Porst 50mm f1.2

[blotafton]

An unplanned purchase but the price was good, you know how it works

I knew about Porst 55mm in different versions but not that there was a 50mm one.
Apparently this lens is the same as the EBC X-Fujinon 50/1.2.

Does anyone know the maker, optical design, etc.?

[bernhardas]

edited

[tb_a]

It's actually just a re-branded Fujinon EBC 50/1.2 lens made by Fujifilm. UMC stands for EBC.
Therefore it's only available in Fujica AX mount contrary to the 55mm version which is a totally different lens.
It's a 7 lens in 7 groups design.
The Fujica AX series of cameras and lenses was also available in "Porst" branding for this German distributor named "Photo Porst".

[blotafton]

[Nordentro]

[padam]

Looks to be a solid lens, certainly better than the 55/1.2 Porst
Matches well with the A7, too

[cyrano]

What lens did you use to take the picture of Tue Ports on thecA7? I like the look of that.

[blotafton]

[invisible]

The two photos of the tan Dachshund are glorious, they make the dog look very regal (which is never the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Dachshunds). Congrats!

[blotafton]

[SonicScot]

Lovely photos, especially of the dog.

Isn't f1.2 fun? I have the Nikon but don't use it as much as I should. Wide open is very difficult to work with but when you nail it, it gives huge satisfaction.

[Attila]

[blotafton]

[Fujinonuser]

Your sample photos are quite unusual. Have you used a Fujica FX to Sony NEX adapter? Photos taken with my copy of the Fujinon Porst 1.2 / 50mm lens are not as soft (unsharp) with noisy bokeh as yours. I wonder why you are asking for the maker of this lens if you own the right FX/NEX adapter.

[Fujinonuser]

[Teemō]

[blotafton]

[laenee]

[Fujinonuser]

Dear friend,
my ID at MFlenses is Fujinonuser. So this may explain my astonishment and wonder and perhaps anger. I have taken many shots with the Porst 1.2 / 50mm (which is identical in all respects to the EBC X-Fujinon 1.2 / 50mm lens) on the Sony NEX A7 and an Olympus OM-D M4/3 even in critical situations. The Sony NEX with its 20+ MP is the hardest test of course. I'm leaving the interpretation of the digital data to the camera itself rather than ruin it by developing from RAW myself. I'm not experienced enough to do so. My results would continue to look RAW and would do injustice to the lens.
In your sample pics, I find results that are totally unusual for Fujinon lenses generally and the 1.2 in particular -- your shadows are without definition, colors look washed out rather than nicely differentriated. Even the center of the image is unsharp. Bokeh is noisy, rather than blended. In comparison to other 1.2 lenses that I know, the center of the image of the Fujinon Porst at 1.2 will be sharp (if it is in focus), with sharpness receding to the margins even without noticable vignetting (reduction in brightness, shadowing). Other 1.2 lenses will look blurred due to coma at their maximum aperture.
If you acquired your lens cheaply, could it be that your copy has defects? The Fujinon Porst 1.2 / 50mm lens is not a cheap lens by any means. With respect to color rendition I would prefer a Fujinon lens to lenses from the "big" makers. Fujinon lenses have their limitations and Fujifilm never designed as many different focal length lenses as say Nikon or Canon, but within their range I have never regretted to chose a Fujinon lens.
No offence meant. Have a nice day.

[bruzzo]

Any info if this lens is manufactured in mounts other than the Fujica-X mount? I don't get why Fujifilm would allow Porst to manufacture the exact same lens with the exact same mount and not other mounts such as Nikon/Canon FD/Minolta/Pentax etc. Then this Porst is exactly the same as the Fujifilm Fujica lens why? Users can buy the Fujifilm version why would Fujifilm release a Porst version to compete with it's own lens?

I thought the intention of Fuji letting Porst to make this lens is to sell it to users of other systems?

A shame such mount have very limited adapters to choose other than m43 NEX and New Fuji-X. No EOS M or Leica M.

[blotafton]

I don't think Porst actually manufactured any lenses themselves. They probably bought special versions from Fuji with custom name plates and caps. And paid extra for a license to use the mount. It must have been a good deal for both companies.

edit

[Fujinonuser]

After 1973, Germany was a difficult market for Japanese camera and lens makers. Apart from strong, but expensive German brands (Leica, Zeiss, Rollei, even Praktica), the German market had been divided among the "big names" from Japan: Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Olympus, and Pentax who were competing with the traditional German brands by designing lenses with many different combinations of maximum aperture and focal length. As a manufacturer of 8mm and 35mm films, Fujifilm had concentrated on optimizing the color transmission and resolution of their lenses. They were offering a limited number of lens designs that were superb within their limits (like slower maximum aperture for a limited number of focal lengths). In Germany, prices for consumer cameras and lenses were regulated. In order to be able to sell their cameras and lenses, Fujifilm formed a partnership with Photo Porst, owned by photo enthusiast Hanns Porst (1896-1984). The Fujica AX cameras with FX bayonet were re-branded as Porst CR (for Color Reflex). Some X-Fujinon lenses were also re-branded as Porst Color Reflex lenses, like the f/1.6 50mm, the f/1.6 55mm, and the f/1.2 50mm lens. Other focal lengths for the Porst CR cameras (Fujinon AX and STX), like the 24mm, the 28mm, the 135mm, the 200mm, the 35-70mm Unizoom, and the 70-210mm zoom lenses were manufactured by other Japanese third-party lens makers like Ozone. They are not bad at all, in fact very well built, in compact and solid metal barrels, turning out very sharp and contrasty images, but they are lacking the superb EBC multicoating for which EBC Fujinon lenses are famed. Fujifilm never manufactured lenses for other camera mounts (except for the Hasselblad and Leica in limited numbers). They licensed lens designs from other makers, but made their own glass at their factory in Odawara south of Yokohama and perhaps elsewhere. The X-Fujinon 1.2 50mm must not be confused with the Porst 1.2 55mm lens that was designed and manufactured by Cosina for Porst and was available for Porst Cosina cameras with PK bayonet only. The Porst 1.2 50mm UMC lens is the EBC X-Fujinon 1.2 50mm lens in all respects except for the brand shield.