- I can't explain how much I enjoy your videos. I'm a swedish 🇸🇪 woman, 66 years old. Since I was a child trying out my grandmothers camera, I have been loving to take photos, but how could you do that without a camera??? 😅 I got a Kodak Instamatic when I was thirteen, but film was expensive and I could only take photos a couple of times a year at that time, late sixties and early seventies. I have been a subscriber for som years, and about ten minutes ago I joined your Patreon. It will be very interesting! ‼️
Just love shooting with inexpensive third party legacy glass. Been doing it for years. I used to shoot with a Hanimex ( I gave it the nickname 'Ham n Eggs' )28 f2.8 back in the day with my Pentax K100D. With crop factor it was a wonderful walkabout 42mm equivalent. A bonus was that it was an 'A' series k-mount. Put the aperture ring in its 'A' setting and one can change aperture value in camera. And another bonus is Pentax's focus capture. Aim, fully depress shutter, slowly focus and once subject is in focus the shutter fires. Brilliant.
That's cool to know. I was lucky enough to grab up the sixth release version (Cosina) of the Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4 lens for a song, and it's the only one they produced with autofocus and anamorphic glass. It's heavy as hell to lug around (especially on a full frame DSLR), but the images are gorgeous. It's not for soap bubbles though, the bokeh with this lens is smooth as butter. If you want photos that look like watercolor paintings in the background, that lens is for you.
Really miss Dixons. I was a bit of a name snob back in the day and dismissed Miranda and the likes, BUT when you look now, these lenses were actually constructed better then much of todays 'big name' offerings.
I'm finding that all of the vintage prime lenses celebrated on vlogger channels have now gone through the roof pricewise on auction sites. It would be great to hear about lesser-known ones (primes) that you can still buy for the under $40 price range. (Note: enough of 50mm lenses though, I mean how many 50mm does a person NEED?!) It's been much easier to find fast vintage zoom lenses, especially 70-210mm. I was lucky enough to grab up the sixth release version (Cosina) of the Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4 lens for a song, and it's the only one they produced with autofocus and anamorphic glass. It's heavy as hell to lug around (especially on a full frame DSLR), but the images are gorgeous. It's not for soap bubbles though, the bokeh with this lens is smooth as butter. If you want photos that look like watercolor paintings in the background, that lens is for you.
Cosina also noted for modern Voightlander lenses...too.... Nice video..... mostly the 70-210 are OM or PK so bit stuck there... but you right they are cheap.... thanks Nigel... good on yer!!!
Vivitar Series 1 made six different releases of their fast 70-210mm. You can identify what manufacturer they made them for by the serial numbers. The sixth and final release has autofocus and anamorphic glass, made for Cosina. I have that one and it's beautiful, but I've seen great reviews from their other releases as well.
Hi Nigel, many thanks from Germany! One recommendation is also the Minolta MD 4.0/200 mm with the Minolta MD 300-S teleconverter. A fantastic combination for 400 mm focal range! If you wish, I colud send you some sample images I made recently! Best wishes, Ralf
I never had a Miranda camera,but had 2 soligor lenses, a 35mm and a short telephoto preset lens on a minolta sr7 if I remember right,was a long long time ago. Both lenses were sharp,but didn't use them too much ,didn't like to fuss with the preset.
hi, thank you so much for making all these videos.. i have been enjoying your videos very much.. Can you do a top 5 tele lens of the lower ends - equivelent focal length around 24-70? thank you for continuing with making and spreading love to vintage lenses all these years.
@@zenography7923 Had the same opinion about them, like they where kind of cheap plastic... Now I'm thinking about buy one of those (maybe more :) Thank you!
I think the aperture ring without inbetween clicks are a Tokina thing. I have two lenses like that, one is a Tokina, the other one is Weltblick branded. I'm not certain the other lens was OEM'd by Tokina, though, some build features are different from the other Tokina I have.
In the mid 80s I applied for a YTS sale assistant job at Dixon in town and did'nt get it. I thought an East Asian face would have help drive sales of the mainly East Asian tech product they were selling. It was a time of high unemployment especially for school leavers, any job was a feather in the cap then.
Nice video! I have the 24mm as the Vivitar version, serial indicate Cosina. The bokeh is indeed great. Even a Zeiss shooter I know saw my shots and was impressed and wanted one. Not the best edge sharpness but very usable.
I have one of the Miranda 28mm ones, but I don't have any K-mount cameras at present. I wanted to adapt it to a Contax ST, but no one makes that adapter. I've looked all over. I don't think there's even one for the Canon FD series cameras. I can get one to use it on my Elan IIE, but I really don't care to resurrect that at this time. When I found it in the garage it had a messed-up lens, anyway.
Were there any Miranda SLRs during the Dixons era? A budget 50mm f2 is really only the sort of lens people would buy as a kit lens with a budget SLR rather than separately. I believe Dixons had exclusive rights to sell Chinon cameras in the UK (or maybe it was just that nobody else wanted to!) They were also K mount so maybe they sold Chinon bodies with Miranda lenses.
The original Miranda cameras had a dual lens mount both screw and bayonet fitting which meant that you could find many adapters to use other lenses. They also had interchangeable viewfinders . They were definitely not a budget SLR and had a vast range of accessories (including 50mm f2.0 lenses and ,I think , a 50mm. f2.8. Many of their lenses were made & sold by Soligor. I have two EE2 models with1.4 and f2.0 lenses. The one to avoid apparently is the last model the Dx3. They made only one compact camera as I remember and a Laborec SLR designed exclusively for use with microscopes. I bought mine just when Dixon's acquired the company . However if you needed the extra lenses including the only zoom you had to order all of them with the camera. None would be available from Dixon's to buy afterwards unless you did so. Dixon allegedly ( your honour) wanted the name brand for themselves and their own range of cheap contacts and SLRs. Strange when it was often quoted as the reason the original Mirandas were unpopular was that men would not want to buy cameras with a feminine name. I think it was they were too expensive . If you do buy one & it works remember they took the old 1.35 volt mercury batteries so you'd need an air cell type or an adapter. They are available. If you use the modern 1.5 volt batteries your exposure will be really out. As they are fully manual as well you could use the old sunny 16 trick but then you'd miss out on the spot metering & the bottom centre weighted metering on the EE2 (avoids sky bias ) They are great but heavy & were built to a very high standard.
@@trevorroberts-o7qI have a EE and a 50 f, both the camera and lens needs a little repair. Dispute this it seems well built and are in great shape. Additionally I have a 135 3.5 telephoto macro with a mini bellows, ;like new in the box. The reason I bring this up is that you were right about about Soligor as the producer as the box has that name and Miranda on it. I know very little about the Miranda, they came with another purchase, but I want to run a 2 or 3 rolls of film through them before I get rid of them.
Very true colors from the the first lenses ~50mm f2, just found the blues a little purple, maybe because the coat. I really like reds, and the reds from this, to me is absolutely true, also the greens. What I really don't like on a lenses is those ugly, poor and antique brown that came especially on the most of old russian lenses and this one, to me (as many other lenses have), have a little bit of it, this poor browns, but something like 5% in comparison to old russian lenses.
Videos like this are cause of expensive lenses. Using words and phrases like, very cheap, next to nothing, and hidden gem makes prices high. Some of these lenses are really not that good either.
- I can't explain how much I enjoy your videos. I'm a swedish 🇸🇪 woman, 66 years old. Since I was a child trying out my grandmothers camera, I have been loving to take photos, but how could you do that without a camera??? 😅
I got a Kodak Instamatic when I was thirteen, but film was expensive and I could only take photos a couple of times a year at that time, late sixties and early seventies.
I have been a subscriber for som years, and about ten minutes ago I joined your Patreon.
It will be very interesting! ‼️
Just love shooting with inexpensive third party legacy glass. Been doing it for years. I used to shoot with a Hanimex ( I gave it the nickname 'Ham n Eggs' )28 f2.8 back in the day with my Pentax K100D. With crop factor it was a wonderful walkabout 42mm equivalent. A bonus was that it was an 'A' series k-mount. Put the aperture ring in its 'A' setting and one can change aperture value in camera. And another bonus is Pentax's focus capture. Aim, fully depress shutter, slowly focus and once subject is in focus the shutter fires. Brilliant.
That sounds like a cool feature!
Love Pentax catch -in - focus use it on all my Pentax cameras my istDL, K100D, K3-11 and K3 mark III And I do perfer the A mount lenses
Some of the earlier Miranda lenses were made by Soligor. Cosina made not only lenses but also the glass blanks for Voigtlander & Zeiss.
That's cool to know. I was lucky enough to grab up the sixth release version (Cosina) of the Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4 lens for a song, and it's the only one they produced with autofocus and anamorphic glass. It's heavy as hell to lug around (especially on a full frame DSLR), but the images are gorgeous. It's not for soap bubbles though, the bokeh with this lens is smooth as butter. If you want photos that look like watercolor paintings in the background, that lens is for you.
You are a very good man and informative individual. I am very much connected to you mentally..cheers
Really miss Dixons. I was a bit of a name snob back in the day and dismissed Miranda and the likes, BUT when you look now, these lenses were actually constructed better then much of todays 'big name' offerings.
Great video! Thanks for finding these gems!
I'm finding that all of the vintage prime lenses celebrated on vlogger channels have now gone through the roof pricewise on auction sites. It would be great to hear about lesser-known ones (primes) that you can still buy for the under $40 price range. (Note: enough of 50mm lenses though, I mean how many 50mm does a person NEED?!) It's been much easier to find fast vintage zoom lenses, especially 70-210mm. I was lucky enough to grab up the sixth release version (Cosina) of the Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4 lens for a song, and it's the only one they produced with autofocus and anamorphic glass. It's heavy as hell to lug around (especially on a full frame DSLR), but the images are gorgeous. It's not for soap bubbles though, the bokeh with this lens is smooth as butter. If you want photos that look like watercolor paintings in the background, that lens is for you.
Cosina also noted for modern Voightlander lenses...too....
Nice video..... mostly the 70-210 are OM or PK so bit stuck there... but you right they are cheap.... thanks Nigel... good on yer!!!
Vivitar Series 1 made six different releases of their fast 70-210mm. You can identify what manufacturer they made them for by the serial numbers. The sixth and final release has autofocus and anamorphic glass, made for Cosina. I have that one and it's beautiful, but I've seen great reviews from their other releases as well.
Hi Nigel, many thanks from Germany! One recommendation is also the Minolta MD 4.0/200 mm with the Minolta MD 300-S teleconverter. A fantastic combination for 400 mm focal range! If you wish, I colud send you some sample images I made recently! Best wishes, Ralf
I never had a Miranda camera,but had 2 soligor lenses, a 35mm and a short telephoto preset lens on a minolta sr7 if I remember right,was a long long time ago. Both lenses were sharp,but didn't use them too much ,didn't like to fuss with the preset.
hi, thank you so much for making all these videos.. i have been enjoying your videos very much.. Can you do a top 5 tele lens of the lower ends - equivelent focal length around 24-70?
thank you for continuing with making and spreading love to vintage lenses all these years.
Once such lenses have featured in RUclips videos, prices can shoot up. I do love the old lenses, especially Canon FD. I should try some other brands.
Your videos are simply amazing! I learned a lot from you. Thank you!
Glad you like them, thanks!
@@zenography7923 Had the same opinion about them, like they where kind of cheap plastic... Now I'm thinking about buy one of those (maybe more :) Thank you!
I have the same lens (the 50mm) in my hand right now. The serial number starts 412. Haven't tried it yet but I'll be popping it on my ME Super.
I think the aperture ring without inbetween clicks are a Tokina thing. I have two lenses like that, one is a Tokina, the other one is Weltblick branded. I'm not certain the other lens was OEM'd by Tokina, though, some build features are different from the other Tokina I have.
In the mid 80s I applied for a YTS sale assistant job at Dixon in town and did'nt get it. I thought an East Asian face would have help drive sales of the mainly East Asian tech product they were selling. It was a time of high unemployment especially for school leavers, any job was a feather in the cap then.
Nice video!
I have the 24mm as the Vivitar version, serial indicate Cosina. The bokeh is indeed great. Even a Zeiss shooter I know saw my shots and was impressed and wanted one.
Not the best edge sharpness but very usable.
They're not the absolute best, technically speaking, but a good one makes a very nice shot.
Thanks for introducing me to Cosina lenses branded "Miranda!"
I have one of the Miranda 28mm ones, but I don't have any K-mount cameras at present. I wanted to adapt it to a Contax ST, but no one makes that adapter. I've looked all over.
I don't think there's even one for the Canon FD series cameras. I can get one to use it on my Elan IIE, but I really don't care to resurrect that at this time. When I found it in the garage it had a messed-up lens, anyway.
Hmm, that's a tricky one - unless you have a friend with a lathe who can help?
Again… a nice video!! Thanks!!
Thank you too!
Were there any Miranda SLRs during the Dixons era? A budget 50mm f2 is really only the sort of lens people would buy as a kit lens with a budget SLR rather than separately.
I believe Dixons had exclusive rights to sell Chinon cameras in the UK (or maybe it was just that nobody else wanted to!) They were also K mount so maybe they sold Chinon bodies with Miranda lenses.
There were lots of Chinon SLRs sold by Dixons, many still working today!
The original Miranda cameras had a dual lens mount both screw and bayonet fitting which meant that you could find many adapters to use other lenses. They also had interchangeable viewfinders . They were definitely not a budget SLR and had a vast range of accessories (including 50mm f2.0 lenses and ,I think , a 50mm. f2.8. Many of their lenses were made & sold by Soligor. I have two EE2 models with1.4 and f2.0 lenses. The one to avoid apparently is the last model the Dx3. They made only one compact camera as I remember and a Laborec SLR designed exclusively for use with microscopes. I bought mine just when Dixon's acquired the company . However if you needed the extra lenses including the only zoom you had to order all of them with the camera. None would be available from Dixon's to buy afterwards unless you did so. Dixon allegedly ( your honour) wanted the name brand for themselves and their own range of cheap contacts and SLRs. Strange when it was often quoted as the reason the original Mirandas were unpopular was that men would not want to buy cameras with a feminine name. I think it was they were too expensive . If you do buy one & it works remember they took the old 1.35 volt mercury batteries so you'd need an air cell type or an adapter. They are available. If you use the modern 1.5 volt batteries your exposure will be really out. As they are fully manual as well you could use the old sunny 16 trick but then you'd miss out on the spot metering & the bottom centre weighted metering on the EE2 (avoids sky bias ) They are great but heavy & were built to a very high standard.
@@trevorroberts-o7qI have a EE and a 50 f, both the camera and lens needs a little repair. Dispute this it seems well built and are in great shape. Additionally I have a 135 3.5 telephoto macro with a mini bellows, ;like new in the box. The reason I bring this up is that you were right about about Soligor as the producer as the box has that name and Miranda on it. I know very little about the Miranda, they came with another purchase, but I want to run a 2 or 3 rolls of film through them before I get rid of them.
Enjoyed this Video.. thanks for sharing 👍😎 Subbed...
Thanks for the sub!
Cosina is right… 👍🏻
Very true colors from the the first lenses ~50mm f2, just found the blues a little purple, maybe because the coat. I really like reds, and the reds from this, to me is absolutely true, also the greens. What I really don't like on a lenses is those ugly, poor and antique brown that came especially on the most of old russian lenses and this one, to me (as many other lenses have), have a little bit of it, this poor browns, but something like 5% in comparison to old russian lenses.
Bytheway aper pro of nothing really if you like camera facts.... Nikon made the fastest mechanical shutter only at 1/4000 of a second!!
Cheeky 🤭
Cheers 👍
Videos like this are cause of expensive lenses. Using words and phrases like, very cheap, next to nothing, and hidden gem makes prices high. Some of these lenses are really not that good either.
Listen to Simon on 1.25 speed for the sake of sanity
:)