Vega 5U 5Y 105/4 M42 Review

[bstrom650]

Vega 5U 5Y 105/4 (Russian) M42
f4 - f11 (non-preset)
6 blade aperture
$27.50 shipped off eBay 4/16

Just received this very clean M42 mount Russian enlarger lens and popped a few sample pix to see what it can do. Appears to be a later model with multicoating.

In short, it is excellent as long as you like shooting with a bellows on a tripod. Rear element goes too deep to mount with just an M42 adapter. Optical performance is essentially linear, being an enlarger lens. No half stops but you can position it that way if you like.Actually, this setup makes framing at various ratios very simple - just move the tripod until you get general framing and go through the manual focus/stopdown functions. Fairly quick and easy compared to fooling with extension tubes.

Sample pix were taken with a Sony a65 which offers an ideal interface to determine focus and exposure. Didn't spend time creating bokeh images - that's next. These pix are just to show general sharpness, etc. All pix were shot as Fine JPGs and processed in LR6.
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#4


#6

#1

[bstrom650]

Below are progressive bokeh renderings with the Vega 105/4 enlarger lens. Shown from f4 to f8 - the bokeh pattern is 'selectable' for the effect desired. For a creamy bokeh preference without swirling or other effects, this lens does well at f4 and f5.6 for 2:1 subject distances, and beginning to show background detail at f8. Bokeh is less attractive at non-macro subject distances.

Like most macro optics, the flat field characteristics of this lens design is an advantage where light falloff and distortion are a common issue with 'taking' lenses. It is also essentially free from CA and flare or ghosting when properly shaded. Contrast is good and sharpness is well above average. In spite of the slower lens speed and bellows operation, that's $27.50 well spent!

f4


f/5.6


f/8


f/4


f/5.6


f/8


f/4


f/5.6


f/8

[Lloydy]

Excellent results, I've got some obscure Russian enlarger lens somewhere that I've used on bellows with good results. I'll have to find it.