Lately I really find a great joy in testing old lenses found at the local flea market…

Quite naturally, none of those old lenses can come close compared to modern lenses in terms of sharpness, but that’s not the point of using them. If you can find sharp enough lenses for a minimum price, would you pass it up?

Along with the old design of lenses made for analog cameras, there is often a completely specific look that is often called ‘character’ or ‘film look’ on the Internet. Whatever you call it, it certainly can be used creatively.

In the last ‘Wednesday Walk’ we could see how Sigma 70-210mm f4.5 Zoom-K II MC performed, and today we will see a few photos taken through the beautiful glass of a lens made back in 1969: Ladies and Gentlemen, Vivitar T-4 75-260mm f/4.5 Tele-Zoom…

My copy is in excellent condition and has an Olympus OM lens mount. All the photos you see here are taken handheld, which objectively isn’t the best way to judge sharpness, since at its longest setting the zoom is equivalent to a 395mm FF lens – and no stabilization at all. But I had to try that too. Here's what the edge of the cover photo looks like at 100% crop:

Yes, there are some chromatic aberrations, but when I can clearly see the phone numbers under the license plate from the third floor, then the lens is undoubtedly sharp enough.

And here is my version of the infamous brick wall test:

The colors are flawless, and you’d hardly be able to tell from them that this lens is more than half a century old!

The lens is bulky, weighing around 1.1 kg, and has a collar, which in this case is necessary if you want to conduct detailed sharpness tests and get the maximum result by placing it on a tripod.

This is the longest telephoto lens I've ever owned, and I didn’t have the patience to set up the tripod to shoot the moon. So here's a handheld shot:

And once again zoom in at 100%:

So, this is how the Moon shot looks when you invest only $20!

Don’t forget that with the M4/3 system this would be a 520mm telephoto lens, and the result would be significantly better with a tripod and multi-shot high-resolution. Is it not enough for $20?

So, they say that all the good things always come to those who can wait long enough. This is what 50 years of patience can bring you to your World of photography…

All the photos in this challenge are taken with the Fujifilm X-T20 and manual focusing Vivitar T-4 75-260mm f/4.5 Tele-Zoom lens adapted to the Fuji body. All photos are posted as they came directly out of the camera, Astia color profile, without any additional processing.

This post is made as a contribution to a photo challenge done in collaboration of two of our members: @tattoodjay hosts a competition called “Wednesday Walk” and @elizacheng’s contest called “Make me Smile”.