Standard lenses!

It used to be the lens we all had - the bog-standard "standard" lens. A few recent purchases have increased my collection, and it should give rise to some good creative images.

My first ever standard lens was a Carl Zeiss Tessar 50mm f2.8, here on the front row. This isn't my actual original, I bought it a couple of days ago and it arrived this morning. It is a great lens, but I've bought it not for the sharp part, but of the way its "bokeh" is rendered.

The other two "new" standards are the two Helios 58mm f2 lenses. The oldest in the centre dates from the 1970s, and is the lens I used for yesterday's photo. I said it has had some modification, and it has. It arrived a couple of days ago, and I unscrewed the retaining ring that holds the front element in place and reversed the front element. It creates the most amazing swirly bokeh. (and we're talking about a lens that costs less than most UV filters). The other Helios still has some swirly bokeh, but the front element is much more difficult to reverse (I did buy the second one to be used on my creative workshops). It might stay unaltered, and still create images with character.

All the others are Nikon - all have a slightly different character. I think this is the difference between new lenses and vintage glass - the old glass comes with character built in.

The great news, the cost - one of the helios lenses was only £6, the Tessar was a wallet bending £7. I'm going to have a huge amount of fun for way less money than a lensbaby.