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Vintage lenses

Vintage lenses on modern Sony system cameras

Reading Time: 8 minutes - July 10, 2019 - by Klaus Schachtschneider - Klaus Schachtschneider

I took my first photos as a teenager in the 70s with a Porst FX6 SLR. Later I became a Canon fan when the AE1 came out. I remained loyal to Canon for a very long time, but lately I almost only go out with a full-frame system camera from Sony: The Sony A7 III. Until a few years ago, I was firmly convinced that I would never need a full-frame camera. At the time, my double-digit Canon SLR with a crop factor of 1.6 was sufficient for all my photographic needs. But then I started experimenting with old manual lenses from the 50s to the 80s. Today, high-quality Canon lenses with the old FD bayonet, which I couldn't afford back then as a student, are easily affordable and attach easily to modern cameras via mechanical adapters. So far, I haven't found a lens mount that doesn't fit the Sony FE bayonet. And in fact, a purely mechanical adaptation without any electronic contacts is sufficient here, because the lenses can be operated purely manually, there is no communication between body and lens.

Schachtschneider

This has advantages and disadvantages: An advantage is that the adapters are very inexpensive. At first glance, the disadvantage is that you have to make some of the exposure settings manually. But isn't this a good opportunity to get to grips with the interaction of aperture, shutter speed and ISO value?
Optionally, the camera can set the exposure automatically, only the aperture on the lens has to be set manually. This has the advantage of having complete control over the depth of field of the photo. Now you only have to focus manually - there is no autofocus. In the past, this was done using a focusing screen and a split-image indicator. Today, modern cameras support you with focus peaking: sharp image areas are clearly highlighted in color in the eyepiece or on the display. This makes focusing child's play.

But what was the reason to go with old, manual lenses?
Well, it's the special look.
Many like the special character of the blurred image area, the bokeh. There's everything from very soft out-of-focus areas to swirly backgrounds to bubble bokeh. This look, which is unique to each lens, and a more intense, decelerated engagement with manual photography is what makes it so appealing.
A good image should convey emotion. I often find it easier to convey this emotion with old lenses. If you expect crisp sharpness right into the corners with 42 megapixels, you should keep your hands off the old darlings. But pictures with character can be created well with the oldtimers.

Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar electric 1.8/50 (BackMod)

I really got a taste for them a few years ago when I saw sample images on the Internet. At that time, the lenses were still almost free (even today they cost only a fraction of their modern descendants), and so the purely financial barrier to entry was very low. At that time, I first bought the fast Canon FDa 1.4/50 S.S.C. and a suitable adapter for my Sony system camera. (It was much easier to adapt to this camera without a compensating lens than to a modern Canon DSLR. In addition, there are no problems with system cameras due to collisions between the mirror and the old lens)

Carl Zeiss Jena Alu Tessar 2.8/50 red T

The four-lens Carl Zeiss Jena Alu Tessar 2.8/50 red T has the reputation of being the "eagle's eye" among lenses. It has 14 diaphragm blades and gives very nice round blur circles even when stopped down. A landscape picture (here near Linn Castle) gives an impression of the high imaging performance.

Meyer Optik G?rlitz Diaplan 3.5/100 (slide projector lens)
Leitz Wetzlar Colorplan 2.5/90 (metal) (slide projector lens)

The old lenses are, as already mentioned, often very simply constructed. Therefore, some (but not all! Be careful!) can be disassembled without much effort, e.g. to clean them. But you can also deliberately distort the optical path by simply flipping one of the lenses. I did this with one of the rear lenses on the Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar electric 1.8/50. The lens rotator causes only the image area around the optical axis to be reasonably sharp. The further away from this center, the greater the spatial and color distortion. The size of the sharp area can be varied by selecting the aperture. The main subject should be at the minimum distance of the lens. Backlit situations intensify the effect considerably. The rule here is: try it out and gain experience.
By the way, the colorful photo has only been cropped. The violent effects and intense colors were not created by image processing, but by the lens rotation alone. Many small points of light, such as sun reflections in the foliage of trees or the many LED lights of a fair, strengthen the effect.

Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar electric 1.8/50 (BackMod)

In the beginning, I still attached my old lenses to a Sony crop system camera. Technically, that worked very well. But the old darlings are full-frame lenses. If you use them on a digital camera with a smaller sensor, you cut off the edge area. But that's where it often gets interesting. Especially the blurred image areas develop their special characteristics at the full frame edge.
At the time of my change, there was de facto only one camera that was ideally suited: the Sony A7II. No mirror to hit the lens if necessary, easy and cheap to adapt, very good image quality and an image stabilizer. It couldn't be better, I thought, and bought the body. Just the body, no modern lens for the time being. Then one or the other modern Sony lens was added and finally the Sony A7 III was introduced.
Hardly changed on the outside, but the inner values are worlds better. In the meantime I use the A7 III almost exclusively, sometimes with the old manual lenses, sometimes I use the fantastic autofocus possibilities of modern FE lenses.
Photography can be so diverse and exciting!

List of lenses used:

  • Canon FD-1 1.4/50 S.S.C. - connection: Canon bayonet FDa with collar ring
  • Carl Zeiss Jena Alu Tessar 2.8/50 red T - mount: EXA Exakta
  • Pentacon 3.5/30 (similar to Meyer Optik G?rlitz Lydith) - mount: EXA Exakta
  • Meyer Optik G?rlitz Diaplan 3.5/100 - original connection: slide projector thread. Later firmly adapted to Canon EF. Used with EF-FE adapter on Sony A7III
  • Leitz Wetzlar Colorplan 2.5/90 - original connection: slide projector thread. Later permanently adapted to Canon EF. Used with EF-FE adapter on the Sony A7III
  • Zeiss Ikon Talon 2.8/85 MC - original mount: slide projector thread. Later firmly adapted to Sony FE
  • Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar electric 1.8/50 - connection: M42 screw thread

Order Sony system cameras in our online store: Further works by Klaus Schachtschneider can be found here: www.photissimo.de Flickr
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