kevin m
Veteran
I shot my first roll of film with my 'minty' Canon 50/1.2 and the Canon VI-T body I just received from Wayne. (Thanks, Wayne!)
First impressions are favorable. The lens handles well for a 'superspeed' lens; the focus throw isn't too long, and the lens isn't too big. (I find a "wide" lens like this seems smaller than a "tall" lens that protrudes more from the body. YMMV. ) The focus lock is a PITA. I will disable it at my first opportunity. The lens could also stand to be cleaned and relubricated, as the 50-year old grease is a bit stiff. On the plus side, the glass is damned near spotless. This lens passes the 'flashlight' test, with only a few specks of dust and a few of the bubbles these old lenses always seem to have. But no haze, no fungus, no oil. Sweet. Holding out for a near mint sample seems to have paid off.
My feelings on the body so far are mixed. It's wonderfully made, but the trigger wind actually seems to interfere with focusing more than I imagined it would, perhaps since this lens has a longer focus throw than most. But that's a matter of taste. The only real negative is the rangefinder patch. It could well be that this will brighten up considerably with a cleaning (which I plan to have done) but right now it's dimmer than a Canonet, nevermind an M. Dull, dull, dull. And fuzzy, too. The viewfinder itself is very nice, it's just the rangefinder patch doesn't inspire confidence in focusing a lens this fast.
On to the pics: Shot on Fuji NPZ (iso 800) First shot at f2.0
First impressions are favorable. The lens handles well for a 'superspeed' lens; the focus throw isn't too long, and the lens isn't too big. (I find a "wide" lens like this seems smaller than a "tall" lens that protrudes more from the body. YMMV. ) The focus lock is a PITA. I will disable it at my first opportunity. The lens could also stand to be cleaned and relubricated, as the 50-year old grease is a bit stiff. On the plus side, the glass is damned near spotless. This lens passes the 'flashlight' test, with only a few specks of dust and a few of the bubbles these old lenses always seem to have. But no haze, no fungus, no oil. Sweet. Holding out for a near mint sample seems to have paid off.
My feelings on the body so far are mixed. It's wonderfully made, but the trigger wind actually seems to interfere with focusing more than I imagined it would, perhaps since this lens has a longer focus throw than most. But that's a matter of taste. The only real negative is the rangefinder patch. It could well be that this will brighten up considerably with a cleaning (which I plan to have done) but right now it's dimmer than a Canonet, nevermind an M. Dull, dull, dull. And fuzzy, too. The viewfinder itself is very nice, it's just the rangefinder patch doesn't inspire confidence in focusing a lens this fast.
On to the pics: Shot on Fuji NPZ (iso 800) First shot at f2.0
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