Pentax Auto 110 Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8 on NEX 5N

2011-11-29 Posted by Hin Man
Pentax Auto 110 Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8 on Sony NEX 5N
Pentax Auto 110 Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8


The Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8 is the 2nd smallest Pentax Auto 110 lenses and it is just as tiny as the 24mm. Its filter size is 30.5mm while the 24mm is smallest with filter size in 25.5mm.

Pentax Auto 110 Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8 on Sony NEX 5N
Pentax 110 24mm f/2.8 and Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8

The pan focus likely shares similar optic design to the regular Pentax 110 18mm f/2.8. However, there is one major difference in the Pan Focus lens not having any focus ring. It has subject in focus from about 1.75m or 6 feet to infinity. I see it as a great street shooting which allows one to focus in framing and snap scenes into focus from 6 feet to far away. One can use this rare lens as a quick shooter with Sony NEX 5N.

I used it for night scenes testing. It is not a fair test as I don't have a lens hood mounted and I shoot all photos in Jpg and high ISO in 3200, and without a tripod. I tried to run the lens through the toughest scenes. I have a Rolleiflex/Yashica 30.5mm snap on plastic hood but it won't fit the screw mount on the Pan Focus lens. I will report next how I go about getting good lens hood to for the Pan focus and the 24mm.

All the following test shots are done with 5N:
  • Hand-held without tripod
  • ISO 3200
  • Default JPG in B&W with +1 on Contrast and +1 on Sharpness
  • Default Matrix metering -- a lot of highlights are blown out and I need to have negative Ev compensation for next trial
  • No cropping of any kind are performed in the test shots


Pentax Auto 110 Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8 on Sony NEX 5N
1/15 sec, f/2.8, 18mm, iso 3200, 0 Ev

Pentax Auto 110 Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8 on Sony NEX 5N
1/13 sec, f/2.8, 18mm, iso 3200, 0 Ev


Pentax Auto 110 Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8 on Sony NEX 5N
1/40 sec, f/2.8, 18mm, iso 3200, 0 Ev


Pentax Auto 110 Pan Focus 18mm f/2.8 on Sony NEX 5N
1/15 sec, f/2.8, 18mm, iso 3200, 0 Ev


Impressions & Notes
  • Very easy to use as there is no focusing involved.

  • Anything that is 6 feet to far away can snap into focus

  • I don't notice severe vignette as the shooting happens in the dark and the black & white settings are especially suiting for the Pentax Auto 110 lens

  • I have Dynamic Range Optimization (DRO) set to ON but I hardly notice any functionality as I do get many overblown shots in the highlights. I need to re-shoot similar scenes with a tripod and stay in Raw and have DRO set to OFF and perhaps try Jpg with Handheld Twilight (HHT) and see if the new feature in HHT helps in high ISO shooting as in ISO 3200

  • The lens is small and it is next in size to the Pentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8 and if this lens is not pocketable, I don't know what other lens is. It is working well with the Sony NEX 5N and I am sure it will be more excellent if there is an added mechanics to stop down the lens from wide open aperture in f/2.8

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Sony NEX 5N with Pentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8

2011-11-23 Posted by Hin Man

The tiniest lens that I have ever used

Sony NEX 5N with Pentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8

I have recently acquired a set of Pentax Auto 110 lenes with 18mm pan-focus, 20-40mm f/2.8 and 70mm f/2.8 from friend. And I also have a copy of 24mm and 50mm f/2.8. My Sony NEX 5N finally arrived yesterday and I have few test shots with my Pentax auto 110 kit. All test shots are shot with Pentax Auto 24mm f/2.8 wide open.

Sony NEX 5N with Pentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8; Pentax auto 110 to NEX adapter thinnestPentax Auto 110 to NEX adapter on right -- the thinnest
Sony NEX-5N Test shots withPentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8

 #1Sony NEX 5N with Pentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8 The 110 auto lens can do close up
Shot in Rich B&W effect in 5N straight jpg

 #2
Sony NEX 5N with Pentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8
#3
Sony NEX 5N with Pentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8

 Impressions & Notes
  • It is a fun experience as the Pentax Auto 110 24mm f/2.8 is the smallest among the 110 series of lens. Its filter size is 25.5mm.
  • Corner vignette and softness is seen but not too bad especially if you shoot in b&w. It has a naturally looking vignette in the corners.
  • Lens are shot wide open as the Pentax Auto 110 to NEX adapter don't have diaphragm control and neither do the Auto 110 lens has any iris. The leaf shutter stays in the Pentax Auto 110 body.
  • Shots are shot wide open in f/2.8 without option to control the aperture and it may not be desirable if one want to get the best image quality of one's lenses.
  • The Pentax Auto 110 to NEX adapter is the thinnest adapter that I have seen and if you are after the miniature setup, the Pentax Auto 110 is the smallest setup that one can consider.
  • The limitation of Pentax Auto 110 lenses when used in NEX 5N lie in the light loss around the corners due to partial coverage of the APS-C sensor and absence of mechanism to stop down the lens aperture.

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The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P

2011-11-21 Posted by Hin Man
The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P
I like to post something that is related to Pentax's mother company Ricoh. It is perhaps not well known to some of us as compared to Pentax in the film days but I have been shooting the Ricoh xr-p for quite a while. While I am still a big fan of Pentax metal film bodies like MX and SuperProgram, I actually sold all of my Pentax film bodies but I keep my Ricoh xr-p as my single 35mm film body

I almost traded it to friend when I wanted to purchase his Pentax auto 110 kit. And here are some recent shots with Ricoh xr-p. I did struggle with scanning at home with my limited Canon Flatbed 8800F scanner.

My tools:
  • Ricoh xr-p
  • Vivitar 24mm f/2.8 P/K-AR
  • Kodak BW400CN
  • Home scan with low resolution for 1200dpi with Canon 8800F
  • Dwayne's Photo for film development


#1
The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P

#2
The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P

#3
The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P

#4
The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P

#5
The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P

I should have tried setting ISO to 200 as I was told by my local film shop that the BW400CN is native in 200 though labelled for 400. Most of the indoor shots come out way underexposed and I have a difficult time to pull up lighting in post processing.

The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P
The Ricoh Love With Ricoh XR-P

Impressions & Notes
  • The viewfinder is not as big as the Pentax MX but the display of information as in aperture, shutter, warning of inaccurate shutter in Tv mode really make it a beauty to use with confidence
  • The Ev compensation and shutter to 1/2000 with mode dials on top is so much better than the tiny buttons toggle on SuperProgram or the like in ME Super
  • Metering is always a breeze with the Ricoh. I am yet to try its TTL flash
  • The shutter sound is very different than the Pentax. One may not like it as it has a high pitch noise but I much prefer it over the mechanical shutter in Pentax film bodies. It is quieter for street shooting as the high pitch noise is not as noticeable as the clunk in other film bodies.
  • The optional hand-grip really helps me in the shooting. The Pentax has a thinner and sturdier bodies in MX or the like, but the optional grip in xr-p wins me over for steady shot with confidence. Most of the shots that I posted are slower than 1/30 second hand-held. The shots in #1 and #2 are in 1/30 and 1/10 sec as it is a no-windows interior room in shot #2.
  • I have two lemon copies of xr-p and it shows that shutter mechanics break as easy as in any other brands.
  • The AEL button will light up the optical viewfinder with all the electronic display for shutter and aperture and I find the viewfinder especially good for low light and night time photography with film.
  • One usual gripe is in the peeling of its leatherette body in the xr-p and mine is unusually clean and intact with minor marks on the strap lug.

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Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLR

2011-11-05 Posted by Hin Man
Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLR
I have this TLR for over a year by now. It has been a pleasant experience with this classic camera and it is time for a report to share what I get fascinated with this TLR and perhaps note down some difference in experience that I have with the Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS.Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLR
Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLRFirst of all, it has a built-in meter and it is a convenient feature to have. My Yashica works surprisingly well with the built-in meter when I first got it. After halve year of storage, I forget to unload its battery and I got its metering all ruined due to corrosion of battery. I opened up the top waist level finder and it seems like a do-able job to re-wire the metering but so far I have not attempted to fix the broken meter. Instead, I added a Sekonic flashmate L-308S to help with the metering.

The Sekonic light meter works quite well with my Yashica. I tried both b&w and color films on my Yashica Mat 124G and both come out nicely. The Yashinon 80mm f/3.5 is reasonably sharp and has good contrast in the color photos. The next thing that I need to try is to use it more on various films and research if I can use a flash on the Yashica.
Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLRShot with Fuji Acros 100, Sekonic L-308S
The Tech Museum of San Jose

Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLRShot with Fuji Acros 100
metered with original meter

Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLRShot with Fuji Acros 100
metered with Sekonic L-308SYashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLRShot with Fuji Acros 100
metered with Sekonic L-308S
Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLRShot with Kodak Ektar 100
metered with Sekonic L-308S

Yashica Mat 124G -- a lovely TLRShot with Kodak Ektar 100
metered with Sekonic L-308S

Impressions & Notes
  • The Yashinon 80mm f/3.5 is reasonably sharp and I am well pleased with the results.
  • The built-in meter is a nice feature to have but mine is unfortunately broken. It is important to remember my lesson to remove the battery when not in operation.
  • Unlike the Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS that I had, its focusing screen is easier for me to focus. The ground glass with circular rings along with the magnifier provide me enough detail in good lighting to focus at ease. It takes some practice and it is more difficult for indoor type of lighting. Overall, I think I find focusing easier on the Yashica than my Rolleiflex.
  • The film rewind is not as refined and controlled as the solid rewind lever in the Rolleiflex. The rewind lever in Yashica does not give you the confidence for long lasting lever. The build quality in Yashica can't match the solid build quality in the Rolleiflex. The build in Yashica is good but not outstanding like the Rolleiflex.
  • I managed to open up the top portion of its waist level finder and I managed to clean up the internal mirror housing and it can be done with caution. Re-assembly can be tricky and I will try to update this post with links to instructions for cleaning the internal mirror.
  • It is lightweight and that is the best part about this TLR. With a good neck strap, this TLR is very portable for hours of shooting. You will end your film roll wanting more to continue the shooting. It is very pleasant to carry around for a longer period of shooting time as in a half day of shooting.
  • I recently use the Yashica with a lightweight tripod and I can frame with more confidence for critical angle and position.
  • It takes sometime to get used to the reverse orientation in framing but by the time I get to my 3rd roll, I no longer have that awkward feeling in unfamiliar framing withTLR
  • The Yashica opens up my desire for more square photos in 6x6. It is very addictive in the process.
  • Scanning at home with a limited flatbed is MUCH easier with 120 films when compared to 135 films
  • It is unfortunate to note that many Yashica Mat 124G are over-priced in the used market. It used to be in the $100's and now a good copy is frequently bid up to over $200. And it is always a risk on the unknown conditions subject to the mercy and honesty of the seller in the listing. My copy is likely not the norm in the eBay as it is just really in Excellent condition and I was one of those who bid Yashica over $200. Shame on Hin! In my opinion it should be much less as in $150 or so.
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Welcome to Hin's Photo Corner, this is my learning blog on photography, blogging and advertising. And I hope you enjoy your visit. For contact, please comment in blog post or email me directly hintheman at gmail.com.

 

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