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Casa

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  1. I'll just chime in and verify everything milandro said. Using old Pentax K lenses is really no rocket science (UNLESS you want to adapt modern lenses without an aperture ring), I had two adapters from amazon, one by Kiwi and one absolutely cheap no-name brand from China - the second one was even better. Don't spend a fortune on Novoflex or Metabones, get that €15 one from China, it will most likely work fine. Depending on what kind of lenses you want to adapt you might want to think about an adapter with a tripod mount though, some of the old telephoto lenses can get quite heavy, maybe too heavy for the camera mount. Taking photos is absolutely easy, just like using an old camera. Don't forget the "shoot without lens" setting in the camera, the rest simply works. If you enjoy it, you might want to think about buying a Lens Turbo (focal reducer) later, since I have one I don't use the old adapters anymore. I'd suggest getting the Lens Turbo Canon EOS to Fuji X, since you can easily mount both Pentax K and M42 lenses to the Canon mount using dirt cheap adapter rings.
  2. I sometimes shoot some concert videos, just for myself and for fun, so external mic is no option. The x100 is excellent, but the X-E1 with it's 35 1.4 has the same problem. I'd suggest using manual focus, use the AEF/AEL button to autofocus once, then start the video.
  3. Whatever Helios lens you have, you'll need a M42 adapter. Some early Helios lenses (like those from a Zenit E camera) do have the M39 screw mount, but this is not the Leica M39 - the flange distance is the same as M42 while Leicas is much smaller. All you need is a $5 adapter ring that turns the M39 screw into a M42, you can find them on ebay and amazon. I own one of those early Helioses and with the ring it works just fine on a M42 adapter (and a focal reducer).
  4. .. in which you have proven what I would've replied to the older posts otherwise - you can get the swirly bokeh with all of them, even the latest ones. I own quite a few different Helioses, but my go-to is actually the M-7 too, for everyday shooting it can be very sharp and contrasty if necessary but also gives you the nice swirl effect wide open. Maybe it's not so apparent on regular adapters, but with a Focal reducer I can't complain.
  5. I personally like the combination of a focal reducer with an unmodified Helios 44 most. Wide open the Helios achieves maybe level 2 or 3 of that swirl effect in that GIF on page one, and that's all I really need - I think the "upper levels" and the Lensbaby Swirl look almost like someone dropped a Photoshop filter over the image, too much effect for me.
  6. I'm very happy with my Lens Turbo II, but I might not be the best person to ask because I'm not much of a pixelpeeper. I got it for vintage lenses like Helios 44, Pentacons etc, which have "charisma" but are usually not considered the best, sharpest lenses in the world. So if the Lens Turbo's edge to edge sharpness or vignetting isn't the best, I wouldn't even notice or care. What I noticed is a general increase in sharpness and contrast compared to "dumb" adapters, and in general photos taken with the Turbo look much better than those taken with simple adapters. The 1 stop light increase also made some old glass suddenly suitable for lower light scenarios. For me a great buy. Also, you can buy the version for Canon EF and get a "3 in 1" adapter - there are simple and very cheap adapter rings for Pentax K and M42 to Canon, so for $20 more you can use a huge variety of old lenses. I'm not sure if the Speed Booster can be used in the same way. I'm sure the optical and build quality is better, but for my style (portrait, vintage look etc.) the Lens Turbo II is just great. I couldn't afford a Speedbooster anyway.
  7. I'm not an X-T1 owner, but can easily relate. I never really got into digital photography, which doesn't mean I was a big film shooter either - but I used to shoot and have a lot of fun during school days with my old film SLRs. Used to have a few digital point and shoot cameras, never liked them much, never got interested in buying a new one, always hated big clunky DSLRs. Until I saw a used X100 and just had to buy it, love on first sight. Since then I had so much fun getting back into photography and trying new stuff, it's insane. Not everything is golden in Fujiland, but for that I'll always be thankful.
  8. That's the explanation, the pushed ISO settings only work in JPEG mode.
  9. You're making some valid points, and adapting lenses - especially the cheaper non-Leica ones - isn't for everyone. My usual always-on lens was the Fuji 35 1.4, until someone stole my camera and I had no money to buy all my stuff back. Of course you have a super-sharp autofocus glas of much better optical quality. One should never assume to be able to outsmart the market and get something as great as a new Fuji lens for almost nothing. However, first off it's of course a matter of taste. If you're looking for technical perfection, tack sharpness, optimal lens correction, just don't. However, if you want to do some artsy stuff, play around, look for a vintage look, there's not much keeping you. I did it for fun first until my Fuji glass got stolen, then I also used adapted lenses more and more for everyday stuff (the only Fuji lens I still have is the XC 16-55 which is just not much fun to use). But after a while I started asking myself if, for my kind of photography, I should really buy the Fuji lenses back because I got so used to the old glass and it's more fun. Some more personal points: I'm perfectly used to manual film cameras and was never happy with speedy DSLRs, the X100 was the first digital camera I loved shooting with - because it was like my old film cameras and I understood it immediately. So manual lenses are also very natural to me. Not to mention that even the Fuji lenses were more reliable in manual focus during low light/concert photography. Another thing - I personally think the trend goes too much towards over-sharpness. Everyone with their DSLR want their photos to look like medium format with Contax lenses used to be, unnaturally detailed and super professional. I'm not looking for that really, I always liked photos that are a little more "down to earth", natural, not really perfect. As for sharpness, I guess the photo I posted above is pretty much the max I need, it's of course shot wide open so I could maybe get a little more out of the Helios, but to me it's just fine especially for a portrait. If I was into architecture I'd never touch this stuff. Anyway, I'm rambling. I'd always recommend a good Fuji lens first, but if you have a few coppers left - go to ebay, have some fun, just don't spend and expect too much.
  10. For 60€ it'd better be good. I got mine for half of that, not like new but in very good condition (and with a functional Zenit 12xp attached to it. ) Anyway, I'm sure you'll have fun, at the moment this is my only portrait lens. I recommend trees, forest, grass, dead leaves as background for the swirl, but I like the creamy bokeh without it too.
  11. So far I'm using a lot of old Pentax K-Mount lenses and a few M42 (screw mount). I'm definitely in love with the russian Helios lenses, the Helios 44 has this wonderful swirly-antique effect (it's based on an old pre-war Zeiss design) and comes in many variations, some older ones with more (13 or 8) aperture blades, newer ones with 6 blades (but those are sharper). Most sought after are the Helios 44 M-2 (13 blades), M (8 blades), M-4 (sharp), M-6 (sharper). They can be found for 20-30 Euros on ebay, it's also worth searching for an old Zenit camera which came usually bundled with a Helios. The 44 M-2 is a bit more sought after, also the lenses with a lot of zeros as first digits in the serial number are rumored to be better and more expensive. But I'm quite happy with my regular ones. Anyway, they are mostly made with the M42 screw mount, a simple dumb adapter for Fuji-X will cost you about 15 Euros on ebay. Adapted, the 58mm F2 turns into an almost-perfect 87mm portrait lens. There are also Metabones Speedbooster and cheaper chinese "Lens Turbo" adapters which turn it back into it's original 58mm focal lenght and add an extra stop of light. Other than that, I recommend experimenting. Pentax K lenses around 50mm are good and usually not as expensive as vintage Canon/Nikon lenses. Third-party P-K lenses can be found very cheap, I got a lot of "Auto Revuenon" lenses for almost nothing, apertures down to 1.7 are usually very affordable (based on your luck 10-30 Euros)- only the 1.4/1.2 lenses are quite expensive in comparison. A good alround lens I liked very much is an Auto Revuenon 50mm f1.9, got it for my girlfriend for 17 Euros and it's sharper than my own f1.7 version. I'll have to look if I find some photos I can share, so far text only. Edit: Here's a pic taken with the Helios 44 (M-6 I believe). The swirly effect is quite visible, even with the crop sensor. I plan to get a Lens Turbo soon for the full effect.
  12. The more I think about it the more you're making real sense there. I'm really considering doing exactly that, which would also mean no more waiting for the PK adapter release. Keeping infinity and being able to adapt 3 different systems sounds too good.
  13. I don't know if there's a "best" lens, it depends on the job I guess. My always-on portrait lens at the moment is a russian Helios 44, famous for it's swirly bokeh effect. There are many variations of it, the earlier ones somewhat creamier with more aperture blades, the later ones sharper but with lesser blades. Otherwise I used to try out many cheaper Pentax K lenses, some of them also available for M42. Some brands like Revue, Ricoh, Chinon etc. can be found dirt cheap and are fun to try out. Just don't expect extremely sharp, technically perfect pictures.
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