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lenses, photography, Projects

Projector Lenses – Part 2 – Adapting Old Petzval and Projection Lenses to Modern Cameras

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The best thing about life is that sometimes there is a cat. A close second is characterful lenses to depict it. The Kowa 50/1.3 is a more common optical design than old Petzvals, thus its rendition is closer to, say, a Canon 50/1.4 M39 or FD, but with busier bokeh.

As many readers asked for and looked forward to a follow-up to the Projector Lenses article—one that explains how Mark carried out the conversion and offers some hints and guidance so you can try it yourself—he kindly put together this second piece on the subject. All photos and text are by Mark; the article design and layout are by me, Martin.

So, I’ll hand it over to Mark…

Meyer Görlitz 50mm f/1.6

Welcome back! This post seeks to introduce you to the possibilities of adapting old 16mm-film projector lenses to Evils, SLRs and even Rangefinders. The aim is using these old treasures for creative photographic expression. But whilst the charm lies in the resulting pictures more than the resulting object, feel free to wake your inner fine mechanic! Mine has definitely been fast asleep, and yet, through immersion, I graduated from first putty attempts to a solid interchangeable mount setup, the recipe of which I’ll share.

So here we go, I guess.

Sample Images

Meyer 50 1,6
Meyer 50 2,2
Meyer 50 1,6

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lenses, Pentax K-mount, Review

Guest Review: Pentax SMC FA 31mm f1.8 Limited

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11/15/2020:  “Alternatives” and “Conclusion” and “Notes” sections has been updated in light of new releases, and a few more sample images have been added.

The Pentax 31mm f1.8 Limited is a fast moderate wide angle lens released in 2001. It’s designated as one of Pentax’s “Limited” series, denoting its high status within the Pentax catalogue. Since its release, the 31 Ltd has been beloved, especially within the Pentax community. I picked up my first copy in pursuit of a fast, decently priced alternative to the Sony RX1. Sony hasn’t provided shooters with a native fast 35mm f1.8 or f2 option. The 31 Ltd was a highly praised lens upon release, but optics have come along way recently, and it’s getting long in the tooth. Let’s see how it holds up 17 years after it’s release, and what type of images we can expect.


The 31mm focal length is an oddity, being near but noticeably different from the more conventional 28mm or 35mm focal lengths. The 31 ltd functions as versatile jack-of-trades lens with its 31 FL. The lens is still in production by Pentax/Ricoh, coming in either silver or black.

To view larger versions of the photos in this review, follow this link to my Pentax 31 ltd album on flickr: 

 

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lenses, Review, Uncategorized

Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/2.8

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Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 

Nikon 35mm f/2.8

 


 

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.

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