Category Archives: Review

Minolta SR mount, Review, Vintage

Review: Minolta MD 100mm 1:2.5

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The Minolta MD 100mm 1:2.5 is a small and affordable lens which delivers a surprisingly good performance on the Sony a7 series. Read my in-depth review to decide if it could be a good addition to your camera bag.

Specifications

Diameter 64 mm
Length 65.5 mm
Filter Thread 49 mm
Weight 310 g
Max. Magnification 0.12
Close Focusing Distance from the sensor 1 m
Number of aperture blades 6
Elements/ Groups 5/5
The Minolta MD 2.5/100 usually sells for around $150 used at ebay.com (affiliate link). 
In Germany you can buy it used for around 140€ at ebay.de (affiliate link). 

Image Samples

You can find all images shown in this image in full resolution in this album.

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Accessories, Review

Review: Lenovo Yoga Book

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Introduction

lenovo yoga book review
Lenovo Yoga Book

I was looking for the smallest and lightest notebook possible to accompany me on my trips. It needed to have a great screen, allow me to move files from one external device to another and to do some minor photo editing from time to time. I was looking at the Ultrabooks at first, but they were still to big and heavy for my taste, so I decided to give this unusual device a try…

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Olympus OM, Review, Vintage

Review: Olympus OM Zuiko Macro 50mm 1:3.5

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The Olympus OM Zuiko 3.5/50 Macro packs decent performance into a lens which is as small as it is affordable. In-Depth review on the Sony a7ii.

Specifications

Diameter 60 mm
Length 40 mm
Filter Thread 49 mm
Weight 200 g
Max. Magnification 0.5
Close Focusing Distance from the sensor 0.23 m
Number of aperture blades 6
Elements/ Groups 5/4, floating elements
The Olympus OM MC 3.5/50 Macro usually sells for around $40 used at ebay.com (affiliate link). 
In Germany you can buy it used for around 50€ at ebay.de (affiliate link). 

Image Samples

Just click on any image to get to the full resolution.

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Leica M, lenses, Review

Review: Leica Summilux 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE

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Introduction

rangefinder leica m lenses focus field curvature thick sensor stack leica summilux summilux-m 35mm 1.4 asph fle 35 mm 1,4 1/1.4 sony a7 series a7rii a7rmk2 a7rm2
Sony A7rII with Voigtlander VM-E close focus adapter and Leica Summilux 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE

The Leica Summilux 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE is to my knowledge the most expensive 35mm lens for fullframe money can buy and it is also very highly regarded among the few that can afford it. But does it make any sense to use this lens on an A7 series camera? Read the review to find out.

Update July 2024: If you care about the performance of this lens on a Leica M camera have a look at my review of the updated Leica 35mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph FLE MK II which performs just the same in most categories. The updated version has been tested on a Leica M10 and in more detail. You will also find many modern alternatives being discussed there.

Sample Images

rangefinder leica m lenses focus field curvature thick sensor stack leica summilux summilux-m 35mm 1.4 asph fle 35 mm 1,4 1/1.4 sony a7 series a7rii a7rmk2 a7rm2
Sony A7rII | Leica Summilux 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE | f/2.0 | shot handheld | full resolution
rangefinder leica m lenses focus field curvature thick sensor stack leica summilux summilux-m 35mm 1.4 asph fle 35 mm 1,4 1/1.4 sony a7 series a7rii a7rmk2 a7rm2
Sony A7rII | Leica Summilux 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE | f/1.4 | full resolution
rangefinder leica m lenses focus field curvature thick sensor stack leica summilux summilux-m 35mm 1.4 asph fle 35 mm 1,4 1/1.4 sony a7 series a7rii a7rmk2 a7rm2
Sony A7rII | Leica Summilux 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE | f/4.0 | full resolution

This lens was also featured in my fast 35mm manual focus lenses comparison you might want to have a look at.

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Comparison, Leica M, lenses, Review, Sony E-mount

35mm Comparison: Voigtlander VM 1.7, Zeiss Loxia 2.0 and ZM 1.4, Leica FLE 1.4

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Introduction

Leica Summilux-M 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE | Zeiss Distagon ZM 35mm 1.4 T* | Voigtlander Ultron 35mm 1.7 Asph | Zeiss Loxia 35mm 2.0
Leica Summilux-M 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE | Zeiss Distagon ZM 35mm 1.4 T* | Voigtlander Ultron 35mm 1.7 Asph | Zeiss Loxia 35mm 2.0

We managed to gather the three most recent fast rangefinder 35mm wide angle lenses from Leica, Zeiss and Voigtlander, threw in the Zeiss Loxia and put them up against each other on the 42mp A7rII.  So in case you are looking for a small modern high quality 35mm manual focus lens: read on!

Continue reading 35mm Comparison: Voigtlander VM 1.7, Zeiss Loxia 2.0 and ZM 1.4, Leica FLE 1.4 →