bjhurley wrote:
There's a screw on the aperture dial that occasionally loosens, and then several smaller screws on the focusing helicoid to either side of where the distances are marked. I found most of them would loosen a bit over time with use, so I'm not sure if one in particular was the culprit. Fortunately none of them ever fell out; it would be hard to replace them I think.
On my other MS Optics lens (28/2 Apoqualia) the focusing tab fell off but fortunately it did so in my camera case so I added a bit of loctite to that as well and screwed it back in. Getting replacement parts from Miyazaki is hit-and-miss; my 28/2 came without a hood and I asked if I could get one but they're no longer available for mine (a first-generation 28/2 Apoqualia).
Years ago there was a one-hit wonder rock band called Dream Academy that was famous for its song "Life in a Northern Town." I often think of writing a parody called "Life with a Handmade Lens." It has its moments. ...Show more →
I know the song well! I had to put it on, brought me back to the 80's. Tips and nostalgia, awesome. I'm looking forward to the parody version!
@helimat Thanks for the kind words, and I do hope you enjoy the lens. For what it’s worth, I’ll pick up a 75/1.9 at some point and will compare the MS 73 and CV 75/1.9, though I already know it will be a bit apples to oranges despite how similar in specs they are.
@bjhurley Great photos as always—while the resolution is high, the microcontrast is not, even stopped down, which I think gives it the more luminous/softer yet delicate feel. I do like MS colors and palate.
@Juha Kannitso Glad you picked up a 73/1.5–seems like you’re enjoying it. I am still looking to pick up a 36/1.3 (from MKDirect) that you posted on—loved a couple of your photos with that lens in particular.
This thread is making me pour over my 73/1.5 images, and urge me to shoot it more. I like it for b/w especially!
nehemiahphoto wrote:
@helimat@ Thanks for the kind words, and I do hope you enjoy the lens. For what it’s worth, I’ll pick up a 75/1.9 at some point and will compare the MS 73 and CV 75/1.9, though I already know it will be a bit apples to oranges despite how similar in specs they are.
@bjhurley@ Great photos as always—while the resolution is high, the microcontrast is not, even stopped down, which I think gives it the more luminous/softer yet delicate feel. I do like MS colors and palate.
@Juha@ Kannitso Glad you picked up a 73/1.5–seems like you’re enjoying it. I am still looking to pick up a 36/1.3 (from MKDirect) that you posted on—loved a couple of your photos with that lens in particular.
This thread is making me pour over my 73/1.5 images, and urge me to shoot it more. I like it for b/w especially!...Show more →
Thanks nehemiahphoto! Yes, I'm really happy with the 73/1.5 and my copy is a fine one. Glad that I still managed to get one from new (unsold) stock. I do think Apollon 36/1.3 is really good, it's probably my #1 favorite of all of the MS-Optics lenses I have owned and used and the focal length is of course very suitable for single camera + lens walk-around use. Definitely worth getting in my opinion! MKDirect seems to have run out of stock again after they got some more black ones around the new year (I suppose they'll receive more stock gradually), and they seem to be expecting to get silver stock by end of January... Looks like it's been selling well at least through MKDirect (no idea how well it's been selling through JCH).
After new year I got 57/2 Petz (fotoborse had a new one (unsold stock)) at a price that was better than anywhere else and I decided to go for it. I've been really happy with that one also, though only managed to have 2 outings with it so far before the holidays ended and weather turned bad.
For those wondering, my 73/1.5 was way off when shooting WO on both my Zeiss Ikon and M240. After tinkering, the coma adjustment setting circling the rear element does affect focus accuracy. When lens was set to 1, the lens back focused to about about 18 inches when shooting WO at 10 feet on my m240. After some tries, when I put the coma adjustment setting on 5, it’s spot on WO at typical shooting distance (8-15 feet).
nehemiahphoto wrote:
For those wondering, my 73/1.5 was way off when shooting WO on both my Zeiss Ikon and M240. After tinkering, the coma adjustment setting circling the rear element does affect focus accuracy. When lens was set to 1, the lens back focused to about about 18 inches when shooting WO at 10 feet on my m240. After some tries, when I put the coma adjustment setting on 5, it’s spot on WO at typical shooting distance (8-15 feet).
I have just received one of these and had to send it straight back.
The lens looked lovely (neat, light, beautiful) but it wasn’t. The focusing unit was loose and it became more loose at mfd. I think I could actually unscrew the entire lens - it felt awful…The distance scale was on the wrong side of the lens. The machining around the mount was awful. I have no idea how or why they sent out this lens in this condition …
For me I won’t be trying any more ms-optics lenses. If I lived in Japan I might try again. If you read the mkdirect site it says that they will take any lens back once for repairs (manufacturer errors).
I don’t mean to be negative but I am trying to be honest.
tri_fin wrote:
I have just received one of these and had to send it straight back.
The lens looked lovely (neat, light, beautiful) but it wasn’t. The focusing unit was loose and it became more loose at mfd. I think I could actually unscrew the entire lens - it felt awful…The distance scale was on the wrong side of the lens. The machining around the mount was awful. I have no idea how or why they sent out this lens in this condition …
For me I won’t be trying any more ms-optics lenses. If I lived in Japan I might try again. If you read the mkdirect site it says that they will take any lens back once for repairs (manufacturer errors).
I don’t mean to be negative but I am trying to be honest. ...Show more →
There's definitely some defects with mine as well, but maybe not as bad as yours sounds. And I don't think you are being negative, it's probably good for people to hear & made aware that there is more risk involved with purchasing an MS Optics lens. (as apposed to Voigtlander, Zeiss, Leica etc)
With mine, I too had to play with the coma adjustment in order to get RF calibration.... But it seems that it is only calibrated in the zone the Coma is adjusted to. (IE; adjusted to ∞, the RF is only calibrated at or near ∞ ) A happy medium seemed to be 5m, but then the calibration is out towards infinity. I usually stop down towards infinity, and this might not be the lens for landscape images anyways, so definitely workable. But with all that, I think this lens might be better suited to being adapted to mirrorless, with the benefits of an EVF & focusing aids.
That being said, February has been a crazy month work-wise, and haven't gotten much use out of it outside of some testing & adjustments. With spring coming, I'm looking forward to getting out & putting it to good use.
tri_fin wrote:
I have just received one of these and had to send it straight back.
The lens looked lovely (neat, light, beautiful) but it wasn’t. The focusing unit was loose and it became more loose at mfd. I think I could actually unscrew the entire lens - it felt awful…The distance scale was on the wrong side of the lens. The machining around the mount was awful. I have no idea how or why they sent out this lens in this condition …
For me I won’t be trying any more ms-optics lenses. If I lived in Japan I might try again. If you read the mkdirect site it says that they will take any lens back once for repairs (manufacturer errors).
I don’t mean to be negative but I am trying to be honest. ...Show more →
I am not too surprised. One lens I ordered literally didn't even mount to my Ikon--it rattled within the mount, not even bringing up the frame lines. And they were a little spicy when I wanted to return it somehow lol, rather than exchange. I had not faith that batch was decent. Anyway, I've owned several other MS-Optical lenses that have worked for years with decent usage and minor and resolvable issues. I might try another if you can have a return policy--that's what I do with MS lenses now. For all their hassle--they are unique!
As I've noted in other posts in this thread, my 73/1.5 has disengaged itself a few times but after I applied some loctite to the screws it has stayed together for more than a year now. For me the images are worth it; it's a magical lens so I put up with its mechanical idiosyncracies. I do plan to get a CV 75/1.9 Ultron as a more reliable backup, after I see more examples of photos shot with it from a variety of photographers, but if my Sonnetar 73/1.5 ever bites the dust I'd buy another in a heartbeat. I got mine on eBay and would go the same route next time.
Here's a shot from a classical concert this past Friday night:
I got my Sonnetar 73/1.5 just at the end of last year (Christmas) and it's been good so far, it was unsold new stock at Lemonsha Ginza (Silver #036), the last one they had. By that time MKdirect had run out of stock of these and I wanted to get one before it became too difficult to buy new / unsold stock. My copy has hard infinity just at the right place on my A7C with my Rayqual adapter (out of the box) and I didn't have to touch the coma adjustment which sits at the original position (close to 3m mark).
The distance scale being on the wrong side of the lens sounds really strange, mine isn't like that but I notice that the aperture markings are on both sides of the lens and the backside markings don't seem to have any real purpose but they don't get in the way either (hadn't even noticed that before).
I've had some bad luck in the past with a couple of MS-Optics lenses but since last year I bought quite a lot of them (now I have 11) and most of mine work well and they are some of my favorite lenses for walkaround use being so small and light and with very interesting IQ. It's true that there seems to be always more risk with them when it comes to mechanical issues. I try to buy from places where it is possible to return / exchange and in Japan it's always possible to contact Miyazaki-san directly too for some maintenance work (I've done that with one lens so far).
A couple of shots with the Sonnetar 73/1.5 on the A7R IVa. I've tried to make it work on my Leica M's, but as I mentioned before, the rangefinder calibration seems dependant on the coma adjustment, so I think this lens would be better served adapted to mirrorless where the calibration is moot. I definitely like the character, but I am currently working on stripping my mirrorless setup to a basic & utilitarian kit of a couple of zooms, so this may go on the block sadly. I have a first version non-tele Elmarit 90 that I might hang onto for those times I am looking for a bit of character on my M cameras.
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I got my Sonnetar 73/1.5 just at the end of last year (Christmas) and it's been good so far, it was unsold new stock at Lemonsha Ginza (Silver #036), the last one they had. By that time MKdirect had run out of stock of these and I wanted to get one before it became too difficult to buy new / unsold stock. My copy has hard infinity just at the right place on my A7C with my Rayqual adapter (out of the box) and I didn't have to touch the coma adjustment which sits at the original position (close to 3m mark).
The distance scale being on the wrong side of the lens sounds really strange, mine isn't like that but I notice that the aperture markings are on both sides of the lens and the backside markings don't seem to have any real purpose but they don't get in the way either (hadn't even noticed that before).
I've had some bad luck in the past with a couple of MS-Optics lenses but since last year I bought quite a lot of them (now I have 11) and most of mine work well and they are some of my favorite lenses for walkaround use being so small and light and with very interesting IQ. It's true that there seems to be always more risk with them when it comes to mechanical issues. I try to buy from places where it is possible to return / exchange and in Japan it's always possible to contact Miyazaki-san directly too for some maintenance work (I've done that with one lens so far)....Show more →
Hi Juha,
Did you post one of your usual gallery samples with the MS 75/1.3? I would love to see that!
I didn't shoot the lens for many times yet as I typically prefer wider lenses for general walkaround shooting and I don't shoot portraits much at all but I'm happy with my copy and it's spot-on at hard infinity on my A7C (+Rayqual adapter) at f5.6 where it's great for infinity shots. I didn't touch the calibration as it was perfect out-of-the-box for me but I always shoot with mirrorless so I don't know about rangefinder calibration accuracy. I just hope that hard infinity can be used conveniently stopped down to optimal aperture for infinity type shots. I shot it mostly at wide open and at f5.6 on these samples.
Also sent you a new PM just now as the previous PM I sent earlier this week might have been broken somehow.
I didn't shoot the lens for many times yet as I typically prefer wider lenses for general walkaround shooting and I don't shoot portraits much at all but I'm happy with my copy and it's spot-on at hard infinity on my A7C (+Rayqual adapter) at f5.6 where it's great for infinity shots. I didn't touch the calibration as it was perfect out-of-the-box for me but I always shoot with mirrorless so I don't know about rangefinder calibration accuracy. I just hope that hard infinity can be used conveniently stopped down to optimal aperture for infinity type shots. I shot it mostly at wide open and at f5.6 on these samples.
Also sent you a new PM just now as the previous PM I sent earlier this week might have been broken somehow....Show more →
Fantastic! Thanks for posting the link to these samples.
If I'm lucky I will grab one while I'm here. Hopefully we can meet in a few days!
1) There is a little play when rotating lens lens for focus. Is this normal?
2) The lens brings the 28/90mm framelines on my M10-R. Is this normal for this lens? I hope not.
I think little play when rotating the lens is probably normal for this lens and with many other MS-Optics lenses in general, though it depends on how much of it there is. I would say that my Sonnetar 73mm also has some play especially when turning the direction of focus ring movement.
About the framelines I have no idea as I've only used my MS-Optics lenses on mirrorless. I will bring my Sonnetar + a few other MS lenses along tomorrow so you could check if there is a difference.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I just got a brand new MS 73/1.5 Sonnetar.
Potential issues:
1) There is a little play when rotating lens lens for focus. Is this normal?
2) The lens brings the 28/90mm framelines on my M10-R. Is this normal for this lens? I hope not.
I successfully returned the copy today, and another Sonnetar is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Hopefully, the new copy will display the accurate framelines; otherwise, I'll simply trim it down. It's a shame since the previous one was perfectly centered and aligned with the RF. I must say, the MKDirect service has been truly impressive. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Juha Kannisto wrote:
Hi Fred,
I think little play when rotating the lens is probably normal for this lens and with many other MS-Optics lenses in general, though it depends on how much of it there is. I would say that my Sonnetar 73mm also has some play especially when turning the direction of focus ring movement.
About the framelines I have no idea as I've only used my MS-Optics lenses on mirrorless. I will bring my Sonnetar + a few other MS lenses along tomorrow so you could check if there is a difference.
