Konica Dual 21-35mm

flip

flip

良かったね！
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Just met with a seller to pick this up and completed my Konica KM kit.* 🙂

I'm struck by the size of this lens. Not the behemoth I anticipated. For reference, figure the lens is kind of a mushroom shape. The 'neck' is the same as the Konica 28/2.8 (diameter and length). With hoods on both, the lengths of the dual and the CV 35/1.2 are about the same. Of course, the dual is significantly lighter.

The shoe-mount finder is sizeable but nice. The 35mm framelines are virtually free of obstruction. The lens (with or without hood) reaches up to the bottom of the 35mm framelines. So, you can get some notion of the impingement on the 21 framelines.

Mounted, with hood, the RF patch for an M3 or Hexar rests right on top of the cutout portion of the hood. I'd say you lose 20-25% visibility in the primary finder of either camera with the hood on and maybe 15% without the hood.

I repurposed my Konica 62mm filter for this and it appears to fit under the hood nicely, leading me to wonder why Konica didn't include a filter with this lens. It doesn't appear that it would cause any vignetting that the hood itself doesn't already induce (and I'm assuming the hood won't cause any).

My initial impression is that this is not a fast lens to operate, but I guess that goes with the territory. It's the first lens I will operate of this kind , so I expect a little bit of a learning curve.

Looking forward to trying it out almost as much as sourcing a scanner to share pics. 😛

Cheers,
Phil


*
Sunny = Hexar RF + 21&35Dual /3.4 + 90/2.8
Mixed conditions = Leica M3 + 28/2.8 + 50/1.2 + 90/2.8
[I couldn't justify the Hexanon M 35/2 or M 50/2]
 
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I have this lens and it is wonderful. A lot cheaper and as good as a Tri-Elmar. I get beautiful files from it with my M8. I have a UV/IR filter on mine with the hood and it does not vignette. I find the lens to be easy to operate and quite fast in this regard.

Here are some images with it - http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=99734516@N00&q=Konica+Dual&m=text
 
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Congrats Phil
I'ver enjoyed mine as the perfect travel lens for the M8 and RD1. Have yet to try it with film. I'm curious about your results. It actually is a very fast and easy lens to use. Here are two samples that were handy.
@35mm on M8
4380686431_241265b0b7_o.jpg

@21mm on RD1 click on second image to zoom in full size
 
Nice pics. I can see from Keith's shots the real benefits of this as a street lens. Andy's make me want to *not* sell my RD-1 -- the crop factor is such a nice match for these focal lengths!

I imagine that the 21mm length will take some getting into as I tend to be a 50mm shooter. These shots do help me to consider new approaches to broadening my photography. Thanks!
 
flip said:
Nice pics. I can see from Keith's shots the real benefits of this as a street lens. Andy's make me want to *not* sell my RD-1 -- the crop factor is such a nice match for these focal lengths!

I imagine that the 21mm length will take some getting into as I tend to be a 50mm shooter. These shots do help me to consider new approaches to broadening my photography. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Well, so how's that new lens doing? Do you have any photos from it to share? I'm very interested to see some photos and more comments about it.
 
I only took it out once so far and have yet to finish the roll, much less find a scanner. I promise when I do, I will return. Unfortunately, a good scanner makes the lenses look cheap. That what I get for gain against the tide of 'progress.'

FWIW, the market for these lenses is not big. When two went up for sale recently, the second went for 30% less than the first. Then again, I had to wait ~8 months after the last one for these two to appear.
 
Was able to snap off a few with this at the local curry shop. Unfortunately, my film dev techniques and scanning techniques are works in progress (rather intrigued by the false colors under color scanning). I was pleased to note that the lens distorted so little in close quarters. Quite different from the CV15. And at ISO 1000~ish (HP5+), the slowness of the lens wasn't a deal breaker for this situation.
 
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^^^
Very nice. This is exactly the kind of images that I would like to make if I owned this lens. Load up with Neopan 1600 and shoot wide open and I'm set!

How accurate is the external finder for composition?
 
flip said:
Was able to snap off a few with this at the local curry shop. Unfortunately, my film dev techniques and scanning techniques are works in progress (rather intrigued by the false colors under color scanning). I was pleased to note that the lens distorted so little in close quarters. Quite different from the CV15. And at ISO 1000~ish (HP5+), the slowness of the lens wasn't a deal breaker for this situation.
Click to expand...

Nice photo, hope you will post more. I dont think you can really fairly compare 21mm with 15mm view/FL though.
 
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Probably not. My point is simply that for the close quarters of a typical Japanese shop, a 28 is sometimes too narrow and the 15 is rather distorted. With this lens, I found that I was able to snap a few shots at 21 and 35 that covered my indoor needs nicely (without really using the finder). That said, when I later switched to the 35\1.2 I was able to get some even nicer results (better exposed and at faster speeds).

I think that with some 1600 film and moderate indoor lighting, this is a one lens kit for these occasions.
 
f16sunshine said:
That is a striking image Phil. Very imposing from his vantage.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I have mostly used this lens at 21 as 35 is a bit more familiar territory for which I typically gravitate to other lenses. In the case of the above shot and this one.... I used 800npz (expired and overexposed). This is at 35, as I recall.
 
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Has anyone used this lens on an M9? Could you post some samples or links? Mine has been idle and I'm thinking of trading it but, may hang in there for a future M9 purchase.
thanks in advance.
 
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