andrewlee

Woww, now that is what I call shallow DOF. Much more so than the 35mm 1.4

XT1 + 35
 
My first fuji combo.
 
Still my favourite despite have an xe2 and a few more lenses now.

X-E2 & Nikkor 85/1.8

Just a few shots of my city
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Does this count?
 

 
It's a Leica Apo-Televid 77 Spotting scope, SLR Adaptor, T-Mount to Fuji X Adaptor and an X-T1. The telescopes were made for a while and were quite popular, but the adaptors are extremely rare, it took me years to find one!
 
It creates an F10 800mm lens, depth of field is tiny but it shows promise, you can see a test shot on Flickr here https://flic.kr/p/tgKeZb
 
 

This is heavily biased due to my general preferences in locations and topics as a photographer, so it will not be the most versatile or best option for many people, but the three primes which are always in my bag are the 23, 27, and 35. I know those are clustered tightly together in focal length, but here is why. The 23 is on my camera most of the time. The 35 has a certain magic to it and is the perfect step up in terms of field of view for me. The 27 is so small and compact that in a way it transforms the camera into a totally different form factor for street shooting. The 18 would also do that, but my preference at the moment just happens to be between the 23 and 35 for street photos. 
 
If I get more comfortable shooting with non-pancake lenses in the street, then I could see myself going for either the 16 or something longer than the 35 depending on my subject on a given day.
 
I have looked at the 56 and it just doesn't fit my style of shooting enough to justify buying one at that price even though it is a beautiful lens, but sometimes I do carry an adapted Helios 44-2 if I want that focal length on hand and it cost me about $70 for a really nice copy.

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.

shoes vs sandal by Henry Sudarman, on Flickr

UniqLo by Henry Sudarman, on Flickr

Busy Market by Henry Sudarman, on Flickr

In the middle by Henry Sudarman, on Flickr
XA-1 + 16-50

Street shots from my recent stop over and Hong Kong. Enjoy XT1 + 35
 
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr

Street shots from my recent stop over and Hong Kong. Enjoy XT1 + 35
 
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr
HK May 2015 by Andrew Lee, on Flickr

Buy the X100T plus a nice dress and some shoes for your girlfriend.

very nice. Love the 35mm.

Thanks to this thread, now we know that most of the X-T1 users have at least one eye and some hair 

The following is just my personal and subjective opinion. I'm no tech geek or something.
 
I've tried different M42 50/55mm lenses:
 
Fujinon 55mm f/1.8
Fujinon 55mm f/2.2
Fujinon 50mm f/1.4
Asahi SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 M42
 
 
Fujinon 55/1.8: Great lens!!! Nothing to complain on. Sharp even wide open. And you get it for 20 - 40 €. Here are some examples from a not so good photographer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93978937@N07/tags/fujinon55mmf18m42/
 
Fujinon 55/2.2: Even cheaper than the f/1.8 but not that good. Very soft wide open. Also ugly CAs in some situations. Save your money by not buying this one.
 
Takumar 50/1.4: Seeams to be a great lens. And yes it is and also it isn't. Cause very soft wide open, good at f/2.8, great from f/4. Unfortunately it also shows some ugly CAs wide open in some situations. BUT (and that's a huge but): The BOKEH is gorgeous!!! Very creamy and harmonic!!! Also you can create some nice lens flare with this lens. If you're looking for a great bokeh lens the winner (of these four lenses) is definitely the Takumar!!! Price about 150 €.

Whistle by KwyjiboVanDeKamp, auf Flickr
Some other examples here: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=93978937%40N07&tags=takumar&view_all=1
In the end I gave my Takumar to a friend of mine cause of purchasing the following lens.
 
Fujinon 50/1.4: That's my personal winner! Also about 150 €. But you get a sharp image even wide open. Also you have this extra speed towards the Fujinon 55/1.8. Image quality is similar to the 55/1.8 I think. Couldn't test it side by side cause I don't have the 55/1.8 anymore. Bokeh is quite nice but not as great as the Takumar.
Bright-eyed contentment by KwyjiboVanDeKamp, on Flickr
 
By the way if you're looking for a 135mm lens it's the same as with the 50/55mm lenses. The old Fujinons are the best choice. I also tried different of these lenses and Fujinon always did the best job!! See my test here: http://www.fuji-x-forum.com/topic/317-135mm-lens-comparison/
 
 
Like nowadays Fuji is and was the best lens manufacturer!!! IMHO
 
 
Here's a link to a M42 database http://m42lens.com/
 
 
Hope I could help a little bit.
 
Have a nice day.

I feel so strange today.
(X-A1, 27mm, f6.4)

I guess there is plenty of m42 50ish lenses. If it doesn't have to be m42, there is much more.
 
However, the Super-Takumar 1.8/55 i can definitely recommend: 
Very nice build, for me a haptic dream. Optically also good. Rather small. 
Rather sharp wide open. Nice bokeh. But, when closed to a certain amount, it shows the saw teeth circles which you may like or not.
Depending on age and coating a bit susceptible for flares on back light ... (however i love that).
Affordable to cheap.
 
There => https://goo.gl/oWoYfO <= are some samples i took with mine.
 
Whether it is especially good for portraits, i don't know ... i use it more as kind of "fun lens", yet. (see pics)
I also have an XF56 ... but the takumar including the "fat" adapter ist smaller and lighter.

Chosen by Andrew Lee, on Flickr

The 12mm f2.0 ROKINON (Samyang) is the ideal lens for astro-photography.
With large open aperture and shutter speeds between 25-30 seconds at ISO 1600 you achieve great results.
I like the lens and bought it specially for the night and astrophotography.
 
Moon light

Flickr   Volcano Teide, Tenerife

Think so too.
 
I have no problems with the distance marks on the lens. You should remember that it's the subject-sensor distance not the the subject-lens front distance.

It could be... my soul and eyes were still sleeping while I was out with my dog.
 
And thanks a lot for the AF / MF tip.... let me drink a coffee first, and then I'm out of here again and I'll use it as you recommended

X100T, edit with LR
 
Mechanical Work by ewm19, on Flickr

Chosen by Andrew Lee, on Flickr