I thought I saw a post (from JimBuchanan??) about a rokkor 28mm f/2 converted to EOS but a forum search returned nothing. Anyway, here's my try ... took me quite a while with a grinder and dremel.

Mounted on the 40D:

I have one sitting at home waiting for me to finish my master's thesis. Mechanically, this is the most-est-est gorgeous lens I've seen from a mechanical standpoint. I can only hope it's as good optically.

I'll find out how well it does on a 5d soon. Or maybe start snatching them up off ebay and not tell any of you guys

D

You mean this one? This is not a Rokkor, but a "plain" Minolta, of the later production date. This conversion is of the true subtractive variety. The outer silver surface outside the EOS flange is the face that gives infinity focus, no more, no less! No adjustment screws on this one. Notice the AF-comfirm chip.

How's the performance on this one?

Booone0 wrote:
How's the performance on this one?

As I implied in a post here, under "Minolta 28", I likened it to the quality of the Leica Elmarit 28, but needing a stop or 2 down to catch up. That in and of itself is quite respectable.

Found Jim's post:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/696033/0?keyword=minolta,28#6260649

It pretty much sums up my experiment on the rokkor version as well. Wide open not as sharp my rokkor 24 F2.8 or SMC Takumar 35 F2 but usable and has nice bokeh which is what I am after. The rokkor is bigger than the MD (filter 55mm vs MD 49mm) so for those who want compact, you might want to get the MD.

How much flange do you have left after you reach infinity on your canon? Enough for it to be feasible on a nikon? (some more mm's.. :P ), and how is the mirror clearance on fullframe?

I kind of toy with a nikon d700 + minolta manual -kit-thought.

Edit: to be more accurate.

28 f/2, 40 f/2, 58 1.2, 85 1.7 as a daily have fun manual kit.

If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

According to the resources, NikonF mount has a 46.5mm flange to sensor distance. Since a Minolta lens is focusing on a plane less than 44mm away, it needs to set into the Nikon camera mount more than 2.5mm. This is going to be very difficult with most Minolta lenses. You got a chance with the 58s, 1.2 and 1.4, as they have that spacer arrangement.

ulrikft wrote:
How much flange do you have left after you reach infinity on your canon? Enough for it to be feasible on a nikon? (some more mm's.. :P ), and how is the mirror clearance on fullframe?

I kind of toy with a nikon d700 + minolta manual -kit-thought.

Edit: to be more accurate.

28 f/2, 40 f/2, 58 1.2, 85 1.7 as a daily have fun manual kit.

If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

Ulrik,

I know you are lovin' the Nikon, but I have to ask; is it that much better than a 5D? With respect to what, autofocus? Is that relevant?

It's just that you seem so happy using alternative glass, so a shaved 5D seems to make more sense.

ulrikft wrote:
How much flange do you have left after you reach infinity on your canon? Enough for it to be feasible on a nikon? (some more mm's.. :P ), and how is the mirror clearance on fullframe?

I kind of toy with a nikon d700 + minolta manual -kit-thought.

Edit: to be more accurate.

28 f/2, 40 f/2, 58 1.2, 85 1.7 as a daily have fun manual kit.

If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

I'll note that there's good options in F mount for the 40 and 85 (CV 40/2 and a Nikkor 85/1.8 AI'd which is a very good performer).

cogitech wrote:
ulrikft wrote:
How much flange do you have left after you reach infinity on your canon? Enough for it to be feasible on a nikon? (some more mm's.. :P ), and how is the mirror clearance on fullframe?

I kind of toy with a nikon d700 + minolta manual -kit-thought.

Edit: to be more accurate.

28 f/2, 40 f/2, 58 1.2, 85 1.7 as a daily have fun manual kit.

If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

Ulrik,

I know you are lovin' the Nikon, but I have to ask; is it that much better than a 5D? With respect to what, autofocus? Is that relevant?

It's just that you seem so happy using alternative glass, so a shaved 5D seems to make more sense.

Having used both bodies, the D700 is a lot more camera with a bit more sensor. It's much faster and more responsive than a 5D, much better built as well and of course, has Live View and ISO settings to 25,600. But it's also a lot of money in comparison to a 5D.

I'm personally having issues deciding between the two. On one hand I'm mostly an F mount guy and have a lot of F mount glass that I can take full advantage of on a D700, on the other hand I do have Contax kit as well (and some Adaptall stuff) and the 5D is much, much cheaper.

mawz wrote:
ulrikft wrote:


If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

I'll note that there's good options in F mount for the 40 and 85 (CV 40/2 and a Nikkor 85/1.8 AI'd which is a very good performer).


Not the 85/1.4 AiS ?

mawz wrote:
cogitech wrote:
ulrikft wrote:
How much flange do you have left after you reach infinity on your canon? Enough for it to be feasible on a nikon? (some more mm's.. :P ), and how is the mirror clearance on fullframe?

I kind of toy with a nikon d700 + minolta manual -kit-thought.

Edit: to be more accurate.

28 f/2, 40 f/2, 58 1.2, 85 1.7 as a daily have fun manual kit.

If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

Ulrik,

I know you are lovin' the Nikon, but I have to ask; is it that much better than a 5D? With respect to what, autofocus? Is that relevant?

It's just that you seem so happy using alternative glass, so a shaved 5D seems to make more sense.

Having used both bodies, the D700 is a lot more camera with a bit more sensor. It's much faster and more responsive than a 5D, much better built as well and of course, has Live View and ISO settings to 25,600. But it's also a lot of money in comparison to a 5D.

I'm personally having issues deciding between the two. On one hand I'm mostly an F mount guy and have a lot of F mount glass that I can take full advantage of on a D700, on the other hand I do have Contax kit as well (and some Adaptall stuff) and the 5D is much, much cheaper.


I'm certainly not trying to make the decision for you, but I can say this:

- I don't ever remember feeling as though I was "waiting" for the 5D. The 300D and 10D? Yes. The 5D? No way. Not even at weddings.

- I don't baby my 5D and it just keeps on ticking.

- I get nearly 100% accurate focus with my 5D, so I wonder if liveview is "all that" (and hated liveview on the E-410 I owned for 3 days).

- Beyond ISO 1600 I should probably be using bounce flash (and I can, and it works extremely well).

I just can't help but feel that the 5D is simply a huge bargain these days. I might buy 2 more.

I am with Paul on this one. I have used a lot of digital cameras including Nikon. Right now the 5D is simply a great all round camera for its price. Does it have some faults? Sure, but for a FF camera its hard to beat; especially if you like alt glass.

Wait until the new one comes out. Right now the model I version is selling for around $1500 used. In a month or two the price will be...

cogitech wrote:
mawz wrote:
ulrikft wrote:


If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

I'll note that there's good options in F mount for the 40 and 85 (CV 40/2 and a Nikkor 85/1.8 AI'd which is a very good performer).


Not the 85/1.4 AiS ?

Faster, more expensive, much larger, not much better IMHO. I'd get the AF-D if I was going f1.4 on a Nikon 85.

cogitech wrote:
mawz wrote:


Having used both bodies, the D700 is a lot more camera with a bit more sensor. It's much faster and more responsive than a 5D, much better built as well and of course, has Live View and ISO settings to 25,600. But it's also a lot of money in comparison to a 5D.

I'm personally having issues deciding between the two. On one hand I'm mostly an F mount guy and have a lot of F mount glass that I can take full advantage of on a D700, on the other hand I do have Contax kit as well (and some Adaptall stuff) and the 5D is much, much cheaper.


I'm certainly not trying to make the decision for you, but I can say this:

- I don't ever remember feeling as though I was "waiting" for the 5D. The 300D and 10D? Yes. The 5D? No way. Not even at weddings.

- I don't baby my 5D and it just keeps on ticking.

- I get nearly 100% accurate focus with my 5D, so I wonder if liveview is "all that" (and hated liveview on the E-410 I owned for 3 days).

- Beyond ISO 1600 I should probably be using bounce flash (and I can, and it works extremely well).

I just can't help but feel that the 5D is simply a huge bargain these days. I might buy 2 more.

The difference in responsiveness between a D700 and 5D is like the difference between a 1Ds and a 5D. It's not the 5D is slow, it's that the D700 is instant.

As to Live View, it's quite nice on a tripod with a 922K 3" display. The E-420's crappy LCD kinda sucks anyways. But it's definitely not for everyone. A little practice and a good focus screen is always good.

I'm a lowlight ambient shooter (Scanning a roll of Tri-X shot at EI 6400 right now). So flash at over 1600 doesn't work for me.

The 5D is an insanely good deal right now. That's what makes it so tempting.

cogitech wrote:
ulrikft wrote:
How much flange do you have left after you reach infinity on your canon? Enough for it to be feasible on a nikon? (some more mm's.. :P ), and how is the mirror clearance on fullframe?

I kind of toy with a nikon d700 + minolta manual -kit-thought.

Edit: to be more accurate.

28 f/2, 40 f/2, 58 1.2, 85 1.7 as a daily have fun manual kit.

If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

Ulrik,

I know you are lovin' the Nikon, but I have to ask; is it that much better than a 5D? With respect to what, autofocus? Is that relevant?

It's just that you seem so happy using alternative glass, so a shaved 5D seems to make more sense.

I do a lot of concert and sport-stuff with af, and the 5d (and the 5d mkII) just doesen't cut it for that, unfortunately. Other things like spot-metering at each af-point and other small and big quirks just makes it very hard to go back to something less-good

mawz wrote:
ulrikft wrote:
How much flange do you have left after you reach infinity on your canon? Enough for it to be feasible on a nikon? (some more mm's.. :P ), and how is the mirror clearance on fullframe?

I kind of toy with a nikon d700 + minolta manual -kit-thought.

Edit: to be more accurate.

28 f/2, 40 f/2, 58 1.2, 85 1.7 as a daily have fun manual kit.

If I could pull that off, I would be a happy cat

I'll note that there's good options in F mount for the 40 and 85 (CV 40/2 and a Nikkor 85/1.8 AI'd which is a very good performer).


I do have a 85 1.8 af-d actually, I'm just not that happy with oem-nikon and stopped down (f2-4) bokeh, it is just so.. edgy :P especially with my 50 1.4, but I feel that the 85 1.8 is a bit "taken" with that too, maybe the 85 1.8 AI is better?

I have considered the 40 f/2 voigtlander, since it is small, sexy and looks like a good performer. Finding a copy for a reasonable prise is the one thing that is stopping me so far

ulrikft wrote:
mawz wrote:

I'll note that there's good options in F mount for the 40 and 85 (CV 40/2 and a Nikkor 85/1.8 AI'd which is a very good performer).


I do have a 85 1.8 af-d actually, I'm just not that happy with oem-nikon and stopped down (f2-4) bokeh, it is just so.. edgy :P especially with my 50 1.4, but I feel that the 85 1.8 is a bit "taken" with that too, maybe the 85 1.8 AI is better?

I have considered the 40 f/2 voigtlander, since it is small, sexy and looks like a good performer. Finding a copy for a reasonable prise is the one thing that is stopping me so far


The 85/1.8 pre-AI is IMHO better than the AF version for rendering. There's a good reason why this fairly common lens sells used for almost as much as a new 85/1.8 AF.

And I've never much liked the Nikkor 50/1.4, I have to agree with you about it being edgy, and they're just not great wide open.

As to the CV 40, have you tried Cameraquest? He's selling it for $380USD+shipping, which is an excellent price.

I found this european store:

http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=1818&PT_ID=435


I think I'll get one of those as a christmas/chanukka/yule-present for myself!

I guess an ok kit would be a 24 2.0 AI-S, CV 40 2.0, minolta rokkor 58 1.2, 105 1.8 or 2.5 AI-S, 180 2.8 AI-S.

The 180 is the big bad wolf size-wise in such a kit, and I guess I would leave it out of the bag most of the time, but it is.. just so sharp. It is hard to notice sharpness improvement from 2.8 to 8.0... Well, more thinking, more photographing and more tinkering!