p.280 #6 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
Phillip Reeve wrote:
Minolta plain MD 2/28
You already had an MC right? though I seem to remember it had a problem?
Anyway let us know how they compare, I have an MC and my copy is very good in actual use, I don't shoot walls or newspapers so no idea if it's sharp wide open in the corners but for my use I would't care about that anyway.
p.280 #7 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
I just picked up this classic Kodak Retina Reflex III camera body from the original owner who purchased it in Korea while in the US Army in the 1960s. Came with the original box, leather case, metal lens hood and close up filter kit.
The main reason I got this strangely complicated camera is that it came with the desirable Schneider-Kreuznach Retina Xenon 50mm/1.9 lens.
Mechanically this is a over engineered camera and lens combination; it sort of reflects the transition from popular range finder to SLR design. It is an awkward mix of the two. It was an expensive camera in its day, about $2000 in current US dollars. The lens comes off the body but the shutter and aperture function remains on the camera body. To change the aperture you have to twist this odd little round lever at the bottom of the camera. Never used a system like this before. The film advance lever is also mounted on the bottom of the camera. The whole design is just weird but very cool looking in an Art Deco kind of way.
But this fast f/1.9 Xenon lens is highly regarded for its image quality and distinctive swirly bokeh. I have ordered an adapter from FotoDiox that will allow me to mount it on my A7rII camera. Looking forward to trying it out. I need another 50mm lens like a hole in my head but hey...
p.280 #8 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
It turns out this camera has issues. The lens is great though, which is why I bought the package. But the camera has some chunk of metal rattling around in the viewfinder chamber. The shutter will not fire and the viewfinder will not give you a view through the lens. This is a camera that is most likely not worth the expense of professional repair.
I knew beforehand that this was a complicated camera to use: lots of moving parts including a film plane guard that has to be moved out of the way via the film advance lever. I met the seller, who was a really nice guy, but I did too much talking instead of focusing on the camera. Still, the camera falls well below the "mint" description provided by the seller. Odds are I was not going to shoot much (or any) film with this camera. So, no big deal, a lesson learned. But I am hoping I will like the lens once the adapter arrives. The vintage Kodak close up lenses are really cool though...
p.280 #9 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
PhotoMaximum wrote:
It turns out this camera has issues. The lens is great though, which is why I bought the package. But the camera has some chunk of metal rattling around in the viewfinder chamber. The shutter will not fire and the viewfinder will not give you a view through the lens. This is a camera that is most likely not worth the expense of professional repair.
I knew beforehand that this was a complicated camera to use: lots of moving parts including a film plane guard that has to be moved out of the way via the film advance lever. I met the seller, who was a really nice guy, but I did too much talking instead of focusing on the camera. Still, the camera falls well below the "mint" description provided by the seller. Odds are I was not going to shoot much (or any) film with this camera. So, no big deal, a lesson learned. But I am hoping I will like the lens once the adapter arrives. The vintage Kodak close up lenses are really cool though......Show more →
I have a Retina Xenon 50/1.9 which I have used on a7, it's a nice lens but mfd is a bit limiting. Here is a picture from it on film on a Kodak Retina IIIS: https://flic.kr/p/k3hkUY
Shorter than most of 200/2,8 and 200/3.5 lenses,like Canon FD SSC 200/2.8,Tele Tessar 200/3.5,Apo Telyt R 180/3.4,Rolleinar 200/3.5,MC/MC QF Rokkors 200/3.5 and Konica 200/3.5
