Old/alternate lenses, adapters, and lens mount conversions.

[newuser]

couldn't sleep today...so posted a few more Qs....

Anyone has any glass with thorium elements? Are these radioactive lenses desirable or not?

If the old Takumars contain thorium (I know they're radioactive just don't know what causes it), then yeah I have two. From what I see, both of those are sharp, colours are between neutral and vivid.

 

[nsng]

Mind sharing some photos of the CZ16-35. I would like to see how it compares to the N17-35. While it is branded Sony, I am sure the bros here will not mind since anything that is Zeiss is considered alternative.

Here are a few snapshots from the CZ16-35,

16mm f8.0

24mm f5.6

16mm f8.0

Notice at 16mm @f8.0 there is vignetting at the corners, but these can be easily corrected in post processing. Center is very sharp, even at f2.8. Typical Zeiss look, high contrast and saturated.

 

[ManWearPants]

Here are a few snapshots from the CZ16-35,

16mm f8.0

Notice at 16mm @f8.0 there is vignetting at the corners, but these can be easily corrected in post processing. Center is very sharp, even at f2.8. Typical Zeiss look, high contrast and saturated.

Be careful...don't fall over! Looks dangerous. Yes, the lens is definitely sharp and contrasty. I think it is slightly better at the 24mm than 16mm. This is similiar to the Contax N 17-35 but the latter at 17mm f8 does not vignette. Can you rescure the vignette? It seems a bit too much. Need to crop off the corners, I think.

 

[ManWearPants]

If the old Takumars contain thorium (I know they're radioactive just don't know what causes it), then yeah I have two. From what I see, both of those are sharp, colours are between neutral and vivid.

I used to have a yellow OM 24/2 but cannot find any info on Olympus having used thorium in their glasss. I did not like the IQ as there is a strong tint of yellow. I am actually looking at Super Takumar 50/1.4 which I understand contains thorium. Will there also be a yellow cast. Also it seems there are risks if the glass is damaged. Furthermore these lenses are so old already. A bit scare to get this lens. And please don't put your eyes against the glass to check for dust. There is radiation.

http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/009X3q

Extracted:
"4723. There are currently two types of thoriated lens in use. These are the thorium fluoride coated germanium lens and the homogeneous thorium oxide lens. The coated lens can present an internal hazard if the coating is damaged leading to the possibility of ingestium of throrium. The hazard from the homogeneous lens is principally an external radiation dose to the eye. "

http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/consumer products/cameralens.htm

Extract:
Camera lenses known to have contained thorium include:

Canon FL 58mm f1.2

GAF Anscomatic 38mm f2.8 (Anscomatic 726 camera)

Kodak Ektanar 38mm f2.8 (Instamatic 804 camera)

Kodak Ektanon 46mm f3.5 (Signet 40 camera)

Kodak Ektanon 50mm f3.9 (Kodak Bantam RF camera)

SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4 (Asahi Optical Co.)

Super Takumar 35mm f2.0, 50mm f1.5, 55mm f2 (Asahi Optical Co.)

Super Takumar 6x7 105mm f2.4 (Asahi Optical Co.)

Super-multi-coated Macro-Takumar (Asahi Optical Co.)

Yasinon-DS 50mm f1.7 (Yashica)

 

[Ben Ang]

from what i ve heard, exposing the yellow elements to strong sunlight will remove the yellow cast. you might want to sun only the affected elements though, as the lubricant in the helicoid can vapourise and condense on the glass...

i ve used quite a number of lenses with yellow/brown casts including the canon fl 55 1.2, tokina 24-40 2.8 AF, orange ring AT-X 28-70 2.8. the tinge increased the contrast of the pictures.. but was too strong in the 24-40 and made skin look greyish... i tried sunning the elements, but it din really help.

 

[newghost]

couldn't sleep today...so posted a few more Qs....

Anyone has any glass with thorium elements? Are these radioactive lenses desirable or not?

I used to have the amazing OM Zuiko 55mm f1.2, the earlier version are said to be radioactive and highly sought after... :devil:

 

[Anthony Lee]

I used to have the amazing OM Zuiko 55mm f1.2, the earlier version are said to be radioactive and highly sought after... :devil:

Can you post some photos of this lens taken with your former 5D2? Just curious to know how it compares to the OM50f1.2 and the Nikon 50f1.2 Ais.

 

[nsng]

Be careful...don't fall over! Looks dangerous. Yes, the lens is definitely sharp and contrasty. I think it is slightly better at the 24mm than 16mm. This is similiar to the Contax N 17-35 but the latter at 17mm f8 does not vignette. Can you rescure the vignette? It seems a bit too much. Need to crop off the corners, I think.

That guy was courting death! It is a straight drop to the bottom of the canyon.

Here is the photo after applying vignetting correction,

I did this in post processing. In ACR, there is now a database of cameras and lenses and vignetting, distortion, CA, etc can now be automatically corrected. You can do this before or after RAW conversion but in RAW there is greater headroom. Unfortunately, the 16-35 is not yet in the database. Therefore, I manually corrected the vignetting.

 

[wootsk]

Hi all,

i ve come to realize that there re quite a pool of ppl who love to use legacy glass and do conversions. Thanks to MenWearPants who started this whole conversation over on this other thread:http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=758212

i just thought that might be easier for everyone to find if we made a proper thread for this. anyway, hope to keep this thread open to any new ideas, user experience, user reviews regarding the more non-conventional/rare lenses as well as lenses that have been converted to use on other systems(minolta MC--->EOS for example) just so that everyone can have a feel of how difficult(or easy) it is to convert and the pro's and cons as well as what kind of performance to expect.

pls try to be exact about the version of yr lens(eg, for tokina red/orage/gold ring version or S/N for vivitars) so that we know which version is good. also try to include some of the settings(esp f stop) for pictures posted so we can better evaluate the lenses.

yup. so let the discussion begin!! pls dun be afraid to post questions/advice as well as sample pictures. but at the same time, lets not have it too cluttered with current lenses cos tts discussed in the main forums.

Regards n enjoy,
benjamin

I did feedback and requested for a new place for old lens last time. But no one bothered, I was quite disappointed and gave up the idea and rather keep everything to myself.:cry:
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=529229

 

[newuser]

from what i ve heard, exposing the yellow elements to strong sunlight will remove the yellow cast. you might want to sun only the affected elements though, as the lubricant in the helicoid can vapourise and condense on the glass...

i ve used quite a number of lenses with yellow/brown casts including the canon fl 55 1.2, tokina 24-40 2.8 AF, orange ring AT-X 28-70 2.8. the tinge increased the contrast of the pictures.. but was too strong in the 24-40 and made skin look greyish... i tried sunning the elements, but it din really help.

I've actually done so. My SMC Takumar 35mm f/2 has been constantly sunning, though I find it quite a hassle because once I leave it in the dark for a while, the rear element turns yellow again. I like the tint sometimes though.

 

[newuser]

I used to have a yellow OM 24/2 but cannot find any info on Olympus having used thorium in their glasss. I did not like the IQ as there is a strong tint of yellow. I am actually looking at Super Takumar 50/1.4 which I understand contains thorium. Will there also be a yellow cast. Also it seems there are risks if the glass is damaged. Furthermore these lenses are so old already. A bit scare to get this lens. And please don't put your eyes against the glass to check for dust. There is radiation.

http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/009X3q

Extracted:
"4723. There are currently two types of thoriated lens in use. These are the thorium fluoride coated germanium lens and the homogeneous thorium oxide lens. The coated lens can present an internal hazard if the coating is damaged leading to the possibility of ingestium of throrium. The hazard from the homogeneous lens is principally an external radiation dose to the eye. "

http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/consumer products/cameralens.htm

Extract:
Camera lenses known to have contained thorium include:

Canon FL 58mm f1.2

GAF Anscomatic 38mm f2.8 (Anscomatic 726 camera)

Kodak Ektanar 38mm f2.8 (Instamatic 804 camera)

Kodak Ektanon 46mm f3.5 (Signet 40 camera)

Kodak Ektanon 50mm f3.9 (Kodak Bantam RF camera)

SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4 (Asahi Optical Co.)

Super Takumar 35mm f2.0, 50mm f1.5, 55mm f2 (Asahi Optical Co.)

Super Takumar 6x7 105mm f2.4 (Asahi Optical Co.)

Super-multi-coated Macro-Takumar (Asahi Optical Co.)

Yasinon-DS 50mm f1.7 (Yashica)

I actually have two copies of the Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4. The one currently mounted onto my camera is slightly yellow, while the other one isn't with me at the moment. The camera's auto white balance ought to be able to correct for this, assuming you're on digital.

Film will be harder though.

 

[wootsk]

Used to own both SMC and Super Takumar 55mm F1.8. Don't have any problem with color cast. Most of my old glasses are near 35 - 85mm range. So I never handled before the wider or longer old glasses.:bsmilie:

 

[wootsk]

I actually have two copies of the Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4. The one currently mounted onto my camera is slightly yellow, while the other one isn't with me at the moment. The camera's auto white balance ought to be able to correct for this, assuming you're on digital.

Film will be harder though.

Now you remind me, it could be the AWB on my digital that correct the color cast. Most of my photos taken are much more cooler in WB. Damn, I have been radioed for so long, fear for cancer...

 

[newuser]

Now you remind me, it could be the AWB on my digital that correct the color cast. Most of my photos taken are much more cooler in WB. Damn, I have been radioed for so long, fear for cancer...

I've actually held the lens up to my eyes before, I think I have more to worry about!

 

[newuser]

Used to own both SMC and Super Takumar 55mm F1.8. Don't have any problem with color cast. Most of my old glasses are near 35 - 85mm range. So I never handled before the wider or longer old glasses.:bsmilie:

As far as I know, the 55mm lenses do not have high power nor yellowing problems. Still radioactive though.

 

[newghost]

Can you post some photos of this lens taken with your former 5D2? Just curious to know how it compares to the OM50f1.2 and the Nikon 50f1.2 Ais.

Here are some pics of my kids shot using the OM Zuiko 55mm f1.2 wide open straight from the camera. Definitely not an easy lens to use with the thin dof, though i was really fond of the swirly bokeh from this lens...

 

[Anthony Lee]

Here are some pics of my kids shot using the OM Zuiko 55mm f1.2 wide open straight from the camera. Definitely not an easy lens to use with the thin dof, though i was really fond of the swirly bokeh from this lens...

Thank you for your wonderful photos. Do you think the OM 55f1.2 is better for film? I have shot the OM 50f1.2 on my 5D and from your photos, I think the OM 50f1.2 is very different. Anyway, I will take my time to test both. Thanks once again.

I have many nieces and shot tons of photos when one by one got hooked. This one is still in school, shot with 5D/CZ 85f1.4 at f2.

 

[newghost]

Thank you for your wonderful photos. Do you think the OM 55f1.2 is better for film? I have shot the OM 50f1.2 on my 5D and from your photos, I think the OM 50f1.2 is very different. Anyway, I will take my time to test both. Thanks once again.

I have many nieces and shot tons of photos when one by one got hooked. This one is still in school, shot with 5D/CZ 85f1.4 at f2.

Shots were taken in liveview with 10x manification and my kids are always hyper-active! In anycase, I do find it provides a slightly warmer look, given the supposedly radioactive element and yellowish tint on the lens. Generally, the OM 50f1.2 will go for a higher price than the OM 55f1.2, of course that for a good reason...

The CZ 85f1.4 and the Nikkor 105f2.5 are 2 excellent lenses that i've cherished (& missed!) and sold away earlier to fund new purchases!

 

[wootsk]

Shots were taken in liveview with 10x manification and my kids are always hyper-active! In anycase, I do find it provides a slightly warmer look, given the supposedly radioactive element and yellowish tint on the lens. Generally, the OM 50f1.2 will go for a higher price than the OM 55f1.2, of course that for a good reason...

The CZ 85f1.4 and the Nikkor 105f2.5 are 2 excellent lenses that i've cherished (& missed!) and sold away earlier to fund new purchases!

Same here, just posted my CZ 50F1.4 for sales as need fund for new purchase:cry:

 

[oceanpriest]

I have Revuenon 55 1.2 (K mount), dunno whether this lens is same as Tomioka 55 1.2 (M42) or not.

Here are some shots taken wide open using the lens :

missed the focus, but I kinda like the bokeh