Hoya HMC Zoom & Macro 35-105mm f/3.5

rudolfkremers · Expire: 2015-08-08

(Edit: I posted this in the wrong thread in equipment gallery, so reposting here...)

SO, I punted on this lens, as I has a suspicion about Hoya's coatings producing very warm saturated colour rendering. A bit like certain types of film. It's a cinematic look that I really care about. I shot some i images this morning, in pretty harsh sunlight.

My punt is a bit of a failure, insofar that the lens has fungus o the front element (inside) and some haze (I think)

There is good, bad, and ugly:

The good: I love love love the colours:

I like nthe Bokeh as well, and it has a handy macro mode.

The bad:
It's not that sharp, although it may be bad focus technique. The lens is super heavy, and it was VERY windy:

The ugly:
I Love the colours in this (and bokeh is fine) but what the hell is this soft unsharp mess?

Is the lens that bad, or is it because the fungus/haze? Is it bad focusing? I did notice this zoom is very flare prone, and seems to choke easily on harsh highlights...

So, it's a conundrum. I may be wasting my time with it, but I intend to do some tripod/monopod shooting with it, to see if I can rule out camera shake. If that still produces iffy results I am not sure what to do, as for all I know the coating damage explains the issues.

I have a Vario-Sonnar 35-70 and 80-200, and a Nikkor 80-200 and a Nikkor pro zoom 35-70 on the way, so I am well covered with zooms, but as I said, I love the colours of these Hoya HMC lenses...

Thoughts?

rudolfkremers · Expire: 2015-08-08

Hmm it's annoyingly bad weather where, and will stay that way for a while, so not sure when I can test it again.
Does anybody else have this lens?

Didn't iangreenhalgh1 purchase this a while ago?

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3462 Location: Northern Ireland

I have it as you have seen in the equipment forum but haven't really used it much. I'll take it out for a spin and post some examples here.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

I did have it a while back, like all but three or four of the Hoya Lenses, it's a rebadged Tokina RMC.

I sold all my Hoyas, the zooms varied between so-so and not bad, I remember this one was not bad, but couldn't compete with my better zooms such as the Konica Zoom-Hexanon 45-100.

One good lens that is common and cheap is the Tokina AT-X 28-85, it should have the sort of colours you want.

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3462 Location: Northern Ireland

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

As far as I know, this lens is also available branded as "Porst".
It's surely not one of the best zoom lenses around, but it should be considerably better than your images show.

I have one in PK-mount and although you can see a difference in sharpness between this lens and a top-level zoom, my Porst 3.5/35-105 is not too bad, really.
Absolutely sufficient for film cams.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Another lens to look out for, because it's cheap and excellent, although not all that common so need patience, is the Koboron 3.5/-4.8/24-70. A very well made lens that is really surprisingly good for an old zoom and you can pick them up for pennies as it's an unknown gem.

bernhardas · Expire: 2017-05-23

Edited

Newfie · Joined: 04 Mar 2014 Posts: 242 Location: Austin, Texas

I have this lens branded Soligor 35-105 f3.5 Macro made by Tokina and it seems pretty good to me. Great Colors on my K-10 and K-50.

Decent sharpness stopped down, pretty good overall.

Regards,

Gavin

rudolfkremers · Expire: 2015-08-08

Ian/digi, thanks for that Tokina tip. I will check it out.
I have some excellent zooms, but there is just something about the colour of some of these Hoya HMC's that I fond hard to get out of other lenses. Nikkor has a similar quality, so I am hoping the nikkor 35-70 pro zoom (with Macro) will be both sharp and great in terms of colour.

Berhnardas, You are right, as smaller resolution its fine. I do suspect camera shake was a factor too. The last two images especially, there is something funky going on there, but I still don't know if it is the damaged coating making it extra dodgy. (Hence I am hoping for other owners of the lens to give pictorial feedback). I do think I can use this lens though, and I am of a mind to try and create a PP template with a added film grain, in a way that it simply looks natural. Could be a fun project. I also want to try portraits with it.

Newfie, have you got photos to share? Very Happy

Luis, thanks!

Ian, never heard of that Koboron, will research it. DO you have piccies? Smile

Newfie · Joined: 04 Mar 2014 Posts: 242 Location: Austin, Texas

Hi Luis,

I could only find one shot with my Soligor 35-105 (Tokina) at the moment but it is a simple shot and shows nice color and sharpness, shot with my K-10.

I hope this helps, I'll try and find more better ones for you.

Regards,

Gavin

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Kobori 24-70 pics here:

http://forum.mflenses.com/kobori-koboron-3-5-4-8-24-70-t67497.html

Please ignore the contrast/flare issues as those were the fault of the camera and once that issue was fixed (grease on the sensor) then the lens produced good contrast. Sharpness is outstanding for an old zoom and CA control is very good indeed.

rudolfkremers · Expire: 2015-08-08

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Some more Kobori 24-70 samples:

rudolfkremers · Expire: 2015-08-08

Interesting lens, I can see why you recommend it, although some areas (bright sunlight) still seem a bit washed out to me? (sorry).
I am very curious how well it performs under more controlled circumstances. I will definitely keep an eye out, and thanks so much for sharing your photos and experience.

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3462 Location: Northern Ireland

Sony NEX5T + Hoya HMC 3.5/35-105 Zoom & Macro @ f11