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Inherited Hexanon lenses - should I buy an E-P1 to use them?

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duartix said:
All my previous posts were addressing the VF-2 ( I mentioned EVF so it could never be the VF-1) and I've read here and there that the kit package containing it has being discontinued, yet if you are living in €land Pixmania keeps selling it. I've bought (and returned) one a few weeks ago...
Their prices, service and location were an unbeatable option in my case.
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Sorry, I must sound so confused - I meant VF-2, not EV-2 and yep I'm having a hard time finding it in a package around here (I live in Australia), however I might be able to organise a deal with one of the local sellers. Thanks for the suggestion for Pixmania - I might look into it and see if they sell international.

Cheers :)
 
Lineypi said:
rrr_hhh said:
Lately, they have begun to sell the E-Pl1 in kit with a new Olympus MFT lens, the 14-150mm. this is a 35mm equivalent of a 28-300mm zoom and may be what you are looking for. I'm not sure if dpreview has already reviewed that lens and whether it is good. May be that other know. Along with the E-Pl1 it would offer just the kind of versatility to expect from a travel kit.
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I think this is the one you mean? http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/olympus_m_14-150_4-5p6_o20/

From the sounds of it, it's quite a nice lens (if a little slow) with a great range, so thanks heaps for the suggestion! :) It pushes up the price of the kit a bit, from what I can see, but I'll definitely look into it some more! :D
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Yes, that is the one I meant. Usually when people want a "travel zoom" they want one single one, covering most of the focal lengths, from wide to long and they want it light (which this system is anyway). You can also take another approach and go witht the kitzoom (14-42mm, aka the equivalent of 28-84mm) : you'll be somewhat limited at the long end of the zoom. For photographing in cities and landscapes, I like to have something a little longer, but I think that going up to 105mm - 135mm is enough (aka 50 or 70mm in MFT format). You could go with the kit zoom and use one of your legacy manual lense for longer reach : a 50mm would give you the equivalent of a 100mm or a 90mm would give you the equivalent of 180mm which is well enough. The 50mm would be easier to focuse than the 90mm. So you could take the kit zoom and one legacy lense plus adapter. This will be a good and cheaper combo.

Note that the 14-42mm kit zoom is faster than the new 14-150mm zoom only at the short wideangle side (3.5 instead of 4), but that at the long end they reach the same speed : F5.6, even while the kit zoom is much shorter. I've also read that the new zoom should be able to focuse faster than the kit zoom which has been criticized for that. It should also be less noisy than the kit zoom. But all that is what the marketing say.. so we have to wait for independant reviews before we can accept that for sure.

PS : sorry for this late reply, I was off line these past days and missed your question.

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rrr_hhh
 
rrr_hhh said:
Usually when people want a "travel zoom" they want one single one, covering most of the focal lengths, from wide to long and they want it light (which this system is anyway).
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This is exactly what I want, and it looks like the lens you've suggested is just that, which is great :) I've found a deal with a local (Australian) seller that has the EPL-1 with this specific lens for $1100 so I'm quite tempted :) Thanks again for pointing it out to me.
rrr_hhh said:
You can also take another approach and go witht the kitzoom (14-42mm, aka the equivalent of 28-84mm) : you'll be somewhat limited at the long end of the zoom. For photographing in cities and landscapes, I like to have something a little longer, but I think that going up to 105mm - 135mm is enough (aka 50 or 70mm in MFT format). You could go with the kit zoom and use one of your legacy manual lense for longer reach : a 50mm would give you the equivalent of a 100mm or a 90mm would give you the equivalent of 180mm which is well enough. The 50mm would be easier to focuse than the 90mm. So you could take the kit zoom and one legacy lense plus adapter. This will be a good and cheaper combo.
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I probably wouldn't be that keen on taking one of the legacy lenses with me on our holiday - my boyfriend would get even more frustrated with my taking photos if I was constantly using a manual focus :P It would also mean I couldn't just pass the camera over to him when I wanted him to get a shot of something, so while it is the cheaper option it's not the most convenient one.
rrr_hhh said:
PS : sorry for this late reply, I was off line these past days and missed your question.
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Don't apologise! Thanks so much for getting back to me with your advice - it's really invaluable :)
 
I'm sure there's an edit button somewhere, but I seem to have lost it :P
Lineypi said:
I've found a deal with a local (Australian) seller that has the EPL-1 with this specific lens for $1100 so I'm quite tempted :)
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I've since found a better, still local, deal that has the EPL-1 + 14-150mm + VF-2 for a smidge over $1200, so that's got me even happier now :) I still haven't had a chance to get into a store and play with one, though, so hopefully I'll get to do that soon.
 
Lineypi said:
Lineypi said:
I've found a deal with a local (Australian) seller that has the EPL-1 with this specific lens for $1100 so I'm quite tempted :)
Click to expand...
I've since found a better, still local, deal that has the EPL-1 + 14-150mm + VF-2 for a smidge over $1200, so that's got me even happier now :) I still haven't had a chance to get into a store and play with one, though, so hopefully I'll get to do that soon.
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Here is a review of the 14-150mm lense. May be there are other ones, if you make a small search :

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rrr_hhh
 
rrr_hhh said:
Here is a review of the 14-150mm lense. May be there are other ones, if you make a small search :
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Thanks for pointing me to this review. I was actually about to ask if you could find a different way to link it to me as it was showing as a 'blocked url' but it appears normally here in the edit box so I was able to access it anyway :)

I finally got around to handling the E-PL1 yesterday. It's a bit 'blockier' than I expected, and the camera I was handling in store seemed to have something interesting going on with its LCD - it was sort of flickering, as if its refresh rate was a bit slow. But that could have been the fluorescents in the shop mucking it up as well. Has anyone else noticed this sort of problem?

I also found it difficult to hold steady at the long end of the zoom, but that wasn't too surprising, really - most people here have mentioned that the VF makes a huge difference in how easy it is to steady the cam.

Also unfortunately the awesome price I thought I'd found was incorrect, so the best deal I seem to be able to find locally for the EPL-1 + VF-2 + 14-150mm lens is around $1500.

So I think I'm going to hold off a little while and see what else comes out over the next year or so. The lenses aren't going anywhere and now that I know an m4/3 will work with them & that I can buy an adapter, I'll know what sort of cameras to keep an eye on :)

Thanks again everyone for all of your advice and recommendations - it's really, really helped! :)
 
Lineypi said:
I finally got around to handling the E-PL1 yesterday. It's a bit 'blockier' than I expected, and the camera I was handling in store seemed to have something interesting going on with its LCD - it was sort of flickering, as if its refresh rate was a bit slow. But that could have been the fluorescents in the shop mucking it up as well. Has anyone else noticed this sort of problem?
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Not sure what you call flickering. In very dark environment (read at night when you are only seeing small points of lights in a wide landscape, then the flickering is marked, you see violet/bleu flickers crossing the lcd. This prevents you from focusing manually looking at the lcd (however, with legacy lenses, you can use zone focusing and a tripod : aka you set the focus ring a little before the infinite may be at 10 or 50 meters and you set the aperture at F11 and everything should be in focus because you have a large Depth of field).

If you are inside a building where the light is dim, you won't see so much flickering, but you'll see some; you will have the impression that there is some kind of textured movement behind the picture. It is normal. The importance of the flickering will depend upon the largest aperture of the lense and the ambiant light. So the flicker would be more important with a longer and slow zoom than with a fast prime.

To sum up, unless you saw the violet flickers cross the lcd in a relatively well lighted shop, then what you saw is normal behaviour.

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rrr_hhh
 
rrr_hhh said:
To sum up, unless you saw the violet flickers cross the lcd in a relatively well lighted shop, then what you saw is normal behaviour.
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Thanks for all that info. The shop was pretty well lit and I didn't notice a specific colour cast to the flicker - it was more like what you see when you watch a computer monitor on a tv screen and the refresh rates don't match. It was a consistent flicker.

However based on what you've said it sounds like this is just a problem with this specific camera, so that makes me feel a bit better about the E-PL1 :) The demo camera they had in store could easily have been damaged at some stage or another, resulting in the LCD flicker.
 
I am in the process of ordering an adaptor for my old Konica Hexanon Lenses from a USA firm - also on Amazon - called Fotodiox, to fit one of the Canon DSLR cameras, probably the newer D70, which I'm treating myself to for Christmas after the NEW prices come down a bit. The adaptor in question has within it a means of guaranteeing Infinity focusing. It has 'AF - EOS ' printed on its side. I emailed the firm b4hand and a chap called Brian Aviles confirmed these details and provided a link. Amazon should bring it up under Konica to Canon EOS DSLR lens adapter, & of course they do other adapters for other lens mnfrs.

Incidentally, in the older days,(with ref to another thread) the Konica AF f1.8 85mm lens was indeed at that time 1970s, considered a portrait lens, as was 100mm, and 135. Of course, studio room length made a difference. These lenses were also called theatre lenses, as in those days people went to the theatre a lot, and 'portraits' could be taken with them of actors on stage. I'm surprised the younger generation did not considerthis sort of portraiture. Anyway, thought this info might be of interest.

PS> it took me a long time to consider Digital Photography, but I am now un-retiring myself to take up the cause!! What a new learning curve. As a pro photographer for 20+years, I thought I knew a lot. Hmnn.. !!
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of Digital Photography!

I think you will enjoy it. It is both similar but different to film photography. You will be able to use all the skills you had developed in your 20+ years of film work, but will have to learn a few additional tricks to get the most out of your new equipment.

The lens adaptor you are looking at uses a small correction lens to allow you to focus to infinity. The film set back distance from the mount is different between the EOS and Konica cameras and will not let you focus to infinity without the correction lens in place. It may or may not affect the image quality, but you will only know when you try it.

carpe177 wrote:
carpe177 said:
I am in the process of ordering an adaptor for my old Konica Hexanon Lenses from a USA firm - also on Amazon - called Fotodiox, to fit one of the Canon DSLR cameras, probably the newer D70, which I'm treating myself to for Christmas after the NEW prices come down a bit. The adaptor in question has within it a means of guaranteeing Infinity focusing. It has 'AF - EOS ' printed on its side. I emailed the firm b4hand and a chap called Brian Aviles confirmed these details and provided a link. Amazon should bring it up under Konica to Canon EOS DSLR lens adapter, & of course they do other adapters for other lens mnfrs.

Incidentally, in the older days,(with ref to another thread) the Konica AF f1.8 85mm lens was indeed at that time 1970s, considered a portrait lens, as was 100mm, and 135. Of course, studio room length made a difference. These lenses were also called theatre lenses, as in those days people went to the theatre a lot, and 'portraits' could be taken with them of actors on stage. I'm surprised the younger generation did not considerthis sort of portraiture. Anyway, thought this info might be of interest.

PS> it took me a long time to consider Digital Photography, but I am now un-retiring myself to take up the cause!! What a new learning curve. As a pro photographer for 20+years, I thought I knew a lot. Hmnn.. !!
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I don't really know where humans go when they die. or move away,but whatever you do respect those great Konica lenses. You know they were based on the famous Leitz/Leica lens prescriptions. I have a mint+ Hezanon 85mm f1.7 portrait lens considered to be one of the few sharpest lenses in the world. I used my Konica. and other Hexanon AF's for 20 years Wedding photograpy, even after I bought the first Minolta digital and rarely used it.

Check on the web to see what they'll fit with an adapter to digital bodies - lots of adapters available on Amqazon & Ebay search engines. Try YouTube for konica lenses/adapters to Digital cameras. Watch the videos. And take a look at the Sony Nex5 models for starters. Amazing!!!

Having just bought a NEX I'm now awaiting for an adapter to fit my three Konicas - plus two others I've found up North in UK now on the way. I'm now reading the Nex manual and for an old 35mm film man it's a real wake-up call. Panadol please!!! Headbanging learning curve..

When I'm ready I aim to do some simple comparison tests with a couple of prime Konica lenses, and the 16-50 Sony lens on the Nex. If possible, I'll put a few up on the gallery page for others to see, but it'll be a while. Priorities call.

Whatever you buy, respect those lenses, and the person who left them yo you!! You'll do him as much justice as they will do a happy photographer!!
 
and right now there are some great prices on them around... Just make sure you have an evf built in or you can add on one (OLY VF2 - 4 or similar ones from Panasonic). The focusing is much simpler and ergonomics while shooting much better.

With Oly-bodies you of course have the IBIS, which helps a lot, and works also with legacy lenses as Hexanons .

The Hexanon lenses are high quality lenses -from those you mentioned I have just the 28mm lens, which, I suppose, is the worst of the bunch. I suppose the 135mm lens will be the best, and very usable. Just by a Konica AR to mFT-adapter - easily found from eBay. The f1.4 lens may be a bit soft wide open, but stoping down a bit should help.

You can use M or A - modes on the camera, the light measurement works fine. And enlarging the focus area helps too.

The bolex-lenses may be interesting, if you can find a way to use them on camera. I would not count on too high measurable IQ, though. But some soft and "artistic" feeling...

Good luck to you!


Jouko
'The best camera in the world is the one you have with you when you need it'
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