And now for something Black: Magnicon Multi-Coated Auto Zoom Macro 1:3.5-4.8 35-70mm

Cost: $19.99 (market price likely under $20)

I strongly suspect this lens was actually made by Cosina, and rebranded as Magnicon for Black's Photography, and also sold under other brand names such as Vivitar. The Cosina native version, and the Vivitar version have a good reputation, but I was less impressed with the Magnicon version. Not sure if anything was changed to the design to reduce cost for Black's Photography, but I'm gussing this one was mainly sold as a standard kit lens.

Although I'm not a huge fan or rubber on lenses, the lens looks OK, like a regular of-the-mill manual zoom lens. Both zoom and aperture rings are smooth, and there does not seem to be a lens creep that is often the case on cheaper push/pull zoom lenses.

With a variable maximum aperture of 3.5 to 4.8, this is not a fast lens. And it shows... it's much harder to get sharp handheld pictures on a dreary day. Even when I was able to get a good shutter speed, I was still not impressed with sharpness or resolution. It also looses some sharpness closer to the edge. I also found the color to be a little bleak, but that might just have been the conditions of the shoot. On the plus side, I found little color aberration.

So, as a kit lens, it's not to bad. Maybe good as a starter or for a trip where you would not mind loosing your equipment, but as collector's item, or as a replacement lens, I would avoid it. Unless you happen to collect some Canadian photography history.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 35-70mm
Maximum Aperture: F3.5-4.8
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: MD
Optics: 7 elements in 7 groups (not confirmed)
Blades: 6
Focussing: Manual
Minimum Focus: 40cm
Filter Size: 49mm
Weight: 286g
Length: 69-83mm
Production: 1986?
Serial Number: 9031574
Made in: Japan

More information on Magnicon

Samples

1/640 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/60 sec - ISO125 - Handheld

1/100 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/60 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/60 sec - ISO500 - Handheld

1/60 sec - ISO160 - Handheld

1/80 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/60 sec - ISO160 - Handheld

1/60 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/640 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/60 sec - ISO125 - Handheld

The bad side of an OM (Original Manufacturer): Kino Precision Kiron 70-210mm f/4.5 Macro f/4 MC

Cost: 24.99 (market price unknown)

   

The last time I reviewed a Kiron made lens, the Kiron 28-105 F/4 Macro MC, I was pretty impressed. So I had good hopes for this one. It's a much less common version of the Kiron 70-210 then the F4 version, and regarded as significantly less in quality.

Build quality is good. Very solid, made in metal and no lens creep what is nice for a one-touch type of lens. Nice to operate with a smooth focus, zoom and aperture. But that is where the good stuff ends...

Image quality is lacking in this lens. Not easy to get sharp, unless in the zoomed out position. But when you start zooming in, pictures get a lot softer and the end of the range, quality really suffers. At least the sharpness, or lack off, seems to be the same from center to edge. Colors are a little blend but there is little color aberration, even in the corners.

So I for sure overpaid for this lens. At this price, you can get a decent Vivitar or the much better Kiron 70-210 f/4. It was OK to play with, but not a keeper.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 70-210mm

Maximum Aperture: F4.5 Macro F4

Minimum Aperture: F32

Image Format: 35mm

Lens Mount: N/AI

Optics: unknown

Blades: 8

Focussing: Manual

Minimum Focus: 130cm

Filter Size: 55mm

Weight: 584g

Length: 136-148mm

Production: 1975 to 1990

Serial Number: 57500627

Made in: Japan

MC

Multi Coated stands for a multiple of chemical coatings for lens surfaces with minimum light loss. The result is a dramatic improvement in both color fidelity and brightness and the elimination of flare and ghost images.

Samples

1/160 sec - ISO1000 - Handheld

1/160 sec - ISO4000 - Handheld

1/160 sec - ISO1600 - Handheld

1/250 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160 sec - ISO200 - Handheld

1/320 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160 sec - ISO200 - Handheld

1/160 sec - ISO500 - Handheld

Sources:

Juzaphoto.com

Wikipedia

flickr.com

The first one: Sony FE 3.5-5.6 28-70mm OSS SEL2870

Cost: part of camera bundle (new market price $398)

OK, not the first lens review, but the first lens I will review on the Sony A7II. I must say, it's a pleasure exploring a new camera. Almost like a new car.. I wonder when the new car smell will wear off. Only one negative on the A7 so far. The placement of the custom buttons is just weird. I was used on the a6000 to quickly use the c button for a zoomed preview, but the buttons on the A7 are just on the wrong place, forcing me to look at the camera to find the button to press. Maybe I will get used to it...

After using so many manual lenses, I do miss an aperture ring. IMO it's is easier to turn a ring on the lens than to use the controls on the camera. Otherwise it's a pleasure to use this lens. Focus is snappy, although not always precise. More then just a few of out-of-focus pictures.

The lens is constructed solidly, but still fairly light weight for a lens this size. And a large size it is, but as I do not have to use an adapter, it's not to bad.

Image quality is not to bad. Rich color's and plenty sharpness if you get the focus right. Less sharp and some color friction in the corners. I did dee a tendency for blue in the pictures, but that might just have been the overcast day during the shoot.

Ok, as conclusion, not to bad as a kit lens. Better then others, but still a kit lens. If you want better, prepare to pay a hefty sum. But as a starter lens, it's a good combination with the A7II.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 28-70mm
Maximum Aperture: F3.5-5.6
Minimum Aperture: F22-36
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: E-Mount
Optics: 8 groups - 9 elements
Blades: 7
Focussing: Auto
Image Stabilisation: Optical Steady Shot (OSS)
Minimum Focus: 30cm
Filter Size: 55mm
Weight: 295g
Length: 83mm
Production: 2010 to current
Serial Number: 0705025

Made in: Thailand

More information on Sony Corporation

Samples:

1/160s - f/5.6 - 40mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160s - f/4.5 - 37mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160s - f/5.6 - 68mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/80s - f/5.6 - 40mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/80s - f/8 - 57mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/80s - f/8 - 40mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/100s - f/9 - 31mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/250s - f/11 - 28mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/125s - f/11 - 34mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/2000s - f/4.5 - 33mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/800s - f/5 - 57mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/100s - f/4.5 - 48mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160s - f/5.6 - 70mm - ISO200 - Handheld

Sources:
flickr.com
camera-wiki
Ken Rockwell

Going Full-Frame: Sony A7II

Cost: $994.71 (including lens and shipping)

So, after a lot of hesitating and investigating, I took the plunge to full frame. I found a great deal on B&H for a used Sony A7II, in original box and with low shutter count. Although not the latest and greatest Sony model, it does have all the whistles and bells you want on a full-frame mirror-less, including 24.3MP Exmor CMOS sesnsor, full HD recording 60p with high-rate 50Mbps XAVC S format, fast AF, and 5-AXIS SteadyShot in-camera Image Stabilization that will even work with older manual lenses.

So why the move to Full-Frame from APS-C? Several reasons...

• A larger sensor will have the sensor pixels spread over a larger surface, resulting in less noise
• A larger sensor will have the sensor pixels spread over a larger surface, resulting higher acceptable ISO rates.
• If both the APS-C and the full-frame sensor have a similar pixel count, the full-frame sensor will result in sharper images, as the captured light is spread over a lens dense surface. This is of course limited by the capabilities of the lens. A very sharp lens will also provide great sharp pictures on APS-C, but lenses of a slightly lower quality might appear sharper. Or at least, full-frame is a little more forgiven for lower quality lenses.
• Most full frame camera's, as targeted to more serious photographers, have better and more capabilities then APS-C camera's. In my case, comparing the A7ii with my old a6000, the A7ii has two wheels to set aperture and shutter speed, instead of one and one more customisable button. It also features in-camera stabilisation that was lacking on the a6000 (although available on higher end APS-C camera's and Pentax DSLR's).
• A wider crop factor. A wide angle lens will have a wider field of view on a full-frame camera. This means that a wide angle lens is indeed a wide angle lens. A legacy wide angle lens, say a 35mm, will look like a 52mm lens on the a600, so more like a portrait lens. To get trough wide angle on an APS-C camera, you need to go to ultra-wide-angle lenses that are costly, and difficult to make, resulting often is sharpness issues and distortions at the edge.
• Ability for shorter depth of field, allowing to be more creative when using Bokeh or background blur when isolating objects.
• And last, but not least, the ability to test legacy lenses as they were really designed for. Most legacy lenses are designed for 35mm film, and full frame is the digital format that is the closest to that format. With an APS-C sensor, you only use the center of the lens. This might result in better sharpness around the edges of the photo, as most manufacturers assured the best quality in the middle of the lens, but you miss the true character and abilities of a lens when not using the out-of-center glass.   

There are of course also disadvantages. Wild-life photography becomes more challenging, or at least more expensive. With APS-C, due to the crop-factor, a 300mm lens could be used as a 450mm lens, and pretty decent to take a picture of most wild-life. On a full-frame, 300 mm is pretty useless for smaller animals, so you need to invest in longer lenses that become increasingly expensive with longer focal length, especially if you want to use a "faster" lens. In my opinion, the lens speed becomes less relevant due to the better ISO capabilities of full-frame, and the better image quality will allow for more cropping in post-production.

A smaller depth of field will also make Macro photography more challenging.

In short, plenty of reasons to switch, and I must say, after my first shoot with the A7ii, just "WOW". I have waited way to long for this jump. Not only do the pictures look more impressive due to the smaller depth of field, but the camera is clearly capable of a higher dynamic range resulting in clearer and more color full pictures.    

I'm looking forward to test more lenses with this new setup, and might even re-test some of my already reviewed lenses.