Schneider Xenar 180mm/5.6 on Canon A1

[raid]

I used an adapter or two to mount an old MF lens on the Canon A1. I just love the effect of the Xenar 180mm/5.6 for portraits. The sharpness is obvious in the images. The A1 gave me aperture priority convenience while the Schneider lens gave me a vintage look with added sharpness at a low cost.

What do you think about the use of the lens on a 35mm SLR?

 

[raid]

As a comparison, I then took photos with the very sharp Nikkor 105mm/2.5 on a Nikon FE2. As expected, the resulting images are sharp. I wonder whether the Schneider is sharper or not.

 

[raid]

I realize that few people here are interested in using a MF lens on a 35mm SLR.

Oh well.

 

[bmattock]

Raid,

Sorry, I didn't see your thread before. You know I'm a manual focus guy, and a Canon FD fan as well. I've seen this lens before on eBay, but it has always tended to go for a bit more than I was willing to pay. I always thought it looked like it might be interesting - along with the Telemegor and the Zeiss Sonnar 180mm f/2.8.

Your example looks full of color, but interesting, it seem not to be that critically sharp - perhaps good for some types of portrait, but you really have to back off a ways to shoot portrait with a 180, don't you? Even on 35mm.

Anyway, I do appreciate these posts, my friend. Sorry I missed this one when you posted it.

 

[raid]

Raid,

Sorry, I didn't see your thread before. You know I'm a manual focus guy, and a Canon FD fan as well. I've seen this lens before on eBay, but it has always tended to go for a bit more than I was willing to pay. I always thought it looked like it might be interesting - along with the Telemegor and the Zeiss Sonnar 180mm f/2.8.

Your example looks full of color, but interesting, it seem not to be that critically sharp - perhaps good for some types of portrait, but you really have to back off a ways to shoot portrait with a 180, don't you? Even on 35mm.

Anyway, I do appreciate these posts, my friend. Sorry I missed this one when you posted it.

Hi Bill,
I should have used a tripod for critical sharpness with a 180mm lens. I may have paid $125 for this lens, and it looks pretty clean both optically and cosmetically. I was maybe 8ft. from the kids. The minimum focus distance is not small.

Thanks for commenting.

 

[ChrisN]

Hi Bill,
I should have used a tripod for critical sharpness with a 180mm lens. ...

I suspect your subjects might have moved around a bit, too!

Nice shots, Raid. Nice bokeh, too, in the little background I can see.

 

[raid]

Thanks, Chris. The 180 lens is much smaller than I thought it would be. I can assure you that many of the the images on the roll are tack sharp.