What you think about image quality of this lens?

[BRunner]

Well, you know it. You've got new lens. You put it on camera and take few usual test shots to check it's performance. Most of the time you say, it's ok - with some PP. Sometimes you know even from these few shots, that the lens is bad....and sometimes you say WOW, there is something special! Like when you took first wide open shots with your CZ Sonnar 2.8/85, do you remember?
I own few top lenses and after trying a lot of different lenses, I'm very skeptical to unknown lenses and even more to hyped lenses... But after few shots with this lens, it was something like , there must be something about it!

Here is few photos I made this weekend with the lens... I don't tell you type and manufacturer of the lens now, because I don't want to influence your opinion.

Only hint is that it's usual portrait focal length.

Just tell me please what you think about colors and bokeh rendering, CA and so on. If you want, you can try to guess the lens or at least the manufacturer of it.

All photos made with Canon FF. Except exposure correction in DPP no PP, no color or contrast manipulation, no CAs correction. Picture style set to "Neutral", Saturation set to -1 and Contrast to -1 or 0.

What really blows my mind is color fidelity of this lens, very smooth oof areas rendering and lack of CAs and LoCAs. Resolution is not on pair with my other lenses, but still good enough. Performance at long distances is poor - even stopped down. Well, not exactly universal lens, but I think it can be fantastic for portraits.

Anyway, maybe I'm already foolish from all the lenses , hence I'm asking you.

First LoCAs test

@wide-open and @f5.6


For comparison same shot with APO Lanthar 3.5/90 @ f3.5



Wide-open
#'s 1, 2, 3


#2 is poorly composed, but look at the lack of CAs in bottles bokeh

@f5.6
#'s 4, 5, 6



And these photos shows real potential of this lens, actually the flower and the girl are one of my best photos I've ever made! Both wide open and at dull daylight...the portrait is even resized JPEG straight from camera, because I forgot to switch to raw

#'s 7, 8, 9 wide-open


Snail is @f5.6 - #'s 10, 11

[iangreenhalgh1]

Wow, very nice lens, very sharp.

I actually think it's a bit too sharp for portrait work, the photo of the girl is excellent but I think would look even better if softer to be kinder on the skin and cover any blemishes.

The flower shot you also pointed out as being one of your best is stunning, here the sharpness really makes the picture and those pollen-covered stamens do pop out of the image.

I really like this lens and look forward to finding out what it is!

Thanks for sharing, I love your photographs.

[poilu]

if you like this lens and it already give you the best photos you ever made then we can not help you anymore
personally this lens doesn't blow my mind enough that I would want to buy it, but your samples are indeed very good

[iangreenhalgh1]

[symphonic]

Nice and sharp samples.

I love the lens guessing games, although I'm always very far from the answer. I'd guess it's some macro lens perhaps.. Vivitar (Tokina) 90/2.5.

[BRunner]

[iangreenhalgh1]

I noticed the lack of CA. I was looking at some of my pics on my dad's laptop earlier and was amazed how different they looked to my monitor. Seems to me everything looks sharper on my monitor than it does on my dad's laptop.

[nixland]

I think its a very good lens. It has a bit brownish color cast or vintage look but no problem. The bokeh looks like Japanese lens bokeh imho

[woodrim]

Do you consider 135mm in the portrait range? I'm thinking this is an f/4 lens, maybe f/3.5. If it's a 135mm, Jupiter comes to mind. Something else maybe German?

[iangreenhalgh1]

I agree with Nix, looks Japanese. I'm guessing a 60s Japanese lens from a quality manufacterer.

My J-11A is nowhere near that sharp wide open.

[Minolfan]

Good lens, but which one? I have no idea !

[cooltouch]

I have no idea who made that lens, or which one it is. But I tend to agree with poilu -- it's nothing special regarding sharpness. There were three, perhaps four photos that I thought were critically sharp. As for the photo of the girl, I think it worked well for precisely the reasons why I think it's an average lens when sharpness is concerned. I don't see that cutting edge sharpness in the photo of her. In fact, only her eyes are truly in focus.

[Excalibur]

Well looking at the snail and a flower shot, I'd would consider it very good for sharpness (at least in close up) when taken into account that no PP was done.

[martyn_bannister]

Well, I have no idea about what lens it is. I wish I had one though. Beautiful, beautiful color and render. Bokeh very nice too IMHO. If I had to guess, I'd say something like the Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 90mm f/3.5 SL?

[BRunner]

Thank you for you replies...maybe I was little over zealous in my first post I agree, but I mentioned it in first post, that sharpness isn't what I praise this lens for.

It's moderately fast 85mm lens and to put things more in perspective I put this lens in good company of lenses with comparable speed/FL and did quick four comparison shots of top of my refrigerator. Primoplan 1.9/75 is different speed and FL, but it's on purpose.

If you look at the images, you can see, that Rollei Sonnar is sharpness champion, it's probably my sharpest portrait lens. Tamron SP is slightly worse, but still very sharp and contrasty. Now Primoplan stopped down to f2.8, contrast is low, details are fuzzy and colors are muted. But oof areas rendering is very pleasing and smooth.

And last my lens. It shares some characteristics of both worlds. Very good contrast and color rendering of modern lenses and the fuzziness and smooth bokeh rendering of Primoplan. And that si what caught my eye. It's something like Primoplan on stereoids , but at fraction of it's price and with better colors and contrast. That is why I think it can be interesting portraiture lens.

Rollei Sonnar 2.8/85 @f2.8


Tamron SP 2.5/90 @f2.5


Primoplan 1.9/75 @f2.8


My lens 85mm @wide-open

[ludoo]

I think you got all you could from the mystery, can you tell us its name now?

[IAZA]

my Jupiter 9 looks similar

[Orio]

Difficult to tell from just a few samples, based on the highlights in the bokeh I would say is it not a Jupiter-9.

The bokeh looks a lot like a Takumar, but the DOF does not look like that of a f/1.9 lens.
Also the nearly absent CA does not really fit, and makes me think more of an older lens.
It could be a Steinheil Culminar, or perhaps a Schacht Travenar.

[peterqd]

The pics take too long to download for me, sorry.

[BRunner]

Thanks again for all your replies. It wasn't purpose to spread any a mystery about this lens. Sometimes a MFL fan needs rest from all the "serious" shooting with all the Bioatars, Planars, Elmarits... Good way is to put some obscure lens on camera go out and try to make some good pictures. Most of the times, results are not worth of mentioning, but I think, that this lens deserved it's 5 minutes of fame

Orios analysis was very accurate. It's old Leitz Weltzar Hektor 2.5/85mm projection lens. Simple pre-war 4/3 design, manufactured around 1960. It has very strong coating on rear element, which probably lowers chip reflections. So it's "digital ready"

I think, it is definitely worth 8€ I paid for it. And finally the lens alone, mounted on Pentax helicoid.

[Riku]

[poilu]

indeed a nice find, lens is certainly usable
but even if it worth 8€ today, when it was new it probably cost more than the Rollei Sonar new

[exaklaus]

8 Euro sounds like a good investment, after inspecting your photos!

Klaus

[woodrim]

Arrrrrgh, I can't believe I didn't guess it.

[iangreenhalgh1]

Aah! Why didn't I buy the Wetzlar 85mm proj lens I saw the other day!

Now I wish I had.

I have a 1960's Aldis Anstigmat 2.5/85 Projector lens and it is very soft.