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Archive 2017What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
p.206 #1What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Wow, that is good, congrats, I'm looking forward to seeing more shots from it through the year.
Jan 11, 2015 at 11:28 AM
p.206 #2What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
I find it odd when someone says they hate a focal length, I think it's more that they haven't had much success with it, possibly because they have not used it enough to "see" with it yet.
I can see that someone will prefer a FL over another, as I prefer wides over other FL's.it's actually more that i don't like other peoples pictures with the focal length than not having success with it. i feel the same way about ultra wide angle shots. 90% of the shots i see taken with a 135mm lens i think would be improved if the photographer had used a shorter lens. it's a good length for macro and landscapes imo, but i think it's terrible for portraits unless you're trying to get a full body shot with lots of blur. lots of people love it for tight portraits though.
interesting, i haven't tried it on my NEX yet....Show more →
Sadly,my 500/8 Rokkor is still waiting for it's turn to show up,looking at yours with longing.
LightShow wrote
Should be a fun lens sebboh, when do you get your A7II?I find it odd when someone says they hate a focal length, I think it's more that they haven't had much success with it, possibly because they have not used it enough to "see" with it yet.
I can see that someone will prefer a FL over another, as I prefer wides over other FL's.
Peire wrote
When I got this lens,I was upset by it's poor performance on my NEXes,but fortunately with the A7 it's a different story.Sadly,my 500/8 Rokkor is still waiting for it's turn to show up,looking at yours with longing.
Jan 11, 2015 at 11:41 AM
p.206 #3What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
it's actually more that i don't like other peoples pictures with the focal length than not having success with it. i feel the same way about ultra wide angle shots. 90% of the shots i see taken with a 135mm lens i think would be improved if the photographer had used a shorter lens. it's a good length for macro and landscapes imo, but i think it's terrible for portraits unless you're trying to get a full body shot with lots of blur. lots of people love it for tight portraits though.
I agree. The ridiculously short MFDs (.72M for the ZA and .8M for the CZ APO) lead to 1:4 reproduction ratios, which is basically useless unless you're doing reproduction work on mostly flat objects or are willing to sacrifice some amount of resolution to diffraction-robbing aperture settings. 135 is enough of a telephoto that anything closer than about 2M will be made better with the application of some perspective control, a tilt adapter at minimum, or something with view camera movements for the best control. Otherwise, wider will likely be better, even if you're shooting macros.
For what it's worth, the CZ Sonnar 135/2.8 has a nice 1.6M reminder to switch to a wider lens, and it's a lovely little 135. Good central sharpness, lovely bokeh, and a good amount of the Zeiss-pop. It's one of the few Zeiss lenses I would pick over the comparable Leica for portraits. The Leica Elmarit-R's a little bit better at wider apertures for landscapes and panos, but by f/5.6 it's a hair-splitting difference.
it's actually more that i don't like other peoples pictures with the focal length than not having success with it. i feel the same way about ultra wide angle shots. 90% of the shots i see taken with a 135mm lens i think would be improved if the photographer had used a shorter lens. it's a good length for macro and landscapes imo, but i think it's terrible for portraits unless you're trying to get a full body shot with lots of blur. lots of people love it for tight portraits though.
I agree. The ridiculously short MFDs (.72M for the ZA and .8M for the CZ APO) lead to 1:4 reproduction ratios, which is basically useless unless you're doing reproduction work on mostly flat objects or are willing to sacrifice some amount of resolution to diffraction-robbing aperture settings. 135 is enough of a telephoto that anything closer than about 2M will be made better with the application of some perspective control, a tilt adapter at minimum, or something with view camera movements for the best control. Otherwise, wider will likely be better, even if you're shooting macros.
For what it's worth, the CZ Sonnar 135/2.8 has a nice 1.6M reminder to switch to a wider lens, and it's a lovely little 135. Good central sharpness, lovely bokeh, and a good amount of the Zeiss-pop. It's one of the few Zeiss lenses I would pick over the comparable Leica for portraits. The Leica Elmarit-R's a little bit better at wider apertures for landscapes and panos, but by f/5.6 it's a hair-splitting difference.
Jan 11, 2015 at 12:11 PM
p.206 #4What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
christmas gift arrived last night – rokkor 500/8 reflex lens:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8572/16250979512_3a96cb8dd3_o.jpg
played with it a little today and it is shockingly sharp and contrasty for a mirror lens. i think it'll function just fine as my compact birding lens and it seems up to landscape as well.
The donuts do suck, but having a walk-around APO 500's pretty cool. Congrats!
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.
christmas gift arrived last night – rokkor 500/8 reflex lens:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8572/16250979512_3a96cb8dd3_o.jpg
played with it a little today and it is shockingly sharp and contrasty for a mirror lens. i think it'll function just fine as my compact birding lens and it seems up to landscape as well.
The donuts do suck, but having a walk-around APO 500's pretty cool. Congrats!
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.
Jan 11, 2015 at 12:20 PM
p.206 #5What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
freaklikeme wrote:
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.
oh really, i always figured the zoom and mirror lenses were minolta designs.
is there a good reference site for info on who did what?
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.
oh really, i always figured the zoom and mirror lenses were minolta designs.
is there a good reference site for info on who did what?
Jan 11, 2015 at 03:29 PM
p.206 #6What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
oh really, i always figured the zoom and mirror lenses were minolta designs.
is there a good reference site for info on who did what?
Nope. Just Mandler's patent for the design from 1955 (seen here on the lens wiki page) and a lot of speculation.
freaklikeme wrote
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.is there a good reference site for info on who did what?
Nope. Just Mandler's patent for the design from 1955 (seen here on the lens wiki page) and a lot of speculation.
Jan 11, 2015 at 03:50 PM
p.206 #7What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
freaklikeme wrote:
oh really, i always figured the zoom and mirror lenses were minolta designs.
is there a good reference site for info on who did what?Nope. Just Mandler's patent for the design from 1955 (seen here on the lens wiki page) and a lot of speculation.
huh, cool. it took them 25 years to go from patent to production though?
have you been happy with your R version?
sebboh wrote
freaklikeme wrote
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.is there a good reference site for info on who did what?
huh, cool. it took them 25 years to go from patent to production though?
have you been happy with your R version?
Jan 12, 2015 at 12:44 AM
p.206 #8What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
oh really, i always figured the zoom and mirror lenses were minolta designs.
is there a good reference site for info on who did what?Nope. Just Mandler's patent for the design from 1955 (seen here on the lens wiki page) and a lot of speculation.huh, cool. it took them 25 years to go from patent to production though?
have you been happy with your R version?
I know, and the Rokkor was produced first, so who knows?
I am happy with it. It's not my fav or most used lens, but it's come in very handy.
freaklikeme wrote
sebboh wrote
freaklikeme wrote
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.is there a good reference site for info on who did what?
have you been happy with your R version?
I know, and the Rokkor was produced first, so who knows?
I am happy with it. It's not my fav or most used lens, but it's come in very handy.
Jan 12, 2015 at 11:20 AM
p.206 #9What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
i just picked up a Fuji 680III. the 6x8 format and the movement of the camera sounded really cool, and i hope to shoot more portraits with it. i did a quick calculation and the image size is 5.5555555 times bigger than full frame 35mm i'm looking to use up some of my films which i should've shot more often sooner.
anybody has any user advice for me using my new system?
i'm looking to use up some of my films which i should've shot more often sooner. anybody has any user advice for me using my new system?
Jan 13, 2015 at 01:31 AM
p.206 #10What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
freaklikeme wrote:
oh really, i always figured the zoom and mirror lenses were minolta designs.
is there a good reference site for info on who did what?Nope. Just Mandler's patent for the design from 1955 (seen here on the lens wiki page) and a lot of speculation.huh, cool. it took them 25 years to go from patent to production though?
have you been happy with your R version?I know, and the Rokkor was produced first, so who knows?
I am happy with it. It's not my fav or most used lens, but it's come in very handy.
yeah, it certainly isn't in the class of the best telephotos i've used, but i've yet to find a modern 70-300mm zoom (same size class) that comes close to it for sharpness at f/8 and 300mm (i haven't tried the L yet, which i certainly hope beats it). for the next 6 months at least i think it will do as my only real telephoto...
sebboh wrote
freaklikeme wrote
sebboh wrote
freaklikeme wrote
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.is there a good reference site for info on who did what?
have you been happy with your R version?
I am happy with it. It's not my fav or most used lens, but it's come in very handy.
yeah, it certainly isn't in the class of the best telephotos i've used, but i've yet to find a modern 70-300mm zoom (same size class) that comes close to it for sharpness at f/8 and 300mm (i haven't tried the L yet, which i certainly hope beats it). for the next 6 months at least i think it will do as my only real telephoto...
Jan 13, 2015 at 01:50 AM
p.206 #11What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Being completely broke after an expensive Christmas vacation, I am naturally nearing the end of negotiations to acquire the Schneider 60/3.5, 80/2 and 90/4 Makro for my Sinar Hy6 
Jan 13, 2015 at 06:50 PM
p.206 #12What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
After going to the dentist who told me that I need some quite expensive refurb of my eating equipment...
I bought a Sigma Super Wide II 24mm for MD mount to complement my MD 35-70. After reading Phillip's review and looking at the pictures taken with that lens I hope that I like its rendering more than the Canon FD and nFD 24mm's (too much astigmatism for my taste after correcting CA in LR).
I bought a Sigma Super Wide II 24mm for MD mount to complement my MD 35-70. After reading Phillip's review and looking at the pictures taken with that lens I hope that I like its rendering more than the Canon FD and nFD 24mm's (too much astigmatism for my taste after correcting CA in LR).
Jan 14, 2015 at 03:13 PM
p.206 #13What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Ended up getting back into m4/3 in anticipation of child #2 and wanting a smaller kit and something that I can grab a lens or two, put it in my new Mindshift Gear bag and fill the rest of the contents with baby stuff.
Spent the last week or so moving so finally had a chance to take a picture. Taken with an E-M1 w/ 12-40 and a FL-600R bounced in dim light, so missing them from my new family picture.
Spent the last week or so moving so finally had a chance to take a picture. Taken with an E-M1 w/ 12-40 and a FL-600R bounced in dim light, so missing them from my new family picture.
Jan 15, 2015 at 08:01 PM
p.206 #14What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sebboh wrote:
oh really, i always figured the zoom and mirror lenses were minolta designs.
is there a good reference site for info on who did what?Nope. Just Mandler's patent for the design from 1955 (seen here on the lens wiki page) and a lot of speculation.huh, cool. it took them 25 years to go from patent to production though?
have you been happy with your R version?I know, and the Rokkor was produced first, so who knows?
I am happy with it. It's not my fav or most used lens, but it's come in very handy.yeah, it certainly isn't in the class of the best telephotos i've used, but i've yet to find a modern 70-300mm zoom (same size class) that comes close to it for sharpness at f/8 and 300mm (i haven't tried the L yet, which i certainly hope beats it). for the next 6 months at least i think it will do as my only real telephoto...
I would expect the L to be better at close to mid-range distances, where the mirror lenses seem to be at their weakest. I'd be surprised if it was much better at longer distances, though. No compact super-tele is going to be without it's compromises, but at this point I would say the lens you can find room to pack is the best choice.
freaklikeme wrote
sebboh wrote
freaklikeme wrote
sebboh wrote
freaklikeme wrote
Oh, and you have another Mandler design, if my understanding of how Leica and Minolta worked out their relationship on that lens is correct.is there a good reference site for info on who did what?
have you been happy with your R version?
I am happy with it. It's not my fav or most used lens, but it's come in very handy.
I would expect the L to be better at close to mid-range distances, where the mirror lenses seem to be at their weakest. I'd be surprised if it was much better at longer distances, though. No compact super-tele is going to be without it's compromises, but at this point I would say the lens you can find room to pack is the best choice.
Jan 15, 2015 at 11:49 PM
p.206 #15What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Picked up a Kiron 105mm f2.8 and Tamron Adaptall 80-200mm f2.8 30A with Canon FD mounts for $175 for both on CL. Lenses aren't in stunning condition (the Tamron was a KEH BGN lens, and the Kiron looks to have one mild fungus inside but it's under the UV lamp now), but both very ready and capable of shooting nicely. Price was more than fair either way, I'm confident I could probably make the money back if needed!
I quite like the Kiron, at f2.8 it's not the best but at f4 it is quite good. Together with my Mino 50mm f3.5 I have quite a good macro lens kit for product stuff, so I'm happy and definitely want to keep it around. Still unsure about the Tamron, I have a beercan I don't take out too much so this will have to see if it's really impressive at 2.8. Ordered a Sony AF confirm adaptall to use it on the a850, it's a bit much on the a7r size wise for me.
I quite like the Kiron, at f2.8 it's not the best but at f4 it is quite good. Together with my Mino 50mm f3.5 I have quite a good macro lens kit for product stuff, so I'm happy and definitely want to keep it around. Still unsure about the Tamron, I have a beercan I don't take out too much so this will have to see if it's really impressive at 2.8. Ordered a Sony AF confirm adaptall to use it on the a850, it's a bit much on the a7r size wise for me.
Jan 16, 2015 at 12:12 AM
p.206 #16What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Olympus OM Zuiko Macro 90/2.0 - terrific lens.There are not many like this.
Sonnar 180/2.8 AE C/Y - nice classic.
Compact,black and elegant Yashica AF primes arrived yesterday.They are made mostly of metal and have nice quality feel.28/2.8,50/1.8 and 60/2.8 1:1 macro match in size and weight their Yashica ML mates.28-85/3.5-4.5AF and 70-210/4.5AF are also very solid and similar in apperance to early Minolta AF zooms.Now I wait impatiently for the adapter.
Sonnar 180/2.8 AE C/Y - nice classic.
Compact,black and elegant Yashica AF primes arrived yesterday.They are made mostly of metal and have nice quality feel.28/2.8,50/1.8 and 60/2.8 1:1 macro match in size and weight their Yashica ML mates.28-85/3.5-4.5AF and 70-210/4.5AF are also very solid and similar in apperance to early Minolta AF zooms.Now I wait impatiently for the adapter.
Jan 17, 2015 at 09:02 AM
p.206 #17What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Look what just arrived from the UK ! Awesome box, eh?
Awesome lens box from the UK
Awesome lens box from the UK
Jan 21, 2015 at 02:53 PM
p.206 #18What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
jcolwell wrote:
Look what just arrived from the UK ! Awesome box, eh?
Jim,
A fragile roll of Bounty? 
Rich
Look what just arrived from the UK ! Awesome box, eh?
Jim,
A fragile roll of Bounty?
Rich
Jan 21, 2015 at 02:55 PM
p.206 #19What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
jcolwell wrote:
Look what just arrived from the UK ! Awesome box, eh?
I don't think I would describe it as a box....
Case with a short tele?~100mm? The size is deceiving, was originally thinking a mirror lens.
Look what just arrived from the UK ! Awesome box, eh?
I don't think I would describe it as a box....
Case with a short tele?~100mm? The size is deceiving, was originally thinking a mirror lens.
Jan 21, 2015 at 05:42 PM
p.206 #20What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
A Tokina 3.5/17 arrived yesterday and I bought a Canon nFD 1.8/85 today ;-).
Jan 21, 2015 at 05:58 PM