet engineering wasn't as precise. Old sowjet lenses are heavy, have loose tolerances and offer less sharpness. But despite that the Helios 44 is one of the most well known vintage lenses today. The reason is that the greatest weakness is also the greatest strength of sowjet lenses. The image quality is objectively bad, but the resulting images have a lot of character. Especially the swirly bokeh that most sowjet lenses deliver, is desired by many photographers and videographers like myself. Also many sowjet lenses are very cheap and easy to find.


Japanese Lenses (Minolta, Canon, Takumar, Nikon, Auto Chinon)

While Japan also just copied German lenses in the very beginning, these lenses mostly offer a smoother bokeh and a sharper image than the russian counterparts. The image quality is closer to German Glass (if not the same). The weight differance, as well as the differance in tolerances to sowjet lenses is quite significant. All in all, japanese lenses are the easiest to work with, and offer a lot of character. The prices can vary a lot more, as some lenses like Canon FD and Takumars are truly legendary. On the other hand you can get Minolta and Auto Chinon lenses that offer good quality for a cheap price. My first lens ever was a "Minolta Rokkor 50mm F1.8" that I bought for 25€ and I still use it today.

[Bscrambler]

I love using Pentax lenses on my A7siii. The Pentax-M 50mm f1.4, Pentax-A 135mm f2.8, and the Pentax-M 100mm f4 Macro are my go-to models. Light, tough, affordable, and wonderful optical qualities :)

[johnstinchcombe]

Great video (as always). My favourite vintage lenses are: Minolta Rokkor 50mm f1.4, Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.4 Flektogon and Canon FD 35mm f1.8. Each of these has their own characteristics that add to the enjoyment! Keep up the good work.

[patrickhanly]

I exclusively use Voigtlander lenses (Sony mount) on my a7rii and I love photography again. What a blast.

[ChoicesHabitsAttitudeLuck]

If I want to go Manual Focus. I can just do that in my camera without buying a new lens. So it is not really about MANUAL but using OLD LENSES before the AUTOFOCUS TECHNOLOGY.

[aredt]

I just Move the focus constantly and click when I land focus kinda like how bad autofocus constant does. When you get good at it you have a surprising amount control over when you land the focus. I took pictures at my sister's quinceañera like this.

[pykfilm]

Definitely recommend Nikon AI-S lenses for a vintage lens set! I think they provide a great balance between image quality, size and weight, and price. They’re also pretty common and accessible as I believe Nikon made some of them New up until a couple of years ago (Def recommend buying them from KEH or B&H)!

[amapro]

our Sony God is slowly converting in to Lecia :O