Chinon Auto Reflex 2.8 28

[Lloydy]

I bought this a while back and tried it, didn't think it was any good and was disappointed. It looked and felt like a quality lens, it's a nicely built lens and in perfect condition, I was hoping for more.
Anyway, with the discussions going on in other topics I got it out of the storage box and today I tried it on the NEX5, it seemed like a different lens to last time I used it. I got some great results from it today.



Wide open the swirly bokeh makes the Helios look a bit tame! The dead flower is a bit blurred, it was windy.


Stop down to f4 and the bokeh is much less riotous.


The colours are good, and although the CA was absent on this shot it is there when really provoked. But I've seen plenty worse.


The CA was noticable between the arch and sky, and the TV aerial, but it's soon cured with processing.


300% crop of above


I can see me using this a lot more, it's a common length and speed and the huge range of lenses in the old film wide angle range means there's tough competition for the best lenses. This might not be a winner, but I think it's a worthy contender.

[mo]

Lloydy ,your photography techniques may have changed since you bought that lens.. I find you can't learn too much about a lens in one or two outings, you have to get to know a lens and its own quirks over a period of time...plus being on this forum helps you use a lens better.I hope you get what I am trying to say. = your skills would have developed over this period of time.

The Nex can bring out the best in a lens,colour wise...or am I giving it too much credit?

[Lloydy]

Mo, I think it's a change of camera. I would have tried the lens initially on my Pentax K10, and I have always had the standard focusing screen - which I think makes focusing with some lenses a bit of a challenge. I don't have the theoretical knowledge to know whether a selection of lenses of the same length and aperture would appear in exactly the same way in the viewfinder. I strongly suspect there are discernable differences, and maybe a screen suited to MF lenses will help. ( The truth is, my eyes aren't that good and I know I need one but I'm too lazy / mean to buy one ! )
Using the lens on the NEX is entirely different, I've been a NEX fanboy since I got the thing, and since I got my 'new' K10 I haven't yet been convinced otherwise. I love the K10 and don't regret buying it, but it's a totally different way of digital photography, and I'm now convinced that the NEX and other similar cameras are better for MF lenses. I'll probably get publicly stoned for heresy, but that's my view now.

[mo]

Nothing wrong with that ....opinions change as you try new gear.

I don't have the funds to grab a Nex, but I certainly want to try one to see for myself what the fuss is all about.I think Attila started this Nex craze...

[iangreenhalgh1]

NEX is, imho the best platform for manual lenses. It performs very well with just about all of them, and the 14x focus assist and great lcd screen are great for manual focussing.

I like SLRs for shooting film, but for digital APS-C size, I don't like em much.

As for this Chinon, I am not surprised you rate it higher after trying it on the NEX, the NEX has a way of making so-so lenses look good (and good lenses great ).