These are the lenses I have gathered experiences with. Of course, I do not own all those lenses.

Several have been sold again and some I only had the chance to test. The cams I mainly use are a Canon EOS 5D, EOS 40D and EOS 300.

Legend: Construction (IMHO) Condition (of my copy) Optical Performance (personal, very subjective evaluation)
 

******* = high end, perfectly built

****** = solid as a rock, excellent in use

***** = very robust, handles very well
**** = rugged, handles well
*** = OK, no problems in everyday usage
** = ramshackly
* = handle with great care!

A = mint condition, like new
B = quite good, almost new
C = OK, but marks on lenses or techn. probs.
D = hardly usable (big scratches etc.)

Further differentiation with + and -.

10 = perfect

9.5 = excellent, absolutely professional
8 - 9 = very good, meets professional necessities
7 - 7.5 = good, fully complies with amateur needs
6 - 6.5 = satisfactory, some aspects can be criticized
5 - 5.5 = OK with some drawbacks

3 - 4 = poor, major flaws

0 - 2 = Just forget this lens!
       
Click here to see the set I use the most...
Move on to another site...

The estimated prices mainly refer to the entries in Kadlubek's lens catalogue and to lenses in mint condition. The prices then have been evaluated on boot fairs and camera shows. You will have to pay more on camera shows than on boot fairs, but you will also probably get the lenses in better condition. On eBay you can be lucky, you will find most lenses a lot cheaper than here stated, but prices get too high easily, eps. with fast lenses. So be careful! The prices listed on these pages are just good for orientation and cannot be used as a completely reliable reference in any case of trade. No legal responsibility granted! Sometimes original prices are stated. These approximate prices refer to the year in which the lens was on sale for the first time (1960s/1970s/1980s/1990s).

Camera-lens-compatibilty table

 
EF
EF-S
M42
F
PK
 Rollei

Leica R
OM
C/Y
T2
M39
SLR
EXA
FD
M39
LTM
Canon EOS 350D / 40D (APS)
O
O
A
A
A
(A)
A
A
A
A
A
(A)
L
Just for
close-ups
Canon EF-M / EOS 50e
O
N
(A)
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
(A)
L
---
Zenit EM
---
---
O
---
---
---
---
---
---
A
A
---
---
---
Pentax Spotmatic SPII
---
---
O
---
---
---
---
---
---
A
A
---
---
---
Praktica M42
---
---
O
---
---
---
---
---
---
A
A
---
---
---
Nikon EM
---
---
L
O
---
---
---
---
---
A
L
---
---
---
Ricoh KR-10x
---
---
A
---
O
---
---
---
---
A
A
---
---
---
Canon FTb QL
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
A
---
---
O
---
EXA I
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
A
---
O
---
---
FED-3b
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
N
---
---
O

General Information on

Russian lenses:

Helios

Industar

Jupiter

MIR

Tair

others

 

 

 

 

A = per adapter / O = original / N = not recommended / L = Adapter with lens / --- = impossible/unknown

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