wilco23 wrote:
I found one at KEH BGN condition. How would you rate KEH BGN? I only purchased EX condition and never try BGN condition. Price in ebay is pretty high.
I am one who certainly likes lenses in primo condition - KEH offers a return policy - bring it in and see how it is - I have bough EX and EX+ from them and the lenses looked out of the box new. It is a great lenses but after seeing one sell for over $700 usd I would be inclined to look at a BGN.
@Wilco: Go for it if the shipping+potential return costs aren't too high for you. I'd try it but I'm in Europe so don't want to go through the hassle (which may be more doable for you) if I need to return it.
buggz2k wrote:
On the same body?
Hmm, that's freaky, points to the lenses variation being more than bodies?
I would thought the other way around, shrug.
Tell me, do you think this mirror hang problem, which I experience also with this lens, damages the camera(mirror)?
Isn't it also striking when being powered up via the motor?
And then hangs when coming down via the weaker return spring action?
I'm leery of modding my lens.
As it is, I have only been using it on my 40D, sigh...
I don't get the feeling it strikes the mirror when going up, because if it really did, I think it would be in the way during the exposure and would darken the bottom of the frame (which isn't happening).
helimat wrote:
Can you post some examples? I am curious to see what is happening.
@mMontag Thanks for the reply.
@AhamB Thanks, I bite the BGN bullet. I just ordered Keh BGN. I will look the glass and if it is not good, I will return it. Just only shipping cost.
Seems there may be a lot of knocked around ones out there, which is a real shame but may account for the bargain basement prices still applying in the marketplace.
I bought a new one 3-4 months ago for just under $1000 and it is unsurprisingly a beauty, especally teamed with a Sony A900. You should see very insigificant levels of CA (check the MTF sagittal/tangential line relationships for this issue) and corner performance is a highlight even with FF at 24mp.
"Still thinking a planar 50/1.7 will give me most of what I wanted out of the 35-70."
A fine prime lens is that Planar, and compared with the reputedly 'hard to handle' 35-70/3.4 you will only be missing 35-49mm and 51mm-70mm! ...me, I can deal with 'compose then focus' with near total insouciance.
My new one is silky smooth over the lengthy focus rotation throw, with a fine gradient even to macro focus - just beautifully damped. Maybe you do get something extra with new lenses besides why I bought - IQ...this is my only new high end lens, for years now.
heres one from trip to disney today. been there many many times but i like to take with me a diff lens each time and this is the first time with 35-70 there.
philip_pj wrote:
"Still thinking a planar 50/1.7 will give me most of what I wanted out of the 35-70."
A fine prime lens is that Planar, and compared with the reputedly 'hard to handle' 35-70/3.4 you will only be missing 35-49mm and 51mm-70mm! ...me, I can deal with 'compose then focus' with near total insouciance.
Hence the beauty of subjectivity.
I personally thought it weird that I wouldn't use the lens very often, picking up my 24-105 instead. Optically, there's no comparison which is better, but it does come down to the individual as far as what gets used.
Trumpet_guy, is this wide open (considering the DOF, it looks to be well stopped down)?
trumpet_guy wrote:
Just as a point of reference, I find my copy to have very good control of fringing.
This lens does so many things well. Give up some speed and gain a lot in return.
philip_pj wrote:
Seems there may be a lot of knocked around ones out there, which is a real shame but may account for the bargain basement prices still applying in the marketplace.
You should see very insigificant levels of CA (check the MTF sagittal/tangential line relationships for this issue) and corner performance is a highlight even with FF at 24mp.
My new one is silky smooth over the lengthy focus rotation throw, with a fine gradient even to macro focus - just beautifully damped. Maybe you do get something extra with new lenses besides why I bought - IQ...this is my only new high end lens, for years now. ...Show more →
Both copies showed close to zero lateral CA -- it only shows up in the blurred corners at 3.4-5.6. Purple/blue fringing is also present at these apertures on brightly lit things like chrome from cars.
The one thing that keeps puzzling me is the field curvature, meaning the DoF running out in the corners only. Focus at infinity, bottom border of the frame is slightly OOF but has good definition, but I don't even want to talk about the corners WO. Maybe it's normal and I just need to learn how to focus wideangles... :/
AhamB, you haven't bought the lens near Amsterdam have you? When I bought mine it was clear to me that someone (the owner or the local repairman) had been effing around with the front element parts. Even getting it near the macro zone took some force. I too saw purple lines everywhere and infinity was completely off (couldn't be reached at 35mm). I measured the rear elements position against a quote from somebody on this forum and that was fine to so I figured that the front elements could be misaligned.
In the end I decided to delicately take off the rubber ring, remove the two holding screws and take the front elements out of its helicoid. All I had to do was screw it in again in a different position (another screw thread) which conveniently lined up perfectly (I think the 'repairman' messed this up earlier).
I wouldn't want to do this again in a hurry, but it finally got me what I paid for. It is absolutely perfect now, all the old problems gone!
Remember this is a long shot, but it might be possible that your REAR elements are misaligned.
(Ik wil je graag hiermee helpen/ mijn lens en adapter tegen die van jou vergelijken als je daar behoefte aan hebt?)
biotar wrote:
AhamB, you haven't bought the lens near Amsterdam have you?
Remember this is a long shot, but it might be possible that your REAR elements are misaligned.
(Ik wil je graag hiermee helpen/ mijn lens en adapter tegen die van jou vergelijken als je daar behoefte aan hebt?)
No, mine came from a seller in Germany.
I don't get purple lines everywhere, just some PF on very reflective subjects (acceptable to me).
I have the feeling the whole assembly that includes the aperture and the tube/shroud in which the rear group moves is positioned a bit too far to the back. My previous copy had the opposite, because of which it focused far beyond infinity (and didn't give any mirror clearance problems at all).
Funnily, when I have my current copy at 60-70mm I can't stop it down because the aperture lever gets stuck, but when I zoom out the aperture suddenly pops to the right position.
I also don't like the fact that the aperture isn't completely symmetrical either -- some of the blades seem a bit 'lazy'. I think this may show up in some cases (OOF highlights, diffraction stars).
I'm leaning towards returning this one too now. Serial of my copy: 7015976. Previous one (one broken screw and focusing way beyond infinity) 7233859. Both are to be avoided.
My KEH "EX" grade copy showed up today. Cosmetically, it looks about what I would expect, with some light normal wear. Focus and aperture rings feel great. Optically, the glass is nice and clean inside/out, except for - surprise- about a 1" cleaning mark on the front lens element. It's an arc shape (follows the barrell) and is a couple mm's in from the edge. KEH states for EX: "Glass may have slight marks and/or blemishes that will not affect picture quality", but I've never seen anything like this large cleaning from KEH in EX condition.
Well I am happy the internal glass is so clean, and the mechanics are solid. It took some quick shots into the sun. No flare and minimal ghosting. Wide open the performance is very good. No CA to speak of, I even tried some white and shiny objects. Macro mode seems to work smoother than my previous copy. Best of all, I am seeing the Zeiss look from this zoom. The lens "works" so well I think I am going to have to forget about the cleaning mark (it does appear to be on the surface of the coating - not deep), and just keep it.
pdmphoto, if you read their condition descriptions, EX is actually a fair way down the list - sadly, because much of their inventory is classed as EX. I am glad it is fine for your sake. I've several EX cond lenses from them and they are all fine.
After ten+ years buying from KEH their desciptions are burned into my brain Fact is, they used to do better. I think they relaxed their high standard in the last couple years.
Now on to some pics! I took these while leaving work. The sun had already set, so they are ISO800 - wide open. I can just imagine how good this lens is going to look at ISO100 with some good light. This copy is better than the last copy I had. The colors, sharpness, and micro-contrast seem to be top notch.
Anyone using a quality C/Y-->EOS adapter they can recommend? I really like the adapter I am using, but I stole it off my Zeiss 28/2.8. It's no longer being sold on ebay, and maybe AF confirm would be useful on this lens. Do you find AF confirmation useful for this lens?
AF confirm, or not, please let me know what you have found to be a good adapter, that is currently available.
EDIT: Found my older adapter, now with an OPTIX5 AF chip for a very reasonable price. Must be a good adapter because it is the same one that HappyPage sells. Posting here in case anyone else may be interested. The seller accepted my offer of $65: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120497351420&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
Did some tests to check if the coating mark was a problem. Found this lens is remarkably hard to make flare or ghost, even without a lens hood (which I don't have). This is the most flare I could get at 35mm:
pdmphoto wrote:
Anyone using a quality C/Y-->EOS adapter they can recommend? I really like the adapter I am using, but I stole it off my Zeiss 28/2.8. It's no longer being sold on ebay, and maybe AF confirm would be useful on this lens. Do you find AF confirmation useful for this lens?
AF confirm, or not, please let me know what you have found to be a good adapter, that is currently available.
I had one of those and the black coating started flaking off so I've since stopped using it. I'm using some cheap generic ones from ebay that are $10 and they work fine. There's no play whatsoever in the lens and it hits infinity, actually it goes a little bit beyond.
Serial of my copy: 7015976. Previous one (one broken screw and focusing way beyond infinity) 7233859. Both are to be avoided. 