Playing With Lenses: 2018

Friday 14 December 2018

The last one: Sony E 3.5-5.6/18-55 OSS SEL1855

Cost: $80 (new market price $399.99)

OK, not the last lens review, but the last lens I will review on the Sony A6000. Yeah, baby! I'm going full frame! Found a great deal on a used Sony A7ii, so jumped on it. It will be nice to use lenses in the format they were actually designed for.

So, what better to end then the standard kit lens for the Sony a6000... and strangely enough, I did not by it together with my body, but only a month ago, also as good deal I could not pass by. This is the first lens I used that was actually made for the APS-C format, and the first one using in-lens-stabilisation and native fast auto-focus.

The lens looks a little cheap, due to the glossy black plastic, but is elegant in it's own right.

As with most recent auto-focus lenses, it does not come with an aperture ring, so aperture can only be set via the camera. So pretty useless in manual use.

The focus can be manual and auto, but be aware that in manual, the focus ring is not direct but is driving a step motor, so has a very small delay. Focus and zoom are very smooth and easy to handle.

The lens also comes with a good butterfly hood. And auto-focus is super fast on the Sony A6000. You will not miss a shot!

The lens produces nice colors, but is maybe not as sharp as it should. It's not bad, but I have older lenses that are sharper. But hey, it's kit lens, so no miracles. It's also not a fast lens, but with the build in stabilisation (OSS - Optical Steady shot), that is not much of an issue, unless shooting in darker situations.

I understand that the image quality is not the highest standard (distortion, color fringes,...) but this is compensated by the in-camera lens correction. And it's the end quality that counts.

To be fair, this was not my first copy of this lens. I also owned a silver version that I managed to destroy when cleaning the inside, to remove a pine-needle (no idea how it got in there in the first place). One of the connectors broke off... so be warned, if you need to open the lens, it get's pretty fragile. Lesson learned.

In conclusion, it's not a bad lens, and perfect for a beginning photographer. But I do believe that after a while, you will start yearning after something a tad sharper.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 18-55mm (27-82.5 35mm equivalent)
Maximum Aperture: F3.5-5.6
Minimum Aperture: F22-32
Image Format: APS-C
Lens Mount: E-Mount
Optics: 9 groups- 11elements
Blades: 7
Focussing: Auto
Image Stabilisation: Optical Steady Shot (OSS)
Minimum Focus: 25cm
Filter Size: 49mm
Weight: 194g
Length: 62mm
Production: 2010 to current
Serial Number: 8235252
Made in: Thailand

More information on Sony Corporation

Samples:

1/160s - f/5.6 - 55mm - ISO2000 - Handheld

1/60s - f/4.6 - 34mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/60s - f/4 - 18mm - ISO250 - Handheld

1/400s - f/4 - 29mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/500s - f/4.5 - 39mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/640s - f/5.6 - 54mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/100s - f/5 - 33mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/800s - f/5 - 52mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160s - f/4 - 30mm - ISO160 - Handheld

1/160s - f/5 - 52mm - ISO160 - Handheld

1/200s - f/5.6 - 22mm - ISO100 - Handheld

Sources:
flickr.com
kurtmunger.com
Ken Rockwell

Thursday 11 October 2018

Nut or top? UV Topcor 1:2 53mm Tokyo Kogaku Japan

Cost: $9.50 (average market price $20)

I can't help it. I liked the looks of the UV Topcon 135mm so much, that I had to buy another one. I found this one for the incredible price of $9.5. A steel! It comes again with the beautiful combination of black paint and brushed metal. A beauty for the look of the lens alone.

As all UV Topcor lenses, it also comes without the aperture ring but the zoom ring is smooth as butter. A very compact lens for this range, and a solid feel to it. It has the uncommon range of 53 mm, but I understand 53 mm aligns with 2 inches, and it seems many of the 50mm lenses out there, are actually 50mm in reality

Compared to the 135mm, it was more pleasant to use. Although only a maximum f2 lens, it felt a lot faster. Even at dusk, I was able to shoot at 100 ISO.

Image quality is not great, but sharper then the 135mm, with only a minor color aberration. But what makes this lens special is the unique rendering. It just has a different look. And I founf it to also have a good ability to 3D render your image. A subject on a blurred background just jumps out at you.

In short, a nice looking lens to add to my collection, and a nice lens to use. I might be looking for another UV Topcor lens (actually just ordered the 200mm).

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 53mm
Maximum Aperture: F2.0
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: UV Topcor
Optics: 6 elements
Blades: 5
Focussing: Manual
Minimum Focus: 70cm
Filter Size: 49mm
Weight: 155g
Length: 26-32mm
Production: 1960's
Serial Number: 54252393
Made in: Japan

More information on: Topcon

Samples:

1/1000s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/400s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/320s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/200s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/125s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/640s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/320s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/200s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/250s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/400s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/320s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/500s - ISO100 - Handheld

Sources:
flickr.com
wikipedia
camera-wiki
All Photo Lenses

Tuesday 9 October 2018

Top, or not? UV Topcor 1:4 135mm Tokyo Kogaku

Cost: $19 (average market price $30)

I stumbled on this lens by accident in a thrift store. Just as I used to buy music albums based on the cover alone, I bought this lens because it was gorgeous. Nice mat black barrel and focus ring with a shiny mat metal base. No cheap plastic on this lens. And a good looking built-in lens hood as bonus. They don't make lenses this good looking anymore.. but maybe one day, it will become a trend again. Hopefully soon.

When arriving home, after a closer look, and to my surprise, I noticed that the lens did not have an aperture ring. After some research, I found out that these lenses from Topcon where made for a cheaper SLR system, where the aperture ring, as part of the camera body, could be shared amongst all lenses, therefore saving a few bucks. So, low budget as target. Not very promising.

To my dismay, it also meant it was not compatible with any of my existing adapters. And to further dismay, I was not able to find a cheap Chinese adapter on eBay or Amazon. So the lens stayed in my drawer for a while, until one day, doing some further research, I found a company that makes low volume, specialty adapters, including one for UV lenses. I was lucky enough to find one on time, as it was their last copy, and has been removed from their website.

So a few weeks later, I received the adapter and was able to go out an do a few shoots. Sadly, although good looking, the quality of the lens was indeed sub-par. Not very sharp, lots of color fringing, and lack of details in the pictures. Not all photo's were crap, but definitely not across the board. The good ones do have a retro look to them. Was it this specific lens, or symptomatic for the brand? Not sure.. people on flickr managed to take some great pictures with it.

The brand of Topcor does come with good reputation for their more expensive RE type of lenses, who are placed in quality next to Zeiss and other top brands.

Not to many UV-type lenses were made (8 in total), so it's a nice opportunity to build a collection of fine looking lenses for not to much money. I will definitely look out for some other UV-lenses, just because of the sharp and clean look of the lenses themselves. They can't all be bad, can they?

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 135mm
Maximum Aperture: F4.0
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: UV Topcor
Optics: 5 elements
Blades: 5
Focussing: Manual
Minimum Focus: 180cm
Filter Size: 49mm
Weight: 305g
Length: 84-97mm (add 33mm for lens hood)
Production: 1960's
Serial Number: 13941503
Made in: Japan

More information on: Topcon

Samples:

1/125s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/400s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/1000s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160s - ISO160 - Handheld

1/500s - ISO400 - Handheld

1/640s - ISO400 - Handheld

1/400s - ISO400 - Handheld

1/400s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/800s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/400s - ISO100 - Handheld

1/320s - ISO100 - Handheld

Sources:
flickr.com
wikipedia
camera-wiki
All Photo Lenses

Sunday 16 September 2018

OG is in tha house: VMC Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm 1:3.5 Macro Focussing Auto Zoom

Cost: $34 (average market price $90.36)

I have been looking for a while to get my hand on a true Vivitar Series 1 lens and finally one crosses my path at a local Thrift Store. The Vivitar 70-210mm Series 1 is a classic amongst third-party lenses, and probably the best known and reputable lens in the Series 1 line of lenses. They were designed to compete with the best offerings of the major camera and lens manufacturers and although they were priced high at the time, they were sold in high numbers to the photographers who were willing to invest a little more to get the best in quality and construction.

As mentioned above, the most famous Series 1 lens was the 70-210mm macro zoom. I was one of the first to offer real macro capability in a zoom lens, and have a fixed aperture (f3.5) across the zoom range.

Over the lifetime of this lens, it was built by different manufacturers, being Kino (Kiron), Tokina, Komine and Cosina, with small design changes each time a different creater was used. The first 3 have excellent reputation, but optical and built quality went down with the first Cosina design.

Note in particular the "gold plated" version, released for the 50th anniversary of Vivitar. They are rare to find, but I was able to bid on a set a few weeks ago (but sadly lost).

The version of your lens can be recognised by the first 2 letters of the serial number. With "22", that would make my lens a "Kino" version. Other can be recognised as follows: 37 for Tokina, 28 for Komine and 9 for Cosino.

The "Kino" (my) version had the highest Maximum Magnification Ratio of 1:2.2.

Make no mistake! This is a beast of lens.. with almost a kg in weight and so large it should actually have a lens mount. It's of a push/pull type, but there is no lens creep at all when pointing down, even after over 40 years. That's a rather large accomplishment with a lens this size and weight and an absolute requirement when shooting macro. The length of the lens does not change with zooming, and hardly when focussing.

Macro can be achieved by bulling the focus/zoom barrel towards the camera, push the Macro button and slide the macro ring to the left until Macro lines up with the red dot.

Zoom and focus work smooth, and the aperture ring enable you to set in half aperture stops. The markings on the camera do not shop field of depth so only the zoom range. I'm not a fan of glossy black for a lens, but with an all metal build, it rather looks impressive.

Image Quality is excellent! Nice colors. Good sharpness across the range, but a little loss of sharpness at the high end of the zoom (above 180mm). Very little color aberration, and minor distortion. A good tele-zoom for it's age, but were it really shines if the Macro! Razer sharp, easy to focus, strong colors and a pleasant Bokeh.

Can you find a better lens for this price? Maybe, with a more recent Nikon lens, but the price gives you a good lens, and a nice, legendary, piece of history. What's not to like!

Specification Sheet - page 1

Specification Sheet - page 2

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Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 70-210mm
Maximum Aperture: F3.5
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: PK
Optics: 15 elements in 10 groups
Blades: 6
Maximum Magnification Ratio: 1:2.2
Focussing: Manual
Minimum Focus: 200cm (or 77.5mm in Macro Mode)
Filter Size: 67mm
Weight: 879g
Length: 158mm
Production: 1973 to 1981
Serial Number: 22738383
Made in: Japan

More information on: Vivitar Corporation
More info on: Kino Precision Industries Limited

VMC:
Vivitar Multi Coating: lens coating to prevent partial reflection and flares. Quality of the coating is reasonable but not as good as some of the brand lenses of this era.

Samples:
All pictures taken with the Lens Turbo II adapter