p.30 #1 · MS-Optics lenses Image and Discussion Thread
Juha Kannisto wrote:
More samples with the Apoqualia 35/1.4 re-release on my Sony A7CII from yesterday and Friday:
Mostly around Nakameguro, including Awaodori action in the evening: https://photos.app.goo.gl/meyN5JfW2YCucLcZA
I used various apertures, including f2, f1.4, f8, f2.8, f4 on these shots. The Awaodori action shots were all at f2 (at first) or f1.4 (later as it got darker). ISO went up as it got darker since I was shooting at 1/500s with Auto-ISO to try to freeze the action. I positioned myself next to a stack of event sponsor lanterns that shone a nice red light on the performers. There were some rainshowers during the Awaodori performances and some of the late shots include some "vignetting" from my umbrella.
I used a helicoid adapter so some plant shots were taken closer than the normal MFD.
Here are 80 comparison shots between Apoqualia 35/1.4 (re-release) on my A7CII and Apollon 36/1.3 (original launch batch) on my A7C. All are SOOC JPEGs straight out of camera with similar settings on both cameras. I tried to frame the shots as close to each other as I could but since I was switching between 2 cameras, there were some variations to my position and framing here and there.
As per Fred's suggestion, I stopped down Apollon to the midwaya position between the 2 dots (the one next to f1.3 and the one on the right from that) which should be very close to Apoqualia's wide open aperture for all of the wide aperture shots, while Apoqualia was kept wide open. There are also some stopped down infinity type shots where I set Apoqualia to f8. I noticed that my Apollon's f8 is about 1 stop darker than my Apoqualia's f8 and the aperture opening looks visually smaller on Apollon at that position, so I tried to set Apollon to f5.6+ to compensate for most of the stopped down shots, where exposure times also seemed to match pretty well.
The overall rendering and results look quite similar actually, I think Apollon shows somewhat lower contrast and Apoqualia shows more vignetting (possibly due to being wide open) and stuff at the edges gets a bit sharper on Apoqualia vs. on Apollon. The colors, esp. greens look a bit different too, but there could also be some impact from A7CII vs. A7C. In these shots they look closer to each other than I was expecting.
As for handling differences, my Apollon has fairly light focus and aperture movement (i.e. the rings move easier / with less force applied), while my Apoqualia has a bit heavier resistance (more torque required) for both rings. Both move smoothly, just require different levels of torque. I prefer the lighter movements of Apollon from handling perspective....Show more →
Thanks so much for these comparisons, Juha! They answer my question really clearly.
Sounds like the Apollon and Apoqualia have very similar performance and rendering once their apertures are equalized, especially when you factor in copy variation and focus precision. I've done some testing myself, and I think setting the Apollon about two-thirds of the way to the second aperture dot (rather than halfway between the two dots) matches the Apoqualia almost exactly in contrast and SA correction.
Basically, it seems like MS Optics took the same core optical design and pushed it further with the Apollon. That gives you the choice of shooting wide open for a touch more blur and SA, or stopping down slightly for a bit more correction. The Apoqualia, on the other hand, starts out better corrected right from wide open.
p.30 #2 · MS-Optics lenses Image and Discussion Thread
Just got my Apoqualia today. Wow this thing is tiny and light. It is definitely not brass, way too light. It honestly doesn't even feel like a lens is on the front. The lens is much sharper than I was expecting wide open, stopped down to f/2.8 the center is actually very sharp. There is a big falloff to the corners/edges, even stopped down past f/5.6. Very nice oof rendering
wide open
look at curvature here
f/5.6 - center extremely sharp but look at edges/corners
p.30 #4 · MS-Optics lenses Image and Discussion Thread
I'm using this Konica M-Hexanon metal cap, not sure which lens this has belonged to, I've bought the cap separately. It does not fit my 90/2.8 M-Hexanon. It fits on top of the hood and I haven't found a better option so far. This cap is not a tight fit but it's tight enough so that it doesn't fall off. I would prefer something different / smaller but so far I'm going with this. It may be difficult to find a cap that fits the top of the hood perfectly.
p.30 #6 · MS-Optics lenses Image and Discussion Thread
rsolti13 wrote:
I just ordered a couple 37mm lens caps from Amazon. I’ll see if anything works
I just got mine bp, way light, kind of the same size as my Kongu Nikkor Tokyo 35 2.5 from 1950s except that one is solid brass, a lens I really like, this one is so light it feels like it must be made of pumice. It is raining in Anchorage not good for unsealed camera and this lens so I'll put off imaging but just aiming it around the house I can see the close focus works well, it does get in very close, it is indeed sharper indoors than I would expect wide open, aiming it outside from the dry house it looks like ti will render nicely, maybe I can test that tomorrow. I too don't like the new cap, could be a hard to accidentally smash into the lens for me, but I too will order a 37 mm cap and see how that goes.
All seems in order, everything looks great out of box, just need for a better day for the test drive. My box says 003 B, I ordered when first announced so I guess that fits.
Amazon has cheap metal 37 mm filter cap sets, I ordered one, I think that or a 37 mm inch cap will work fine, also ordered a 37 mm UV so the metal filter cap set then works well because with the reverse thread on the lens, the filter has to go on reversed and then the lens filter cap I can use the "wrong" side on the UV.... I think that makes all all good. I'll see when the pieces arrive.
p.30 #7 · MS-Optics lenses Image and Discussion Thread
I checked out some stores that sell old used camera accessories including caps (Fujiya Camera's Junk store, Lemonsha Shinjuku, Shinjuku Used Camera market). Standard 49mm and 52mm cap sizes don't quite fit as hood caps for the Apoqualia 35/1.4 hood, but some very old Canon caps that appear to have 50mm inner diameter fit on top of the hood and stay there without dropping off too easily. I picked up one that seems to have been original cap of Canon Canonet QL17 G-III RF camera's (produced in 1972-82) built-in lens, for 300 yen. I'll use this as a hood cap from now: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eqnq5bSd3HUETrhy5
Some recent albums shot with my A7CII and the Apoqualia 35/1.4 re-release:
I found that the lens works really nicely with LM-EA9, better than any other lens I've used on the adapter that is wider than 50mm. I don't remember if I have given any proper tryout for my Apollon 36/1.3 or Apoqualia 35/1.3 Slim II with that adapter though. Other 40mm and wider lenses I have used with the adapter have been more limited in terms of usable focusing area etc. I was able to use Apoqualia 35/1.4 on the adapter with any aperture from wide open to f8 with good results and it focused on a relatively wide area.
p.30 #8 · MS-Optics lenses Image and Discussion Thread
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I checked out some stores that sell old used camera accessories including caps (Fujiya Camera's Junk store, Lemonsha Shinjuku, Shinjuku Used Camera market). Standard 49mm and 52mm cap sizes don't quite fit as hood caps for the Apoqualia 35/1.4 hood, but some very old Canon caps that appear to have 50mm inner diameter fit on top of the hood and stay there without dropping off too easily. I picked up one that seems to have been original cap of Canon Canonet QL17 G-III RF camera's (produced in 1972-82) built-in lens, for 300 yen. I'll use this as a hood cap from now: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eqnq5bSd3HUETrhy5
Some recent albums shot with my A7CII and the Apoqualia 35/1.4 re-release:
I found that the lens works really nicely with LM-EA9, better than any other lens I've used on the adapter that is wider than 50mm. I don't remember if I have given any proper tryout for my Apollon 36/1.3 or Apoqualia 35/1.3 Slim II with that adapter though. Other 40mm and wider lenses I have used with the adapter have been more limited in terms of usable focusing area etc. I was able to use Apoqualia 35/1.4 on the adapter with any aperture from wide open to f8 with good results and it focused on a relatively wide area.
