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Find of the day

This auction is for a Nikkor 28mm 2.8 AIS lens.  This 8 element in 8 group gem is probably the best wide angle lens made by Nikon.  According to seller the "optics are clear with no scratches, haze, or fungus, the aperture is clean and snappy and the focus is smooth. Body shows only typical light wear as pictured"  Currently at $40 this lens is easily worth $130.

Yashica 50mm 2.0 ML

Impressions:  After giving so many high scores in my previous reviews,  I was itching to write a review with low grade.  This is it.

Although nicely made and very nice to handle, I dont think this lens is very sharp or has a nice bokeh.   The colors are not that bad.  I paid $20 for it and that is what it is worth.

Below please find some samples images with Yashica 50mm ML and Canon 5DII:

Nervous bokeh

Semi-sharp image

Here is how to turn these weaknesses into strengths:

Mod:  No modification is necessary for using the Yashica 50mm 2.0 ML with a Canon 5DII.  Below please find some pictures of this lens:

Rating: (3 out of 10)

Find of the day

This auction is for Canon FD 100mm f4.0 Macro lens.  The seller claim that this lens is in excellent condition.   Currently at $50, this lens will be a good value up to $65.

Topcor R 25mm 3.5

Impressions:  This is another magical product from the magicians at Topcon Kogaku.   Amazing color and sharpness at every aperture.   From time to time you can find these little gems on ebay for around $150.  The pictures below tell you all the story:

Here is a sample of Topcor's painterly colors.  Notice that blacks are nice and black.

This lens focuses down to around 6"!!!!

Here is a picture of the interior of the National Portrait Gallery

Check out the 100% blowup from the extreme corner of the above image.  Why cant Canon learn how to do this.

Below please find a 100% crop of the above handheld 10 megapixel image.  Wow.  Pure magic.  You can even see the loose fibers sticking out from the hat.

Mod:  Unfortunately this 25mm, being in Exakta mount, needs the mount to be shaved before the mount clears the Canon 5DII's mirror.  Even after shaving the mount, the rear element interferes with 5DIIs mirror at infinity.  There is a shroud and rear filter holder behind this lens's rear element.  Without removing these items I get infinity focus between f3.5 and f5.6.  Removing the shroud and filter holder may do the trick but I have not yet figured how to remove them.  Please let me know if you know how.

Top Tip:  The nice click of the aperture ring is created by a 1mm ball bearing riding on an indented surface within the lens.  When you open up any Topcor R lens, there is a good likelihood that you will loose the little ball bearing.  I have bought 100 of these 1mm bearings from ebay for a couple of dollars.

Here are some pictures of Topcon Topcor R 25mm f3.5 on Canon 5DII:

Here is a picture with filter holder and a filter.  The filter holder takes series 9 filters.

Rating:  8 out of 10

Find of the day

This auction is for a Pancolar 50mm 1.8  Carl Zeiss Jenna lens.  According to the seller the "glass on lens is clean, no fungus, no scratches (nearly, from rear end I see 1 tiny). Good glass (micro bubbles are present in every Zeiss lens), surpassingly good if compared with lens cosmetics".  With four days to go the auction is at $3.50 plus $16 for shipping.

Nikkor-P 105mm 2.5

Impressions: This 105mm is one of my latest acquisitions.  Even so it has already seen a lot of duty.   The weight and build quality of this lens conveys a sense of seriousness.   My specific Nikkor-P lens uses Sonnar design with 5 elements 3 groups optical.   Even though the lens barrel on my lens was not perfect, the glass looked to be in very good shape.  I got very very luck to buy this lens for $41.

This lens also features a very nice long throw focus mechanism.   The images pop into focus effortlessly.  Many use this lens for torso shots.  You can also use it to shoot headshots but you need to get friendly with your subjects.

My specific lens does not close all the way down to f32 like some later Nikkor 105s but still is perfectly fine for shooting inanimate objects (Books are shot at f16 and fruit bowl at f2.8)

Below please find some picture of Nikkor-P 105mm 2.5 on Canon 5DII.

Mod:   No modifications are necessary to mount this lens on a Canon 5DII.

Rating:  8 out of 10