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12-30-2013, 09:25 PM - 4 Likes   #1
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Does my M42 and K-mount work on digital FF? - an exploration

We often hear the claim/argument that legacy lenses are not good enough for digital FF.
Resolution is not there and poor edges being the primary reasons.
In the past, it was hard to confirm and so this passed on from one person to another (becoming a truth in itself).
There is evidence that some of the lenses work well enough since they have been adapted on 5D and 5DII, but these 2 cameras have issues with some lenses (esp. k-mounts) which limit what can be tried out.

But now, with the Sony A7, all the Pentax K-mount lenses can be tried out on a digital FF camera.
So this will be what I will try to do here with all my lenses, spanning M42 > K > M > A >FA and ltds.

I declare this right now too.
THIS IS NOT A "i'VE JUMPED SHIP AND ALL YOU GUYS HERE ARE SUCKERS!" POST
I have no hate for Pentax (still love it and using it)

THIS IS A "DOES THE M42 AND K-MOUNT LENS I HAVE WORK REASONABLY WELL ON DIGITAL FF?" THREAD.

I also won't go into promoting the A7 here on a Pentax Forum (leave that to the haters that linger here... )
Nor will I discuss the camera on this thread (avoid as much as possible)
Its about M42 and K-mount lenses in the FF context.

Photos will all be on my Flickr at full res.
JPG OOC, possibly cropped a bit for composition and/or adjusted for exposure.
AFAIK for now, the Sony in camera JPGS are way overcooked.
Take them as you will, (sorry, I won't provide RAW, too little time and lazy to do all that; and its not about the camera anyway)
(pls be merciful about the poor composition and all that )



Lets start with........

Kiron/Vivitar 28/2 (55mm filter thread; K-mount)
I've not found a hood for this lens that I can directly cap on while not vignetting the corners, so no hood used for the shots.

#1

f2; showing the FOV of 28mm at about 1.5-2m working distance.

#2

f2; 30-50cm away

#3

f2; for small objects

#4

f4;

#5

f5.6

#6

f8

Overall, pretty busy bokeh to me.
No glaringly bad edges or corners.
Sides may be a bit softer, but really slight.
Flare control is not too good imho. (almost a given for non-SMC legacy 3rd party stuff)

Pls review 100% from my flickr.
I really don't have the time to do 100% crops (apologies in advance)

Hope I can go on with all the lenses....
Man! uploading full size picts is so slow.


Last edited by pinholecam; 12-30-2013 at 09:37 PM.
12-30-2013, 09:29 PM   #2
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I've shot with a handful of A-series lenses on the A7 and the results were pretty darn good. This just goes to show how good of an investment lenses can be Thanks for sharing!

Adam
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12-30-2013, 09:32 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
I've shot with a handful of A-series lenses on the A7 and the results were pretty darn good. This just goes to show how good of an investment lenses can be Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Adam.

Do share them here too if you are willing.
Thx.
12-30-2013, 10:07 PM   #4
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This is a good idea and I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. However, I guess that different lenses will work differently on different FF cameras depending on the registration length, sensor type, micro mirrors etc. So I guess we are really talking about the A7/7R here after all.

12-31-2013, 02:47 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Raffwal Quote
This is a good idea and I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. However, I guess that different lenses will work differently on different FF cameras depending on the registration length, sensor type, micro mirrors etc. So I guess we are really talking about the A7/7R here after all.
I think this is the best bet.
Better than just theoretical arguments over this.

In fact, I have tried the above Kiron 28/2 on my 5D with similar results.
But that was a 12mp camera which might be too easy going to the lens by todays standards.
01-01-2014, 07:03 AM   #6
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M50/2



@f2




@f2.8




@f4 (sharpness is good, but the hexagonal oof highlights is obvious)




@f5.6




@f8


IMO, the lowly 50mm f2, does well enough and not much issues at all.

For full sized samples, just click on the links and get to the original image
01-01-2014, 08:57 AM   #7
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Very interesting, I like the ones that have in focus areas with detail all the way across the frame the best because then I can judge full sharpness better. The cat is especially useful for judging detail sharpness. Seems like they work fine.

If you happen to have any of the lenses in my signature I would love to see them tested.
Its interesting to see what even the off brand stuff can do, but I can't wait to see how the A and non current FA lenses hold up.

01-01-2014, 03:45 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by PPPPPP42 Quote
Very interesting, I like the ones that have in focus areas with detail all the way across the frame the best because then I can judge full sharpness better. The cat is especially useful for judging detail sharpness. Seems like they work fine.

If you happen to have any of the lenses in my signature I would love to see them tested.
Its interesting to see what even the off brand stuff can do, but I can't wait to see how the A and non current FA lenses hold up.

Yes, I realize that the most helpful ones will be shots of brick walls from lens #1 to lens #40.
This thread is making me think a bit about using each lens to show them off at all f-stops.
Hope I can keep it up....


Sorry, but I only seem to have the A50/1.4 that is in your signature, but I've got a few other lenses.
01-03-2014, 01:48 AM   #9
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And mine will be fully yours to test!

If you want that is...
01-03-2014, 03:11 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by SyncGuy Quote
And mine will be fully yours to test!

If you want that is...
Thanks

I am sure we can get to that.......






In a year....


(perhaps some of the 'A's that you have, but it will take time.... )
01-03-2014, 08:15 AM   #11
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A50/1.4




@f1.4 (note that the POF is on the stop button)




@f2




@f2.8




@f4




@f5.6




@f8



Overall, a bit expected from 50mm lenses which are pretty reliable in performance.
No issues seen (at least to me)

Full sized samples are on my Flickr (go via the links)

Last edited by pinholecam; 01-14-2014 at 02:26 AM.
01-03-2014, 08:19 AM   #12
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This is like putting salt on the wound ;(...

Beautiful pictures and I'm happy to see that old glass does a great job on digital FF as well.
I'll hold onto my old glass and... well... hope .
01-03-2014, 09:40 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by pinholecam Quote
Thanks

I am sure we can get to that.......






In a year....


(perhaps some of the 'A's that you have, but it will take time.... )
No problem!! Just drop me a line when you wanna loan and don't worry, take your pickings... I always have my K lenses to replace the A lenses while they're with you..
01-03-2014, 11:26 PM   #14
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Lets go to a lens that is relatively new and available off the shelf.
Often, the 'we have FF lenses ready' group will site the FA ltds as a ready to go FF compatible set of lenses.
The 'Nay' group will put up lots of theories to put them down.
Now this argument can finally be clarified.

Got some walkabout time when I sent my daughter for gym.


FA31ltd




@f1.8
I don't know about anyone else, but when I took this image today (1st time I used it on digital FF), the wideness and the shallow+smooth DOF jumped at me when I reviewed it over the camera LCD.
I have not nailed exact focus (imo), so it can be better.
Also have not done any PP other than lightening the shadows, so a little sharpening and contrast adjustment which would be used in real use images would certainly add even more punch.




@f2
Sharp (check it out yourselves via the link)




@f2.8




@f5.6
Do I see barrel distortion?? (or is it just perspective distortion.... hmm... I need to check again on a later time.




@f8
IMHO, this is as sharp as it gets and casts no doubt on how the lens performs for overall sharpness stopped down.


Apologies that many of the shots are just low grade.
Its hard to leave the house at golden/blue hours for any better lighting for me, and I'm sort of rushing through to 'beef up' this thread with the eval shots of a few lenses, before I start to slow down once the New Year mood is over and the reality of office workload gets back.


Overall, the FA31ltd delivers for me!
As good as the legends claim it to be.
Small, but WA 31mm, plus a fast f1.8 aperture, smooth bokeh and sharp (if I focused it right)
Very sharp once on f2 and beyond.
Something certainly no other maker has (other makes can be good here and there, but they are never smaller and not 31mm)
01-04-2014, 01:48 PM   #15
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Fantastic results for the 31mm. im dying to use mine on a full frame now... :/
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