| Showing all 21 reviews by MMouse | |
| Review of: Vivitar / Panagor (komine) Auto Wide-Angle 35mm F1.9 by MMouse on Thu September 27, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 53940
Reviews: 6
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This lens is extremely sharp from wide open, without glow. Stopped down, it's sharper than my very trusty Nikkor 35mm f/2.
Colors are good. Mechanically, the Vivitar feels like a tank.
Downsides are:
- It's much bigger than expected for a 35mm f/2 (almost) lens, it's quite heavy. It's thinner but longer than the Nikkor.
- Bokeh is not the best, still ok, not "exploding" like the 28mm f/1,9 or the Komine 28mm f/2 but not as smooth as the Nikkor. Can be pleasing thought depending on pictures.
- It becomes quite well known for it's sharpness and prices are rising.
Mine was a very good value for about 80 € in m42 mount. Body has some wear but optics are pristine.
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| Review of: Samyang 35mm F1.4 AS UMC by MMouse on Tue August 28, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 86083
Reviews: 16
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Bought the lens but finally returned it because it was too big and very heavy. It is not much bigger than 85mm f/1,4 but beware, it is much heavier. Build quality seems better thought.
I like 35mm focal lengh a lot and I was looking for an everyday lens... Well, not the right pick.
I tested it, sharpness was great and bokeh excellent, very smooth, really loved the rendering. Buy it if you're looking for a 35mm bokeh lens and have enough muscles to handle it !
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| Review of: Tamron Adaptall-2 (03B) 135mm F2.5 by MMouse on Tue August 28, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 80486
Reviews: 14
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This lens can be bought for less than 80$ and it is f/2,5 !
Tamron adaptall's build quality is excellent, everything is metal except the rubber focusing ring.
It focuses down to 1,2m, better than most of 135mm vintage lenses (usually abour 1,5m).
It's a sharp lens with good contrast, full usable wide open with only little chromatic aberration (easy to fix). Bokeh is nice and smooth.
The lens is easy to use, not a small one but less big and heavy than Tamron's 90mm f/2,5 adaptall macro.
Most 135mm are good... This one is in my opinion very good, and a perfect choice for a budget bright 135mm lens.
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| Review of: Olympus 28mm F3.5 by MMouse on Tue August 28, 2018 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 6529
Reviews: 1
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This is a little jem. f/3,5 only but sharp from edge to edge at every aperture on my A7. Very easy to focus, on the contrary to OM 21 and 24mm.
Build quality is great and the lens is one of the cheapest you can get in OM mount. It has more glass than the f/2,8 version...
Bokeh is not so good, but this is not the purpose of this lens. It's sharp, cheap, light and reliable, I really like shooting with mine.
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| Review of: Fujinon 55mm F1.8 by MMouse on Tue August 28, 2018 | Rating: 7 | View more reviews | |
Views: 90057
Reviews: 5
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The lens feels great in the hand but you should remove the mount tab so that it will screw well.
Bokeh is wonderful and vibrant on full frame, truly great for an ordinary f/1,8 lens. However, it doesn't look so special on an APS-C body.
Sharpness is average at f/1,8, a tad bit soft and lacks contrast. My sample is not perfect but quite clean, only a bit of dust. It improves when stopped down but infinity focus can be critical.
It's an interesting lens on full frame for it's bokeh, and an average one on APS-C.
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| Review of: Sigma EX DG Macro 50mm F2.8 by MMouse on Wed August 22, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 78610
Reviews: 19
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This is a real gem for the price: about 150 € new and can be found for less than 100 € (especially the first version with is rarer and same optically if you don't need autofocus).
The lens is as sharp as 55mm f/2,8 micro Nikkor which is probably my sharpest lens. Bokeh is good, and it goes to real 1:1 magnification. It is not build like a tank and feels worse than most old classic lenses but it is very light.
Only real dowside is that the lens is difficult to use in manual mode because of the focusing ring which is too smooth and imprecise. Makes a bit of grindy noise too.
Overall, if you need a cheap macro lens, just buy it !
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| Review of: Olympus 24mm F2.8 by MMouse on Mon July 23, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 4450
Reviews: 1
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Mine is mid MC version with MC written on front ring, possibly the best version of the lens. The G.Zuiko is the same but single coated, and the latest is multicoated but with few optical adjustments.
Very small lens with excellent mechanics. It's very sharp from wide open but it has a bit of field curvature, so not the easiest lens to use. I had a lot of mis focused pictures with it at the beginning, but with practice, it really shines.
It focuses quite close, but has poor bokeh (not a problem for a 24mm wide angle). Cheaper than the 21mm f/3,5, brighter and a bit sharper. Highly recommended.
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| Review of: Olympus Zuiko OM 21mm F3.5 by MMouse on Mon July 23, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 20350
Reviews: 3
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Finally exchanged my Voigtlander 20mm f/3,5 wide angle for this one.
Mechanically, Zuiko lenses are among the best legacy lenses I tried. The thing is small and handling is pure joy.
The lens is sharp and fully usable from f/3,5: great center, good edges, ok corners. Stopped down from one or two stops, everything becomes great. Quite outstanding considering it's age. Because of the serial numbers, I think mine is multicoated. Coatings are good but there is no native lens hood availiable, don't really understand why...
Zuiko 21mm f/3,5 is quite expensive, but it is one of the very best vintage ultra wide angle. Other options usually require to be stopped down to f/8 or f/11 to produce good quality pictures, so I think it's worth the price.
Only downside is that it is quite difficult to focus compared to other lenses. I don't understand why, but it's the same with Zuiko 24mm 2.8. Don't just focus to infinity, check carefully before shooting.
Mine had wobbly aperture ring but I paid for servicing and now it has beautiful new barrel and looks like new. Price given is in euro for lens + remplacement barrel.
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| Review of: Helios 44-2 58mm F2 by MMouse on Thu June 28, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 395721
Reviews: 49
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Lots of things have been said about this lens.
Sharpness is ok, not outstanding but good considering the age of the optics. Well used, it has an unique swirly bokeh signature, quite impressive. The effect is even stronger on full frame.
The problem with the Helios 44 is that it's rendering is unpredictable. Sometimes it's beautiful and probably better than any other lens, sometimes it is just flat and dull. It's good for portraits, flowers and generally bokeh but used outside on a sunny day, and better with trees and leaves on the background. Well, it's a good lens but a specific one.
I think it's a fun lens every photographer can buy, but don't expect it to replace anything. It's unique, that's why it's fun. It also means that you cannot do everything with it. Don't pay more than 30 € for a perfect sample!
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| Review of: MIR 24N-M 35mm F2.8 by MMouse on Thu June 28, 2018 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 50303
Reviews: 3
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This thing is a hidden gem ! A close focus 35mm f/2 fully usable wide open, with nice rendering and very smooth bokeh.
The lens is a bit heavy, build quality itself is good but not as good as Nikkor or Olympus OM lenses. It does not feel indestructible like an Helios 44. But it is still quite nice and for the price, I can't complain.
The problem is, as usual with Soviet lenses, quality control lacks. It means lots of lenses have dust, scratches or spots straight from the factory. Not a real issue but it can bother some people.
Optically, it is as good as Nikkor 35mm f/2 and I think bokeh is even smoother. It's sharp, it's multicoated and colors are beautiful. Mir24 focuses down to 24cm, as close as the famous Flektogon 35mm f/2,4 !
It's cheap, it's great, don't hesitate to give it a try !
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| Review of: Vivitar Series 1 "Bokina" (tokina) Macro 90mm F2.5 by MMouse on Thu June 28, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 110591
Reviews: 13
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Excellent lens, well build, light, very sharp and with nice smooth bokeh. Good for macro, also excellent for portraits. Optional extension tube is bulky, but it has glass inside and is especially made for the lens. Results were good too.
This is a great lens, but it has become a legend and prices are reaching indecent levels. Have nothing else to say against this Vivitar, but I think it's not that much better than the much more affordable Tamron 90mm f/2,5 macro. It's lighter, it may have slightly better bokeh but I'm not sure. Unfortunately, I didn't have both lenses at the same time. Sold the Vivitar and was not deceived by the Tamron.
Go for it if you can/want to afford the best of the best, otherwise there are lots of very good and cheaper macro lenses.
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| Review of: Vivitar (PK-A, 98xxxxx = cosina) 28mm F2.8 by MMouse on Thu June 28, 2018 | Rating: 7 | View more reviews | |
Views: 21227
Reviews: 6
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Paid quite a lot for mine but it is truly mint, as it has never been used before. Not collectible, but beautiful. Build quality is not outstanding, but I know it's quite solid because my 24mm looks exactly the same and had a long thrilling life.
It's a good lens, not as good as the Vivitar 24mm but renders similarly. It's reasonably sharp, very light and not too precious, may be important sometimes. Bokeh is average. My lens is not close focus at all, I use it on mirrorless cameras with a lens turbo.
It's probably not the best 28mm lens ever (although it can be very sharp when stopped down, as usual with almost every lenses), but regarding it's price, it's very decent. I like to use mine.
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| Review of: Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar MC 135mm F3.5 by MMouse on Thu June 21, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 141150
Reviews: 14
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Tried four copies of the lens: two had stuck diaphragm blades, one had fungus and the last one had been dismantled and was unacceptably dusty. Finally found mine, but I paid the price.
Build quality is ok if you find a good one. The lens is quite small.
It's sharp with good bokeh even if only f/3,5. It has great Zeiss colors and can focus close to less than one meter, I don't know many other 135mm close focus... Well, buy it, but be careful especially with stuck/oily diaphragm blades.
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| Review of: Mamiya Auto Mamiya/Sekor 55mm F1.8 by MMouse on Thu June 21, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 85140
Reviews: 8
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Had the chance to bought it for a decent price but unfortunately it was the SX version.
Lens is sharp with good bokeh and nice colors, build quality seems serious, but was not able to focus to infinity.
Tried to modify my adapter but it didn't work. Finally ended up selling it...
I think it's worth a try but unless you can find a special adapter, be very careful to buy a one without "SX" !
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| Review of: Pentacon auto multi coating 50mm F1.8 by MMouse on Thu June 21, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 111528
Reviews: 15
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Bought this lens "by accident"... It was in bad conditions, focus ring was very stiff. But I tried it and liked the results so much that I bought another one.
I only used it on a micro 4/3 camera because I wanted to play with the good minimal focus distance, it's funny on a 50mm but really amazing on a 100mm equivalent !
Sharpness is quite good even wide open. A bit of chromatic aberration. It becomes very sharp when stopped down.
Bokeh is smooth, but it can also be distracting because the lens tends to produce funny light bubbles sometimes. It is also quite prone to flare.
Build quality is not the best. Still ok for a 40$ lens, but it is not up to OM, Nikkor, Pentax or even other m42 standard. It's usually dusty and diaphragm can become oily, be careful when buying.
Price is given in € for a used one in good conditions.
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| Review of: Voigtlander Nokton 58mm F1.4 by MMouse on Wed June 20, 2018 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 67314
Reviews: 20
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I think this became my favorite lens ever !
Bought my first one to use as a 85mm equivalent on an APS-C camera... and sold it. It was sharp, nice to use, smooth bokeh, but I felt nothing special.
Finally found a good deal on a second hand one and bought it again for my new Sony A7... And even if my first sample was as good as my current one, it's like I discovered a totally new lens !
Build quality is as usual with Voigtlander, very good. I think it's a good compromise between "build like a tank" and modern plastic lenses.
Sharpness is great, fully usable wide open at f/1,4 even if you can't have everything sharp from corner to corner due to limited depth of field. It's an excellent lens optically, the only dowside I can see is light chromatic aberration at full aperture, nothing abnormal I think.
I like it's bokeh very much, it's nice and smooth, better than a 50mm due to slightly longer focal lenght. It's good for portraits, landscapes and not too long for everyday use if you like it.
Like all Voigtlander lenses, it's collectible. Means it is not so expensive when new, but having a good price for it second hand is not easy.
I now really feel this Nokton 58mm f/1,4 has something exceptional on full frame, and I want to keep mine as long as possible. Results on APS-C camera can be good too, the lens performs well but it feels much better on full frame.
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| Review of: Voigtlander Ultron SLII 40mm F2 by MMouse on Wed June 20, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 49800
Reviews: 10
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This is my second favorite lens behind the Voigtlander 58mm f/1,4 Nokton, and probably my most used since I got it.
The lens is beautifully made, even if less compact when adding adapter. Handling is great. 40mm focal lenght with close focus abilities is very useful and versatile on full frame.
Sharpness is nothing but outstanding, the lens is sharp corner to corner from f/2. You can easily get crisp and contrasty pictures. Contrast and colors are a bit more pronounced than with the Nokton 58mm f/1,4, I may call the rendering more modern.
Bokeh is not the best. At long and medium distance, it's average, nervous to neutral depending on the situation. Not great, but I find it less distracting than some "bokeh monster" lens. At close focus distance, it can be good but it has nothing to do with the Nokton. Simply expect the background to be blur without special effect.
I saw no optical flaws except little distortion, noticeable when shooting something straight but still correctable easily.
This lens is light, very sharp and has nice punchy rendering combine with amazing close focus abilities. I don't mind having paid so much for it since it is versatile and even collectible. I strongly recommend it if you are lucky to find it for a good price.
Price is given in € for a new one.
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| Review of: Voigtländer SL COLOR-HELIAR 75mm F2.5 by MMouse on Wed June 20, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 39935
Reviews: 5
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Tried this lens briefly but I finally did not keep it due to odd focal lenght.
It's really small and nicely made. Handling is pure pleasure, as usual with Voigtlander.
Sharpness is good even wide open, a bit of chromatic aberrations but it's not a major issue. Bokeh looks good, even if not as smooth as the one of a 85mm f/1,8. Colors are absolutely wonderful, with kind of warm tones which I found great. Rendering is definitely nice.
Depending on the mount, minimum focus distance can be very long.
Major concern about this lens is that it is no more produced, and it may be difficult to find one in good conditions AND not too expensive. Mint samples can rise 500 € depending on the mount. The cheaper ones are LTM versions, but these are old lenses and can be quite heavily used.
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| Review of: Tamron Adaptall-2 SP (52B/52BB) 90mm F2.5 by MMouse on Wed June 20, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 196486
Reviews: 36
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Had two samples of this lens. The first one had been used and probably abused, it was good but with a noticeable lack of contrast. The new one is almost mint and performs much better.
Love the fact that an adaptall lens can fit every camera mount, even if the adapters are usually expensive and sometimes really difficult to find.
Sharpness is excellent even at f/2,5. It has minor chromatic aberration at full aperture but nothing to worry about. It can flare a little bit and it's better to use a lens hood. Tried the much more regarded Vivitar series 1 90mm f/2,5 "Bokina" and I sharpness seems to be on par with the Tamron, the only differences beeing weight and slightly smoother bokeh for the Viv.
Tamron's bokeh is good, I like my portrait lens 85mm f/1,8 better in this regard but it's nice. It has more aperture blades than most vintage lenses, this helps when stopped down.
The lens is only 1:2 but I'm not annoyed with that.
Handling is good, the lens is really build like a tank. I own several old lenses and most of them are all metal and durable, but the Tamron is especially heavy and feels almost indestructible.
Value is good as this Tamron 90mm f/2.5 adaptall is excellent and can be found for about 100 € in good conditions. It rises a bit but still cheaper than the later plastic version.
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| Review of: Voigtländer Color-Skopar SL Aspherical 20mm F3.5 by MMouse on Mon June 18, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 36331
Reviews: 9
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Bought this lens as a wide angle for my A7. Optically, it's a bit of a mixed bag, but I really like shooting with it.
The lens is a joy to use, very small (without the adapter) with nice metal build.
I find sharpness horrible/unusable at full aperture, but I suspect my adapter because I tested it on a DSLR and it was much better. However, after stopping down one stop, it becomes great. From f/5,6 to f/16, everything is sharp almost corner to corner. f/22 is a bit softer but still ok.
Colors are beautiful, contrasty and punchy, that's why I keep it even if it is not my sharpest wide angle.
Bokeh is average for this focal lenght, the lens focuses quite close but I don't like the rendering of the out focus areas. A 20mm lens is not the best for bokeh, even if you can get a tiny bit of subject isolation on full frame.
The lens performs similarly on an APS-C body, hazy and fuzzy at f/3,5 and very sharp from f/5,6.
To conclude, I would say it is not the best wide angle ever and I admit it's the worst of my Voigtlander lenses, but it is nice to use and has pleasant rendering. It can be a good purchase if you need a pocketable wide angle, and if you can find it for a correct price.
I strongly advise you to buy a suitable lens hood because there is a clear difference between with and without.
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| Review of: Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro by MMouse on Mon June 18, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 15768
Reviews: 2
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Bought this lens second hand because I wanted to try it on my A7. I found it very sharp with great bokeh and no visible chromatic aberration or other optical flaw.
I didn't like the fact it is quite huge and heavy (even if plastic), and the lens hood is simply too big.
It's a very good lens but the value is not the best since it is not that much better than a a lot of other vintage lenses. I think prices for a new one are too high. Otherwise, the lens is great, if you can live with it's size and weight.
The main difference with a vintage macro lens is that the Samyang's bokeh stays quite round when stopped down, thanks to the 9 aperture blades.
Price I paid is given in € for a second hand lens in good conditions.
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