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Sony A7 II and vintage lenses for street - portraits.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 5:05 pm    Post subject: Sony A7 II and vintage lenses for street - portraits. Reply with quote

Hi,
I've buyed the Sony A7 II camera but kit lens 28 - 70 is very poor also at f8. No micro contrast - softer corners - distortion in any range focal. It's very bad for me.
I want to sell it and take two old lenses for street, portrait .
Now I 've a Minolta 55mm 1.8 and Zeiss flek. 35 2.8 in exakta mount. but aperture is not large.

wich lenses make good on full frame Digital camera? They must be best of my modern sony kit zoom.
For now i searching 35, 50 primes and 70 - 100/200 zooms ( 85mm fixed is too expensive)

Thank you


PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would look for a Tomioka 55/1.4. They sold under different brand names like Revuenon of Rikenon. Sears also i believe. They are affordable and very good.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also was quite dissatisfied with that kit lens. I took it out for one photoshoot and came home and put it up for sale. Since you have the minolta mount It will be easy to acquire more of those. I am not a portrait photographer but if you are looking for a really good 85mm for not too much I can easily recommend the Schneider tele-arton 85mm F4 in DKL mount. 75 or 80 dollars should get you a good one in the bubble case. The DKL adapters are not too expensive. While not super fast it is a delightful lens and even at f4 has great bokeh. Check out the Konica line-up as they have still not gone up as fast as other lenses that can be used on Canon or Nikon mount. The Minolta 35mm 2.8 can be had for peanuts and it is not a bad lens. There are too many good 135mm lenses out there to even list. Pentax screw mount (m42) lenses are also fantastic and have an amazing array of focal lengths to choose from and are pretty stable as far as cost goes. (They will continue to be worth what you paid for them for the forseeable future). Zooms from the era are a bit more dicey as far as image quality. I am sure some of the guys will chime in with recommendations for zoom. Soon after I bought my A7ii I saved up and got the LE-A4 adapter for Minolta Sony a mount autofocus lenses that allows a bunch of extremely fine autofcocus glass that can be had for peanuts. The 35-70 minolta (aka baby beercan) is pathetically cheap for the capabilities. I dropped mine not to long ago and broke it badly. A replacement via e-bay was 25 dollars. The "beercan" big brother a 70-210, another remarkably capable runs 70 to a 100 for a pristine example with case IIRC.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:31 pm    Post subject: Re: Sony A7 II and vintage lenses for street - portraits. Reply with quote

fujicorry wrote:
Hi,
I've buyed the Sony A7 II camera but kit lens 28 - 70 is very poor also at f8. No micro contrast - softer corners - distortion in any range focal. It's very bad for me.
I want to sell it and take two old lenses for street, portrait .
Now I 've a Minolta 55mm 1.8 and Zeiss flek. 35 2.8 in exakta mount. but aperture is not large.

wich lenses make good on full frame Digital camera? They must be best of my modern sony kit zoom.
For now i searching 35, 50 primes and 70 - 100/200 zooms (85mm fixed is too expensive)

Thank you


I have tested quite a few modern and vintage lenses on the A7 / A7II / A7RII (certainly more than 500).

35mm MF vintage: Minolta MC/MD 2.8/35mm (on 43 MP FF as sharp as the Sony Zeiss 2.8/35mm Sonnar). Be sure to get the newer 5-lens variant if you choose the MC!! Nearly as good are e. g. the Yashica ML 2.8/35mm, and the Canon nFD 2.8/35mm. I don't know the different Nikkor 2.8/35mm variants; there are three different computations, but the last one (Ai/AiS) should be as good as the Canon/Minolta counterpart. These lenses have a much better detail resolution than your Zeiss Flektogon 2.8/35mm, especially in the f2.8 ... f4.5 range.

50mm ... 58mm MF vintage: Nearly all these lenses are soft wide open (even tha Canon nFD 1.2/50mm L!!), nearly all of them have quite a bit of coma up to f2.4 ... so don't expect wonders at f1.4!! That said, the more modern lenses (around 1980) of Canon, Nikon, Minolta and Zeiss CY are the best in terms of detail resolution, contrast, flare resistance and corner sharpness. Minolta lenses may have slightly better colors than their Canon equivalents, due to better coatings. The Minolta MC-X series, especially the MC-X 1.4/50mm, is extremely well built, has incredibly smooth focusing, and mechanically it is clearly superior to the corresponding Nikkor Ai/Ais and Canon nFD lenses. I also like the Minolta MC-II 1.4/58mm, but its rendering is a bit more "vintage". The Minolta MD-III (!!) 2/50mm is a very cheap but very good with nearly no distortion (0.1%), and so is the Nikkor AiS 1.8/50mm (same optics as Nikon E 1.8/50mm). All these lenses are very capable in terms of optical performance. Take the one that feels best to you.

200mm vintage MF: (I would strongly suggest a prime lens, not a zoom): there are a few extremely good 4/200mm lenses such as the Minolta MC/MD 4/200mm (first computation, 131mm long and 520g weight) and the Canon nFD 4/200mm. The Canon has internal focusing, which is great for street photography, but sadly most copies have a worn-out IF mechanisms which makes focusing sloppy and troublesome. Check before buying!!

80-200mm vintage MF zooms: If you insist on zooms, be aware that they have quite a bit of distortion too, and that they usually are best in the 135mm range. Best f4 zooms are the Zeiss CY 4/80-200mm and the Leica R 4/80-200mm (not to be confused with the Leica R 4/70-210mm, 4.5/75-200 and 4.5/80-200 which are Minolta clones). Good f4 zooms are the Nikkkor AiS 4/80-200mm, the Minolta MD / AF 4/70-210mm (MD and AF have the same optical computation, the AF version has a very robust construction, and manual focusing is extremely smooth - and it is dirt cheap: about EUR 10.--). The Nikkor Ai 4.5/80-200mm is a bit slower; be sure to get the second computation (rectangular "window" at the backside of the lens). Canon FD/nFD 80-200mm is a good choice as well, and so is the nFD 4/70-210mm. The nFD versions are mechanically inferior to the earlier FD variants.

You can look up the Minolta MF lenses in my website: http://artaphot.ch/minolta-sr/objektive

Don't hesitate to ask if something is not clear ...

S


EDIT: be aware that 28mm is quite interesting for dynamic street photography as well. This focal lengths results in more "three-dimensional" images than a 35mm lens, but you have to be in close contact with your scenery ... Excellent vintage 28mm lenses are a bit more difficult to find than excellent 35mm, but the latest versions of the 2.8/28mm lenses from Canon, Nikon and Minolta are a good starting point.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thank you. I like rendition and cold colors of zeiss- voigtlander lenses, canon fd or minolta seem more vivid but so good for price. I’ve also think to buy konica h 40 mm 1.8 for street photos.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 D is very cheap, can use it in manual focus? Aperture selection is out


PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

fujicorry wrote:
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 D is very cheap, can use it in manual focus? Aperture selection is out


You would be better of using a manual focus 50mm. Better focussing and cheaper.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 8:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ok!
For to start I think to buy for street:

hexanon 40 1.8 ( I like colors )

canon fd 50mm 1.4

wich lens for portrait?
a 135 mm?


PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Consider the minolta mc 58 mm 1.4 as well. 60 dollars will get a nice copy and minolta colors are nearly as neutral as the zeiss.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

fujicorry wrote:
ok!

wich lens for portrait?
a 135 mm?


Tamron SP Adaptall-2 90mm 1:2.5. 52B A macro but also great for portrait and landscape.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

135/3.5 Takumars are small


PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Philip reeve reviews a host of MF lenses for sony: Starting point:

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/manual-lenses-sony-a7/


PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2020 8:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jamaeolus wrote:
Consider the minolta mc 58 mm 1.4 as well. 60 dollars will get a nice copy and minolta colors are nearly as neutral as the zeiss.



I've seen a lot of pics made by this. Amazing. On A7 series rendition and colors seem to be like modern lenses fuji primes .


PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

which are the best 50mm with major quality price ratio?
Konica lenses?


PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 2:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SMC Takumar 1:1.4 / 50


PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Back in the day when I shot lots of slides, I would carry three lenses when I was walking around, shooting: The Canon FL 19mm f/3.5, the Vivitar Series 1 28-90mm f/2.8-3.5, and the Tamron SP 60-300mm f/3.8-5.4. I had really good luck with this combination. These days, I'd substitute the Tamron SP 80-200mm f/2.8 LD for the 60-300 and either the Tamron or the Tokina 17mm f/3.5 for the Canon FL 19 -- or maybe the Canon 17mm f/4. If I felt I needed a 300mm zoom, I'd get a good 1.4x or 1.5x teleconverter, like a Nikon TC14b or a Canon Extender FD 1.4X-A, provided the zoom has enough rear clearance for the FD 2x-A's protruding element.


PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A friend of mine give me this old lenses.
they were in the attic


Any info about this rokkor?




PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

People were saying that the 1.8 is pretty much the same with the 1.7 55mm PF version ,Wich I like for portraits . The f2 50mm seems to be somehow sharper in most lenses ,because different design,I guess .


PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

oh wow ,recensions of 55 .1.7 are very good .
Really the lenses are same thing?I'll buy the adapter