[frederik9111]

In my search for a A*135/1.8, I stumbled over an almost even rare Soligor 1:2 135mm (C/D) M42 lens

It arrived this morning!

First some shots off the lens itself, then some quick impressions.







My first impression is that it's sharper than I expected. Rendering and contrast is a bit flat (probably because of the lack of coating). All shots wide open without postprocessing.

Is it sharp enough?



Even through double glazing



Interesting bokeh (no noise reduction)





Some 'vintage' rendering and contrast (100% sensor crop)

[K57XR]

Great samples, thanks for sharing. One question though, what did you use to shoot the Soligor lens itself?? Those are clear!!!

[BrightStar]

I like these. It does have an interesting bokeh. I think keeping noise reduction off is the way to go with this camera. Also, I like the silver and black camera. Makes your k-5 look like a bit more like a film camera. Pretty snazzy.
The question is, how do you like the photos? They were all taken wide open, I presume?

[frederik9111]

Great samples, thanks for sharing. One question though, what did you use to shoot the Soligor lens itself?? Those are clear!!!

Thx, I used my other (black) K-5 and the Da*16-50/2.8)

I like these. It does have an interesting bokeh. I think keeping noise reduction off is the way to go with this camera. Also, I like the silver and black camera. Makes your k-5 look like a bit more like a film camera. Pretty snazzy.
The question is, how do you like the photos? They were all taken wide open, I presume?

It's to soon for that I've just used it for a few shots indoor and that went very well
Overall this lens looks quite promising. The sharpness wide open is very very workable (yes all pics are wide open) and the bokeh is dizzying

[cyberjunkie]

I LOVE the Soligor C/D P line of lenses, designed and manufactured by Tokina.
Great build, nice bokeh, beautiful aesthetics, and good enough sharpness, even wide open.
All the three I have (2/28mm, 2/135mm, 2.8/200mm) share these common traits, but the one I like the most is the 135mm.
Here are three pictures shot with this lens. The portraits are wide open, the flower is probably also wide open (or stopped down one click):







All the pictures were shot on full frame (Pentax K-1).
The portraits are slightly cropped, the flower shot shows the entire frame.
At f/2, with a rather long focal (135mm), it's easy to miss the correct focusing. The first shot, as all the others, was shot using the optical viewfinder. Unfortunately it is back focused, and it shows
The nice bokeh, the roundness of the rendering, and the very fast max aperture make this lens a perfect choice for portraits.
Probably it is a bit too long for most portraits... as (IMHO) an 85mm is often a little short. Still very usable tough.