What's the latest lens you added to your collection?

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4080 Location: Switzerland

Most people don't know, but there was also a 20-28mm prototype based on the same generic design of the MD 3.5/24-35mm!

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RokkorDoctor · Expire: 2025-05-01

RokkorDoctor · Expire: 2025-05-01

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4080 Location: Switzerland

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 3221 Location: The Netherlands

Auto-Mamiya/Sekor 55mm f/1.4. There are apparently 2 optically different versions of this lens, a 6- and a 7 element. Don't know yet which one this is, once I received it I will check.

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7584 Location: Hong Kong

An uncommon industrial lens. It seems it does cover full-frame when I test it freelensing.

cyberjunkie · Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2024 5:31 pm Post subject: Soligor DualFocal 3.5-3.8/28-35mm

I already had the tele version of the same "DualFocal" concept, branded Soligor C/D and very likely made by Sun.
When I saw the wide-angle version (in PK mount, like the other one I own) I couldn't resist and decided to buy it, if the price was low.
The price was actually very low, so now the lens is on its way to reach the loving hands of a friendly lady, who will pick up the parcel in my stead and keep it until I show up.
She already has a few parcel that couldn't be sent to me cause the international shipping would have been excessive, taking into consideration the low value of the item/s.

Soligor C/D DualFocal 3.5-3.8 28-35mm

Once I finalized my M39 Paxette adapter for Sony FE mount, with spot-on infinity, my curiosity for the lenses with that mount increased a lot.
I had already a few, but I decided to try more.
Unfortunately the Braun Super Paxette I bought proved to be the wrong purchase. Not all Super Paxette cameras have interchangeable optics, and the "-E" in the lens name doesn't mean interchangeable, like I thought, but rangefinder-coupled! The Super Paxette I (no way to know it's the first version from the external, as far as I know) has a fixed Staeble Kata -E 2.8/45mm lens. The only way to try it on digital would be to gut the camera, which would be a kind of a pity, cause I'm pretty sure I would never reassemble the camera once I try the lens.
In the meantime, I finally found a Paxette (not Super) with two nice lenses that could prove interesting on my Sony A7II.
Here is the camera:

Braun Paxette with Schneider Xenar 2.8/50mm and Enna Tele-Ennalyt 3.5/135mm

I have mostly used M42 and PK vintage lenses for years, either on the various Pentax APS-C DSLR cameras or more rarely on m4/3.
More recently I ended up practically using only the Pentax K-1 full frame, cause it's a great camera and I loved using it.
But it's a big and heavy and heavy camera, and unfortunately using it meant forgetting about some other great vintage lenses.
So when I got more and more curious about Rokkor, X-Fujinon and Hexanon AR lenses, I realized that I needed a Sony mirrorless camera to get a chance to try all those optics that I had always kept at the periphery of my photographic interests.
Recently I bought an old A7II in good conditions, and now I'm all taken trying the few non-M42, non-PK lenses I already own, and the few I have acquired in the meantime.
Now it's the turn of an old Minolta lens: it's the Auto Rokkor-PF 1:1.4 f=58mm.
I would have preferred a nice MC Rokkor first version, and I ended up participating in the auction for the Auto Rokkor because it was described as "MC"... in the sense of multicoated (which in fact it is). When I realized that in reality it was an "Auto Rokkor" I decided to bid low and see.
I ended up winning it, but I still want to buy an MC with the metal focusing ring in the future, if I ever find one in decent conditions for a low price.
Most of those with a decent price have a glowing description, but the images show poor optics with scratches and/or fungus. Even from Japanese vendors, whicht were quite reliable some time ago.
I will continue to try... which means that sooner or later I will find one, and I will have the chance to test the AUTO vs the MC version. BTW, I'm curious if anybody already did the comparison. The two lenses seem to have a different rendering.
Here is the Rokkor Auto, most of the little dots are just made of dust on the outside, but a couple are inside (it shouldn't affect the picture, so if I don't see fungus on the back group I won't open the lens):

Minolta Auto Rokkor-PF 1:1.4 f=58mm

BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 354 Location: Philadelphia

About 85% of unserviced examples of the MC version have slow blades from oil migration, and in many of those, the oil has migrated onto lens surfaces as well.

If you don't do your own servicing, my advice is to shell out the money and buy a known good one rather than screwing around with auctions. $100-$150 is a reasonable price for a nice excellent condition example.

DrBB · Joined: 26 Mar 2014 Posts: 117 Location: Croatia

CZJ Pancolar 50mm f2 Zebra/"Starwars" version

RokkorDoctor · Expire: 2025-05-01

BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 354 Location: Philadelphia

Good advice from your end, too!

There are a few other Minolta lenses with similarly soft coatings - I can think of the 50mm MC macros off the top of my head, but there are others I've come across, too. Definitely a more common phenomenon among Minolta lenses of that era than other OEMs. Some third party manufacturers use similar coatings - the Vivitar-Kiron 28mm f/2.5 and the famed "Bokina" 90mm macro both also have soft coatings on the surfaces adjacent the aperture blades.

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 4080 Location: Switzerland

Ernst Dinkla · Joined: 30 Nov 2016 Posts: 410

Mir · Expire: 2017-09-30

Tokyo Kogaku Topcor-S 2/5cm
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caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 3221 Location: The Netherlands

DrBB · Joined: 26 Mar 2014 Posts: 117 Location: Croatia

Surprise from delivery guys today Smile

got the Pancolar 50mm f2. First impressions - definitely needs CLA (both aperture and focusing are very stiff, almost stuck) but I couldn't resist testing although it felt I would tear the mount apart Smile

great colors, great bokeh, great sharpness

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blotafton · Joined: 08 Aug 2013 Posts: 1636 Location: Sweden

Alun Thomas · Joined: 20 Aug 2018 Posts: 661 Location: New Zealand

Zeiss Jena and Meyer lenses from that period have 'tight' apertures, I'm not sure if it's the material or design or both. I had the same problem with an F2 pancolar recently, but managed to get the aperture to work correctly with graphite dry lubricant. In this case I used a pencil and drew on the blades, leaving a small amount of graphite on them, then worked the blades. It took several applications until the graphite was evenly distributed. You can buy small amounts of very fine grained graphite in a dispenser, I did not have mine at hand.

KEO · Joined: 27 Sep 2018 Posts: 775 Location: USA

Not much info out there about this lens (mine is Nikon F mount). As far as I can tell, it's been through three iterations, although there's nothing on the packaging or the lens itself to indicate this.

The first version was supposedly a rather poor performer. The second was considered a substantial improvement. This is the third version, and I must say it's quite good - sharp wide open (at least where it counts), with very nice, smooth bokeh of the ZY Optics variety.

On my GFX it's got a little more vignetting than I'd like, but still it's perfectly usable, particularly for portraits. I think it would be an excellent option for full frame.

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 3221 Location: The Netherlands

KEO · Joined: 27 Sep 2018 Posts: 775 Location: USA

BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 354 Location: Philadelphia

Both, actually.