| Latest Review Posted | Cosina ( Petri, Vivitar VMC) Cosinon W MC 35mm F2.8
After several years of using zooms (particularly a Tamron 18-250) I become interested in the old zoom v prime debate. So I dug out my Chinon 50mm f1.9 which I had bought decades ago with a CP7m but never used. It was still in the orignal box, untouched, no dust or fungus, nothing! All I can say is "wow, I love it" but that's for a separate review.
So i was hooked, problem is that on APSC the 50mm is great for portraits but just too tight for more general shots so I decided to look for a 35mm (closer the old standard lens view). The highly regarded Pentax f3.5 and others were going for crazily high prices on ebay so I looked for an alternative. There aren't many reviews around for this Cosina lens, one of which showed it to be the worst from a choice of several 35mm lenses from different manufacturers. Anyway, this one was available for £25 so I decided to take a chance.
My findings are more in line with the reviews/links on this site. I'm currently using it on a K100d but can still identify differences between it and the Tamron zoom.
Key points;
Sharp at f2.8, better at f4 and the sweet spot for me is f5.6. F8 still ok but slight fall off in sharpness after that (but still ok).
Central definition is better than my zoom.
Edge definition is better than my zoom.
Contrast is good but not quite up with the very best.
CA control seems to be very good, I've not managed to produce any photos where it's obvious, even pixel peeping.
I did manage to produce some flare... |
