Smiert Spionam
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 alt lens report: Kodak Cine Ektar 63/2 | |
I\'ve been trying out a range of different lenses on my NEX-5n, and one of the stranger ones I\'ve come across is a 63mm f/2 Kodak Cine Ektar from the late 1940s or early \'50s. It\'s a Kodak S-mount lens that can, with a proprietary adapter, be used on a standard C-mount.
Mine required a CLA to get working -- the focusing helical was seized with old grease, and it took quite a bit to get it going again. Now that it\'s clean, it\'s working perfectly, and it\'s got that amazing dense heavy feel that only an old hunk of brass and steel can.
I still don\'t have all the right parts to properly mount it on the NEX, though I\'ve done some tests with an improvised mount. I\'ve got the right parts coming.
What I\'ve discovered so far is that the corner/edge performance is very dependent on extension -- it ranges from terrible to nearly perfect. With the lens at its proper registration distance for infinity focus, anything out beyond 8-10 feet or so degrades quickly, especially wide open. By f/4, illumination is starting to get decent across the frame, but the corners at that focus distance will never be sharp. At closer distances, it\'s much closer to covering the full APS frame, especially at f/4 or f/5.6. At those stops inside of 5\', it\'s exceptional.
The optical performance of the lens is remarkably good -- super sharp, and a level of saturation and contrast that seems very modern. Out of focus rendering is very nice, though very swirly at the edges. I was stunned when I first opened up the files -- it\'s excellent in the center wide open, and down a stop two, it\'s a match for the very best modern lenses, including such benchmarks as the Nikkor 28/2.8 AIS or the 55mm micro. In the center, it\'s not even a stretch to compare it to the Sigma 150/2.8, which is one of the sharpest lenses ever made. Truly world class performance there -- and this thing is probably sixty years old, and \"only\" single-coated (or lumenized, as Kodak called it).
I\'m still not sure if I\'m going to keep it, since its use on NEX is limited to closer distances and/or being cropped. I\'ve got a number of exceptional short teles, so I don\'t really need it, but nothing draws quite like it does. I might just keep it for fun, and use it for semi-macro and close distance portraits. I shoot a fair amount of live music, and the impressionistic effect at longer distances might be great for that, too. It would be awfully close to perfect on a 4/3 sensor.
At f/2, followed by a 100% crop:
At f/2.8:
At f/5.6:
At f/5.6:
At f/4:
And, for the bad news, the following are at f/2, f/2.8, and f/4, focused at about 20\':
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