Many of you might not even know that Minolta also produced M-mount lenses and even an M-mount camera (Minolta CLE). The M-Rokkor 90mm 4.0 is the longest of the three lenses and thanks to a reader who allowed me to use it for a few weeks I can present you this review now.
After Voigtlander gave us the 40mm 1.2 we now also get a 50mm 1.2 (for now M-mount only). Is it just a slightly longer version of the 40mm or actually a better lens in the end? Read on to find out.
We have become used to old lens formulas being revived and sold for occasionally huge sums of money to collectors and photographers hoping to create images with a magical vintage look. All of us here have been very sceptical about this. Mostly they have been simple lenses in simple bodies with poor technical qualities being sold for more than the price of the latest and greatest glass. From one perspective the legendary C-Sonnar from Zeiss is like this. It’s a classic design dating from 1932 whose principal design goal at the time was to reduce the number of air glass surfaces because the coatings of the day were so primitive. Why do we need it now? But Zeiss bought it back in 2006 in M mount as part of the ZM series. The optical design is not much changed, but it comes with modern coatings. Many prize it for magical rendering and flattering portraiture, others think it shows that not even Zeiss is above trying to rip off nostalgic hipsters. Read on and find out who is right!
| Diameter | 56 mm |
| Length | 45 mm |
| Filter Thread | 46 mm |
| Weight (w/o adapter) | 250 g |
| Max. Magnification (w/o close focus adapter) | 1:15 |
| Close Focusing Distance from the sensor (w/o CFA) | 0.9 m |
| Number of aperture blades | 10 |
| Elements/ Groups | 6/4 |
Continue reading Carl Zeiss C-Sonnar T* 50mm f1.5 ZM: A Detailed Review
The Aporis 135mm 2.4 is the latest and also longest lens made by MS-Optics, a one-man-lens manufacturer. It even features one of Canon’s famous CaF2 Fluorit glass elements, which is mostly used in their great super tele lenses for minimizing color aberrations. Does it help to actually combine fast maximum aperture, small size and good image quality?
Continue reading Review: MS-Optics Aporis 135mm 2.4 Fluorit MC
Most rangefinder lenses used on a Sony a7 series camera show some serious issues because of the rather thick filter stack in front of the sensor. There are two ways to deal with this. We have previously discussed the use of front filters to counter the induced field curvature. In this article Sebboh reviews another solution.
This is an extended use review of the Kolari Ultra Thin (UT, also sometimes referred to as version 4) sensor stack modification on a Sony A7. This modification removes the AA filter and IR cut filter from a stock Sony camera and replaces it with an ultra thin 0.2mm thick IR cut filter in order to attempt to provide similar levels of performance to the Leica M9 in dealing with the steep ray angles often produced by rangefinder lenses designed for film. I have shot a UT modified Sony A7 for 6 months now and can confirm that it dramatically improves performance with certain lenses (big thanks to Nehemiah for letting me use his lenses and cameras for the comparisons shown here). I will try to outline what kind of improvements can be expected here and what drawbacks there are to getting the conversion done.
Continue reading Review: Kolari Ultra Thin Sensor Stack Modification