top of page

Vintage Optics Compendium

Collection of various camera lenses with visible text and multiple colors.

This page is dedicated to my collection of vintage optics, which I have studied long enough to be able to explain why I love them so much and why I now often (but not always) prefer using them in my personal work as opposed to modern lenses, by adapting them on my Sony camera.

I believe learning vintage optics is a necessary step to make more conscious choices when it comes to choosing a lens and aesthetic, it's an inexpensive way to try and learn different focal lengths and very helpful for understanding modern optics better. Vintage lenses also have quirks and "flaws" that have been completely neutralized on modern lenses, rendering them "sterile" and "too perfect" but obviously "safer" and more reliable for the modern and fast paced photography work.

Whist building my collection, I have sometimes noticed differences and inconsistencies in different copies of the same lens, probably due to aging and perhaps the not so consistent quality control processes of the past.

The lenses I am discussing here are therefore the best ones I have kept after a thorough selection through trial and error, wrong buys, refurbishments and restorations. 

 

So, without being too long and technical, talking about things like vignetting, coma and so forth (as many others already have done), I will simply list and describe the qualities and weaknesses of each vintage lens I own, sharing my experience and providing image examples to illustrate what in my experience could be achieved by using a modern 50 Megapixel Sony camera body and the post production software available today. 

DSC04872.jpeg

Zeiss Jena Tessar

50mm f2.8

Meyer Optik Primotar 50mm f2.8.jpeg

Meyer Optik Primotar

50mm f2.8

DSC04916.jpeg

Meyer Optik Oreston

50mm f1.8

DSC04869.jpeg

Auto Yashinon

5cm f2

DSC04886.jpeg

Zeiss Jena MC Flektogon

35mm f2.4

DSC01734.jpeg

Auto Yashinon DX

50mm f1.4

DSC04911.jpeg

Yashica ML 

28mm f2.8

DSC04884b.jpeg

Zeiss Jena MC Pancolar

50mm f1.8

DSC04894.jpeg

Carl Zeiss Jena MC

135mm f3.5

DSC01737.jpeg

Auto Yashinon DX 

35mm f2.8

DSC04891sq.jpeg

Mir 1

37mm f2.8

DSC04908.jpeg

Helios 44-2

58mm f2

DSC04882.jpeg

Industar 50-2

50mm f3.5

DSC04889.jpeg

Yashica ML

50mm f2

All images and content © 2021-2026 Leonardo "Lenny" Di Lorenzo. All Rights Reserved.

bottom of page