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135mm for Sony a850
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 11:04 pm    Post subject: 135mm for Sony a850 Reply with quote

I have a LOT of 135mm lenses, but sadly, all the ones I like best don't fit on my a850 (Konica Hexanon 3.2/135, RE Auto Topcor 3.5/135, Zeiss Opton Sonnar 4/135, Zeiss Jena Prakticar (Sonnar) 3.5/135.

The ones I have that do fit is quite limited: Jupiter-11 fat black M42, Zeiss Jena Triotar 4/135 M42, Zeiss Jena Sonnar 4/135 Zebra M42, Schneider-Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 4/135 DKL, plus a few old Japanese cheap third party M42 things, none of which is a contender and a Mamiya-Sekor 2.8/135 with a stuck aperture.

So the two best 135s I have that I can actually use on my a850 are the J-11 4/135 and the S-K Tele-Xenar 4/135. Both of these are very fine lenses, very sharp, but single coated and while they have lots of character, I want something better.

What are my options? A Zeiss Jena Sonnar 3.5/135 MC in M42 would probably be an upgrade, lots of them available, or I might see a Schneider Tele-Xenar 3.5/135 in M42.

The Minolta AF 2.8/135 is out of my reach at 250ukp and the Zeiss Planar 2.8/135 C/Y won't fit.

Are there some M42 versions on the Planar made for the Voigtlander M42 SLR?

I might try a Bronica Zenzanon-PS 4/135 or 3.5/150 as I already have the 3.5/100 and 4.5/200 Zenzanon-PS and they are superb, but very big and heavy.

Anyone got any clever suggestions for something else that would fit an a850?


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 1:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Clever suggestion.
Well, if you don't mind a little work. The Minolta MC PF 135mm f2.8 is suppose to be pretty easy to convert using a M42 adapter.
I thought their was a thread on the conversion on another forum. If I can find it I will post a link to it.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 2:30 am    Post subject: Re: 135mm for Sony a850 Reply with quote

iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
The Minolta AF 2.8/135 is out of my reach at 250ukp


I sold my 135mm maxxum for $190 a few month back and I though I was pushing it. But come to think about it, after taxes and stuff it just might be equal to 250 pounds.

But speaking seriously there's apparently a T-mount adapter, and somehow a glassless M42 adapter. That should give you enough options. SMC Tak 135/3.5 would be my first step. There's also an adaptall - but you'll have to catch that elusive 135/2.5.

PS. Old Sekors (non-SX) are pretty easy to fix.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 2:38 am    Post subject: Re: 135mm for Sony a850 Reply with quote

I see the Minolta 135/2.8 AF around 150 Euros and you don't need any conversions/adapters so I would just wait it out and go for that one, since it's a nice lens.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 4:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
.... and the Zeiss Planar 2.8/135 C/Y won't fit.
Are there some M42 versions on the Planar made for the Voigtlander M42 SLR?

Anyone got any clever suggestions for something else that would fit an a850?


Zeiss/Contax lenses can be modified to fit on the A850:
http://www.leitax.com/Zeiss-Contax-lens-for-Sony-cameras.html

For the Rollei/Voigtlaender SLRs there was (besides the late Mamiya) only a 135/2.8 marked as Carl Zeiss Sonnar or Voigtlaender Color-Dynarex but non of them have been made in M42 but QBM only. Only the Carl Zeiss Tele-Tessar/Color-Dynarex 135/4 was made in M42 as well. I have this Color-Dynarex 135/4 but in direct comparison to the Jupiter-11 the Jupiter is the winner in terms of sharpness wide open.

To find an affordable 135mm lens within your budget which is considerably better than the Jupiter-11 for the usage on the A850 is almost impossible. That's at least my conclusion. However, I can't say anything about the Zeiss C/Y lens as I don't have it.

BTW, 135/2.8 lenses from Minolta (both MC/MD and AF) suffer from CA's when used wide open. So there is not really much to win.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 5:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd try to get an M42 EBC Fujinon-T 2.5/135
Buying one would set you back some £130 according to the latest eBay sales....

6 blades - MFD 150cm
And you're clever enough to make it manual and to grind the little tab

Mine was £105 shipped and CLA'ed

I haven't used it much yet, so can't say much...


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 5:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mir wrote:
I'd try to get an M42 EBC Fujinon-T 2.5/135


But then he'd have to hack it up.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm trying to avoid hacking anything, that's what happened to the Mamiya 135 - I ground the rim off so I could put an adapter on it and for some reason the aperture is now stuck.

I suppose I'll have to keep lookign for a reasonably priced Minolta AF 2.8/135.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Isn't the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm f2 for Alpha mount the best choice here? It is definitely sharper and has better bokeh than any legacy 135mm I've tried and has been tested to be comparable to the Zeiss 135 for Sony Alpha in sharpness.

You need to get it used and be patient. Or else a Canon FD 80-200mm f4L will also give you that focal length for a bit over 200 pounds.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I didn't know about that Samyang, I'll look into it, cheers.

The Canon FD L 4/80-200 is a great lens, but it won't fit an a850, sadly. I already have the Minolta AF 4/70-210 which compares very favourably to the Canon EF L 80-200 according to online tests, and the Minolta AF 28-135 which is superb, but I do much prefer primes.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 5:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tamron Adaptall-2 135mm f/2.5 (03B)


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 5:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
I didn't know about that Samyang, I'll look into it, cheers.

The Canon FD L 4/80-200 is a great lens, but it won't fit an a850, sadly. I already have the Minolta AF 4/70-210 which compares very favourably to the Canon EF L 80-200 according to online tests, and the Minolta AF 28-135 which is superb, but I do much prefer primes.


Oops! Forgot it was A-mount! But the Samyang does have A mount lenses. Do a search on it and you'll see it's a knockout. I have half a dozen legacy lenses but this one is truly amazing, but big and heavy. The Jupiter, Canon FD, Minolta MD, CZJ, and the Nikon AI are not even close, plus you get that nice f2.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 24, 2017 5:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a pic I took shortly after buying the lens. It was stopped down to f2.8 I believe.



PostPosted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm very tempted by that Samyang 2/135, cheers.

I'll save my pennies for one.

In the meantime I'm highly tempted to pick up an M42 MC Jena Sonnar 3.5/135 as I was out shooting with my M42 Pancolar 1.8/50 MC on the a850 the other day, not used this lens for a while, and the character of the images is so nice I just need to have the matching Sonnar.


PostPosted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi luis,What were your impressions on Pentax super tak 135 2.5 and Meyer 135 2.8 Bokeh Monster? I also Have CZJ 135 Sonnar for sale nice condition.


PostPosted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A good option is the 135mm F2.8 Pentacon with M42 mount, which is an optically very good and easy to find lens. The only important limitation of the Pentacon is its minimum focusing distance of 1.8m.

Now a brief comparison of the optical performance at wide open and F8 of the Pentacon 135mm F2.8, the SMC Takumar 135mm F2.5 and, just for fun, the CZJ Sonnar 200mm F2.8. The 100% crops are from the upper right corner. The camera was the full-frame and 24MP Sony A99, equivalent to the A850. The images are converted from RAW without sharpening. Center performance is more or less the same for all three lenses.



PostPosted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 6:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finding a excellent and reasonably cheap / small 135mm lens for the A900 / A850 isn't that easy.

I know the Minolta/Sony Alpha system quite well, and in addition I have compared about 25 MF 135mm lenses on the A7.

I used to have the Minolta AF 2.8/135mm: It is good - comparable to the Minolta AF 2.8/70-200mm G SSM @135mm), but not better than the (more versatile) G zoom. The only other genuine 135mm lens for the Alpha system, the Sony Zeiss ZA 1.8/135mm, is excellent, heavy, and expensive. I have used it for several weeks, but never bought it, because I'm not so much into 135mm focal length; i prefer to the very good MinAF 2/100mm and MinAF 2.8/200mm APO lenses.

The Zeiss CY Sonnar 2.8/135mm is excellent as well - clearly better than the corresponding Minolta lenses (MC, MD, AF 2.8/135mm). It has very little CAs (less than the Minoltas), and at f2.8 its corners are as sharp as the Minoltas at f5.6 or f8. If you can find a reasonably priced sample (mine was CHF 100.--/EUR 95.--) AND if you can find a Leitax adapter, that might be a viable option. Not exactly cheap, but certainly better than the MinAF 2.8/135mm.

I would not recommend the CZJ Sonnar 3.5/135mm (M42). I have used two copies of the last MC version, and while CAs were a bit better, border & corner resoultion were visibly weaker than the Minolta MD 2.8/135mm [4/4].

Leica R stuff, in principle, could be adapted via Leitax as well - but their Elmarit 2.8/135mm is said to be inferior to the Zeiss CY 2.8/135mm.

Comparable Canon FD and Nikkor Ai/AiS lenses are not better than the Minolta 2.8/135mm lenses; AND they cannot be adapted to the A900. The Konica AR 2.5/135mm and AR 3.2/135mm are very good at f5.6-f8 (no CAs at all), but adapting would require major surgery as well.

I do use, on my A900, for portraits only, the Canon nFD 2/135mm. It is reasonably small and light, and got my copy for less than 150.-- CHF. It is adapted to the A900 via a glassless FD=>MinAF adapter, which limits focusing to about 1.3m. Thus, framing of portraits is quite tight, but it gives them an unique style.


Of course the modern 1.8/135mm and 2/135mm APO lenses are much better than the >30 year old MF glass. Some of them you can use on the A850, but these lenses are well over 250.--.

I admit that i don't know a good solution to your problem - you probably have to spend more or to simply stay with your Russian 135mm Sonnar.

Stephan


PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the suggestions. I found a Pentacon 2.8/135 MC in M42 I forgot I still had, although it's not the solution, it's something to play with in the meantime.

I won't be buying another 135 for a while as I've just blown my budget on a Planar 1.7/50 T*.


PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

stevemark wrote:


I would not recommend the CZJ Sonnar 3.5/135mm (M42). I have used two copies of the last MC version, and while CAs were a bit better, border & corner resoultion were visibly weaker than the Minolta MD 2.8/135mm [4/4].


Hi, that could very well be the case, I don't know as I see only the other side of the coin: It has lovely color, lovely bokeh and good central sharpness wide open. Comparing it to the OM 135 3,5, last MD 135 3,5 and Super Takumar 135 3,5 except minor color variations the one thing that always has me reaching for the CJZ is the mfd, 1m approx instead of around 1,2 for the others makes a marked difference if that's how you tend to use the lens.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Ian the Topcon to M42 adapters work fine on the RE version. I converted mine. I have 3 spare lying around which I haven`t got round to selling ( I converted a few lenses back after I got the A7ii). The original vendor no longer sells them. If you or anyone else are interested PM me. I have bookmarked the instructions somewhere, easy conversion and reversal.

PS Ffordes has a Minolta 135mm 2.8 AF for £129 at present which is what they generally go for these days.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ooh, that's a nice price at ffordes, cheers.

I'd be interested in those Topcon M42 adapers as I adore my Topcor lenses and would use them more often if they would fit more of my cameras.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

did someone mention J37A? small, cheap, great

edit: is that actually the same you bought?


PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I considered an MC J37A, as I like Jupiters. However, I spent my budget on a Planar T* 1.7/50 instead


PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Macca wrote:
... the Topcon to M42 adapters work fine on the RE version. I converted mine. I have 3 spare lying around which I haven`t got round to selling ...


I have also some of these Exakta/Topcon to M42 conversion kits but it is impossible to reach infinity with them. However, for short to medium distance (depending on the focus length of the lens and the used aperture) it certainly works. What is your experience with your adapters?


PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 8:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It`s not the kits currently selling on ebay that are basically just and M42 ring with micro/grub screws. It`s the original remounts from taiwan, which I think are no longer for sale.

These all reach infinty See here.



https://www.flickr.com/photos/photo-color/albums/72157619851941146