kbg32
neo-romanticist
Anyone have any experience with this or any of the other Perars, 28 or 35?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Pioneer
Veteran
Have all three and love them. Good lenses with a very typical triplet lens response. Sharp in the center, softer on the edges. Gets better as you stop down. I personally became very fond of the Tessar and Triplet rendition when I started working with older folding cameras so I enjoy the look. But they will never be pin sharp on the outer edges, even when stopped down all the way.
I am not really a bokeh connoisseur so I won't try to make any judgements in this category. Besides, at f/4 and f/3.5 you really are not going to notice overwhelming out of focus blur anyway. For me it is comfortable, which means it doesn't distract me. The aperture blades do seem to make a nice, circular shape if that means anything.
The biggest problem with both the 28 and the 24 is flare when the sun is just outside the frame. And those tiny little lens hoods don't seem to help a lot. To be completely honest, I couldn't see a difference between having them on or not. I keep them on mostly to keep from losing them. But to be equally honest, until another RFFr pointed it out, and I went out to test, I hadn't noticed any big problems with most of my images. So obviously, unless you do a lot of photography into the sun, you may not be bothered. I am not personally as comfortable with 24mm and 28mm focal lengths yet, so I typically use them when I am looking for a snapshot lens or when photographing in tight quarters indoors.
All three lenses do have very well defined depth of field scales, and from what I can tell they seem decently accurate. But when the total rotation of focus is only about 90 degrees from close up to infinity, the depth of field scale is appropriately small as well.
The 35 is the lens I use the most and I love it. Of course, keep in mind that I like triplets in general. The lens shade for the 35 seems to do a better job of fighting lens flare though you can still get a bit of it once in awhile. This lens is collapsible but I never do. I have to remove the lens hood to grasp the lens barrel tight enough with my fingers to rotate and unlock it so I can collapse it. Besides, what's the point? It is already one of the tiniest lenses I own.
Ergonomically all three lenses work for me, but changing aperture is not quick on any of them. There are no click stops and the focus will turn when the aperture is adjusted. Face it, these are very small lenses. The 24mm sits flat on the front of the camera. There are two small pin wrench slots on either side of the aperture adjusting ring. I insert the barrel of a retractable pen in one of the slots to set the aperture. The 28mm is a bit easier as it is slightly domed and on my copy the aperture adjustment ring is not so new and tight. The lens hood is tight enough that I can just grab it and make the aperture adjustment. On the 35, with its protruding barrel (think very, very, short, snub nose revolver here), I just hold the focus in place with the finger of one hand while grasping the lens hood and rotating the aperture adjustment with the two fingers on the other hand. Easy. Unless it is dark. In which case you will really be challenged. There are no click stops, the aperture numbers are small, and the indicator is a tiny, red dot. The f/11 number is indicated by a very small white line instead of the number. Have a flashlight handy, or spin the aperture all the was to the left so it is wide open.
On both the 24 and the 28 the aperture blades are exposed in front of the lens objectives. They are, of course, inset a bit into the lens front itself but there is nothing in front of the blades. That was a bit unnerving at first but I haven't had any problems because of it.
For me these three lenses are just about perfect. I value portability. They are very small and my Zeiss Ikon is easily slid into a jacket or vest pocket when I am using them. Image quality is sharp enough, particularly in the center, that I can crop without a huge penalty. This is more important for me than the ergonomic issues of adjusting the aperture but for others this will probably drive them crazy.
But, if I haven't mentioned it before, don't forget that these are VERY small lenses, almost like lens caps, not lenses. The Elmar 35/3.5 or Nikkor 35/2.5 are absolute monsters alongside these lenses.
It is probably worth mentioning quality control and repair. These are not your typical production lenses being built in a one man shop in Japan. So far I have purchased 6 lenses from MS Optical, and the build quality of every one has been exceptional. However, on one, I actually had the coma ring on the back of the lens begin to unscrew. I contacted Bellamy at Japan Camera Hunter where I bought the lenses and he had me ship the lens to Japan for repair. Less than 4 weeks later it was back in excellent shape.
That's it. Very well built, limited production, lenses that are very, very small and accordingly portable. They all will produce great photographs in the triplet tradition. They are not without some ergonomic sacrifices but, in consideration of what they are, I think they can be a much loved part of your kit. But, they are not for everybody.
I am not really a bokeh connoisseur so I won't try to make any judgements in this category. Besides, at f/4 and f/3.5 you really are not going to notice overwhelming out of focus blur anyway. For me it is comfortable, which means it doesn't distract me. The aperture blades do seem to make a nice, circular shape if that means anything.
The biggest problem with both the 28 and the 24 is flare when the sun is just outside the frame. And those tiny little lens hoods don't seem to help a lot. To be completely honest, I couldn't see a difference between having them on or not. I keep them on mostly to keep from losing them. But to be equally honest, until another RFFr pointed it out, and I went out to test, I hadn't noticed any big problems with most of my images. So obviously, unless you do a lot of photography into the sun, you may not be bothered. I am not personally as comfortable with 24mm and 28mm focal lengths yet, so I typically use them when I am looking for a snapshot lens or when photographing in tight quarters indoors.
All three lenses do have very well defined depth of field scales, and from what I can tell they seem decently accurate. But when the total rotation of focus is only about 90 degrees from close up to infinity, the depth of field scale is appropriately small as well.
The 35 is the lens I use the most and I love it. Of course, keep in mind that I like triplets in general. The lens shade for the 35 seems to do a better job of fighting lens flare though you can still get a bit of it once in awhile. This lens is collapsible but I never do. I have to remove the lens hood to grasp the lens barrel tight enough with my fingers to rotate and unlock it so I can collapse it. Besides, what's the point? It is already one of the tiniest lenses I own.
Ergonomically all three lenses work for me, but changing aperture is not quick on any of them. There are no click stops and the focus will turn when the aperture is adjusted. Face it, these are very small lenses. The 24mm sits flat on the front of the camera. There are two small pin wrench slots on either side of the aperture adjusting ring. I insert the barrel of a retractable pen in one of the slots to set the aperture. The 28mm is a bit easier as it is slightly domed and on my copy the aperture adjustment ring is not so new and tight. The lens hood is tight enough that I can just grab it and make the aperture adjustment. On the 35, with its protruding barrel (think very, very, short, snub nose revolver here), I just hold the focus in place with the finger of one hand while grasping the lens hood and rotating the aperture adjustment with the two fingers on the other hand. Easy. Unless it is dark. In which case you will really be challenged. There are no click stops, the aperture numbers are small, and the indicator is a tiny, red dot. The f/11 number is indicated by a very small white line instead of the number. Have a flashlight handy, or spin the aperture all the was to the left so it is wide open.
On both the 24 and the 28 the aperture blades are exposed in front of the lens objectives. They are, of course, inset a bit into the lens front itself but there is nothing in front of the blades. That was a bit unnerving at first but I haven't had any problems because of it.
For me these three lenses are just about perfect. I value portability. They are very small and my Zeiss Ikon is easily slid into a jacket or vest pocket when I am using them. Image quality is sharp enough, particularly in the center, that I can crop without a huge penalty. This is more important for me than the ergonomic issues of adjusting the aperture but for others this will probably drive them crazy.
But, if I haven't mentioned it before, don't forget that these are VERY small lenses, almost like lens caps, not lenses. The Elmar 35/3.5 or Nikkor 35/2.5 are absolute monsters alongside these lenses.
It is probably worth mentioning quality control and repair. These are not your typical production lenses being built in a one man shop in Japan. So far I have purchased 6 lenses from MS Optical, and the build quality of every one has been exceptional. However, on one, I actually had the coma ring on the back of the lens begin to unscrew. I contacted Bellamy at Japan Camera Hunter where I bought the lenses and he had me ship the lens to Japan for repair. Less than 4 weeks later it was back in excellent shape.
That's it. Very well built, limited production, lenses that are very, very small and accordingly portable. They all will produce great photographs in the triplet tradition. They are not without some ergonomic sacrifices but, in consideration of what they are, I think they can be a much loved part of your kit. But, they are not for everybody.
kyte
Established
I have the 24 Perar. I agree with Pioneer and think it is good.
Here are a few pictures showing it and images from it.
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Here are a few pictures showing it and images from it.
Last edited:
segedi
RFicianado
Love my 35mm too:
https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=78552143@N00&q=Perar (hit refresh once you get to the page if the photos don't load)
https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=78552143@N00&q=Perar (hit refresh once you get to the page if the photos don't load)
kbg32
neo-romanticist
Thanks gentleman! Greatly appreciate your feedback. I had ordered the 24mm, and am eagerly awaiting its arrival in about two weeks.
tktk
Member
Any issues with exposed blades?
Any issues with exposed blades?
I've been using my 24mm, but hate how the hood tends to catch on things. I've been thinking about removing the hood completely. Do you leave the lens and aperture blades exposed all the time and are there any issues ?
Any issues with exposed blades?
I've been using my 24mm, but hate how the hood tends to catch on things. I've been thinking about removing the hood completely. Do you leave the lens and aperture blades exposed all the time and are there any issues ?
Pioneer
Veteran
Here is a recent photo taken with the Perar 24/4. Have owned this lens for awhile but I am still getting used to it.
Pioneer
Veteran
Another from the same elk scouting trip this weekend. You can clearly see the vignetting in the upper left corner (and this has been cropped.) This lens consistently does this on the digital, and quite heavily as well. It kind of makes it more of a 26mm lens since a lot of the far corners are so dark. If I intend to use this lens a lot I will need to brush up on my lens correction skills. Some of the film images are not quite as obvious.
Pioneer
Veteran
Finally, another landscape from yesterday's excursion, taken with the MS Optical Perar 24mm f4 Super Triplet. Other than heavy vignetting (again visible in the corner though this image is also cropped) I like this lens. It is very small pancake lens making the M 262 almost literally a pocket camera. It is not terribly fast but it doesn't require much focusing, if any, and so is pretty quick to use. Probably 90 percent of my use yesterday was at f/8 so the focal range was easily set to a very conservative infinity to 1.5 meters. It is certainly sharp enough for what I am doing here, using the M as a snapshot camera.
I also own the Voigtlander 25/4 snapshot lens in a Contax Mount, but I think I prefer this one as it is little more then a lens cap in size.
I also own the Voigtlander 25/4 snapshot lens in a Contax Mount, but I think I prefer this one as it is little more then a lens cap in size.
peterm1
Veteran
" You gotta love a fast lens; It is almost as good as a fast horse!"
To which, Dan, you might add "Or a fast lady" :^)
To which, Dan, you might add "Or a fast lady" :^)
Pioneer
Veteran
If you are referring to the Bentley sports car featured in "The Fast Lady" then I am certainly all for that.
Pioneer
Veteran
Some Balloons
Some Balloons
During the last couple of days Elko has been hosting their annual Balloon Festival.
Here are a few shot with the MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 24mm lens.
Some Balloons
During the last couple of days Elko has been hosting their annual Balloon Festival.
Here are a few shot with the MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 24mm lens.
Pioneer
Veteran
Pioneer
Veteran
Pioneer
Veteran
To The Moderators
To The Moderators
I just thought that I would also point out that this particular thread is actually in the wrong area and can be a bit hard to find.
The MS Optical 24mm Perar is actually an M lens with a bayonet, not a screw mount lens.
Perhaps it should be moved to the Leica M Lenses and Images thread.
To The Moderators
I just thought that I would also point out that this particular thread is actually in the wrong area and can be a bit hard to find.
The MS Optical 24mm Perar is actually an M lens with a bayonet, not a screw mount lens.
Perhaps it should be moved to the Leica M Lenses and Images thread.
Pioneer
Veteran
The First Snowstorm
The First Snowstorm
Northern Nevada went from 90F daytime temperatures to the first snowstorm of the season in two days.
This photo was taken in upper Lamoille Canyon on September 21st and the trees along the side of the road are aspens that are literally collapsing under the weight of 12 inches or more of wet, heavy snow. The leaves on these trees are still green, almost none of the leaves have begun to turn color.
As you can clearly see by the vignetting around the photograph this was also taken with the 24mm Perar.
The First Snowstorm
Northern Nevada went from 90F daytime temperatures to the first snowstorm of the season in two days.
This photo was taken in upper Lamoille Canyon on September 21st and the trees along the side of the road are aspens that are literally collapsing under the weight of 12 inches or more of wet, heavy snow. The leaves on these trees are still green, almost none of the leaves have begun to turn color.
As you can clearly see by the vignetting around the photograph this was also taken with the 24mm Perar.