Rodenstock Eurygon 2.8/30 M42, an interesting lens

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Rodenstock Eurygon 2.8/30 is massive and very well machined, besides the fact it sounds like a rare lens. The copy I got in M42 mount equipped with a lateral button, the same as classic Exakta lenses do have. I ignore the origin of such a construction. Was it intended for Edixa cameras?

Put on Sony Nex with a lens booster, the lens slightly vignettes and shows an interesting character, both in colour and bokeh departments. The bokeh is not typical for a wide angle lens and finds itself on the mild'n'bubbles side. Closing the diaphragm does not change it much, as long as the aperture has more than 6 lamels and nearly round hole at any value.

At longer distances the lens wide open shows some glow, closed down one stop it renders shapes in a more usual way, as seen in the difference between #4 and #5.

All the following shots are corrected as per exposure and contrast.

#1 WO, MFD an bokeh

#2 At f4, near infinity

#3 Contarst is pushed further to let a more dramatic sky, shadows still keep a good amount of information

#4 WO, focus on the pigeons

#5 at f4 or f5.6, focus on the pigeons

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7555 Location: Hong Kong

The button is used to for coupling the shutter release of a Edixa Reflex camera. You copy seems to be in better condition than my copy which has some serious separation on one of the middle element!

Gatorengineer64 · Joined: 26 Oct 2017 Posts: 283

I have always wondered what is the point of running a full frame lens on a crkp camera when full frame A7s can be had for usd 300? If the lens cant fill a crop frame with quality then its a dog biscuit.

Alun Thomas · Joined: 20 Aug 2018 Posts: 655 Location: New Zealand

I don't know about this particular lens, but the praktica FX could also be a candidate. On the PAD Isco Westagon and Westanar lenses, the M42 threaded mount could be adjusted slightly to let the lens be used on either camera, as the shutter buttons were in slightly different places.

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 3169 Location: The Netherlands

Nice bokeh of this lens it seems!

Pancolart · Expire: 2013-11-18

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Good to know! Edixa or Praktica FX do make sense.

Calvin, I am happy to have a well preserved glass. I read that separation is a common issue in these lenses. Does the one in your copy affects considerably the results? I acknowledge that general light rendering of Eurygon is pretty special and very variable depending the situation. Sometimes it darkens the peripherial part of the shot, in some other cases the shots are overexposed with neutral settings, and one need to set a -0.7 exposure compensation by default. I haven't caught yet the logic of these variations.

Gatorengineer64, the size matters. A Nex with a lens booster remains more compact than a FF Sony body. Besides, when you out a Nex, you do not look as "serious" as with an A7 in your hands, and this helps a bit when you wish to harvest some street shots.

Jorge, Casper, agree for the nice bokeh. Here are some new indoor shots with the lens, always put on Nex with a lens booster.

#1 WO, bokeh

#2 WO SOOC jpeg, foreground bokeh

#3 WO

#4 WO, progressive OOF

#5 WO

#6 WO, no parasite light from artificial sources

#7 WO, some glare from contrast light source (without hood)

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

And now some daytime outdoors shots, all wide open and slightly tweaked as per exposure and contrast. I find that the unusual light transmission boosts the lens' film feeling.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7555 Location: Hong Kong

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Great colours and overall quality from the f4 version. Makes me think about Retina Curtagon. Please count me among persons interested in the comparison between the two Eurygons.

Meanwhile I converted several shots from my f2.8 version into BW and find them even more "filmic" than the coloured originals.

#1

#2

#3

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

I took some landscape shots at f5.6, something the lens might be intended for. Always put on Nex with a lens booster. So in reality must be smth like 4/32.

#1

#2

Pancolart · Expire: 2013-11-18

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2531

The Bokeh seems typical for a Angenieux Retrofocal design. Reminds me a bit of the Auto-Takumar 35mm 1:2.3 and my version one Super-Takumar 28mm 1:3.5. (The one that takes 58mm filters instead of 49mm).