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Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.
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Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 11:11 pm
Post subject: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 11:11 pm
Post subject: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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I bought a Soligor 200mm f2.8 last week for £30, which I thought was reasonable enough for a fast 200, but more than I usually pay for a Soligor, even I do like them. And I have to say that even though I've only taken about twenty pictures so far, I like it.

The information on the internet says this is a SUN made lens and one of Soligor's CD Series, but the lens ring hasn't got CD on it, but it does have I-S, which I haven't seen before.

It's not super sharp, the contrast is on the low side, but this is a 30 year old lens - and the images taken with it on my Sony A6000 respond very well to a bit of simple processing. Obviously it's better stopped down to about f4, but the wide open images are far better than wide open on some of my 2000 / 3.5's.
What 'wide open' actually is might be a mystery? the engraving says f2.8 and the aperture ring says f2.5.

Soligor 200 / 2.8 & Pentax P30


ISO 1000 1/3200 f2.8 Wet and misty day. Auto Colour. Unsharpened


ISO 800 1/2000 f2.8 Wet and misty day. Auto Colour. Unsharpened


ISO 320 1/1600 f3.5 Processed & sharpened. This was a tricky shot as there was bright sun on the right clock face and heavy shadow on the facing face. I exposed low to avoid blown out highlights on the golden dome.


Crop showing CA, easily processed out and no worse than most old lenses.


ISO 500 1/1600 f3.5 Wet and misty day. Auto Colour & sharpened


ISO 800 1/1000 f2.8 Bright sunshine. Auto Colour & sharpened


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Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 2:07 am
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Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 2:07 am
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Your bridge shot is excellent David.
You are right about it being a little soft. My son has the Sun C/D version of this lens and it shoots well - in fact it is surprisingly good.
I posted some pics here once before.
Here is the link:
http://forum.mflenses.com/sun-200mm-f2-8-t76328.html
Cheers
Tom


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Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 3:12 pm
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Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 3:12 pm
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Acceptable results for a 30 dollar lens. It might be interesting to see what it could do with half decent lighting.


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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:40 am
Post subject: Re: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:40 am
Post subject: Re: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Lloydy wrote:
The information on the internet says this is a SUN made lens and one of Soligor's CD Series, but the lens ring hasn't got CD on it, but it does have I-S, which I haven't seen before.


That lens is I/S (Interchangeable Serie) that mean that it must have interchangeable mount ..the NON intechnageable mount is the golden serie (g/s)

As 99% of soligor lenses from that period (1981/1982) they are made by sun and quality is mostly low to average


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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:11 pm
Post subject: Re: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:11 pm
Post subject: Re: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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PBFACTS wrote:
Lloydy wrote:
The information on the internet says this is a SUN made lens and one of Soligor's CD Series, but the lens ring hasn't got CD on it, but it does have I-S, which I haven't seen before.


That lens is I/S (Interchangeable Serie) that mean that it must have interchangeable mount ..the NON intechnageable mount is the golden serie (g/s)

As 99% of soligor lenses from that period (1981/1982) they are made by sun and quality is mostly low to average


Of course it is, I'd forgotten it was the different interchangeable T4 (TX) mount.

I've never had a SUN lens that I would call 'very good' , most have been below average, except this one that just rises above the average bar.


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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 8:55 pm
Post subject: Re: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Post
Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 8:55 pm
Post subject: Re: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Lloydy wrote:
PBFACTS wrote:
Lloydy wrote:
The information on the internet says this is a SUN made lens and one of Soligor's CD Series, but the lens ring hasn't got CD on it, but it does have I-S, which I haven't seen before.


That lens is I/S (Interchangeable Serie) that mean that it must have interchangeable mount ..the NON intechnageable mount is the golden serie (g/s)

As 99% of soligor lenses from that period (1981/1982) they are made by sun and quality is mostly low to average


Of course it is, I'd forgotten it was the different interchangeable T4 (TX) mount.

I've never had a SUN lens that I would call 'very good' , most have been below average, except this one that just rises above the average bar.


Yes that has been my experience with most Sun lenses too.
However have a look at the this one like yours:
http://forum.mflenses.com/sun-200mm-f2-8-t76328.html
It is really very good
T


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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:13 pm
Post subject: Re: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Post
Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:13 pm
Post subject: Re: Soligor Tele Auto 200mm f2.8
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Oldhand wrote:
Lloydy wrote:
PBFACTS wrote:
Lloydy wrote:
The information on the internet says this is a SUN made lens and one of Soligor's CD Series, but the lens ring hasn't got CD on it, but it does have I-S, which I haven't seen before.


That lens is I/S (Interchangeable Serie) that mean that it must have interchangeable mount ..the NON intechnageable mount is the golden serie (g/s)

As 99% of soligor lenses from that period (1981/1982) they are made by sun and quality is mostly low to average


Of course it is, I'd forgotten it was the different interchangeable T4 (TX) mount.

I've never had a SUN lens that I would call 'very good' , most have been below average, except this one that just rises above the average bar.


Yes that has been my experience with most Sun lenses too.
However have a look at the this one like yours:
http://forum.mflenses.com/sun-200mm-f2-8-t76328.html
It is really very good
T


Yes, I've seen that and enjoyed the excellent pictures taken with this lens. I think this is a lens worth persisting with, it has limitations - but it has pluses that might outweigh them. The softness is uniform ( on a crop sensor ) and sharpens up easily, and the 2.8 aperture lets me shoot at 3.5 with decent results. I think this lens is better at 3.5 than some of my other 200 / 3.5's used at 3.5. If I want sharpness I'll go for my Takumar's, Pentacon's and Rokkors, this Soligor has the promise of something different. And I like that. Wink


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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:03 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:03 am
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I've still got this old Soligor, but I have changed camera to an A7II so I'm going through my lenses and discovering that there is a big difference in how lenses work between the crop and full frame sensors, and so far a lot of lenses are coming out of my 'for sale' boxes! This fast Soligor is one I'll be keeping for sure.

It's still not the sharpest lens in the world, I've got a slow Takumar if I want sharp, and the other faults I can fix in Photoshop. I like it because it's fast and I like 200mm lenses ( I have 18 at the moment ! ) All three shots here are wide open, and processed - hardly any extra sharpening but lots of contrast colour range and tonal contrast using Color Efex Pro plugin in Photoshop.
I like the results, with a bit of work I get the results I want. I shall be using this lens a lot more.







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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:11 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:11 am
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Lloydy wrote:
... going through my lenses and discovering that there is a big difference in how lenses work between the crop and full frame sensors, and so far a lot of lenses are coming out of my 'for sale' boxes! ...


Whoo Turtle Congrats


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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:43 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:43 am
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Lloydy wrote:
I've still got this old Soligor, but I have changed camera to an A7II so I'm going through my lenses and discovering that there is a big difference in how lenses work between the crop and full frame sensors, and so far a lot of lenses are coming out of my 'for sale' boxes! This fast Soligor is one I'll be keeping for sure.

It's still not the sharpest lens in the world, I've got a slow Takumar if I want sharp, and the other faults I can fix in Photoshop. I like it because it's fast and I like 200mm lenses ( I have 18 at the moment ! ) All three shots here are wide open, and processed - hardly any extra sharpening but lots of contrast colour range and tonal contrast using Color Efex Pro plugin in Photoshop.
I like the results, with a bit of work I get the results I want. I shall be using this lens a lot more.







Mine is the Tokina made 200mm f/2.8 and I feel it is pretty sharp.


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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 6:27 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 6:27 am
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The Sun lens is quite good with amazing bokeh.
These are from my son's version of this lens branded SUN 200mm f2.8
Tom
#1


#2


#3


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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:21 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:21 am
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Lovely pictures Tom, they show what this lens can do once you stop it down a bit. The bokeh in my shots is very fussy, but I was deliberately shooting wide open. I shall almost certainly use it one stop down for this kind of shot.


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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:31 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:31 am
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Lloydy wrote:
Lovely pictures Tom, they show what this lens can do once you stop it down a bit. The bokeh in my shots is very fussy, but I was deliberately shooting wide open. I shall almost certainly use it one stop down for this kind of shot.

Yes - some people forget that the aperture ring actually moves.
Thanks for the kind words David
Tom


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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 5:50 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 5:50 pm
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Reviving this thread because I noticed that interestingly this one is clearly different, and has a 17xxxx serial that suggests tokina origin. 77mm filter thread.



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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:43 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:43 pm
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There aren't many third party 200mm F2.8 lenses. These two Soligors by Sun and Tokina, There is an Ancient Tamron from the sixties, and a Russian Oberon that looks pretty quirky. Vivitar had a series 1 200mm F3.0. All of these lenses seem to be suffering from severe purple fringing.


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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 8:48 am
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 8:48 am
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marcusBMG wrote:
Reviving this thread because I noticed that interestingly this one is clearly different, and has a 17xxxx serial that suggests tokina origin. 77mm filter thread.



That's the C/D often confused with the first version and supposed to be better (there is a "P" - like Professional? - on the filter ring) Mine only gets sharp enough by f8. I wish I could trade it against the 135/2.


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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 10:59 am
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 10:59 am
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Ok guys. I checked the lens again. I haven't used it for a very long time and the pics I remember were taken in less than good condition. Actually it's much better than what I thought / remember, and I find it usable even wide open. The low contrast is the problem. Thanks for getting me to have a second look at this one. Wink


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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:58 pm
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:58 pm
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D1N0 wrote:
There aren't many third party 200mm F2.8 lenses. These two Soligors by Sun and Tokina, There is an Ancient Tamron from the sixties, and a Russian Oberon that looks pretty quirky. Vivitar had a series 1 200mm F3.0. All of these lenses seem to be suffering from severe purple fringing.


Hi D1N0. You mention a tamron 200 /2,8? You have info on that one ? Beside these lenses you mentioned, I believe there was also a sigmatel XQ 200mm 2,8 of rather bad reputation.


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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:13 am
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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:13 am
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Phalbert wrote:
D1N0 wrote:
There aren't many third party 200mm F2.8 lenses. These two Soligors by Sun and Tokina, There is an Ancient Tamron from the sixties, and a Russian Oberon that looks pretty quirky. Vivitar had a series 1 200mm F3.0. All of these lenses seem to be suffering from severe purple fringing.


Hi D1N0. You mention a tamron 200 /2,8? You have info on that one ? Beside these lenses you mentioned, I believe there was also a sigmatel XQ 200mm 2,8 of rather bad reputation.


Not Much it's listed here http://allphotolenses.com/lenses/item/c_1215.html#prettyPhoto and here https://www-tamron-co-jp.translate.goog/data/old-lens/olm200f2_8.htm?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en+



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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:45 am
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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:45 am
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Wow! That lens looks gorgeous. Never heard of / seen before. Now of course I want one! Wink


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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:16 am
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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:16 am
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Phalbert wrote:
Wow! That lens looks gorgeous. Never heard of / seen before. Now of course I want one! Wink


Good luck. I can't even find a review or samples Wink


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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:08 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:08 pm
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I've got another variation on the theme … it's labelled "SUN" with a 37xxxxx serial number and a fixed M42 mount.
They were advertised "way back" as "new old stock" for an almost give-away price so I grabbed one … not sure I've ever actually used it!



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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 12:47 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 12:47 pm
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kypfer wrote:
I've got another variation on the theme … it's labelled "SUN" with a 37xxxxx serial number and a fixed M42 mount.
They were advertised "way back" as "new old stock" for an almost give-away price so I grabbed one … not sure I've ever actually used it!



Exactly the same as my Soligor ( except for the IS interchangeable mount. ) and the Soligor has a 37***** serial number.


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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:06 am
Post subject: How many versions?
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:06 am
Post subject: How many versions?
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One more here not mentioned:



only 10,900 euro - just get it...


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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:42 am
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:42 am
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Naaa... Don't like the styling of the hood... Wink
Great addition BTW! Thanks!
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