Rollei HFT 50 1.8

[TLN]

Hi all.

I've recenply got a 5d2 and i have 2 manual 50's lens:
Super Takumar 50 1.4, 8 element, old and rare.
Minolta Rokkor 58 1.4 MC PF

But none of this are easy to use on a 5d because of a mirror.
Super tak is quite hard to modify, because of a rear lens.
Rokkor is possible to modify, just need to shave a metal around rear lens.

But i've heard lots of good things about subject: Rollei HFT 50 1.8.
As far as i know(googled =), it have QBM mount and there's QBM to EOS adapters.
But it marked in a table of compatible leses as Compatible with modifications.

So here's the quiestions:
1. What should i do to make it work on a 5d?
2. Does it have any sense as i have two lens i've mentioned? The're 1.4 not 1.8 and at least Rokkor is fully useful on 5d2 with some modifications.
3. How does it in comparsion with 50 1.4 HFT? I've heard lots of goods about 1.8 version, haven't head alot about 1.4.

[iangreenhalgh1]

I had a Rollei HFT Planar, good lens, sharp and no CA. However, I didn't think better than other good 50mm lenses that are easier to find and cheaper.

There are adapters to EOS, but they are slightly too thick to give infinity, this is due to the small difference between the registration of the EOS and the Rollei, and you can't make the metal adapter thin enough, would be too fragile.

My advice is to pick something else that will work on your EOS. There are many good 50mm lenses, one I really like is the Pancolar 1.8/50, in M42 it will work fine on your EOS.

Another very good one I like a lot is the Pentax-M 1.7/50, it is cheap and easy to find, the coatings are very good and it is very sharp.

If your budget allows it, then the Contax T* 1.7/50 Planar is the one to get, definitely works fine on EOS and many EOS users use one.

[poilu]

you can dremel the mirror, or you can use those lens in liveview when you need infinity

[TLN]

[iangreenhalgh1]

The T* Planars are definitely a good choice, they are top of the tree.

If bokeh is your prime concern then I would recommend a Biotar 2/58. Other good ones for bokeh are the Meyer Primoplan 1.9/58 (very expensive these days, sadly) or the Meyer Primotar 3.5/50 (cheap).

Another one with great bokeh is the Meyer Oreston 1.8/50 (also seen with Pentacon label). The Pancolar 1.8/50 has nice bokeh too.

Many say the Chinon 1.7/55 has wonderful painterly bokeh, I haven't tried one myself.

Some samples:

Biotar 2/58, it has swirly bokeh



Oreston 1.8/50, it has very smooth bokeh

[fuzzywuzzy]

[iangreenhalgh1]

Cheers fuzzywuzzy (BTW, I typed your nick fussywussy by accident first time round, which sounds rather insulting and amusing

I agree about the Helios, a good one is as good as the Biotar, I have one that is sharper than my Biotar and a really top lens, the bokeh of the Helios can be swirlier too, but it depends on the copy.

[Attila]

+1 what Ian said basically any 50mm lens has good bokeh and sharpness, hard to find bad one.

http://forum.mflenses.com/5d-mark-ii-lens-compatibility-chart-t15761,start,90.html

[TLN]

[iangreenhalgh1]

Impossible to pick a top three 50mm, there are no absolutes, just varying characteristics.

The Meyer Oreston 1.8/50 is pretty cheap, less than 50USD, the Pentacon badged version is even cheaper, 30USD or less. The Primotar 3.5/50 is cheap too but not so common, you should be able to find one for about 50USD.

A good copy of the Helios 44 is a superb lens, I have one that is really, really great.

[TLN]

[iangreenhalgh1]

I don't understand what you want, you say you want bokeh but don't want a Helios.

The Rollei 1.8/50 is a very good lens but isn't going to give you anything special in bokeh terms.

I think you need to figure out what you want before you can find it.

The Rollei is sharp and has no CA, but it's not got a lot of character in it's rendering.

[Aanything]

My fujinon 1.4/50 is a good lens and it has a peculiar bokeh: I've grown to like it a little better than my tak 1.4/50 (which is great,anyway).
It's usually quite expensive*, like all fast primes, but with some patience you can find it for very reasonable price: I have two, and paid around 50usd for each, and one had a fujica body attached.




*for my pockets

[TLN]

[ChromaticAberration]

Like the name of that picture states, that is the typical bokeh that a Trioplan will give you, maybe the Pentacon version too, not sure, but these are 100mm lenses, not 50mm.

[TLN]

Well, the last one shot taken with Mayer 50 1.8. Looks promising =)

[feanolas]

From what I remember, neither the Rollei nor the Contax will allow enough mirror clearance to be used on a 5D. You would have to go for a more expensive 1.4/50 to have a planar on your 5D !

But then, there are lots of other 50s out there...