Quick Lens test for buy (vintage) glass

[Ben Steensels]

I'm in the market for buying some (vintage) lenses and I was wondering if there is a way to quickly test lenses before buying. Which charts to use, what to look for, etc.

I don't really know if im going ana or not. I'm interested in superspeeds, Lomo RF ana, Cooke speed panchro etc.
Do you adjust your test according to the set you are buying?

Forgive me if there is already a topic with this question, if there is, my searching skills have failed me.

Any tips are appreciated!

 

[Matt Uhry]

Hi Ben,

Is this to decide what set to buy or to see if a set is OK before you buy it ? For most people It's a big enough purchase that if you are deciding what to buy you should consider borrowing or renting a set for the day and shoot with them and see if they give you what you want.

If it's to see if the set is on par with other used sets of the same type your best bet is with a lens tech and to project test patterns. Be very aware of image shift and mechanical issues with focus and iris. Watch out too for poorly done modifications and repairs.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com

 

[Ben Steensels]

Hi Ben,

Is this to decide what set to buy or to see if a set is OK before you buy it ? For most people It's a big enough purchase that if you are deciding what to buy you should consider borrowing or renting a set for the day and shoot with them and see if they give you what you want.

If it's to see if the set is on par with other used sets of the same type your best bet is with a lens tech and to project test patterns. Be very aware of image shift and mechanical issues with focus and iris. Watch out too for poorly done modifications and repairs.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com

Yes it is to check if I'm not buying faulty lenses.
I've shot with enough sets to know what I want, but I'm not confident that I can spot a faulty lens with a quick look on my monitor.
Is there any other way to know for sure I am buying a good set without sending it off to a technician? Is there a quick way to shoot some charts for example and be relatively sure I'm not buying lemons?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Jeffery Anderson]

well a real lens set would be regularly rented and serviced by professionals, so you might ask, "when was it last serviced?"

IMHO, I think Vintage Lens sets have been mined to hell... best bet might be to find a private seller that never uses a set of lenses and have them sent in to be serviced and keep the money in escrow until they pass.