Curious what you think : JC Penny glass

[kathytoth.ca]

----------------------------------------------------------------

A few weeks ago I bought a AE-1 camera with 6 lenses. I was quite happy when the seller told me he found another one. It turned out to be a 28mm JC Penny FD mount lens. I was highly skeptical about the whole thing but figured I should try it out before i pass judgment. I'm not quite sure what to make of the lens now. It appears to be fine during the day, but softens out madly during long exposures. Just look at the lights. This was shot a f/16 for a few seconds at sunset, I also shot it at f5.6 with the same result. Although I was disappointed it wasent a sharp lens, I might keep it for certain applications. The only good thing it did was fuzz out the corporate logo, which I was afraid would ruin the shot (not on this photo).

See it on my new photoblog here: www.ntropy.us/air33/pblog/

 

[oftheherd]

You may be looking at flare. Many chains tried to cash in on the camera craze, particularly in the seventies. JC Penny, Sears, etc. I bet if you look closely you will find the lens doesn't have multicoating.

My first to SLR extra lenses were the requistite 28mm and 135mm set of Yashikor lenses. No multicoating. I got real good at finding creative ways to place the flare in my photos. 😀 BTW, the Yashinon line of lenses were very good, but not the Yashikor. Again, many manufacturers had two lines of lenses. With Fujica it was Fujinon vesus the cheaper Fujikor (I think that was what it was called.

It will probably be useful when flare won't be a problem. And who knows, you may even find it useful the use if you want flare. I remember when I got a 28mm Fujinon and spotted a photo I wanted to use flare in. Couldn't do it. Was I disappointed. 😀

Good luck with the lens.

 

[kathytoth.ca]

I think this lens might have some uses, maybe for night time and fog work, perhaps portraits. I was kind of annoyed this afternoon when I looked at the scans I got, but I think I was being harsh.

 

[David Murphy]

That's a prize winning shot. There are many wonderful JC Penny's lenses and this looks like one of them -- it's nice. They had a very premium line of Japanese-made lenses and all the later ones were multicoated -- enjoy it and use it!

FYI Penny's as well as Sears and Kmart had pretty good photo departments back in the 70's. They sold a large variety of both Cine and Still camera equipment, with an amateur orientation, but still a lot of good gear. Penny's as my memory best serves me, was more of a "white gloved" outfit, compared to Sears or Kmart.

----------------------------------------------------------------

A few weeks ago I bought a AE-1 camera with 6 lenses. I was quite happy when the seller told me he found another one. It turned out to be a 28mm JC Penny FD mount lens. I was highly skeptical about the whole thing but figured I should try it out before i pass judgment. I'm not quite sure what to make of the lens now. It appears to be fine during the day, but softens out madly during long exposures. Just look at the lights. This was shot a f/16 for a few seconds at sunset, I also shot it at f5.6 with the same result. Although I was disappointed it wasent a sharp lens, I might keep it for certain applications. The only good thing it did was fuzz out the corporate logo, which I was afraid would ruin the shot (not on this photo).

See it on my new photoblog here: www.ntropy.us/air33/pblog/

 

[kathytoth.ca]

This is interesting information -- thank you for letting me know the history of these lenses. I just tried them again today, so I am looking forward to seeing how the lens performs during the day.

 

[Scamper]

Very lovely shot!

I love pictures that turn industrial wastelands into works of art.

 

[pvdhaar]

Any 28mm lens has its front element exposed to stray light. Especially at night with streets lights nearby, the light hitting the glass sideways will cause flare. A lens hood, even if its a piece of black cardboard, that shields the lens will go a long way in improving the contrast and detail in these circumstances..

 

[ChrisPlatt]

I'm usually not a big fan of 28's, but I think it's a lovely photograph.

A Canon FD 28/2.8 lens in bargain conditon at KEH should be very inexpensive.

Chris

 

[venchka]

It's the lights

It's the lights

Your picture is quite nice. If you exposed for the lights, the rest of the scene would be too dark. I have a J.C. Penny 80-200 1:3.9 zoom in Canon mount that I use and like.

I know for a fact that this 28mm lens is sharp all the time. The lights did the same thing as yours. I didn't have the same good luck with the exposure as you did.

Keep shooting!

 

[jaypolaski]

I'm hopeful my JC Penney lens is going to be a winner. I just picked up a 200mm f3.3 for my SRT 202 on the bay the other day. If everyone's shots here are a fair indication , I should be pleased.