New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 15 | | Review Date: December 9, 2023 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | A Chinon 55mm f1.8 for three times the price | | Cons: | Read the review | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 6
Camera Used: Film and full-frame digital
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Nobody really know if these were all made in the Tomioka factory as they do not all carry the factory wording.
Mine was close to mint condition externally and almost completely clear and mark free through the glass with a minor amount of edge imperfection at the rear end of the glass. This will make no difference to much in all honesty.
This lens is not sharp wide open beyond a few very close subjects of focus. And you do get some marginal CA colour fringing with high contrast lines in some images at the first and to the second f-stops, but it's all gone by f4 to f11. This is pretty normal with lenses from this manufacturing period. It's not a problem. In many other ways this lens is much like most M42 lenses of its time. From f4 up the numbers it sharpens considerably and it is here that it reaches infinity with some ability. As with most lenses f4 to f8 is the sweet spot for close work, mid-distance and infinity sharpness. Control of flare is good, but use a hood as with vintage lenses.
The only weak aspect is the slight lack of contrast and the denaturation of some rich colours. It's the same as the Chinon 55mm F1.7 lens. In fact, this much more expensive f1.4 version is pretty much identical in every regard except that it opens up a little more. It is just as beautifully made and works as impressively. It feels impressive and looks impressive; just like the much more favourably priced f1.7 version. Did I really need the f1.4 lens? Did it make my photography better? Does it allow different opportunities? No, not really. I sold it and bought a Yashica DS-M 50mm f1.8 lens that gives better colours and finer contrasting images and some film.
A nice lens in every regard. Solid, reliable, well-made.
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New Member Registered: July, 2019 Posts: 25
1 user found this helpful
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New Member Registered: February, 2012 Posts: 17
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 11, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $90.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp in the centre from wide open, shallow depth of field, A/M switch | | Cons: | Vulnerable to flare, background highlights look a mess | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: Samsung GX-20
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This is the legendary Tomioka-designed 55mm f1.4, available under many different brand names. I added it to the database because mine seems to be an earlier model than the others here; all metal construction, except for the leatherette covering of the focus ring.
It is very prone to flare when strong light sources are in, or close to, the frame. It is only single coated. I always use a hood.
It isn't very prone to chromatic aberrations or purple fringing.
It takes beautiful portraits, and pictures of flowers, with very nice colour rendition.
It is very sharp in the centre wide open, and gets sharper stopped down. The centre doesn't improve much beyond f2, whilst the corners improve up to f5.6.
You need to avoid out of focus highlights beyond the plane of focus; they acquire double rings.
Whilst I am reluctant to condemn the build quality of something that has been in use for, and maintains its precision characteristics after, forty or fifty years, the aperture click stops aren't very positive, and the focus isn't as smooth as my Pentax fifties, although it is still better than my (optically excellent) Cosina primes. The Pentax M 50mm f1.4 is easier to focus; it seems to snap in to focus.
A curiosity is that my camera doesn't meter an increase in brightness of the image as I click from the last half stop down to f1.4. This isn't a mechanical issue. If I look through the lens, I can see the blades moving. I investigated the size of the circle of confusion, and found that it does get smaller as I reduce the aperture from its maximum, and the shape of the blades is apparent as soon as I start stepping down. When I fixed the shutter speed, the image got darker as I stopped down, as you would expect. However, when I set the camera to Aperture Priority, the exposure wide open was 1.3 seconds, I stopped it down a single click, and the exposure went down to 1 second instead of up!
The Auto/Manual (A/M) switch is a very useful feature, but it isn't easy to operate without looking at it.
I usually prefer to use the Pentax M 50mm f1.4 when low light performance is needed, because:
- The Pentax's mechanical handling is superior. It is more easily accurately focused
- The Chinon's metering strangeness
- The Pentax benefits from multi-coating
- The Pentax is smaller and lighter
- The Pentax has a K-mount!
However the Chinon is still very good, and I would always prefer it for a trip to Kew Gardens.
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