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iangreenhalgh1
Joined: 18 Mar 2011 Posts: 15679
Expire: 2014-01-07
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:06 pm Post subject: Miranda lenses |
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iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
Hi folks
I seem to have found myself in possession of some Miranda lenses now and a Miranda Sensorex.
I have:
2.8/105
1.4/50
2.8/50
1.9/50 PAD
What I want to know is, what is the IQ of the other Miranda lenses like? There is a 2.8/28 that looks interesting and a very large 2.8/35 that is intriguing. _________________ I don't care who designed it, who made it or what country it comes from - I just enjoy using it! |
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FluffPuppy
Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 365
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:15 pm Post subject: |
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FluffPuppy wrote:
Slightly below average for Jap lenses of the 60s. Not bad, not really great either. |
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iangreenhalgh1
Joined: 18 Mar 2011 Posts: 15679
Expire: 2014-01-07
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
Hmm, pity, the Miranda SLRs were competitors to the Nikon and Topcon lines so you would hope the Miranda optics were as good as the Nikkors and Topcors. _________________ I don't care who designed it, who made it or what country it comes from - I just enjoy using it! |
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FluffPuppy
Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 365
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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FluffPuppy wrote:
iangreenhalgh1 wrote: |
Hmm, pity, the Miranda SLRs were competitors to the Nikon and Topcon lines so you would hope the Miranda optics were as good as the Nikkors and Topcors. |
Probably comparable to Nikkors, which as I have mentioned are not among the best of that era.
Some info:
http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Miranda |
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casualcollector
Joined: 01 Aug 2008 Posts: 749 Location: Spaced out on Florida's Space Coast
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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casualcollector wrote:
The Miranda lenses were highly variable, in regards to image quality, as Miranda and their owner, Allied Impex, went to various sources for Miranda lenses. Among them, Kino, Kowa, Norita, Tokina, Tomioka, Zunow and others. Even the line-up for a given year may have lenses from different suppliers. Miranda also supported multiple coupling systems simultaneously after the PAD era. The F, G, Sensomat line with just a stop down pin. The Automex, Sensorex line with stop down and external meter coupling arm. The final iteration EE/EC lenses for Auto Sensorex, RE-II and DX-3 with internal coupling and auto-exposure support. _________________ In Search Of "R" Serial Soligors
Found: 135/2.8 #R407660, 200/4 #R405526, 300/5.5 #R411127 |
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s58y
Joined: 05 Sep 2010 Posts: 131 Location: Eastern NY
Expire: 2013-09-10
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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s58y wrote:
Just out of curiosity, how do you adapt a Miranda (bayonet) lens to a modern digital camera? The M-L adapter, or something else? _________________
flickr photostream
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GrahamNR17
Joined: 17 Jan 2009 Posts: 1855 Location: Norfolk, UK
Expire: 2012-09-06
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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GrahamNR17 wrote:
The best of the Miranda glass was the Soligor stuff. At least, it was in the days I was using an Fv. While it may be a combination of fading memory and rose-tinted glasses, I don't remember being unhappy with any of the lenses I had for it, and I certainly had half a dozen in the camera bag.
Happy days |
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casualcollector
Joined: 01 Aug 2008 Posts: 749 Location: Spaced out on Florida's Space Coast
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:13 am Post subject: |
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casualcollector wrote:
s58y wrote: |
Just out of curiosity, how do you adapt a Miranda (bayonet) lens to a modern digital camera? The M-L adapter, or something else? |
Miranda lenses have a comparatively short flange to sensor dimension. 44mm If recollection is correct. I don't think you'll find one ready made and they won't focus to infinity on traditional DSLRs. For Micro Four Thirds, Sony Nex and other applications, start with a Canon FD adapter and kludge a Miranda tele-converter or extension tube flange to it. Machine or shim to achieve infinity focus. _________________ In Search Of "R" Serial Soligors
Found: 135/2.8 #R407660, 200/4 #R405526, 300/5.5 #R411127 |
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Pancolart
Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 3702 Location: Slovenia, EU
Expire: 2013-11-18
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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Pancolart wrote:
GrahamNR17 wrote: |
The best of the Miranda glass was the Soligor stuff... |
The best of Soligor stuff were Miranda products would be better said perhaps . _________________ ---------------------------------
The Peculiar Apparatus Of Victorian Steampunk Photography: 100+ Genuine Steampunk Camera Designs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B92829NS |
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GrahamNR17
Joined: 17 Jan 2009 Posts: 1855 Location: Norfolk, UK
Expire: 2012-09-06
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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GrahamNR17 wrote:
Pancolart wrote: |
GrahamNR17 wrote: |
The best of the Miranda glass was the Soligor stuff... |
The best of Soligor stuff were Miranda products would be better said perhaps . |
I bow to your greater knowledge |
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Pancolart
Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 3702 Location: Slovenia, EU
Expire: 2013-11-18
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 11:59 am Post subject: |
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Pancolart wrote:
Well, greater knowledge might be the right thing to bow to but i am sure mine isn't such . Questioning it is a must. _________________ ---------------------------------
The Peculiar Apparatus Of Victorian Steampunk Photography: 100+ Genuine Steampunk Camera Designs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B92829NS |
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ManualFocus-G
Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Posts: 6622 Location: United Kingdom
Expire: 2014-11-24
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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ManualFocus-G wrote:
Many of the Miranda lenses can be found with the Soligor brand, mainly because AIC owned them both The normal length lenses i.e. 50mm are the hardest to find branded as Soligor. I'm guessing this is because the Soligor lenses were marketed for those with another system who wanted lenses to sit alongside their standard OEM 50mm.
That said, there were some M42 mount Soligor SLRs (I have one actually) and therefore there were *some* 50mm lenses branded Soligor to match. I have the 50/1.8 and I believe Ian has one as well. _________________ Graham - Moderator
Shooter of choice: Fujifilm X-T20 with M42, PB and C/Y lenses
See my Flickr photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/manualfocus-g |
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GrahamNR17
Joined: 17 Jan 2009 Posts: 1855 Location: Norfolk, UK
Expire: 2012-09-06
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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GrahamNR17 wrote:
Good info, MFG
I well remember there being a Soligor-branded 35mm SLR at one stage, which looked uncannily like a Miranda.
Your own fair city was responsible for me building a complete Miranda/Soligor camera system in half a day, for the princely sum of £27 in 1981. Back then you must have had a good half dozen decent camera shops, all of which had extensive quantities of used gear in the Windows. It was at a time when T mount had long fallen from fashion and I obtained everything from 28mm up to some stupid focal length, all Soligor. Halcyon days
But I digress |
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ManualFocus-G
Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Posts: 6622 Location: United Kingdom
Expire: 2014-11-24
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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ManualFocus-G wrote:
Ahhh them were the days
I seem to have collected a lot of Soligors (my Grandfather started me off with a 200/3.5 and 135/3.5). I also seem to be collecting Prakticars at the moment I had a BX-20 as my first ever SLR and I really want to get out and shoot some slides with it I have an M42 adapter, so am looking forward to pairing some of those Soligors with it! _________________ Graham - Moderator
Shooter of choice: Fujifilm X-T20 with M42, PB and C/Y lenses
See my Flickr photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/manualfocus-g |
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BillGeiss
Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Posts: 1
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Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:12 pm Post subject: Auto Miranda Lenses |
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BillGeiss wrote:
When I started making money with a camera I owned a Miranda Sensorex with a Sensomat as a back up. I had five lenses -- 25, 35, 50 1.8, 105 and 180 mm lenses. The Sensorex was unusually quiet and I could hand hold it at 15th of a second for many shots. The lenses were quite sharp -- especially the 105 which I used for portraits and photojournalism.
A few years later when I started working in a midtown Manhattan studio, I had to sell my Miranda because it was a Hasseblad/Nikon shop. I have owned a variety of Nikons and still own a Nikon EL with a few standard lenses. The Nikons were very durable and the lenses sharp, but when I look at the older negatives from my Miranda days there was no improvement in sharpness with the Nikkors. In some cases, the hand held Mirandas were sharper because the Sensorex had much less camera shake than did the Nikkormats of that era.
I believe that there are now adapters to use Miranda lenses on 4/3rd cameras, if not Sony NEXs. People liked Mirandas because the mount was wide and the body somewhat less deep than other cameras which made for many Miranda produced adapters for Exacta, M42, Canon, Nikon, etc. I even had a Leica screw mount adapter which I used with a bellows for closeup use with Leica enlarger lenses. |
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Attila
Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 57865 Location: Hungary
Expire: 2025-11-18
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Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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Attila wrote:
Welcome! Surely, they are usable on mirror less cameras, I did tape into adapter a 100mm Miranda, pretty good! Sensorex is nice camera as well. _________________ -------------------------------
Items on sale on Ebay
Sony NEX-7 Carl Zeiss Planar 85mm f1.4, Minolta MD 35mm f1.8, Konica 135mm f2.5, Minolta MD 50mm f1.2, Minolta MD 250mm f5.6, Carl Zeiss Sonnar 180mm f2.8
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RAART
Joined: 10 Oct 2012 Posts: 497 Location: Oakville, ON, Canada
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Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 4:06 am Post subject: |
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RAART wrote:
The adapter for Miranda lenses to m4/3 exist, and it is good one (infinity just slightly off)... I have one. Purchased on ebay (seller is from US, San Francisco area as long as I can remember). If anyone wants info on the seller just shoot me an message and I can check on my ebay purchase history for the seller's ID. _________________
Camera: Pentax K3
FOR SALE:
Do you have Pentax-A or F or FA primes and like to trade?
Here is the list what I have to trade/sale:
Primes: - Kiron 28mm f2 (C/Y); Vivitar 28mm f2.5 Auto (FD); Minolta MD 50mm f2 (incl. adapter to m4/3); Miranda Auto 35mm f2.8 EC (incl. adapter to m4/3); Miranda Auto 135mm f2.8 EC (incl. adapter to m4/3);
Zoom Lenses:
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luisalegria
Joined: 07 Mar 2008 Posts: 6602 Location: San Francisco, USA
Expire: 2018-01-18
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Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 4:24 am Post subject: |
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luisalegria wrote:
I also have a bit of a collection of Miranda's, their lenses and accessories.
I hope I will get the time to write and post an article on the Sensorex.
Many of the Miranda branded lenses for the original Sensorex seem to have been made by Kowa. Some of the long focal lengths seem to be the usual Tokina auto types, like the 300/5.5. These Kowa lenses though are not the same as the typical Auto lenses sold under the Soligor brand, including those in fixed mounts. I believe these are unique to Miranda.
These are quite interesting as most are more complex formulas than the usual third party lens of the time. The 50/1.4 is an 8-element for instance. Later ones for later models seem to be 7 element. I have one of each. _________________ I like Pentax DSLR's, Exaktas, M42 bodies of all kinds, strange and cheap Japanese lenses, and am dabbling in medium format/Speed Graphic work. |
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schen
Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 30 Location: DFW/TX/U.S.
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:26 pm Post subject: Miranda "Review" |
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schen wrote:
luisalegria wrote: |
I also have a bit of a collection of Miranda's, their lenses and accessories.
I hope I will get the time to write and post an article on the Sensorex.
Many of the Miranda branded lenses for the original Sensorex seem to have been made by Kowa. Some of the long focal lengths seem to be the usual Tokina auto types, like the 300/5.5. These Kowa lenses though are not the same as the typical Auto lenses sold under the Soligor brand, including those in fixed mounts. I believe these are unique to Miranda.
These are quite interesting as most are more complex formulas than the usual third party lens of the time. The 50/1.4 is an 8-element for instance. Later ones for later models seem to be 7 element. I have one of each. |
I'd be very interested in an article/review of anything Miranda. I've always thought them interesting, but was too involved with my rather more mainstream brands (Canon & Pentax), back in my film days to dabble in it. However, more recently, I've found myself semi-collecting the brand, now with a Sensorex, Sensorex II (although non-functional at the moment), 2 50mm/f1.8 Auto Mirandas, and a 135mm/f3.5 as well.
And now that I'm in possession of a m4/3rds camera, I'm very interested in trying out the Miranda lenses on it. _________________ I like most anything made after the mid-50s. Have been a user of Voigtlander, Canon, Exacta, Pentax, Miranda, and now Nikon.
Nikon D300, D40
AF 18-200mmVR, 18-70mm
MF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 (chipped), Nikon E 28mm f/2.8 (chipped), Vivitar 70-150 f/3.8, Tamron Adaptall 300mm f/5.6, Tamron AD2 28-50mm f/3.5-4.5, Tamron AD2 70-150 mm f/3.8, Tokina 500mm f/8 Cat. |
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Bille
Joined: 03 Jan 2013 Posts: 381
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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Bille wrote:
casualcollector wrote: |
The Miranda lenses were highly variable, in regards to image quality, as Miranda and their owner, Allied Impex, went to various sources for Miranda lenses. Among them, Kino, Kowa, Norita, Tokina, Tomioka, Zunow and others. Even the line-up for a given year may have lenses from different suppliers. Miranda also supported multiple coupling systems simultaneously after the PAD era. The F, G, Sensomat line with just a stop down pin. The Automex, Sensorex line with stop down and external meter coupling arm. The final iteration EE/EC lenses for Auto Sensorex, RE-II and DX-3 with internal coupling and auto-exposure support. |
Impressive expertise... thanks |
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ChuckT
Joined: 30 Jun 2012 Posts: 6
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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ChuckT wrote:
I have the Miranda MC macro 24mm f2.8, forgot if its Pentax or Minolta mount.
I think it is pretty nice considering the relatively low price on ebay.
This is taken with the Nex 5.
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nurkov
Joined: 21 Feb 2013 Posts: 711 Location: United Kingdom
Expire: 2014-03-09
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 6:19 pm Post subject: |
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nurkov wrote:
great details wonderful sharpness _________________ http://www.flickr.com/photos/34787419@N08/
Minolta and Canon user |
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DR.JUAN
Joined: 08 Feb 2013 Posts: 661
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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DR.JUAN wrote:
Into the cameras world, the G version was a very nice one. It came to the market to compete with nikon.
I had a sensorex, another nice cam. But the 1,8/50 lens wasn't special. An average to me.
In the 90's I have read an article in shutterbug magazine about the miranda lenses. There, the writer said that the combo 25-50-105 was at the same level than the leica M lenses (hmmmmm......) and below only hexanons lenses (sure, I guess). |
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dimitrygo
Joined: 01 Apr 2009 Posts: 561
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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dimitrygo wrote:
ChuckT wrote: |
I have the Miranda MC macro 24mm f2.8, forgot if its Pentax or Minolta mount.
I think it is pretty nice considering the relatively low price on ebay. |
I thinks it's already not the same Miranda. Probably some reseller decided to use this name after the original Miranda has gone. |
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Pancolart
Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 3702 Location: Slovenia, EU
Expire: 2013-11-18
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 8:48 am Post subject: |
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Pancolart wrote:
dimitrygo wrote: |
ChuckT wrote: |
I have the Miranda MC macro 24mm f2.8, forgot if its Pentax or Minolta mount.
I think it is pretty nice considering the relatively low price on ebay. |
I thinks it's already not the same Miranda. Probably some reseller decided to use this name after the original Miranda has gone. |
True. It was Cosina. _________________ ---------------------------------
The Peculiar Apparatus Of Victorian Steampunk Photography: 100+ Genuine Steampunk Camera Designs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B92829NS |
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