How can I tell a good lense?
Who makes a good lense?
Where can I buy a good lense?
What should I pay for a good lense?
Are any of the lenses on e-bay good?
Do I need auto iris?

Thanks,

How can I tell a good lense?
See below

Who makes a good lense?
Computar or Fujinon

Where can I buy a good lense?
Any Retailer/Distributor that carries the above product lines.

What should I pay for a good lense?
These days, not very much. Retail maybe $60+

Are any of the lenses on e-bay good?
I doubt it, not much of anything CCTV related is good on e-bay

Do I need auto iris?
Typically if the camera is going outdoors, or anywhere there is frequently changing light. Price is not much more than a non AI lens.

Thanks Rory

No prob, I personally prefer Fujinon myself, but have used both and they both work well. Also used Tamron in the past.

one thing about lenses.....you get what you pay for. Yes, the cheaper ones work ok but when you compare to a better lense the differences shock you. edges are clear, not fuzzy. optics are clean and easier to focus. IR types are also better.

Also, look for glass optics. Some manufacturers of cheap lenses use plastic optics and they have more aberrations and usually don't zoom and focus as smoothly, making it harder to adjust them properly.

Are all Cmputar, Tamron, Fuji lense good or do they also sell low quality lense?

I'm looking at a couple of lenses.
1.Fuji Fujion 1.1 4/50 (Guess thats 4mm-50mm) Lense# 675097
2.Tamron 13vg550asll 1/3 5-50mm F/1.4 High res. d.c. iris $82.99
starting bid on e-bay

Can I get a good 5-50mm auto iris for less than $80.00?

Thanks,

KT&C sells some decent lenses but I'd recommend going with the Fujinons and pay a bit more.
In the end you dont want to look at your image and be disappointed and say "I wish I had gone with the Fuji."
If you buy the Fuji and the picture sucks, you can be reasonably sure its not the lens...but rather the camera/lighting/angle etc...
It's cheap peace of mind.

A brand name second hand lens on ebay, is only as good as the description states it is, the honesty of the seller, and the reliability of the delivery service.

If you spot a good brand name lens on ebay (and you have made sure its the right size ie half inch, or whatever) and the right mount (C or CS, or you have a adapter, or you have a camera that can take either) then its down to checking the feedback of the seller, the description (check the photos and text carefully to ensure the lens has no scratches/damage to the optics, no fungus growth etc).

Its best to go for one where the seller offers a full refund or replacement if the lens is not up to scratch or damaged. Preferably get it insured delivery if possible also incase it gets lost or damaged in the post.

Had good luck with lenses on ebay so far, the only ones that didnt work where ones that came as part of job lots, untested ones etc.

But not bought any lenses recently on ebay, also when I did I looked for good quality makes (pentax, cosmicar (think they are the same really), fuji etc) second hand.

Is this a fair good or great deal on a lense?
Computar Model#TG0412F CS-3 4mm FL.2 lense 1/3
DC Auto iris cs mount Manual focuis With amplified NoPlug.
New in box 14.50 Buy it wow 8.00 shipping
explain the no plug. Dose it suposed to have a plug and dos'nt.. Or does this on not need a plug to orerate?

Hope I;m not asking too many questions but I don't know these answers.

So thanks very much for your time. I want to be come knowgable but alot of it will have to come from here.

Thans alot.

dont know, must be a typo, also, if that is F.2 then its not that great for a day night camera, and definitely not for a low light camera. You want like an F:1.3 or F:1.2, or even better an F:0.95.

Can you list the lenses you said in order of best to worse?

Thanks Rory

I cant actually. There are tons of lenses on the market and first you need to decide which camera you will need the lens for, what kind of lighting conditions there are, and what kind of focal length you will require.

any thoughts on these lenses? 1/3 2-8-12mm F/1.4 D.C. auto iris with connector?

If you look at the picture of the lens you can see that it is F1.2, not F2 (1:1.2).