[robbiec]

So I finally did a whole month. The CZ is an interesting little lens (I can say little now cause tomorrow's one is very large). Easy to focus, especially on the K-1 with an O-ME53 magnifier and a delicious focus throw. If I have a complaint, it just loves to draw you in close all the time and then you stay there in your own little world. Up close, it has wonderful resolution, fabulous colours and dreamy smooth oof transitions. But and there is a but, edge wise it drops off resolution massively and can show plenty of distortion if you have a busy background. Go beyond say 1m and you have about 10 deg of focus to infinity. So >1m and I think Zeiss are saying stop down to f/8-f13. Then it evens up across the frame and you have a nice wide landscape lens.

My favourites of the month would be:













Thanks all for your comments, help and encouragement. It was really appreciated by me and Thanks for all your great shots.

[pepperberry farm]

my end of month review for the SMC A 20mm f2.8


what a phenomenal lens this little package is...

I remember thinking it was either this or a Voigtlander Color-Skopar 20mm f3.5 at the time that the Pentax lens popped up on eBay.... and I cannot imagine that I am missing a single thing with this lens...

there aren't any negatives to this lens, so let's hit the highlights: beautiful colors, amazing clarity, and sharp as razor - I was consistently surprised at how sharp landscapes, street scenes, etc were with the A20/2.8....

even decent bokeh wide open; stop this lens down and you'll get funky penta-bokeh chunks that can be distracting occasionally...

superior build and handling - the lens feels good in your hand as you focus; it's not a bulky lens by any means, but it is of solid heft....

ok, enough of that - let's see some shots from June:








but you expect this lens to be good at the wide and deep..... do you expect the close up shots, though?








even when the light abuses the lens, it still manages to shine:




in short - if you are in the market for a wide, MF lens that's well-built and can do pretty much anything you ask of it - this will fill the bill...


the rest of the month's shots:

Single in Challenge - June '20 | Flickr

[bertwert]

Well, it's a wrap. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through the whole month, but for a first challenge I think I did fairly well getting something everyday... There's certainly a couple shots that will be deleted tomorrow, though less than I was expecting. Unfortunately, things ended up being busier this month than I expected, so I didn't have the time to go shooting in my favourite wildlife places as I had intended, but I still got a couple bear shots in. And I lacked a bit in the commenting department... I had a fairly good grasp of the lens before the challenge, but I think I have fine-tuned my long lens AF skills a fair bit, as well as improving my basic processing skills. The A 400/5.6 is certainly not going anywhere, and is a lens to recommend.

Some of my favourites from the month (arranged in order of aspect ratio):














No SIC specific album, but you can see all my A 400 shots here: A 400/5.6 | Flickr

[Benz3ne]

Well, this month! It's done and I've managed to, for the first time ever, post something for every day. My overall contribution is still a work in progress, however, as I'm struggling to find a good way of commenting on others.

Onto the lens. It's a peach, solid (as evidenced by it making contact with a hard floor, saving my camera and only suffering a bent filter ring), smooth to focus, nice sharpness wide-open and even better stopped down. It does vignette pretty hard at 3.5, does have some barrel distortion that I can't quite work out, but it is crisp and clear. Colour renditions are nice, with reds and greens typically popping. What I didn't anticipate, however, was the capability of it for B&W work. It was easy to keep contrasty from the outset, or dial back, or increase as I saw fit.

My gripes with the lens - as with Ismo's findings with the M35/2, it doesn't focus particularly close and on full-frame is neither particularly wide or narrow so it took a LOT of framing with my feet. I did, I think, by the end of the month become more accustomed to the focal length, having never really delved into 35mm (or equiv) at any point during my time with any of the cameras or lenses I have owned. I do want something faster, and/or something to focus closer. 35mm IS nice, there's no denying it.

The shots. I felt spoilt for choice for what to post here to round up my month, despite there being a swathe of crappy, before-bed, late evening, last minute shots. That much is evidenced by the number of high ISO shots taken... Although that has proven to me that ISO 5000 is surprisingly useable.









Onto the next month! Bring on the SMC-M 85mm f/2. I need to, at some point, clear a bit of dust from it but that's not urgent. Only I would complain about a lack of close focus then choose something with a longer MFD...

[iheiramo]

Onto the next month! Bring on the SMC-M 85mm f/2. I need to, at some point, clear a bit of dust from it but that's not urgent. Only I would complain about a lack of close focus then choose something with a longer MFD...

I like that lens. Had a fun month with it in December. I find it sharp enough even wide open. Thought it gets sharper stopped down, the bokeh is worth it to go f2 at times. Works really well with extension tubes as well.

[Benz3ne]

I like that lens. Had a fun month with it in December. I find it sharp enough even wide open. Thought it gets sharper stopped down, the bokeh is worth it to go f2 at times. Works really well with extension tubes as well.

I can see myself using it with extension tubes actually. That's what prompted me to go for the M85/2 over the SMC-Tak 135/3.5, the latter is a beauty but I don't currently own any M42 ext. tubes.
Agreed, too, it's sharp wide-open and gets better stopped down. Really looking forward to getting to grips with it this month!

[iheiramo]

I can see myself using it with extension tubes actually. That's what prompted me to go for the M85/2 over the SMC-Tak 135/3.5, the latter is a beauty but I don't currently own any M42 ext. tubes.

You can put that M42toPK adapter in the extension tube. You don't need specific M42 tubes. That of course makes it hard to switch the tubes on and off, unless you have flanged adapter:



Of course the problem with flanged adapter is that you can't reach the infinity, but it makes switching between K mount lenses and M42 lenses a lot faster. I have flanged adapter on default on my Yashinon 60mm macro in case I have something I want to get really close to. I switch to original adapter if I go out with M42 lenses only.

[Benz3ne]

You can put that M42toPK adapter in the extension tube. You don't need specific M42 tubes. That of course makes it hard to switch the tubes on and off, unless you have flanged adapter:



Of course the problem with flanged adapter is that you can't reach the infinity, but it makes switching between K mount lenses and M42 lenses a lot faster. I have flanged adapter on default on my Yashinon 60mm macro in case I have something I want to get really close to. I switch to original adapter if I go out with M42 lenses only.

I'm actually not using a Pentax body so have a specific M42 adapter for that, so really it's easier for me to get a set of cheap M42 extension tubes. Seen them come down easily to £10-20 so it's an inexpensive purchase, I've just not got around to buying any yet!

[iheiramo]

I'm actually not using a Pentax body so have a specific M42 adapter for that, so really it's easier for me to get a set of cheap M42 extension tubes. Seen them come down easily to £10-20 so it's an inexpensive purchase, I've just not got around to buying any yet!

I always forget people do that You're right, of course.

[D1N0]

My month with the Super-Takumar 85mm 1:1.9 pleasantly surprised me. Even tough the copy isn't very pristine (fungus,dust, scratches) and it's focussing helicoid is poorly calibrated (infinity at 5m and CFD 10cm longer) it delivered very well. It also turned out to be a good close up lens paired with a Marumi Achromat dioptre. The grindy focus action it had in the beginning was quickly gone. Now it is just a bit stiff but not so much it will turn the lens out of the m42 adapter.

See you in July

[robgski]

This month proved to me that the DA 21mm on the K-1 works very well. I am very glad to be able to continue using this lens without owning an APS-C camera.

[Cerebum]

I had a really easy month last month. The 21mm limited is pretty much always sharp and yet it still isn't my favourite. I love the way it renders but the thought of slapping it on a camera doesn't engage me as much as the 35mm limited that mini monster is using in July. Still, I got plenty of candidates for my 2020 photobook

[gifthorse]

This was a sort of tough SIC. The doc has told me that I'm going blind and I'm not taking the news well at all. I was hoping to regenerate some enthusiasm by joining in. So, my take on the 28mm f3.5 Super Takumar. It's a good lens. I like the sharpness and the colors. If you need want a 28mm and can get one for a good price, (I got mine for $4) I'd say the Super Tak is a good choice. One thing I didn't care for is the Auto/Manual switch. The switch needs to be in manual for focusing and in auto to stop down the lens. It's easy to forget the switch and then the image is overexposed. I much prefer my Komine made Vivitar 28mm f2 close focusing if I'm using a wide lens. No fiddling with switching Manual/Auto, It's a close focusing lens, and at f2 it's a bunch faster for low light. The Vivitar (if you can find one) runs about $120. The Super Tak runs about $60 but I much prefer the Vivitar. This month's SIC images are posted so here's a few that didn't make into the challenge.


Yellow-headed blackbird swiping some lunch


Storm cloud panorama



Wild horses



The street at night



Still stormin'



Lilies after rain shower. Heavily cropped.



The international space station.

[Eric Auer]

This was a sort of tough SIC. The doc has told me that I'm going blind and I'm not taking the news well at all. I was hoping to regenerate some enthusiasm by joining in. So, my take on the 28mm f3.5 Super Takumar. It's a good lens. I like the sharpness and the colors. If you need want a 28mm and can get one for a good price, (I got mine for $4) I'd say the Super Tak is a good choice. One thing I didn't care for is the Auto/Manual switch. The switch needs to be in manual for focusing and in auto to stop down the lens. It's easy to forget the switch and then the image is overexposed. I much prefer my Komine made Vivitar 28mm f2 close focusing if I'm using a wide lens. No fiddling with switching Manual/Auto, It's a close focusing lens, and at f2 it's a bunch faster for low light. The Vivitar (if you can find one) runs about $120. The Super Tak runs about $60 but I much prefer the Vivitar. This month's SIC images are posted so here's a few that didn't make into the challenge.

Very sorry to hear about your eyes, best of luck man. I'm short on words here.

Eric

[Minimonster]

The doc has told me that I'm going blind and I'm not taking the news well at all

So sorry to hear this. I can't imagine how hard it must be. I thought of a photographer near me who lost most of his sight whilst serving in Afghanistan but still takes lovely shots and thought he might be some sort of inspiration for you. Chris Nowell Photography (ChrisNowell) Photos / 500px and YouTube