The Minolta AF 2.8/200 has the reputation to be one of the best if not the best lens Minolta ever made. In this review I check if it still can keep up with the Sony a7II 30 years after it’s introduction.
Just click on any image to get to the full resolution version.
The Zhong Yi Mitakon 50mm 0.95 Speedmaster “Dark Knight” is a very fast 50mm lens with the staggering maximum aperture of 0.95. Compared to the Leica Noctilux this lens is very cheap, on absolute terms it isn’t, so find out whether this lens is worth the asking price!
Continue reading Review: Zhong Yi Mitakon 50mm 0.95 Dark Knight
The Meyer Trioplan 2.8/100 is one of the most hyped lenses of the moment and prices have exploded to absolutely crazy levels. But do you get anything special but that soap bubble bokeh for your money? Read on if you want to know.
| Diameter | 64 mm |
| Length | 36 mm |
| Filter Thread | 49 mm |
| Weight | 150 g |
| Max. Magnification | 0.15 |
| Close Focusing Distance from the sensor | 1.2 m |
| Number of aperture blades | 15 |
| Elements/ Groups | 3 / 3 |
Continue reading Review of the overhyped Meyer Trioplan 100mm 1:2.8
This guide was written to give you a good idea what to expect from Canon’s older FD lenses, many of which still perform very well on modern digital cameras.
All tests are performed with the 24MP full frame Sony a7/a7ii. Our ratings are always based on using the lenses with these cameras, the evaluation will be a different one on a smaller sensor. To learn more about using manual lenses on the Sony a7 check our beginners guide.
Most of these summaries are based on our own experience but we also decided to also include lenses we haven’t used ourselves to pool useful information we found on the net which we have summarized based on our experience with reviewing lenses. We would also be very happy if you shared your own experience with Canon FD lenses we don’t have any reliable information on yet. We are quite picky with the information we use though. That’s because 95% of the information we come across is unreliable: Everyone has different standards, Person A might rate the very same lens as a great performer while person B thinks it’s total junk. So we are mostly interested in full resolution images taken with a fullframe camera including information on the aperture used.
If you purchase the lens through one of the affiliate-links in this article we get a small compensation with no additional cost to you.
Status: Used by Jannik for a short time in the past
360g + adapter | $200 | technical data | sample images | user reviews
buy from ebay (affiliate link)
Continue reading The Guide to Canon FD lenses on the Sony a7 series
Jannik: I am an automotive engineer from Wolfsburg, Germany. I started out with an Sony Alpha 200 in 2008 but I discovered photography as my passion when the first Sony A7 came out. I preordered it and was fascinated by the ability to revive all the legacy lenses, that were “dead” for a long time. My first manual lens was a Canon nFD 1.4/50 which was an eye opener for me. At this time, I only owned the Sony FE 3.5-5.6/28-70 kit lens and I was never really satisfied by it. The sharpness and the creative potential of the fast aperture combined with the bargain price (50€) were amazing. I added lots of Canon FD lenses soon and started to discover other systems like Olympus OM and especially Contax/Yashica as well. With some experience, I found the different rendering styles of specific lenses and I am happy that I can choose between several lenses depending on the look that I want to create.
Continue reading The Manual Photographers Series Part 0.3: Jannik Peters