On Lenses with Character

I have a confession.  I have many lenses, especially AI/AI-S Nikkors which I cannot reliably tell apart just by looking at the photos they produce.  I have to look at the EXIF data or hope I labelled the roll of film.  Don't get me wrong, these are excellent lenses and the consistency in the optical quality and rendition of these lenses is a good thing.  But it seems to me that most modern lenses are just sort of...boring.  They are all good enough to get the photograph, and for most pictures you sort of want the lens to just "get out of the way" and not distract from the subject of the photograph.  Of course there are times a certain lens is necessary to give you the speed or reach or close focus or tilts/shifts to take the photograph, but the lens usually is very rarely what makes or breaks a photograph.

But there are the rare lenses that really put their signature on the photographs they take, for good or for ill.  and I think such lenses deserve more attention.  And I don't mean just lenses with famous brand names on them, with ridiculously high prices and exotic specifications.  I mostly mean lenses whose flaws can make a photograph.

So here is to the lenses with character, whether by poor design, old age, abuse, haze, dirt, or fungus, missing or misaligned lens elements or broken apertures endue your photographs with the je-ne-sais-quoi they need.  Don't be afraid to shoot with ugly looking lenses!

Here are some examples:

Industar 61 L/D 55mm f/2.8 (Leica thread mount)

This lens isn't particularly sharp or pleasant to use, but I love what it does to out-of-focus trees.









Leitz Summitar 50mm f/2

This lens is hard to find in good condition, but a great lens to look for if you want character in a lens which is still capable of great results.  It is versatile.  Stopped down to f/5.6 or more and used to avoid flare, this lens is a good performer.  In the sun or at wider apertures, all sorts of interesting things happen.  I love the swirling cat's eye effect.

























Lens Baby Muse with Plastic Optic

This lens of course is designed to produce interesting, lo-fi results.  I know some people may not like the lomography or Holga-esque images, but I am a bit of a sucker for them if not over used.  The photos can look dreamy, or mysterous, or eerie depending on the use.









































(Abused) Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 S non-AI

This lens was used and abused.  The focus ring is hard to turn, the filter ring is dented, the aperture ring was sloppily cut for AI compatibility, and the glass has fungus and haze.  Despite all that I love to use it.  Behind the loss of contrast and haze is still an impressive sharpness, and the hazy look can add a lot to a shot.  I've tried to show the damage below.

















(Abused) Canon 50mm f/1.8 (Leica thread mount)

The front element of this lens looks like it was cleaned with sandpaper.  This gives it low contrast and heavy flare, but I have found uses for it.  I've tried to show the damage this lens has below.



















Nikkor 43-86mm f/3.5 non-AI
This is the older version, sometimes called Nikon's worst lens. The newer version isn't great but it isn't as bad or interesting as the older version. This lens isn't that sharp, it has lots of distortion, its complicated design and single coating gives a lot of lens flare, and I like it a lot.























Nikkor 10.5 f/4 T
This lens is unfortunately pretty rare and expensive but it has a very simple triplet design and has a nice softness and flare wide open I like a lot. Stopped down it performs well.















Nikkor 5cm f/2 S non-AI
Nikkor 5.8cm f/1.4 S non-AI

These lenses are actually decent performers, but the older coatings and design can give interesting flare and swirling bokeh at large apertures.






























Miranda Soligor 5cm f/1.8

My copy of this lens has an issue with the aperture. Originally I could only shoot it wide open, later I was able to get the aperture to partially work, but two of the blades were stuck mostly closed, so I would have a football shaped opening which you can see in the color photos below.