The Pentacon auto 50 mm f/1.8 Multi Coating is a small and very cheap 50 mm lens with an unusually close focus distance of 33 cm. Is this “nifty fifty” worth adapting to a modern full frame camera?
Continue reading Review: Pentacon auto 50 mm f/1.8 Multi Coating
The Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* (C/Y) 35-70mm f3.4 was a standard zoom lens designed for the Yashica and Contax series of film SLR cameras. It was, perhaps, the first standard zoom of truly decent quality throughout its range. You could use it an any focal length and not really have any compromise relative the prime lenses of the time. That cliché “a tube full of primes” was (for once) true of it: at least in its day.
It’s since acquired a kind of cult reputation. Some think it remains the finest standard zoom you can get. But how much of this reputation is due to it being so amazing by the standards of when it was designed in 1982, and how much because it still deserves a place in the kits of some modern photographers? Read on to find out!
| Diameter | 70mm |
| Length | 80.5 mm |
| Filter Thread | 67 mm |
| Weight (w/o adapter) | 475 g |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 0.7m |
| Maximum Magnification | 1:2.5 |
| Number of aperture blades | 8 |
| Elements/ Groups | 10/10 |
Continue reading Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* (C/Y) 35-70mm f3.4: A review
The Nikon 35mm f/2.8 (affiliate link) is a relatively small 35 mm legacy lens. Although it has some weaknesses it is currently one of my favorite lenses. In this review I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this lens. Most sample pictures can be found in this Flickr album.
Just as last year I want to take the opportunity to have a look back and another one forward.
The Team
In 2018 my focus was on my new job, so I am grateful that I could rely on my team to keep the blog running.
Bastian was by far the most active one of us in 2018. Some of his reviews which stood out to me were the Sony GM 1.4/85 (first Sony lens he liked), the Carl Zeiss Jena 1.9/183 (very affordable cinema lens with interesting characteristics), Pocketpano Vario XL Panorama, because this is a product which is obviously designed by a person passionate about solving photographer’s issues, just like the handy Loxia lens-grips. He also wrote several guides of which I would like to mention How to Create environmental portraits and Best Astro lenses for the Sony a7 series.
David and I collaborated on the comprehensive E-mount macro guide and he reviewed interesting niche lenses like the Zeiss ZM 1.5/50 and Pentax 2.8/35 Macro. He also reviewed the excellent Zeiss ZM 4/85 and Canon EF 2.8/200 L.
Jannik started his year with the quest for a replacement for his Sony a7II which couldn’t keep up with his son anymore. After trying the Fuji X-T2 and Nikon D750 he ended up with the Sony a7III and sold most of his manual lenses to replace them with AF lenses like the GM 1.4/24, ZA 1.4/50 and Tamron 2.8/28-75 which was our most popular review in 2018.
Tamron 2.8/28-75 | Sony A7iii | 28mm | f/2.8
Also mentioned should be the guest reviews from Nehemiah, who reviewed the Pentax limited 1.8/31, from Stephen who reviewed the Sony STF 2.8/100 and Leica APO Elmarit 2.8/180. And Sebboh who reviewed the Contax G 2.8/28.
A big thank you to all of you! I am a little proud that this blog remains a passion driven resource in a very profit driven environment and this wouldn’t be possible without you contributing your own experience and time.
At Photokina 2018 we also checked out some other lenses and cameras not directly connected to E-mount which we will cover in this article.
The russian lens brand “Zenith” now belongs to the Shvabe group which apparently decided to do a little more than just keep producing old Helios lenses.
Continue reading Photokina Recap Part 6: Leica, Zenit, Tokina