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What's the latest lens you added to your collection?
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 2:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I finally found an Auto Topcor 3.5cm f2.8 for a reasonable price, and it's a "for parts/not working" so I'll have to save it to use it, which gives me the opportunity to mod the lens and not feel like I'm desecrating a religious relic, but rather breathing new life into a nonfunctional lens. I'm planning an arm amputation, I did this already on a 35mm Flektogon with a chewed up auto mechanism.
I may change my mind once I dig into it.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/143651976544


PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
stevemark wrote:
Enna Tele-Ennalyt 4.5/240mm (M42).

The lens, shown here with its smaller 2.8/135mm sibling, is tiny (given its focal length of 240mm). Just about 12.7 cm long, and with a 52mm filter thread, its performance is barely mediocre. Details on that will follow. As most German lenses from the 1950s and early 1960s, its barrel is very well made. There seem to be quite a few versions of the 240mm/4.5 Tele-Ennalyt; this one has a rather simplistic, yet somehow stylish lens barrel with an minimal focusing distance (MFD) of 6 meters (!!). Well, obviously a landscape lens ?!? Maybe, maybe not -- The performance on 24MP FF is so poor that I certainly would recommend to not use it for landscapes! Central sharpness and contrast at f4.5 are rather lousy, and the corners are simply fuzzy. Stopping down to f11 doesn't change much. To make it short - as others here have reported, the lens isn't stellar, an neither is the Tele-Ennalyt 2.8/135mm ...



Stephan


Both my ennalyts 135/2.8 and 35/3.5 are speciality soft focus lenses. A for cry from my Sonnar and Flektogon also from Germany...


PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ennalyt's are not the sharpest lenses (I have quite a few), but I do like my f1.5/85mm a lot (I have too)!!
It is a bit personal, as I know and met their chief lens designer a few years ago before he passed and we
talked a lot about his designs then ... Wink


PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lightshow wrote:
I finally found an Auto Topcor 3.5cm f2.8 for a reasonable price, and it's a "for parts/not working" so I'll have to save it to use it, which gives me the opportunity to mod the lens and not feel like I'm desecrating a religious relic, but rather breathing new life into a nonfunctional lens. I'm planning an arm amputation,

Does the Auto Topcor RE 2.8/35mm have an arm?


Lightshow wrote:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/143651976544

This one does have an arm, but it's the Mamiya Sekor F.P. 5.8xm 1:1.7 ...

Something got mixed up ... or am I a bit slow today ...?


PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
kds315* wrote:
Ennalyt's are not the sharpest lenses (I have quite a few), but I do like my f1.5/85mm a lot (I have too)!!
It is a bit personal, as I know and met their chief lens designer a few years ago before he passed and we
talked a lot about his designs then ... Wink


That's certainly an unique and very touching experience ...

I've "seen" the Ennalyt 1.5/85mm only once here in Switzerland, in a local auction, around 2011. It went straight up to roughly 1000.-- ... but the Biotar 1.5/7.5 cm (early prewar series) i was buying back then was around 850.-- as well.

That reminds me of a slightly similar story ..

A few years later (2017) I was lucky (unlucky?) to meet another remarkable person ... a guy who had been born around 1928 in north-eastern Germany, from Swiss parents who had emigrated when they were young. Being a simple Kuhschweizer ("Swiss cow boy"), he had grown up in screaming poverty before joining the last V2 efforts of the Hitler regime in Peenemünde. As a 16- and17-year old, under Wernher von Braun, he helped launching the V2 rockets towards England (being into the V2 electronics), and he was quite specific about some details. After the war - while Wenher von Barun and his core team were brought to Huntsville Alabama - our young hero fled to Switzerland, building up his own electronic business (which later became a large and well known camera / radio / TV shop). Later on, during the golden 1970s, business was running very well. He started to collect photographic stuff and was well known to haunt local photo flea markets with CHF 50'000.-- cash in his pockets. Well, when i met him, he had sold off all the valuable stuff and was trying to persuade me (with some slightly dirty tricks) to buy the remaining maybe 1000 cameras. As we had talked a lot (and I had enjoyed his knowledge about early rocketry) i reluctantly bought some stuff, such as a few Exaktas, a few Praktisix with lenses, two Zeiss CY lenses, and some other lenses. I never met him again, but he's still alive ...


PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
stevemark wrote:
kds315* wrote:
Ennalyt's are not the sharpest lenses (I have quite a few), but I do like my f1.5/85mm a lot (I have too)!!
It is a bit personal, as I know and met their chief lens designer a few years ago before he passed and we
talked a lot about his designs then ... Wink


That's certainly an unique and very touching experience ...

I've "seen" the Ennalyt 1.5/85mm only once here in Switzerland, in a local auction, around 2011. It went straight up to roughly 1000.-- ... but the Biotar 1.5/7.5 cm (early prewar series) i was buying back then was around 850.-- as well.

That reminds me of a slightly similar story ..

A few years later (2017) I was lucky (unlucky?) to meet another remarkable person ... a guy who had been born around 1928 in north-eastern Germany, from Swiss parents who had emigrated when they were young. Being a simple Kuhschweizer ("Swiss cow boy"), he had grown up in screaming poverty before joining the last V2 efforts of the Hitler regime in Peenemünde. As a 16- and17-year old, under Wernher von Braun, he helped launching the V2 rockets towards England (being into the V2 electronics), and he was quite specific about some details. After the war - while Wenher von Barun and his core team were brought to Huntsville Alabama - our young hero fled to Switzerland, building up his own electronic business (which later became a large and well known camera / radio / TV shop). Later on, during the golden 1970s, business was running very well. He started to collect photographic stuff and was well known to haunt local photo flea markets with CHF 50'000.-- cash in his pockets. Well, when i met him, he had sold off all the valuable stuff and was trying to persuade me (with some slightly dirty tricks) to buy the remaining maybe 1000 cameras. As we had talked a lot (and I had enjoyed his knowledge about early rocketry) i reluctantly bought some stuff, such as a few Exaktas, a few Praktisix with lenses, two Zeiss CY lenses, and some other lenses. I never met him again, but he's still alive ...


Yep, saw those prices, also on ebay. Many years back it was just EUR125 and a bit overlooked by most collectors/users Wink

Very interesting story, it rings a bell, but no name comes up...

Btw. there is a little book on ENNA lenses (w. all lens schemata!), worth having - bit rare these days!



And here we talked about them, too: http://forum.mflenses.com/enna-tele-ennalyt-90mm-f2-8-with-sony-a7-t73460.html


PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lightshow wrote:
I finally found an Auto Topcor 3.5cm f2.8 for a reasonable price, and it's a "for parts/not working" so I'll have to save it to use it, which gives me the opportunity to mod the lens and not feel like I'm desecrating a religious relic, but rather breathing new life into a nonfunctional lens. I'm planning an arm amputation, I did this already on a 35mm Flektogon with a chewed up auto mechanism.
I may change my mind once I dig into it.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/143651976544


So you took it? The seller also had a 10cm or (100mm) and a 5.8cm/1.8, all having arm type of thing and all having issues. I placed them in my watch list and they were gone within days. I just had spent too much in these past two months.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
vivaldibow wrote:
Lightshow wrote:
I finally found an Auto Topcor 3.5cm f2.8 for a reasonable price, and it's a "for parts/not working" so I'll have to save it to use it, which gives me the opportunity to mod the lens and not feel like I'm desecrating a religious relic, but rather breathing new life into a nonfunctional lens. I'm planning an arm amputation, I did this already on a 35mm Flektogon with a chewed up auto mechanism.
I may change my mind once I dig into it.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/143651976544


So you took it? The seller also had a 10cm or (100mm) and a 5.8cm/1.8, all having arm type of thing and all having issues. I placed them in my watch list and they were gone within days. I just had spent too much in these past two months.

I can't really afford it at the moment, but I've been looking for a few years for this lens, so had to get it.
The 5.8cm must have gone first as it wasn't there when I searched his store, the 10cm was still there, but I already have the 9cm preset so I'm not really interested in it, I made an offer on the 3.5cm he countered and I accepted.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
stevemark wrote:
Lightshow wrote:
I finally found an Auto Topcor 3.5cm f2.8 for a reasonable price, and it's a "for parts/not working" so I'll have to save it to use it, which gives me the opportunity to mod the lens and not feel like I'm desecrating a religious relic, but rather breathing new life into a nonfunctional lens. I'm planning an arm amputation,

Does the Auto Topcor RE 2.8/35mm have an arm?
It's not an RE I usually describe them as RE Topcor not RE Auto Topcor and the older lenses with the arm as Auto Topcor and the longer lenses I call preset because they are preset in functionality, all to eliminate any confusion when I talk about the various lenses they made.
I had to take my dad to the eye doctor for his 2nd follow up exam after surgery, they were using Topcon instruments to view the progress of healing, and my dad had a Topcon R w/ the Auto Topcor 5.8cm f1.8 which now sits on my desk, it kind of started my Topcon collection which now sits at 19 lenses and will move to 20 when this one arrives.

Lightshow wrote:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/143651976544

This one does have an arm, but it's the Mamiya Sekor F.P. 5.8xm 1:1.7 ...

Something got mixed up ... or am I a bit slow today ...?

The link is to a Topcor lens not Mamiya... I just checked again, I think I see what happened, the item is now sold, so they show a "similar" item that is available, you have to look for the "View Original Item" link near the top of the page and click that.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tamron SP 2X Tele-Converter Model 01F by The lens profile, on Flickr

Tamron SP 2X Tele-Converter Model 01F by The lens profile, on Flickr

€6 (15 with shipping and auction)


PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 5:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
walter g wrote:
stevemark wrote:
walter g wrote:
I've been on a Canon FD kick lately. So I have a Canon FD SSC 200mm f4 lens coming.


A well machined, heavy 4/200mm lens with a relatively low contrast, but good detail resolution and not too pronounced lateral CAs. You'll enjoy it, i guess Wink

S


I couldn't decide if I wanted the lens or not.
I would of preferred to try the New FD version.
Anyway it had a $20 starting bid and cheap shipping, so I put a $20 bid on it and won, if I'm not happy with it, I'll throw it back on eBay.


Stephen, now I know what you are talking about. Got the lens. Never thought to check the weight before bidding on it.
675 grams which is 155 grams heavier then my equivalent Minolta lens.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 6:53 am    Post subject: books Reply with quote
Aas to the Enna book mentioned above, the specialty bookstore Lindemanns.de can provide just about any photo related book. It took me less than a week to get the Enna book.

p


PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2020 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
walter g wrote:
stevemark wrote:
walter g wrote:
I've been on a Canon FD kick lately. So I have a Canon FD SSC 200mm f4 lens coming.


A well machined, heavy 4/200mm lens with a relatively low contrast, but good detail resolution and not too pronounced lateral CAs. You'll enjoy it, i guess Wink

S


Stephen, now I know what you are talking about. Got the lens. Never thought to check the weight before bidding on it.
675 grams which is 155 grams heavier then my equivalent Minolta lens.


Both the FD (mine is even 702 g without taps!) and the nFD (440g) are remarkably well corrected tele lenses (as is the heavier version of the Minolta MC/MD 4/200mm). Both have a very good detail resolution on 24 MP FF sensors, basically indistinguishable from f4 ... f11 (apart from vignetting, of course). Chromatic aberration is well controlled. One really wonders why most vintage 4/200mm lenses are so good while most 300mm lenses (f4, f4.5, f5.6) - even ED lenses! - have so much more CA problems and less resolution ...

S

EDIT: there's a big caveat about the nFD 4/200mm: It uses internal focusing, and its bearings are really prone to disintegration. This causes the focusing element to be loose; often degrading visibly the lens' performance (e. g. de-centering, or infinity can't be reached any more)


PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
My latest lens is the Contax-Zeiss 80-200 f4.

Since I'm not interested in either digging up the oldest or most obscure lenses or in lenses with the weirdest bokeh but just want very good optical "instruments" which dependably deliver good-looking and sharp images, this lens fits the bill.

- Very sharp across the focal range
- Great Zeiss microcontrast, colors and "pop"
- Very smooth bokeh (think of a "tele extension" of the stunning rendering of the CY 28-85 @85mm wide open)
- Little CA
- The lens is rather long, but fortunately not very heavy
- Good copies can be had for a (for a Zeiss lens) quite low price of about 150-200 euros


PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
hasenbein wrote:
My latest lens is the Contax-Zeiss 80-200 f4.

Since I'm not interested in either digging up the oldest or most obscure lenses or in lenses with the weirdest bokeh but just want very good optical "instruments" which dependably deliver good-looking and sharp images, this lens fits the bill.

- Very sharp across the focal range
- Great Zeiss microcontrast, colors and "pop"
- Very smooth bokeh (think of a "tele extension" of the stunning rendering of the CY 28-85 @85mm wide open)
- Little CA
- The lens is rather long, but fortunately not very heavy
- Good copies can be had for a (for a Zeiss lens) quite low price of about 150-200 euros


The Zeiss CY 4/80-200mm is one of the best vintage MF telezooms i know - certainly the sharpest (especially wide open). The only vintage MF zoom I prefer over the Zeiss is the Canon nFD 4/80-200mm L. While it is inferior at f4 and f5.6 (less sharp corners), it outperforms the Zeiss at f8 and f11: There are simply no CAs, resulting in extraordinary clear colors and very sharp images:

CLICK TWICE ON THE IMAGE TO SEE FULL RESOLUTION!!



S


PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
From Yahoo Japan using Buyee. A bit expensive because of all of the added cost but very hard to find for the price in Europe.
Auto-Takumar 35mm 1:2.3 by The lens profile, on Flickr

Auto-Takumar 35mm 1:2.3 by The lens profile, on Flickr


PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
D1N0 wrote:
...very hard to find for the price in Europe.


Lovely!

Like 1 small


PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
D1N0 wrote:
From Yahoo Japan using Buyee. A bit expensive because of all of the added cost but very hard to find for the price in Europe....


YAHOO!!!

Whoo Turtle Congrats Looks like a very nice copy.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks. It operates nicely. It looks like it has been sitting in a store window for a few decades. There is some masking visible on the front part of the body where presumably the price tag was.


PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The rare 107B boxed with case, hood 112mm filter.

Tuzki with lens



Last edited by marcusBMG on Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:28 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Like 1 Congrats Happy Dog


PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 7:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
marcusBMG wrote:
The rare 107A. boxed with case, hood 112mm filter.

Tuzki with lens


I was bidding on a Tamron SP 2.8/300mm (107A) years ago, the only time I saw one here in Switzerland.
It went for about CHF 800.--; not too much fur such a lens ...

S


PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Aye, this is the only time a 107B has come up for auction since I've started buying.. My bid was just a "gotta bit something* it's a one off 107A, you'll never see anther one, well you never know..." punt, and that was the exact winning price to the £xxx.33pp
*I mean I already have both of the other ones!

First pics of the castle towers (cloudy day, strongly backlit) showed a big washout flare spot, I think I need to shine a torch through it and check for haze. Otherwise it looks super sharp.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 2:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
marcusBMG wrote:

First pics of the castle towers (cloudy day, strongly backlit) showed a big washout flare spot, I think I need to shine a torch through it and check for haze. Otherwise it looks super sharp.


While i have never used a 107, that effect seems to be exactly what is described in the adaptall2.com website: Originally, the lens obviously had been designed without a rear filter (prototyp shown didn't have one); later the rear filter was added without changing the optical design => if a filter is added, there's some softening.

Check your lens at f2.8 without any rear filter and compare the results with rear filter added !!

S


PostPosted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Interesting - I'll definitely see if I can detect the difference with/without internal filter.
I couldn't see any haze, fair amount of dust but that wouldn't cause that big flare spot on some of yesterdays pics with KS2. Anyway it wasn't there today with K30. The aperture mechanism was a bit sticky which was what was causing exposure errors yesterday. Lots of flicking of the mechanism seems to have loosened it up - due to lack of use imo.
WABOL skies will clear and I'll see if I can get some pics of the comet...
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