p.2 #2 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
freaklikeme wrote:
Okay, it wasn't a reflection. There's more than one screw in there, too.
So I picked up one that needs a cleaning (hopefully that's all it needs) for $250. We'll see how it goes. I'm not a big fan of the 300/4.5, but that's mostly because it's not well corrected. I'm trying to keep my expectations reasonable, but it would be great to pick up a bargain super-tele and have it work out.
p.2 #3 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
sebboh wrote:
holy crap! where'd you find one at that price?
eBay. It was a matter of timing. I just happened to surf over there at the right time. It had just been posted and "Minolta APO" is one of my saved searches, so it was the first thing that popped up on my home screen. The included 2x sounds like a complete write-off, but I doubt I'd use it anyway. Hopefully the glass in the lens just needs a little TLC.
Not to get ahead of myself here, but what do you think about the possibilities for Alpha conversion? I couldn't find any information about it being done before.
p.2 #4 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
Steve Spencer wrote:
Glad you found the lens at a good price. If it is anything like my copy, I am sure you will like it.
Thanks, Steve. Do you have the MD or MC? I've been trying to find info on the differences, but haven't dug up much yet. Heading over to mir now.
May 05, 2013 at 11:14 PM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.2 #5 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
freaklikeme wrote:
Thanks, Steve. Do you have the MD or MC? I've been trying to find info on the differences, but haven't dug up much yet. Heading over to mir now.
I have the MC. Here is a link that might help some:
There doesn't seem to be any change in the lens from MC to MD I to MD II (the one's labelled with Rokkor), but the plain MD (MD III) is just a bit lighter. I suspect that change might be cosmetic as it is so small and the number of elements and groups remains the same. So, I would suspect same optical formula for all the versions with probably better coatings for the more recent lenses. If you find something on mir let us know.
p.2 #6 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
Nothing on mir. I forgot, he only has info for a couple of the bodies on there, no Minolta lenses. I found a little info about the lens itself on the Rokkor files, but nothing indicating any differences. Just finding samples with the lens is something of a chore.
p.2 #7 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
It came. The seller was very honest. It could use a cleaning but it's perfectly usable. With the a99 and Elmarit 100 Mac I was able to determine the spots he thought might be fungus aren't fungus. I'm not sure what they are, but they're not organic. I do think I'm going to call Focal Point in Superior tomorrow and see if they'll clean it and give it a check up. Even with the price of a cleaning, it'll still be a bargain.
My first impression is that it's better corrected wide open than the Nikon AIS 400/5.6 and older Sigma APO primes, like the 500/4.5, but not as well as the Minolta 400/4.5 or any modern super tele from Sigma, Sony, Nikon, or Canon. The bulk of the glass (and I do mean bulk) is in the front of the lens. It's not bad at or near infinity, but anywhere close to MFD makes the lens difficult to hand-hold, particularly on the NEX-7. The focus throw is longer than I expected, which will be nice when it's on a pod, not so great for hand-holding, but it is a 400mm. I'm not expecting it to be a great walk-around lens. That said, it's not so large and heavy that hand-holding would be impossible on the right body. The 7's not the right body. It would be perfection on the a99.
Anyway, I didn't have much time before I lost the light, so nothing spectacular to share. Just some quick snaps before I had to get back to work.
p.2 #8 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
freaklikeme wrote:
It would be perfection on the a99.
i can probably tell you how easy it will be to convert to sony alpha mount if you send me a picture of the mount. i can definitely tell you if you remove the mount for the picture.
p.2 #9 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
sebboh wrote:
i can probably tell you how easy it will be to convert to sony alpha mount if you send me a picture of the mount. i can definitely tell you if you remove the mount for the picture.
You are the man. I'll shoot them over lunch tomorrow.
p.2 #10 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
This is good information.
I was looking at this one, or one like this.
Then saw a Canon FD 600 4.5, asked about it in the Canon forum, and decided to pass.
Then saw an FM ad for a Canon FD 500 4.5L
I have this one on the way, and hoping good things for it.
I intend to use it on a tripod with my FujiFilm X-E1.
p.2 #11 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
freaklikeme wrote: You are the man. I'll shoot them over lunch tomorrow.
Or I'll get sidetracked for almost a week.
Good news, though. Whatever those spots were, they were apparently on the back of the rear element, because they're gone now after I got in there with a blower and microfiber.
p.2 #12 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
buggz2k wrote:
This is good information.
I was looking at this one, or one like this.
Then saw a Canon FD 600 4.5, asked about it in the Canon forum, and decided to pass.
Then saw an FM ad for a Canon FD 500 4.5L
I have this one on the way, and hoping good things for it.
I intend to use it on a tripod with my FujiFilm X-E1.
I don't know how closely the FD 500 4.5 matches up with the EOS 500 4.5, but if it's at all close, I'm sure it'll be an excellent lens for you.
p.2 #14 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
freaklikeme wrote:
Or I'll get sidetracked for almost a week.
Good news, though. Whatever those spots were, they were apparently on the back of the rear element, because they're gone now after I got in there with a blower and microfiber.
looks like it's got the same ridiculously over engineered lever system on the mount as my 135/2.8.
conversion should be relatively easy, just add a spring or rubber band to the on lens piece that would normally connect to the on mount lever contraption in order to make the aperture open close properly and stick a lever free new mount on (probably need to add a little ring to keep the aperture ring from wiggling too much as well).
the hardest part is probably finding that new mount. i wouldn't trust any of the typical m42 to alpha adapters to function as the mount for such a heavy lens. you'll want a thicker chromed brass mount. there might be something that would do the trick from leitax though it would probably have improperly placed screw holes already on it...
p.2 #15 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
sebboh wrote:
looks like it's got the same ridiculously over engineered lever system on the mount as my 135/2.8.
conversion should be relatively easy, just add a spring or rubber band to the on lens piece that would normally connect to the on mount lever contraption in order to make the aperture open close properly and stick a lever free new mount on (probably need to add a little ring to keep the aperture ring from wiggling too much as well).
the hardest part is probably finding that new mount. i wouldn't trust any of the typical m42 to alpha adapters to function as the mount for such a heavy lens. you'll want a thicker chromed brass mount. there might be something that would do the trick from leitax though it would probably have improperly placed screw holes already on it......Show more →
Oh, good. I'm not the only one, then. When I pulled the mount off and looked under it, all I could think was, "Whose bright idea was this?"
Thanks for looking at it! I'll hunt for a new mount. I've got a secret handshake with broken AF and a stuck zoom. I wonder if it could be a donor.
p.2 #16 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
MaxBerlin wrote:
Those are great photos. Very good for 400mm
Thanks, Max. The lens has proven more capable since those first few handhelds. Tomorrow, fingers crossed, I'll take it out and shoot a sunset pano to share.
p.2 #17 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
freaklikeme wrote:
Oh, good. I'm not the only one, then. When I pulled the mount off and looked under it, all I could think was, "Whose bright idea was this?"
Thanks for looking at it! I'll hunt for a new mount. I've got a secret handshake with broken AF and a stuck zoom. I wonder if it could be a donor.
you should try removing the mount on your 17/4 or 28/2 if you want to see something ridiculous.
what's the secret handshake? i can never keep track of the alpha mount nicknames.
the leitax contax to alpha mount looks promising, but i have a feeling the diameter between the screw holes doesn't match up, so you'd have a mount with 4 unused holes.
p.2 #18 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
sebboh wrote:
you should try removing the mount on your 17/4 or 28/2 if you want to see something ridiculous.
what's the secret handshake? i can never keep track of the alpha mount nicknames.
the leitax contax to alpha mount looks promising, but i have a feeling the diameter between the screw holes doesn't match up, so you'd have a mount with 4 unused holes.
Now I get the feeling that a bunch of spring-loaded crap is going to fly out at me if I do remove them, so I'll pass.
Secret handshake is the 28-135. I'm not entirely sure where I picked it up, but I'm pretty sure it was for a situation like this.
Which Contax mount are you thinking? I wonder if David could come up with something if I just sent him the mount. I guess that would depend on how much I'm willing to pay for, "I need this in Alpha and .88mm thinner."
p.2 #19 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
freaklikeme wrote:
Now I get the feeling that a bunch of spring-loaded crap is going to fly out at me if I do remove them, so I'll pass.
Secret handshake is the 28-135. I'm not entirely sure where I picked it up, but I'm pretty sure it was for a situation like this.
Which Contax mount are you thinking? I wonder if David could come up with something if I just sent him the mount. I guess that would depend on how much I'm willing to pay for, "I need this in Alpha and .88mm thinner."
probably nothing will shoot out at you, it's a convoluted process just to successfully remove the mount though and even more levers and springs come with it (also the whole aperture ring).
i was looking at the first one shown on the contax to alpha page: http://www.leitax.com/images/bayoneta-Contax-Sony.jpg
having something specially machined is always the best solution, i'm guessing david would charge a lot more for a one-off though even though it would be comparatively simple compared to many of his mounts. i doubt making it .88mm thinner would be that important by the way since the lens probably focuses past infinity that much already? there's probably an infinity adjust somewhere too.
p.2 #20 · Great Deal for Long Alt Lovers Rokkor 400 APO
Yeah, they're not coming off now.
Okay, we will call the Contax "Plan B". Redrilling holes I can do. I don't see leaving the others empty as a big deal, do you? It's not like there's not already a big gaping hole in the back anyway and no worries about light leaks since they'll be up against the camera mount.
Tomorrow I check out infinity. I've been housebound with a sick dog and haven't been able to get the squirrels to move that far away. I'll also check out the SH's mount. It'd be great if I could get that to work. Then I'd just have to rechip it, and James sells those replacements.
You are the man. I'll shoot them over lunch tomorrow.
