This Month Through Your Adapted Lenses -- September 2019

An invitation to all members to dust off your precious glass and head out to take some pictures: the real reason for the existence of all those lenses in the first place.

Please post here your select efforts with adapted lenses.

Here are the guidelines

• Images with a removable adapter between lens and camera
• Images with the lens mount permanently modified to fit a different camera
• Images with the lens held by hand without an adapter (freelensing)

Including metadata (camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed) is encouraged but not required.

I am starting to like 28mm focal length more. It's a perspective I quite disliked with intensity. I haven't stop shooting that the past few days. Maybe, it's not like one doesn't like certain focal length much, but rather is waiting for the right lens to make it happen.


28mm f2.8

f:2.0

I went out to purchase a Canon EF 85/1.8 on the cheap but found it had quite a lot of fungus on the rear element so walked away from the sale with my GAS unsatisfied. I've been eye a Voigtlander 40/1.4 for a while now, convincing myself to just be happy with my Minolta M-Rokkor 40/2, but today the urge was just too great.....

These are the 1st shots with it, no lens hood, imported into LR then applied lens profile and then exported as JPEG.


@f5.6

Edge performance is very decent but extreme corners are quite smeared, I don't mind this too much for my street photos.


@f1.4

Bokeh is subjective, I find it smooth enough.


@f1.4

This is with minimum focus distance shortened with a helicoid.


@f1.4

It's quite contrasty, not as much as Zeiss glass but still very good. I'll have to see how it fairs with black and white film photos.

Proplus888 said:

I've been eye a Voigtlander 40/1.4 for a while now, convincing myself to just be happy with my Minolta M-Rokkor 40/2, but today the urge was just too great.....

Click to expand...

Same here, but with the Summicron-C 40mm.

Eventually got the 1.4/40 Nokton (MC-version) and I have to admit I prefer many things on it. The ergonomics (in particular the focus tab) are better, the option to go to 1.4 is very nice, the focus shift sometimes reported seems non-existent on my copy (or completely compensated by increased DOF?) and better flare-resistance. None of these things were major issues on the 'cron, the Nokton is simply a bit better at it.

The one thing I am not so impressed with is the build quality; that is nowhere near that of Leica-lenses; reports of the contrary possibly come from people who do not own/use Leica-glass? But I got my copy for fairly cheap anyway, so no major issue. The 'cron 40 is going for sale; in case I miss it, I'll get the Minolta due to the filter-size identical to many of my other lenses.

Regardless, nice pics! I can't make colour-images with it, but judging from your samples, it seems the nervous bokeh sometimes reported is more obvious on colour-shots.

It's a neat portrait.

I don't like 28's either, though as you say it may just be I haven't found the right lens yet.

Sjak said:

Proplus888 said:

I've been eye a Voigtlander 40/1.4 for a while now, convincing myself to just be happy with my Minolta M-Rokkor 40/2, but today the urge was just too great.....

Click to expand...

Same here, but with the Summicron-C 40mm.

Eventually got the 1.4/40 Nokton (MC-version) and I have to admit I prefer many things on it. The ergonomics (in particular the focus tab) are better, the option to go to 1.4 is very nice, the focus shift sometimes reported seems non-existent on my copy (or completely compensated by increased DOF?) and better flare-resistance. None of these things were major issues on the 'cron, the Nokton is simply a bit better at it.

The one thing I am not so impressed with is the build quality; that is nowhere near that of Leica-lenses; reports of the contrary possibly come from people who do not own/use Leica-glass? But I got my copy for fairly cheap anyway, so no major issue. The 'cron 40 is going for sale; in case I miss it, I'll get the Minolta due to the filter-size identical to many of my other lenses.

Regardless, nice pics! I can't make colour-images with it, but judging from your samples, it seems the nervous bokeh sometimes reported is more obvious on colour-shots.

Click to expand...

Yup, I just put my M-Rokkor on a local selling site about an hour ago, listed at the bottom of the range of the going price.

I picked my Voigtlander 40/1.4 up from a local seller, he’d only purchased it at the end of July with 3 years warranty, used it once but then decided he didn’t want it anymore and sold it to me for a VERY attractive price. and oh, it’s the MC version as well.

The M-Rokkor I actually found too small for my hands, it’s so tiny that I find it clumsy when changing the aperture or turning the focusing ring. The 40/1.4 feels just about right, the focusing ring is smoother, and tab for the aperture is so accessible.

I’ve ordered a rectangular Haoge lens hood for it already!

Had a productive bird walk Saturday morning through the woods with the Canon lens. Many of these were heavily cropped and required PP to massage exposure and fringing. Aperture values are rough estimates.


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f5.6


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f5.6


400/5.6 + A7ii @ f6.3

It was really dark, I was basically in the middle of a dense thicket trying to find the source of a sound I couldnt recognize. Turns out it was coming from in the ground (I found several entrance holes) and the sound was traveling around the area. It was a small animals warning cry because this guy was stalking from above. Unfortunately the lighting was such it was hard to get a clear shot and no chance of a properly exposed one. It's not the first time I've seen this guy, but it is the first time I've had a chance of snapping a photo. This is further upstream from another hawk I photographed a few weeks back, but it's a different bird.


400/4.5 + A7ii @ 5.6

This was also the first time I'd seen a green heron (I think) on this river. Usually it's just the blue and snowy egret.


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f6.3


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f8


400/4.5 + a7ii @ 5.6


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f4.5


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f11

In all, a very capable lens for a modest price. It's prone to bad fringing if you aren't careful, but it's easier to avoid than some comparable lenses I've tried.

--
"Banal ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution" - Sol Lewitt

I am really enjoying this lens, and it rarely ever leaves my camera nowadays. When used at f/2.0 and above, the contrast, color, are sharpness are miles beyond the measly $6 I paid for it and only minimal post processing is needed. The relatively close focusing range also comes in handy.

Here are a few shots from this past weekend.

I decided to keep the background included for a more cinematic effect. Probably around f/2-2.8 (f-stop in Exif is a guesstimate by the camera...)

Lovely background rendering, as expected. And the post before this one too (Hexanon, always never loved to the degree that they perform, complete underdogs in the photographic word .

I keep using 28mm and for indoors. Still can't find a way to mount something else so far.




28/2 @ f2

I am starting to realize how big of a problem is to have lenses from 1970 still competing for my attention today.

I recently uncovered three lenses which had been gathering dust in a drawer.

One of them was a Cosina Cosinon Auto 55mm f/2.8 (M42 mount). I just bought an adapter for my X-T1 and gave it a try, my first attempt at using a manual lens on a mirrorless body. I'm sold ;-)

Below are four pictures from my first city walk with the lens. All images shot between f/5.6 and f/8. I shot RAW + JPEG, and the images here are the SOOC JPEGs. All camera settings set to default (no sharpening, etc.).

Note: the 35mm focal length reported by the EXIF data is an error on my part when I wrongly set the param in the camera setting. It is definitely a 55mm lens...

Follow-up to my previous post, the second lens I tested during that city walk was a Carenar Auto 135mm f/3.5 (M42 mount).

Here again, all images are SOOC JPEGs, with the camera set to default settings. All shots taken at f/3.5 or f/4 if I remember well.

And here again, the EXIG data is wrong re. focal length reported. I simply forgot to update the param when I switched lenses.

yuit said:

Follow-up to my previous post, the second lens I tested during that city walk was a Carenar Auto 135mm f/3.5 (M42 mount).

Here again, all images are SOOC JPEGs, with the camera set to default settings. All shots taken at f/3.5 or f/4 if I remember well.

And here again, the EXIG data is wrong re. focal length reported. I simply forgot to update the param when I switched lenses.

Click to expand...

Nice shots! I loved the ones made with the Cosina lens. They look great (I did not pixel peek). This last is also good if you can delete the tree part on bottom left.

Rest assured, by using manual lenses you save a lot of money on AF lenses and end up spending maybe 5x as much hahaha. A MF lens is's a pleasure to use.

A few from Meyer Optik Gorlitz Primoplan 58mm f1.9

































--
Your focus is your reality

vyoufinder said:

A few from Meyer Optik Gorlitz Primoplan 58mm f1.9

Click to expand...

Very nice charming candid photos, including the swirliness and pale warmness. 58mm may be one of my favorite focal lengths for people. It;s unfortunate that we can buy more lenses but that won't buy us more travel and time to spend on them.

moedius said:

Had a productive bird walk Saturday morning through the woods with the Canon lens. Many of these were heavily cropped and required PP to massage exposure and fringing. Aperture values are rough estimates.


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f5.6


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f5.6


400/5.6 + A7ii @ f6.3

It was really dark, I was basically in the middle of a dense thicket trying to find the source of a sound I couldnt recognize. Turns out it was coming from in the ground (I found several entrance holes) and the sound was traveling around the area. It was a small animals warning cry because this guy was stalking from above. Unfortunately the lighting was such it was hard to get a clear shot and no chance of a properly exposed one. It's not the first time I've seen this guy, but it is the first time I've had a chance of snapping a photo. This is further upstream from another hawk I photographed a few weeks back, but it's a different bird.


400/4.5 + A7ii @ 5.6

This was also the first time I'd seen a green heron (I think) on this river. Usually it's just the blue and snowy egret.


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f6.3


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f8


400/4.5 + a7ii @ 5.6


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f4.5


400/4.5 + A7ii @ f11

In all, a very capable lens for a modest price. It's prone to bad fringing if you aren't careful, but it's easier to avoid than some comparable lenses I've tried.

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting these. The CA/PF performance seems good...

Lovely series! I like the lens' rendition. Thanks for posting...

E-M10, Canon nFD 50mm f1.4, f2+/-, ISO 400, 1/1250ss

Can some of you tell me which of the two versions looks better? I'm having trouble with the WB. On my new computer the first one looks on on the cold side and ok on the tablet and phone. The second one looks ok on the computer and too warm on the tablet and phone...

Thanks





E-M10 mkii, Canon nFD 300mm F4, ISO 800, 1/250ss



E-M10 mkii, Canon nFD 300mm F4, ISO 800, 1/250ss



E-M10 mkii, Canon nFD 300mm F4, ISO 400, 1/200ss

M_digicapt said:

E-M10, Canon nFD 50mm f1.4, f2+/-, ISO 400, 1/1250ss

Can some of you tell me which of the two versions looks better? I'm having trouble with the WB. On my new computer the first one looks on on the cold side and ok on the tablet and phone. The second one looks ok on the computer and too warm on the tablet and phone...

Thanks





E-M10 mkii, Canon nFD 300mm F4, ISO 800, 1/250ss



E-M10 mkii, Canon nFD 300mm F4, ISO 800, 1/250ss



E-M10 mkii, Canon nFD 300mm F4, ISO 400, 1/200ss

Click to expand...

All look best I will depend on monitor setting and brightness. In my relatively dim laptop the first looks better to my taste.