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06-16-2015, 08:03 AM   #31
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
Great buy! Your lens seems to be sharp from those few samples. The CA might be caused by filter - I had loss of contrast and flaring increased , so from then on I kept using only deep lens hood. Congratulation on your purchase , and the price was great ! ( UK- wise) .
Thank you! The lens looks sharp at f1.4, but it shows some confusing CA sometimes-well, I've taken only ~20 shots, so not for sure. Below is an example that I took this morning in our office parking lot. It was taken at f8, 1/500 sec without a filter, but it shows CA and low contrast. It was 7:20 AM, and I don't think the sun was so bright. I focused on a car's license plate, and the focus was accurate. I took two shots with the same results. It looks the lens shows CA and low contrast when I focus a distant subject. Is this typical? or do I need a deep hood or something? Thanks.

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Last edited by ychousa; 06-16-2015 at 08:26 AM.
06-16-2015, 08:08 AM   #32
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QuoteOriginally posted by ychousa Quote
Thank you! The lens looks sharp at f1.4, but it shows some confusing CA sometimes-well, I've taken only ~20 shots, so not for sure. Below is an example that I took this morning in our office parking lot. It was taken at f8, 1/500 sec without a filter, but it shows CA and low contrast. It was 7:20 AM, and I don't think the sun was so bright. I focused on the car's license plate, and the focus was accurate. I took two shots with the same results. It looks the lens shows CA and low contrast when I focus a distant subject. Is this typical? or do I need a deep hood or something? Thanks.
This shot looks fairly soft as for F8 - are you sure your lens was stopped down ? Make sure the A/M switch is on M setting (M visible) - otherwise the lens will shot wide open. Also see if there isn't excess of dust/etc.. this will lover contrast significantly if the internal lens' surfaces are covered with fine dust.

My lens is crazy sharp form F2.8 onwards across the frame and your shot really doesn't look good as for F8 00 .. more like F1.4 to be frank
06-16-2015, 08:17 AM   #33
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
This shot looks fairly soft as for F8 - are you sure your lens was stopped down ? Make sure the A/M switch is on M setting (M visible) - otherwise the lens will shot wide open. Also see if there isn't excess of dust/etc.. this will lover contrast significantly if the internal lens' surfaces are covered with fine dust.

My lens is crazy sharp form F2.8 onwards across the frame and your shot really doesn't look good as for F8 00 .. more like F1.4 to be frank
Oh, the A/M switch! I put it to A yesterday and took all the shots with A setting I examined the inside element yesterday by opening the aperture wide open, but only a few dusts there.
I'll check with M setting this lunch time and see if it makes difference. Maybe I need to read more instructions to use this lens? 'Cause I've not read any, I kept pushing the green button as I do with M50 yesterday I'll update later.
06-16-2015, 08:32 AM   #34
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QuoteOriginally posted by ychousa Quote
Oh, the A/M switch! I put it to A yesterday and took all the shots with A setting I examined the inside element yesterday by opening the aperture wide open, but only a few dusts there. I'll check with M setting this lunch time and see if it makes difference. Maybe I need to read more instructions to use this lens? 'Cause I've not read any, I kept pushing the green button as I do with M50 yesterday I'll update later.
No, you got it all wrong - check this thread , scroll down and see my experience with using this lens : https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/12-post-your-photos/273641-people-hmmm-ac...ax-k-01-a.html

In short - keep it on AV, with ISO set on AUTO and use lens in aperture priority mode (with switch on the lens set to M) and setting your aperture manually by rotating the ring. You have shot all these photos wide open mate

06-16-2015, 08:47 AM   #35
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChatMechant Quote
If I lost mine, I would pay 200 for one in vg condition. Mine is falling apart, so I'll have to spend a bit just to get it repaired.



This one was wide open, sooc:
ChatMechant 's picture #2 is why many portrait photographers are willing to pay the $200 for this lens. This is the classic Portrait Photography "studio look" that you can only get with this type of lens, or some portrait software studio package. Soft filters can also work, but not exactly.

Last edited by hjoseph7; 06-16-2015 at 08:53 AM.
06-16-2015, 10:15 AM   #36
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
No, you got it all wrong - check this thread , scroll down and see my experience with using this lens : https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/12-post-your-photos/273641-people-hmmm-ac...ax-k-01-a.html

In short - keep it on AV, with ISO set on AUTO and use lens in aperture priority mode (with switch on the lens set to M) and setting your aperture manually by rotating the ring. You have shot all these photos wide open mate
Thank you so much for the info! This is why I love this forum so much I really appreciate it. I'll try the way suggested by you and will update. Thanks!
06-16-2015, 03:35 PM   #37
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You were absolutely right. The settings were all wrong-I didn't even set the custom settings in Menu (Use Apature Ring option) right because I had sent my K-3 to Precision for a warranty repair and haven't set all the settings back to my preference yet. After I set the settings correct, I took a few shots to see great difference. One thing I noticed is though that the lens shows CA in high contrast area like palm tree leaves in the first photo, even at f8~f16. I could reduce it by warming the color and check "Correct chromatic aberration" option in Adobe camera raw (as the second photo shows,) but is this kind of CA (or purple fringing) typical for this early version? What would be the best way to avoid it?

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06-17-2015, 08:24 AM   #38
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
No, you got it all wrong - check this thread , scroll down and see my experience with using this lens : https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/12-post-your-photos/273641-people-hmmm-ac...ax-k-01-a.html

In short - keep it on AV, with ISO set on AUTO and use lens in aperture priority mode (with switch on the lens set to M) and setting your aperture manually by rotating the ring. You have shot all these photos wide open mate
Thanks for your great tips, I could get pretty satisfactory results this morning for the same scene as yesterday morning. I took this red car and trees again at f2.8, ISO 100. With a bit of PP, I could get pretty good result. I think this lens is in excellent condition both cosmetically and functionally, considering its age. I guess I was lucky to get it at around $150. Only one concern is CA in high contrast area as my previous post. Is it unavoidable due to its old coating? Or what would be the best way to reduce it? Thank you.
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06-17-2015, 09:28 AM - 1 Like   #39
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QuoteOriginally posted by ychousa Quote
I guess I was lucky to get it at around $150.

Yep you were very lucky indeed - I also paid 150, but £££ for mine.

QuoteOriginally posted by ychousa Quote
Only one concern is CA in high contrast area as my previous post. Is it unavoidable due to its old coating? Or what would be the best way to reduce it?

Did you use filter with this shot? What about a lens hood - did you have it on ?
My personal experience is this : if this exhibit *any* CA, it is well gone by F2.8 - but even from wide open it rarely is purple - rather slightly reddish-brownish , and not that pronounced. Unlike many other lenses this one shines with contrasty subjects and I am never afraid of them as long as I keep the position of my camera so that any flares from bright light sources escape the frame. Also lens hood is a must - you cannot skimp on it :P

I will try and find some high contrast photos to double check how lens fares against such harsh conditions, but from what I recall there was only negligible if any CA visible after f2.8
06-17-2015, 09:40 AM   #40
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
Did you use filter with this shot? What about a lens hood - did you have it on ?
No, I didn't use a filter or a hood. I didn't know if a lens hood could make that much difference in CA-I thought lens hood was just to prevent flare, etc..
I have a generic flower type hood that is not deep in my bag now. I also have a collapsible rubber hood in my home.

I've seen some takumars with a deep hood (3.5/135). What kind of hood do you use and recommend?
06-17-2015, 09:46 AM   #41
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QuoteOriginally posted by ychousa Quote
I've seen some takumars with a deep hood (3.5/135). What kind of hood do you use and recommend?
A generic 'telephoto' screw in metal hood is fine for APS-C cameras.

New 49mm Tele Metal Lens Hood for Canon Nikon Sony Olympus | eBay

Or a three stage rubber hood.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/49-49mm-3-Stage-Universal-Rubber-Lens-Hood-for-Wide-...item41522ba465
06-17-2015, 09:57 AM   #42
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QuoteOriginally posted by boriscleto Quote
Yeh, the rubber hood is the one that I have in my storage.
06-17-2015, 10:01 AM   #43
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QuoteOriginally posted by ychousa Quote
've seen some takumars with a deep hood (3.5/135). What kind of hood do you use and recommend?
You can safely use that 135 f3.5 lens hood - I have the same one, marked for 120mm , 135mm and 200mm f5.6 lenses and it doesn't cause any visible vignetting.

here are some photos with high contrast subjects. NONE of them were treated for CA, to me this is non-existent problem with this lens. Click and check 1200px size images, pentax forums is resizing them to 1000px and they loose quality .

f8


f4 or 5.6


f4 or 5.6


f5.6
06-17-2015, 10:39 AM   #44
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
You can safely use that 135 f3.5 lens hood - I have the same one, marked for 120mm , 135mm and 200mm f5.6 lenses and it doesn't cause any visible vignetting.

here are some photos with high contrast subjects. NONE of them were treated for CA, to me this is non-existent problem with this lens. Click and check 1200px size images, pentax forums is resizing them to 1000px and they loose quality .
The pictures look great-I hope my lens would be as good as yours in terms of CA exhibit. I'll takes shots with my rubber hood and will update. Thank you!
06-17-2015, 02:50 PM - 1 Like   #45
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QuoteOriginally posted by ychousa Quote
The pictures look great-I hope my lens would be as good as yours in terms of CA exhibit. I'll takes shots with my rubber hood and will update. Thank you!
Yeah, lens hood is a must with this lens. Anyway here are some 100% crops from the above, you can see how minimal - if any the CA is there.. negligible . Now review them , see my comment, and then the answer to the question from OP should become clear


Note how sharp single leaves are - also remember I didn't sharpen these photos more than Lightroom does by default when images are loaded!


Some of these tiny fruits are out of focus because the focal plane went right behind them.


Look how resolution allowed to resolve these microscopic hair ! - also tiny tiny fruit fly sitting , you can clearly recognize it !


No trace of CA's at f5.6 to my eyes

Last edited by manntax; 06-17-2015 at 03:04 PM.
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