Cosmicar Television Lens 25 mm 1:1.4 [C-mount]

25 mm is a standard focal length for micro four thirds cameras (eq. of 50 mm for Full Frame aka type 135). Luckily, there are many lenses with C-mount that would work perfectly. So far I mentioned only Fujian 25/1.4, that was a cheap tool available. Recently I've found a bargain Cosmicar Television Lens 25/1.4 with slightly distorted filter ring and oily aperture, but with perfect glass condition.

 Cosmicar Television Lens 25/1.4

Carl Zeiss Jena DDR Tevidon 16 mm 1:1.8 [C-mount]

Tevidon 10/2 was a great pick! Later I've found Carl Zeiss Jena DDR Tevidon 16/1.8. A bit narrower lens from magnificent Tevidon family. This time it's so called "zebra" housing, because of polished stripes on focusing and aperture rings.

Carl Zeiss Jena DDR Tevidon 16/1.8 with Yeenon Tevidon-C adapter (on the right).

Cosmicar Television Lens 12.5 mm 1:1.9 [C-mount]

After testing Tevidon 10/2 I got my hands on Cosmicar 12.5/1.9. It's a bit narrower lens, produced in Japan with C-mount. It's easily adaptable for Micro Four Thirds. All you need is a simple C-MFT adapter, no need for additional dedicated mounts as for Tevidon.

Cosmicar 12.5/1.9 on Lumix G2 (M4/3 camera).

Carl Zeiss Jena DDR Tevidon 10 mm 1:2.0 [C-mount]

It's been a while since I've been updating here. I've been working on my art [feel free to check it here], travelling and doing many boring things. However it was also time to get new lenses and test them. I've managed to get some nice C-mounts: Tevidon 10/2 (below), Cosmicar 12.5/1.9, Tevidon 16/1.8 and Cosmicar 25/1.4.

Let's begin with Tevidon 10/2 I bought as bargain and loved since the moment I attached it to the camera...

 

Tevidon 10/2 with M4/3 adapter.

Minolta MD Rokkor 50 mm 1:1.4 with Focal Reducer [MD]

Since I've got my Focal Reducer, I used all my lenses with it. Recently I've found a bargain Minolta MD Rokkor 50 mm 1:1.4 with a little bit of fungus. It doesn't affect photos at all and the price was good. So I decided to buy it, when realised there are no MD adapters allowing focusing infinity. As I like to use my lens in any given condition, I designed and printed my own adapter.

I use Chinese $99 version of Focal Reducer with no brands or logos, this one exactly.

Minolta MD Rokkor 50/1.4 on Lumix G2 (MFT camera) with Focal Reducer.

Canon TV Zoom Lens V6x17 17-102 mm 1:2.0 [C-mount]

Canon TV Zoom Lens V6x17 17-102/2.0 was the first C-mount zoom I've ever got. First of all, it was smaller than I suspected. It makes the lens perfect for multi-purpose use. It's 16x zoom with very fast aperture of 2.0.

Secondary, I've read somewhere that it's supposed to be parfocal, that is - focused on the narrower length (102 mm) will stay in focus throughout the whole zoom range. It was really pity, that mine wasn't. What's more - it didn't focus at 17-20 mm at all! Luckily - there was a simple trick and now everything's superb!

All in all, it became my favourite lens for shooting squares and filming.

Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 mounted on Lumix G2 Micro Four Thirds camera.

Samyang 10 mm 1:2.8 with Focal Reducer x0.7 [EF > m4/3] - first impressions

In my search for perfect ultra-wide angle lens I came across Samyang 10/2.8. It's relatively new on the market, but already astonishing. It's supposed to be very wide even without Focal Reducer and very fast at the same time. But hey, if you're using M4/3 camera with tiny sensor, you should demand the widest and the brightest you can get. So let's push the lens to it's limits and mount it on Focal Reducer 0.72x!

Samyang 10/2.8 (Canon EF mount) with Focal Reducer 0.72x on Micro Four Thirds full sensor (aspect ratio 4:3).

Tokina 11-16 mm 1:2.8 with Focal Reducer x0.7 [EF > m4/3]

It's been a while. It's been a really busy while. Luckily, my friend Michał got back from England and I had my opportunity to test Tokina 11-16/2.8 [EF mount], which I was writing about before.

Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @11 mm

It's the fastest wide angle lens (with Focal Reducer of course) available in the market (not second-handed) for Micro Four Thirds camera.

As I suspected it works perfectly with Focal Reducer 0.7x [the one I use]. Well... by perfectly I mean you get really wide lens (about 8/2.0, eq. of 16 mm for full frame) and manual focus. I wasn't able to change aperture values due to lack of A-ring or electronic connection with Lumix G2 body. But... all in all - it's a really wide angle fast lens. You can always use ND filters or hand-made rings before front glass (or even iris if you're crafty!).

Olympus Zuiko MC Auto-S 50 mm 1:1.8 with Focal Reducer 0.7x [OM > EF > m4/3]

Olympus Zuiko 50/1.8 is my favourite manual focus lens. It's really sharp, provides good contrast and is really comfortable to use. Not to mention its creamy bokeh.
That's why I was wondering how it'd work with my

Focal Reducer 0.7x

(more elaborate description, packaging, FR photos and first impressions here).

I was waiting for over a month, but it finally came - EF > OM adapter. A really solid piece of metal I must say - a trustworthy one. It fits my EF Focal Reducer even better than EF > M42 used before.

Olympus Zuiko 50/1.8 without Focal Reducer EF - aperture unknown.

Previously I presented you first impressions with Micro Four Thirds Focal Reducer 0.7x with EF mount. Unfortunately, I didn't used best possible lenses. Both Beroflex 85/1.7 and MIR-1B 37/2.8 weren't the sharpest tools in my box. Also it was the middle of winter, it was snowing, so the conditions were far from perfect. Recently it got much warmer and sunnier, so today I'd like to present you razor-sharp Olympus Zuiko 50/1.8 with OM mount.

Meopta Openar 80/2.8 [C-mount]

Meopta Openar 80 mm 1:2.8 came to me with another Openar 20/1.8 lens as a set with Meopta Admira 16 A1 Electric film camera. Unfortunately it's condition wasn't best. I don't mind slight scratches on the case (well, it's a 50 year old lens!), but front lens is really bad looking. A lot of soft scratches and as I suppose, when someone tried to clean it, they removed it with coating. As a result front coating layer was removed...

You know that feeling when you expect best and all you can get is not barely good. That's how I felt when I held Openar 80/2.8 for the first time. I was very disappointed about the front lens condition. However, I decided not to look for good photographs, but to push the lens hard. I've photographed directed into the sun, in various conditions.
Skimming through photos on my computer wasn't the best feeling at all. All of them were lacking colour and contrast. That's why today you won't see a lot of colourful pictures. But in the end lens is mesmerising!

 Meopta Openar 80 mm 1:2.8 - without (left) and with (right) original lens hood.

Meopta Openar 20 mm 1:1.8 [C-mount]

I've introduced you to a Meopta Openar 40 mm 1:1.8 already. It is a really good lens with nice sharpness, contrast and colour rendering. It covers full M4/3 sensor, so you don't have to worry about heavy vignetting.

Here comes the sibling: Meopta Openar 20 mm 1:1.8. It's a c-mount lens I got with Meopta Admira 16 A1 Electric film camera, which was (according to Wikipedia) manufactured in '60s. It makes it ca. 50 years old lens! Unfortunately the camera itself wasn't in it's best and I plan to revitalize it.

Lens is a bit shorter than Openar 40/1.8 and about the same in diameter. Glass elements inside are mounted deeply, which gives lens a built-in hood. That's a very good solution according to what you're about to see.

A set of Meopta c-mount lenses:

Meopta Openar 20/1.8

Meopta Openar 40/1.8

Meopta Openar 80/2.8

ŁZK Lucar 50 mm 1:1.6 [projector lens]

Finally, my camera is back! It was over a month, but it was worth waiting. I got some new customized gear that I'll soon share with you.
Also, I recently got access to a 3D printer. Nothing really fancy, just a dual-head RepRap-alike, but a great opportunity to design custom lens mounts and unusual adapters. Definitely a good shot for me! :)

My first project was to adapt an old ŁZK Lucar 50 mm 1:1.6 lens to Lumix G2 body. I got it quite a few years ago for free from disposed 16 mm projector and since there I was wondering if that's even useful for photography or filmmaking. After taking some freelensing footage it turned out it covers Micro Four Thirds sensor perfectly, so there's an option to adapt it. The best idea was to make an adapter :)

ŁZK Lucar 50 mm 1:1.6 and 3D-printed adapter for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) camera

At first I must say I got a great help from nhfoley on mu-43.com forum. I used a D-mount to M4/3 adapter, which you can find on Thingiverse for my MFT flange. Thank you very much!

The rest was a piece of cake: take some measures, design a model, make few mistakes, print it and finally spend an hour sanding the inside, because the printer wasn't set up properly :)

ŁZK Lucar 50 mm 1:1.6 with 3D-printed adapter for Micro Four Thirds camera.

Focal Reducer 0.72x with EF mount [m4/3] first impressions

Last time I've presented you a simulation on how a focal reducer (FR) 0.72x might work with Tokina 11-16 mm 1:2.8 on micro 4/3 sensor. Today I decided to present you first impressions on $99 eBay version of FR with EF mount.

Check out all posts presenting
Focal Reducer with other lenses!

Focal Reducer 0.72x with EF mount for Micro Four Thirds (MFT M4/3)

What is Focal Reducer aka Lens Turbo aka Speed Booster?
The simplest answer is that it's the lens that focuses light from a mounted lens reducing focal length by a ratio (in this case 0.72x, which means 100 mm lens becomes 72 mm). It also makes lens faster (in this case by 1 EV step - f2.8 becomes f2.0, f2.0 - f1.4 and so on...).

Yesterday I've finally received my own FR. I must admit it's very well built and quite heavy. It didn't gave me the impression of any cheap materials used. Rather firm and dependable hardware.
All my life I've been an Olympus, then 4/3 and now micro 4/3 person. Obviously I don't possess any Canon lenses, and that's why I ordered EF > M42 adapter with flange (for M42 lenses with aperture pin). It fits perfectly and makes whole unit even heavier.

Tokina 11-16 mm 1:2.8 with micro 4/3 focal reducer to 8 mm 1:2.0 [simulation]

Recently a new version of Focal Reducer/Speed Booster/Lens Turbo for Micro 4/3 was released.
It's available on eBay with EF mount. It reduces aperture by 1 step and the reduction is 0.72x.

micro 4/3 focal reducer with EF mount

source: eBay.com, seller: jinfinance, store: RJ camera accessory store [ direct link ]

What's so interesting about this one?
It reduces focal length of used lens to 72%, expands FOV (field of view) and makes the lens faster by +1 EV step.

Finally tested it with Tokina 11-16/2.8. It works (almost) perfectly [click to see]! 

Here you can see first samples of the
0.72x Focal Reducer EF with M42 adapter.

KMZ Horizont "Горизонт" [camera]

Recently I'm suffering from a lack of my Lumix G2, so I decided to test one of my newest cameras: KMZ Horizont. What is so special about this one? It takes panoramic pictures with moving (!) lens. Also film isn't placed flat, but arc-shaped.

KMZ Horizont Горизонт camera

3M-6A (ZM-6A) 500 mm 1:6.3 [M42]

There was a break in lens sampling and testing due to the fact that my G2 was sent away. I got a really nice B4 lens, but it needed major adjustments and service. I'll get it back after Christmas.

Most of my tests so far were wide angles, portrait lenses and some standards. Now I decided to take some shots with my biggest piece: 3M-6A (ZM-6A) 500 mm 1:6.3 M42 lens. It's absolutely stunning and huge mirror lens.

 3M-6A (ZM-6A) 500 mm 1:6.3 (M42) - mirror lens (Maksutov) - built-in lens hood. You have to pull it to access focusing ring - I find that a great solution!

Industar-69 28 mm 1:2.8 [M39]

Have you ever heard about Chaika cameras? I simply adore them! They're small analogue compact cameras that take 1/2 of full frame photos (type 135 film). I've collected few models and once I got a bonus - a single Industar-69 lens. That's right! Chaika had interchangeable lenses. Unfortunately I've never seen anything, but those Industars.

Lumix G2 with Industar-69 28/2.8 with M39 > M4/3 customized adapter.

TV lens 50 mm 1:1.4 aka Fujian [C-mount]

As you could've found out from previous posts, Fujian C-mount lenses are known for their unusual quality and effects. Fujian 35/1.7 is a great portrait lens with swirly bokeh. Fujian 25/1.4 becomes a very nice "standard" lens with same effects and extra vignetting. Being led by that trail I decided to buy Fujian 50/1.4, just for it's unique effects. Well... did I nailed it? Um...

TV lens 50 mm 1:1.4 aka Fujian (C-mount)

TV lens 25 mm 1:1.4 aka Fujian [C-mount]

The tiniest child of Fujian family: 25 mm F1.4

It's a wonderful tiny lens with swirly bokeh and vintage vignetting on M4/3 sensor. A great thin focal plane (well... we'll explain how "plane" works in this case) and "standard" angle. Great for portraits and as it turns out, a good choice for wedding outdoors!

 TV lens 25/1.4 aka Fujian

Meopta Openar 40 mm 1:1.8 [C-mount]

I recently got an interesting C-mount Czech lens for Meopta Admira 16 A1/A2 electric 16 mm movie camera. Here you can take a look at more pictures of that camera and lenses: [link]

First of all and the most important fact: it covers Micro Four Thirds sensor. There is some vignetting, but I suppose it comes from lens itself rather than from size of the sensor. Image quality doesn't decrease significantly closer to edges. It's a very sharp lens. Although Meopta Admira was an amateur model, its quality was very high

Meopta Openar 40 mm @1.8