bakemono
Established
A few weeks ago, while my camera was away for repairs, I grabbed this lens on eBay.
There was not a lot of info around and the price was not low either, so I was kind of taking a chance with it.
The images that I did found, looked great, with tons of 'vintage' character. By that I mean vignetting and the background swirl when wide open and strongish field curvature.
Yesterday I finally got my camera back, and couldn't wait any longer to test the lens
I must say, I am more than satisfied with it, hard to imagine a 35mm lens that would fit me better.
When wide open, the background looks great. (Slightly missed focus in the first one)
When closed up a bit it is tack sharp, still has a bit of a swirl.
Next ones are at f5.6
And finally at f8, it's nice and sharp across the whole frame. The corners are a bit worse than modern lenses, but to me that's not a drawback at all.
The only annoyance that I found was that the front part together with aperture ring rotates when focusing. It makes setting aperture a bit more difficult, having to hold the focus in place and moving aperture ring at the same time.
When I got the lens, it had quite a bit of shiny dust inside and the focus was very stiff.
I opened it for cleaning and lubrication, which went without a hitch. It was interesting to see that the inner parts had lots of 'random' holes drilled in them as well as the focusing stop looked like a hand-made replacement instead of the original factory part. It makes me wonder what life has this lens lead, to have so many repairs done to it.
Still works like a treat, so I hope it has some years left
Does anyone else have any photos taken with this lens that they would like to share?
There was not a lot of info around and the price was not low either, so I was kind of taking a chance with it.
The images that I did found, looked great, with tons of 'vintage' character. By that I mean vignetting and the background swirl when wide open and strongish field curvature.
Yesterday I finally got my camera back, and couldn't wait any longer to test the lens
I must say, I am more than satisfied with it, hard to imagine a 35mm lens that would fit me better.
When wide open, the background looks great. (Slightly missed focus in the first one)
When closed up a bit it is tack sharp, still has a bit of a swirl.
Next ones are at f5.6
And finally at f8, it's nice and sharp across the whole frame. The corners are a bit worse than modern lenses, but to me that's not a drawback at all.
The only annoyance that I found was that the front part together with aperture ring rotates when focusing. It makes setting aperture a bit more difficult, having to hold the focus in place and moving aperture ring at the same time.
When I got the lens, it had quite a bit of shiny dust inside and the focus was very stiff.
I opened it for cleaning and lubrication, which went without a hitch. It was interesting to see that the inner parts had lots of 'random' holes drilled in them as well as the focusing stop looked like a hand-made replacement instead of the original factory part. It makes me wonder what life has this lens lead, to have so many repairs done to it.
Still works like a treat, so I hope it has some years left
Does anyone else have any photos taken with this lens that they would like to share?
02Pilot
Malcontent
I have the 35/3.5 variant, which I'm quite happy with. Of note is that I saw the same seemingly extraneous, randomly placed holes on some interior parts. Must have been part of their manufacturing process, though I'm at a loss as to determine a purpose.
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
For a while the Komura-made lenses were in pretty high demand, but recently they have come down again. Which I am very happy with as their image quality remains unaltered, high!
Here's a nice article which lists a lot of lenses in various guises and with their respective characteristics http://www.johanniels.com/index.php/camera-gear-articles/29-komura-rangefinder-lenses-overview
Here's a nice article which lists a lot of lenses in various guises and with their respective characteristics http://www.johanniels.com/index.php/camera-gear-articles/29-komura-rangefinder-lenses-overview
bakemono
Established
Interesting to hear about holes in other komura lenses. Now it seems that it might be some part of manufacturing process - maybe for fixing the parts to something for machining.
Thanks for the link - very nice information for someone who is interested in these lenses.
I wonder why they never made any 50mm lenses?
Maybe that was because everyone already had a 50mm lens as part of their kit when buying a camera, so they banked on people being more likely to buy focal lengths they didn't already have?
Thanks for the link - very nice information for someone who is interested in these lenses.
I wonder why they never made any 50mm lenses?
Maybe that was because everyone already had a 50mm lens as part of their kit when buying a camera, so they banked on people being more likely to buy focal lengths they didn't already have?
raid
Dad Photographer
Are Komura SLR lenses of similar quality as the RF ;enses?
bakemono
Established
Good question - I just bought a cheap m42 35mm f2.5 lens
Will report back with the results once it arrives
Will report back with the results once it arrives
raid
Dad Photographer
Exactly. I nearly bought such a lens last night.
bakemono
Established
Just love using this lens. Very solid build and great images.
bakemono
Established
Let's continue, shall we?
Here are some shots taken with this lens from the most recent roll.
I still haven't developed anything from my m42 komura lens, it came with a host of problems - stiff as a rock, incorrectly reassembled by someone, missing clickstops, broken screws, etc. I managed to get it more or less in working condition, but the film is not yet done.
It does seem less well built than the ltm lenses.
Here are some shots taken with this lens from the most recent roll.
I still haven't developed anything from my m42 komura lens, it came with a host of problems - stiff as a rock, incorrectly reassembled by someone, missing clickstops, broken screws, etc. I managed to get it more or less in working condition, but the film is not yet done.
It does seem less well built than the ltm lenses.
bakemono
Established
This lens is a drama queen. If there is none, it will surely create some when you open up the aperture.
bakemono
Established
BTW the m42 komura was a bust.
It was crap mechanically, and had a decentered element, as one side of images was always blurry, even when I got it working.
Not to mention the completely generic pictures and lack of the beautiful 3d effect the ltm version has.
It was crap mechanically, and had a decentered element, as one side of images was always blurry, even when I got it working.
Not to mention the completely generic pictures and lack of the beautiful 3d effect the ltm version has.
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
But I can see why you decided to keep the LTM 35mm lens!
I've owned quite a few over time and have downsized my camera herd substantially, with now one Leica II and three lenses 35-50-90. If I hadn't owned a Canon 2.0/35mm, I would still have my (probably Komura-made) Kinegon 2.8/35mm. The Komuras are very nice lenses
I've owned quite a few over time and have downsized my camera herd substantially, with now one Leica II and three lenses 35-50-90. If I hadn't owned a Canon 2.0/35mm, I would still have my (probably Komura-made) Kinegon 2.8/35mm. The Komuras are very nice lenses
teddy
Jose Morales
This lens is a drama queen. If there is none, it will surely create some when you open up the aperture.
Beautiful lens! Sharp wide open in the centre and stopped down. Has a cosy signature. Can't see anything wrong.
Kent
Finally at home...
Oh boy, I used to have a very similar model of this lens. Today I could kick myself for selling it.
bakemono
Established
Here are some more in color. It has a pretty strong veiling glare and very 'milky' blacks as a result, but it's quite interesting.
These are just contrast/curves adjusted captures from a7ii
These are just contrast/curves adjusted captures from a7ii