Why You Should Look Into Shooting with Vintage Lenses

Vintage lenses seem to be increasingly popular nowadays, and not just in the hipster crowds. In this 5-minute video, photographer Mark Holtze looks at why some people are picking up (and dusting off) old vintage lenses instead of their more modern equivalents.

The first and foremost reason is the cost. You can pick up some really nice vintage prime lenses made by respected brands for under $100. These lenses were once considered new and exciting (and often quite pricey), and just because they are older now doesn’t mean they don’t still do a good job.

In this way, vintage lenses can provide a cheaper way to explore photography with a number of different focal lengths and lens types, especially if you’re just starting out.

Remember that vintage lenses will probably require an adapter to work with your camera, but the adapter you need will probably only cost in the region of $20.

Vintage lenses are also handy for ensuring that you learn the actual concepts of photography since they’re entirely manually focused and have a manual aperture ring as well. These attributes force you to understand and deal with the fundamental concepts of photography in a more direct way.

Check out the full video above for more information about vintage classic lenses. You can also subscribe to Holtze’s YouTube channel here.