Archive for the ‘lens reviews’ Category
11March2010
Canon EF 35-105mm F/4.5-5.6 dSLR Lens Review
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: lens reviews; reviews.
First, a short story. The reason why I shoot with a Canon dSLR, the EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT, is because last year I spotted an EOS 50e film camera going cheap at our local Sunday Morning car boot sale. The 50e had an EF lens, which I knew would work with a digital body, so I got it for a song and planned on buying a second hand digital back and using the 50e’s lens on it.
That lens was the EF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6. When I got my 350d from eBay, the 28-80 served me well, but a few months ago the Auto-Focus started to stick. I’d line up a subject, press the shutter release half-way down and nothing would happen. I’d have to fiddle with the front element to free the AF, and the camera would focus, but this quickly became a pain and I stopped using this useful little zoom.
I’ve since expanded my lens collection with the 50mm f/1.8, the 28mm f/2.8, the 75-300 f4-5.6 and numerous M42 lenses, but I’ve always missed a general purpose walk-around zoom for those times when I don’t want to be lens juggling with a bag full of primes.
Being on a tight budget means that a new lens would be out of the question, so I kept my eye on eBay looking for a Canon zoom going cheap, and I got the 35-105mm for about £36. It doesn’t get the greatest reviews, but we all know that to get the best out of any glass you need to use it a couple of stops down from wide open and not at the extremes of the focal length.
I’ve been out with the Canon EF 35-105mm f4.5-5.6 quite a few times now, and I have to say I’m impressed. It seems like a solid piece of kit, that as long as you know its limitations (the aperture mainly), you’ll be able to make very nice photographs indeed. Lets look at some of the shots I’ve taken so far.
(Remember that these are not test shots. These photographs have been edited in Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop and Nik Silver Efex Pro to produce a final image.)
Being a budget lens, the 35-105mm is a bit plasticky. This at least means it’s light, so as a walk-around lens you’re not going to be getting neck-ache. It’s biggest drawback is the slow aperture. f/5.6 at the long end is not that much light, so high-ISO’s or a tripod are the order of the day to avoid camera shake.
Auto-focus is responsive enough, if a little noisy. The front element rotates when focussing, so If you’re using a Polarising or a Grad filter you’ve have to re-adjust them after you’ve focussed on your subject, but that’s common to most cheap zooms.
Let’s get back to the main strength of the 35-105mm – its focal length. You’ve got a great range, from wide to telephoto, although on a crop-sensor body like my 350d, the wide end has a 35mm equivalent of about 55mm, which means that I’ve got to get my 28mm out if I want a really wide angle of view.
Where I thought this lens was superb was when I put it on my 50e Film SLR. Being full frame (duh!), the 35mm is really wide, and I enjoyed walking around shooting with this lens on the old Canon Film SLR, and I can’t wait to get the film developed.
Obviously if you’ve got the cash I’d recommend a newer IS or Image Stabilised lens, but if you’re on a budget like me, these cheap Canon Zooms are a practical solution. Hey, at this price, if it breaks it’s not the end of the world anyway.
My technique for grabbing a bargain lens on eBay is simple. Do some research. Decide on the focal length you want and how much those lenses are new on Amazon, so you don’t get sucked into over-paying for a second-hand one. Set your budget, then every night do a search on eBay, looking at items ending that night and newly listed. If you see a newly listed without any bidders, send the buyer an email offering to “buy it now” at a reasonable price. If you’ve got to get involved in an auction, use a service like Gixen to bid for you at the last moment so you don’t get involved in a bidding war. I’ll say it again, always know what the equivalent, new, lenses are going for on Amazon so you don’t overpay for an old lens when you could have got a new one, with a warranty, for a similar price.
At the end of the day any lens is only as good as the photographs it produces, so click on the link underneath the picture below and have a look at it, at its original size. The shot was taken on a tripod and I think the overall quality is good enough, especially the detail in the parts of the Fort you can see at the end of the moat.
In conclusion, I really like the Canon EF 35-105mm F/4.5-5.6 zoom lens. It’s good enough for what I need, and the price was right. Recommended!
Cheers, Rob.
14January2010
Helios 35mm F/2.8 M42 SLR Lens Review (On Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT)
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: lens reviews; reviews.
It’s time for another of my “sort of” lens reviews. I say that because it isn’t like the kind of article you’ll find on dpreview. I don’t test for distortion, sharpness or contrast. I simply go for a walk with the lens on the front of my Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT and take some photos of scenes I find interesting. When I’m back home I’ll process them in Adobe Camera RAW, Photoshop, and Nik Silver Efex Pro for the black and white conversions.
I’m a believer in the saying that 99% of all lenses are better than 95% of all photographers, and that these cheap old M42 mount lenses are a good alternative for the photographer on a budget. You may have to buy a mount adapter for a couple of quid and manually focus, but the use of a prime improves your photography because you’ve got to move around a lot more, instead of staying rooted to the same spot and “zooming” to change your composition.
Fort Brockhurst, Bridge To Keep Gate
The Helios 35mm f/2.8 is an interesting focal length. In a dSLR with a crop sensor, like my 350d, the 35mm equivalent is about 52mm – very close to what could be considered a “standard” lens that gives a natural looking perspective to your images.
As I said in the video I actually found manually focussing a little difficult when I went out to take these images. Perhaps it was the overcast, low-light day, or maybe my eyes were a little tired, but if you rely on the method of “rolling” out and into focus, you should be fine.
Snowy Path, Monks Walk Woods
A big benefit to these lenses is their price. I think I got this one for a few pounds on the front of a Zenit film SLR – so when I’m out in conditions where it’s cold and wet, I’d rather have an accident with this on the front of my camera rather than my more expensive Canon EF lenses.
Apart from having to use manual focus, the biggest drawback is if you go out with a mixture of M42 / EF lenses. It’s quick and easy enough to unscrew the m42 lens from the mount when its on the camera, swap the rear lens caps and fit a new lens. The trickier proposition is if you’re going from an m42 lens to an EF mount, because you can’t fit a rear cap on an m42 lens if its still got the adapter attached (or fit it into a lens case). You’ve got to unscrew the adapter and store it in your bag. Until you need it again – so even if you got an adapter for every m42 lens you’d still be standing there unscrewing stuff while the wind and rain were blowing.
Buildings Near Explosion Museum
On Canon dSLRs you can shoot in aperture priority, the camera will sense the light coming into the camera, and set a suitable shutter speed. So all you have to do is choose you aperture, focus and shoot.
Because the lens will be “stopped down” to whatever aperture you’ve chosen all the time (unlike a modern lens where it automatically is wide-open until you press the shutter), the viewfinder can be quite dark. Get around this by focussing at f.2.8, then stop down to the aperture you want, keeping an eye on the shutter speed as you do so.
Trunk Detail, Monks Walk
I got most of my m42 lenses from local car boot sales, often on the front of old film slrs. I always take a macro extension tube with me so I know that the thread on the lens is the right pitch – there are some rarer lens mounts that look similar but actually won’t fit on the m42-ef lens mount adapter.
Another consideration is if you’re shooting with a full frame sensor camera. If you are, there’s a chance that your camera mirror could catch on the rear of the lens when its focussed to infinity. Check out this article for details.
Converted Garages, Priddys Hard
If you’re used to using auto-focus lenses or cameras all the time, don’t worry about having to suddenly start manually focussing. You’ll get the hang of it quickly, and you’re not tethered to the cameras auto-focus points which can force you to “focus and recompose”.
If it’s a brighter day you can also use the old “f/8 and be there” maxim. Just set your aperture to f/8, focus on something not too far away (about 15 feet), then simply forget about focussing. Your depth of field will be such that most things will be sharp anyway.
Central Caponier, Fort Brockhurst
I’ve really enjoyed shooting with the 35mm f2.8 Helios. It may not be the sharpest in the world, but the focus ring is smooth, it seems very tough, and takes good enough photographs for me. Have a look at the images on this page, click on the links to take you over to Flickr to look at the larger versions, and if you like what you see, grab a Helios 35mm if you see one going cheap!
Brick Detail, Priddys Hard Sailing Club
Cheers, Rob.
11January2010
Minolta MC Rokkor – PG F/1.4 50mm Lens Review
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: lens reviews; reviews.
This may seem a little odd, reviewing an old 35mm film lens that can’t really be used on any modern dSLR, only old Minolta film cameras, but I think it’s important to look at old kit and realise how special it is.
Here’s a slide-show of Flickr Photos tagged Minolta MC Rokkor 50mm f1.4.
I know that I’m guilty of looking at older EF-Mount Canon film cameras as lens donors – I just buy them for the lens, then the body gets put in a drawer never to be used again. But with these Minolta MC Rokkor lenses you can’t do that. Any adapter needs a quality-sapping glass element, so you’ve got to use them as they were originally intended, on a 35mm Film SLR.
Onlookers
Shooting film is a lesson in itself. 24 or 36 exposures per roll, with a tangible cost to buying and printing the film and photographs. You won’t burn through frames when you’re using a film camera. Each scene has to be examined from different angles. “Is this worth an exposure?” Then as you look through your view-finder you’ll be checking your composition, your levels, for any distractions, and if the shutter speed or aperture need adjusting. You’ll slow down.
F1.4 DOF
I’m not saying that film is better than digital. I can count on one hand the number of rolls I shot last year, but every photographer should have a go at least once. I can remember buying my Minolta SRT101 with its 50mm from a local car-boot sale a couple of years ago. I didn’t know anything about it before, but it felt good in my hand as I examined it. Solid. Well built. There’s nothing like the sound of a mechanical shutter / mirror action and the sound the camera makes as you wind the film on.
It’s the simplicity of the thing. Pop a roll of film in, set the ISO, choose your aperture, then adjust your shutter speed to make the exposure needle level. Manually focus, check your composition and shoot. No worrying about which type of metering to use, white balance or whether to use RAW or jpeg. Its Film baby!
Reflections
Seriously though, the MC Rokkor 50mm f/1.4 is a great walk-around lens for your old Minolta 35mm Film SLR. You can shoot in low light wide open, or stop the lens down and increase your sharpness and depth of field. Ultimately the quality will depend on the film you buy and the processing you use. I’m skint, so it’s cheap Fujifilm and Asda processing, but my ultimate aim would be to have my own dark-room and precess my own black and white film and prints. Heaven!
CNV00012
A quick check on eBay shows that you can buy the f/1.7 version of this lens for about £20, but you’re better off looking for it on a camera body, where I’ve seen them going for about the same price. Always check that there’s no fungus in the lens, and no big scratches on the elements. If you’re interested in the camera body too, again always ask if it’s in full working order.
So there we have it – my short review of the Minolta MC Rokkor – PG 50mm 1:1.4 manual focus lens. A great piece of glass that stands up to its modern counterparts, it’s just a shame that I can’t put it on the front on my Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT!
Here’s an article on converting MC-Mount lenses to Canon EF. (Selected lenses).
Cheers, Rob.
15December2009
Lens Review: Helios 135mm F/2.8 M42 Manual Lens
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: lens reviews; reviews.
OK, I think that this lens, the Helios 135mm f/2.8, is one of my favourites, even though I haven’t used it for that long. I picked up the Helios from a car-boot sale some months ago for a few quid, but hadn’t got round to using it until a couple of weeks ago, and it has been a revelation.
I think my initial reluctance to try this manual focus M42 lens was based upon the lack of information on the ‘net about it. I couldn’t find many example pictures, and apparently Helios is a Russian make, but these “Made in Japan” examples are manufactured by a different company who “borrowed” the Russian name.
What should have encouraged me, was what attracted me to buy the lens in the first place – great apparent build quality and the f/2.8 maximum aperture, always rare in budget lenses. If the manufacturer took the trouble to stretch to the large 2.8 f-stop, it should have told me that the optics would be OK too.
As with any old lens, before I purchased it, I checked that the focus ring was smooth, the aperture blades changed nicely (remembering to switch the lens to M or to press the pin in on the back of the lens) and looked for fungus or dust inside the elements. This example was nice and clean, and it works great with my M42-EF lens mount adapter I got from eBay.
As with all my lens reviews I won’t be going into too much detail about f-stops and corner sharpness, and I won’t be taking photo’s of test charts. The photographs you see below are ones I took on ordinary photo walks, processed in Adobe Camera RAW, Photoshop CS3 and Nik Silver Efex Pro.
Scrap Destroyer At Priddys Hard
I was really pleased with the sharpness of the above image of a scrap destroyer at Priddys Hard. To see all the detail, look at the photo at it’s original size. It’s not tack sharp, I shot it hand-held at 1/500th of a second, but it’s good enough for me and shows the potential of the glass we’ve got here.
Railings, Forton Lake Bridge
The most exciting thing about the lens for me is how it’s making me see photographically in a different way. On my Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT crop sensor dSLR the equivalent focal length is about 200mm, which is pretty telephoto. I’ve used long zooms on my Fujifilm S5700, but only to make things bigger in the frame, not to explore the radically different view of the world you get at this focal length.
Railings Against Warehouse, Monks Walk
It’s a bit hard to explain, but using a 135mm prime lens is a very different experience from using wide angle or standard lenses. When I’m walking around looking for things to photograph, if I see something interesting I can normally visualise what it’ll look like through my 28mm or 50mm, they have a similar view to what I can actually see with my eyes.
With the 135mm the angle of view is so alien and different to what I normally see that I can’t easily visualise what the photo will come out like, so every frame is a new experience. It’s a new way of seeing, taking extracts from the surrounding scene and trying to pick out the best bits.
View Towards Fuel Depot From Forton Bridge
Being a prime the Helios 135mm forces me to move around if I want to re-compose a shot. There’s no easy zoom-ring here, and again that’s great for expanding my photographic repertoire, forcing me to try different things.
Pink Skips, Monks Walk
The 135mm focal length compresses the distance between subjects. Objects seem closer together, they don’t rush away from each other like with a wide-angle, so different, interesting compositions become available.
Building Detail, Explosion Museum
Ha! A brick wall shot – but one that shows how this lens is good for architecture shots – being a telephoto lens you’ve got to stand further away, increasing camera-to-subject distance, which reduces perspective distortion.
Metal Conduit Detail, Monks Walk
When people talk about lenses, especially primes (non zoom), you tend to think of their usefulness in order of focal length – so you would want a 29mm on your camera most of the day, a 50mm part of the time, and a 135mm for select, special occasions. However I could happily walk around with the Helios 135mm f/2.8 on my SLR all the time, just swapping to those other lenses when the need arose.
Wreck At Priddys Hard
I really like the depth of field effects you can get with this lens. The 135 throws you into the scene, and because the relative distance is compressed, getting the foreground and background blurry is easy, and I think, effective.
Old Buildings, Through Railings, Explosion Museum
So, in conclusion I’m really pleased with this lens. It’s turned me on to using the longer focal lengths as part of my photographic vision, and not just to get things bigger. I’m starting to understand the “look” of this lens, and can’t wait to use it more.
If you see a Helios 135mm going cheap, snap it up, you will not be disappointed.
Incoming Tide, Monks Walk
Watch a slide-show of the above images. (Large).
Cheers, Rob.
27November2009
A Wide Angle Alternative For Your dSLR: The Pentacon 29mm f/2.8 M42 Lens Review
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: lens reviews; reviews.
Kit lenses are fine, a 50mm prime is cool (if a little long), but for me a nice little wide-angle is a perfect all-day, light-weight lens. A bargain from our local car-boot sale, this Pentacon 29mm f/2.8, used with a m42-EF lens mount adapter, has been my glass of choice for the last few months on the front of my Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT.
Before you read on, check out this Flickr Slideshow of images tagged Pentacon 29mm.
What’s This M42 Business?
M42 camera lenses are old. An attempt to standardise the way that lenses fixed on to camera bodies in the days of manual focus film slr’s, any you find will be second hand and will probably come on the front of an old camera.
The term M42 refers to the mount on these lenses, or how they fix onto the camera body. M42 lenses use a screw thread, which as you know isn’t compatible with modern dSLR’s bayonet fittings. A quick search of eBay, using the terms “M42″ and your cameras lens mount – “EF” for my 350d – and for a few quid you’ll have an adapter to allow you to use these old lenses on your new camera.
The catch is that you have to manually focus these lenses, set the aperture via the ring on the lens, and you may have to set the shutter speed manually too, but that’s all easy to learn, and in learning you’ll become a more well-informed photographer.
Feeding The Swans, Fort Brockhurst
On my Canon you can use M42 lenses in Aperture Priority Mode – I set the aperture I want on the lens, then the camera chooses the shutter speed for a correct exposure. I’ve found that dialing in about 1/3 of a stop of under-exposure with exposure compensation helps to keep details in the high-lights.
Focusing can be a bit tricky, as modern cameras don’t have focusing aids in the view-finder. I’ve found the best way is to open the lens to its largest aperture, f/2.8 on the 29mm Pentacon, so the view-finder is nice and bright. Then focus as best you can by getting the subject sharp, going past, then rolling back to sharp again. Then turn the aperture ring to the f-stop you want, keeping an eye on shutter speed so you don’t get camera shake.
Spinaker Tower
So, m42 lenses are a viable alternative to modern lenses. You can pick them up cheap at Car-Boot sales and flea-markets, just make sure that the aperture rings are smooth (and work!) and that there’s no fungus or cracks in the lens.
I do think that you shouldn’t go mad and spend a lot of money on these lenses. Pick up nice clean examples where you can, but just bear in mind the cost, and whether that with your shooting style you would be better off saving up for the auto-focussing and metering modern lenses.
Why The Pentacon 29mm?
29mm is a great focal length on a crop-sensor camera, like my 350d and most other consumer dSLR’s. If you take into account the smaller sensor, the 29mm equates to around a 50mm lens when used on a film or full-frame camera. That’s a focal length similar to what we see with our naked eye, and it’s wide enough to easily get foreground interest in the frame, and you’ll find that perspective lines really seem to zoom away from the camera, creating a dramatic effect in lots of images.
Heritage Way (South)
The Pentacon 29mm offers an aperture range from f/2.8 (nice and wide) to f/22. It’s got distance markings on the lens, so you can work out your depth of field depending on your aperture, and feels solid and well-made.
It does have some softness around the edges, and my best shots have been taken at the smaller apertures (f/8 and above) using a tripod and shutter release.
Marine Parade East, Lee On Solent
Image Quality?
Well, take a look at the photo’s on this page. Remember that these images have been edited and post-processed (some are hdr’s). They’re not as they came out of my camera. Use them as a guide to what you could get out of the Pentacon 29mm. Look at them big, or at their original size, and ask if they’re of acceptable quality.
One thing I’m not convinced about is the ability of M42 lenses, when used with an EF mount adapter, to focus to infinity at larger apertures. At this focal length the horizon is a long way away, and things in the far distance can be soft, but everything else can come out nice and sharp, especially if you use a tripod.
Promanade, Portsmouth Harbour, Gosport Side
Conclusion
I really like the Pentacon 29mm f/2.8. It gives me the field of view I like for my photography, and it forces me to move around with my feet to get the right composition. It was very cheap (a fiver I think), and has been on the front of my Canon EOS 350d / Digital Rebel XT, more than any other piece of glass I own.
Skate Park
However, I personally won’t be shooting with M42 lenses on the front of my Canon all of the time. It’s not that I don’t think the Pentacon 29mm is good enough, it’s rather that I get frustrated with the hassle of swapping over lenses and mount adapters if I’ve got both M42 and EF (auto-focus) lenses in my camera bag.
I’ll be getting the Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 for Christmas, so it’ll be interesting to compare the two lenses. If you’re on a budget with your photography (like me) I’d definitely recommend you pick up a M42 adapter for your dSLR, and then keep your eyes peeled for bargain glass like the Pentacon 29mm, but always weigh up the cost of new auto-focus lenses, and don’t spend too much.
Stokes Bay, Looking Towards IOW
Thanks, Rob.
