5 great vintage lenses for blurry backgrounds that are easy to find and affordable for most people. This video by Zenography shows off a few great vintage lenses that can produce good bokeh on the cheap.
Three of these vintage lenses are in the 50mm focal length and the other two are 135mm lenses.
1. @ :57 Pentax Takumar 50mm F1.4 – The Takumar 50mm F1.4 is a fast normal lens produced in two “Super” versions as well as two versions with Super-Multi-Coating.
2. @ 2:50 Helios 44-2 58mm F2 – The Helios 44-2 is the standard, fast, 58mm lens typically found as the kit prime on the Zenit-series Russian SLRs.
49mm filter thread.
8 diaphragm blades.
F/2-16 max-min aperture.
45cm minimum focusing distance.
Focuses down to 0.5m and has a mag ratio of 1:6.5 at closest focus point. Takes 52mm filters.
3. @ 5:40 Leitz Leica Summitar 50mm F2 – The 5cm Summitar was produced from 1939 until 1953.
Mount Leica M39
Weight: 203 gr
Minimum Focusing Distance: 100cm
Filter Mount: A 36 (clamp screw)
Made in Germany
Produced between 1939 and 1953
Aperture: 2 – 12,5 (later models are f2 – f16)
7 elements in 4 groups
Aperture blades: 9
4. @ 8:50 Jupiter 11 135 F4 – The Jupiter 11 is a classic Zeiss-derived USSR lenses available in a many different mounts over a period of decades.
Diameter: 49.0 mm
Field of view: 18° (diagonally)
Length: 96.0 mm + adapter
Weight: 260 g
Filter Diameter: 40.5 mm
Number of Aperture Blades: 15 (rounded)
Elements/Groups: 4/3
Close Focusing Distance: 2.5 m!
Maximum Magnification: 1:X
5. @ 11:50 Olympus OM Zuiko 135mm f/3.5 – A compact medium telephoto lens at 135 mm. The construction is equipped with a built-in retractable hood.
The lens has remained largely the same over the year with an optical formula of 5 elements in 5 groups and both versions come in at a light 360g (12.7 oz).