Johan Published on November 13, 2008
by Johanpro

Johan's blog
Browse posts
The Nikon guy
Posted on November 15, 2009
Bis in zwei Wochen!
Posted on July 28, 2009
4 comments (latest 3 months ago)
Another one on its way to me :-)
Posted on March 11, 2009
4 comments (latest 2 months ago)
Manual focus lenses
14 comments (latest 2 months ago)
Languages on Ipernity
Posted on October 20, 2008
21 comments (latest 6 months ago)
Moved in
Posted on October 18, 2008
11 comments (latest 13 months ago)

More information

This post is public
Attribution + non Commercial + share Alike
  1. 1 person added it to his favorites
  2. Read 403 times

Manual focus lenses

Thursday November 13, 2008 at 10:12PM

This week I got two manual lenses, from a Dutch auction site. The first one is a Pentax Super Takumar 35/3.5 and the second one is a Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135/3.5.

Both are manual focus, and the modern Canon digital reflexes don't have a suitable viewfinder for manual focusing anymore, so I am eagerly waiting for the ordered adapters with a focus confirm chip! For now I use a simple mechanical adapter, judging sharpness with my eyes only.

I am very impressed with the CZJ Sonnar lens so far, but I didn't have much time to test it yet (hopefully this weekend). The colors and bokeh are beautiful, and the sharpness doesn't seem to be below modern Canon lenses.

Anyone else on Ipernity who enjoys using old style lenses on their modern camera? How are your experiences?

14 Comments / add your comment?

e-person says:
If you are used to kit lenses, you will find these manual ones as great performers. I don't feel the need for any AF confirm adapters, since AF (and anything focused by the camera) will never lead to interesting photos. I use a tripod and mirror lock up most of the time, plus my vision is still good. Watch out for CA, which is very obvious on vintage lenses. On the other hand, they look sharp and contrasty, due to their simple optical design. It's a science, really.

--
Seen in e-person home page (?)
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )
e-person edited this comment 12 months ago.
Johanpro says:
Fortunately CA can be easily corrected, if needed. And indeed, after some testing, on both close and far-away subjects, my conclusion is that the Zeiss is very sharp, has nice contrast (but not extraordinary), and very pleasing bokeh characteristics. Besides, manual focus is precise, if you focus wide open and then stop down for metering.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )
Clarence the Cross-eyed Lionpro says:
Ik ben het niet eens met e-person m.b.t. interessante foto's, met een beetje camera bepaal je zelf het focuspunt, ook met AF.

Het is wel een groot voordeel als er weinig licht is, dan gaat mijn AF in ieder geval al snel 'zoeken'. En bij macrofotografie staat ie altijd op handmatig en focus ik met mijn voeten.

Mijn oude lenzen passen niet (analoog was Minolta, digitaal nu Canon). En als ze wel zouden passen heb ik een handmatig focusprobleem, omdat de dioptriecorrectie voor mij niet volstaat. Als ik door mijn varifocusbril moet turen is scherpstellen een ramp, maar zonder bril lukt het alleen als ik er ook nog een hoekzoeker op plaats, die kan in combinatie met de dioptriecorrectie van de camera een scherp beeld toveren.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink / translate )
e-person replies:
Using autofocus, you can't do selective focus. That's a fact.

--
Seen in my account recent activity (?)
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )
Johanpro replies:
Why not? The 30D has 9 focus points to select from.

I must say that manual focus isn't very difficult in good light. In low light, the AF confirm chip in my adapter helps as guidance. And indeed, auto focus tends to hunt in low light (with slow lenses at least).
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )
Agnus replies:
I experimented with manual focus lenses and af-confirm adapters for quite a while now but I have to admit that I do produce a great deal of badly focused pictures. Even with non-moving 'targets'. Why? I cannot really explain. But when I shot a few pictures with my new Tamron AF-lens recently I enjoyed relying on the very reliable AF again and I got 100% sharp results. So all in all, I am not as enthusiastic about these old lenses anymore... :(
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )
Johanpro replies:
That really surprises me. 80% of my pictures are made with MF-lenses. One big difference: the viewfinder of the 20D might be much brighter than the xxxD viewfinders. And the 5D is better again.
Do you maybe need to correct for your eyesight with the diopter adjustment dial?
I hope you will succeed eventually ... or rediscover the fun of AF again ;-)

As an example:
Alleen
CZJ Sonnar 135/3.5 shot fully open, using a Canon 20D and focusing using the viewfinder.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )
SanderBpro says:
Ik fotografeer graag met MF-lenzen. Je fotografeert veel bewuster is mijn ervaring. Favoriete lens: Helios 58mm 44-2 op Ebay gekocht voor € 4,00!

www.ipernity.com/tag/37241/keyword/12918?from=1386856&at=1161814813

Veel plezier met je nieuwe lenzen!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink / translate )
Danypro replies:
de resultaten zijn inderdaad schitterend !!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink / translate )
scribblegurl says:
from what i've seen, you're judging sharpness excellently! i wish i could do that. i depend on autofocus so much that it's painful. I'm better at judging w/ my minolta, though, so my film shots come out okay.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )
Andreas Griesmayr says:
Hi Johan, do you know this site about manual focus lenses? Many good information and friendly members there: http://forum.mflenses.com
I hope you also enjoy your Tak 3.5/35, I find it a very good lens
( here my manual lenses and photos taken with them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuuan/collections/72157604973031858 )
best greetings,
Andreas
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )
Johanpro replies:
Hi Andreas, thank you! Yes, MFlenses.com is a very nice place.
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink / translate )
Damien Pelisse says:
I'm currently trying to get a CZJ Sonnar 135mm f3.5 !
Nice bokeh, i hope i'll won the bid !
But the viewfinder of my A300 is maybe smaller so i hope i'll be able to focus !
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )
Johanpro replies:
I hope so! It seems I managed to get one of the last for a reasonable price.
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

Add your comment

Reply to this comment

Edit your comment

Please sign in to post a comment Sign in now?

rss Latest comments – Subscribe to the feed of comments related to this post.

 

Català | Čeština nové | 中文 | Deutsch | English | Español | Esperanto | Ελληνικά | Français | Galego | Italiano | Nederlands | Português | More...