Hin's Photo Corner: 55mm

Showing posts with label 55mm. Show all posts

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 with +4 Close-up

2008-12-29 Posted by Hin Man

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 with Hoya +4 close-up filter

58mm metal lens hood

My Cosina 55mm f/1.2 has become one of my favorite prime. But it is lacking on two things in my usage with the fast lens

A good lens hood for protection
Close up on flowers

And I enhance the Cosina fast prime with few accessories from ebay

A 58mm metal lens hood with 62mm lens cap
- ebay seller heavystar -- 58mm metal lens hood with cap
- Ebay seller heavystar
- Search for "58mm metal lens hood"
A step up ring from 58mm to 62mm
- also bought from Heavystar in ebay
- not needed if you mount lens hood first
A used Hoya close up filter set in 62mm with +1, +2, and +4 magnification
- bought from ebay for about $15

I share the close up with few other lens in 62mm filter thread. As it turned out, I don't actually need the step up ring if I mount the hood first followed by the close-up filter. Since the filter is mounted in front of the hood, I lose the flare protection.

mounting 58mm hood first
then 62mm Hoya close-up filter on top

Test Shots with +4 Close up

My favorite fish in Monterey Bay Aquarium

Sea Dragon in Monterey Bay Aquarium

While the combo with +4 get me closer to the fish in aquarium, I find the combo more effective in taking close up with flowers as you can have more control on the flowers as opposed to the moving fish in the aquarium which frequently move out of the narrorw DOF after the close up is mounted.

Impressions & Notes

The metal lens hood from heavystar is highly recommended as it comes with 62mm lens cap and I can have it mounted permanently on the Cosina lens for lens protection
The step up ring from 58mm to 62mm costs about $3 from heavystar and I still find it a good buy when the lens hood is getting in the way when I shoot close-up on moving fish in aquarium. With the lens hood mounted, I am farther away from the fish by the lens hood length.
With the Hoya +4 close up, I am close to to 1:3 and 1:2 in magnification. It is an inexpensive accessory to get for the Cosina lens. A Raynox 150 or 250 will do a similar job.
The add-on with the +4 close up is found effective on flowers

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 in aquarium

2008-12-01 Posted by Hin Man

I found Cosina 55mm f/1.2 quite usable in wide open aperture, but I use more often the lens with better sharpness in f/2.0. When it is really dark, the lens has given me confidence to go wide open. Sometime, I actually attempt to shoot in f/1.4 in turning the aperture ring in between the f/1.2 and f/2.0 markings.

I used the Cosina f/1.2 over the long weekend in Monterey Bay Aquarium and I find AF with other lens very frustrating to picture swift fish swimming across the fish tank with beautiful colors and the lens served me well and the MF overcome the issues that I find with AF lacking for fast moving fish. I used mostly f/2.0 in the aquarium with ISO 400 and 800.

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 -- my "Big Eye" lens

#1

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

#3
This fish is the 2nd fast in the tank
the fastest one is behind it in blue color
All attempts with AF fail on this fish

#5
This fish is the fastest in the tank
All attempts with AF fail on this fish

#6
this is the slowest but most colorful fish in another tank
perhaps the easiest to shoot among the rest

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 Test Shots

2008-11-24 Posted by Hin Man

I have tested my copy of Cosina 55mm f/1.2. I am very happy with the lens. This is my 3rd fast 50mm lens after my Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 and Pentax A 50mm f/1.7.

Is it oustanding? Yes

How is the bokeh? I really like the smooth bokeh and the excellent speed in f/1.2

How is the build? I would call it quite outstanding for the $200 price range.

Can it replace your FA 50 f/1.4 and my A 50 f/1.7? No!

I answer 'no' due to the absence of 'A' and autofocus. I discussed with Mis and Igillian and I explain the reasons and happiness that the lens doesn't have AF and 'A' setting; otherwise, it would be a serious blow to my love of FA 50 f/1.4 and A 50 f/1.7. It is my LBA excuses to keep three similar focal range in 50mm/55mm.

I only do some snapshot testing on the lens

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 Purchase

1/4 sec, f/1.2, hand-held in iso 400 with K20D

breakfast in an Inn which is dim in the morning

indoor is great

Outdoor is excellent -- a normal lens
with large aperture

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 Purchase

The lens has served me well as the fastest lens in my gear. It has smooth and very good bokeh, color and great DOF with K10D/K20D. But i would not trade in my FA 50 f/1.4 or A 50 f/1.7 for reasons of missing AF and 'A' setting.

I also noted the oval shaped ringed lights in bokeh. My iris is oval shaped instead of circular. It does not bother me as I love my lens to be a bit different than others. I see imperfection as the greatest opportunity for a picture difference.

Impressions & Notes:

Love the smooth bookeh from this fast lens
Outstanding color in both daytime and night time
Oval shaped ringed lights, not sure if it is due to aperture blades design or fast aperture
Gained speed invaluable for night time shooting. Instead of ISO 400, some shots can be done in f/1.2 in ISO 200. A much welcome addition especially to complement with noise control in high iso setting
Lens can't replace FA 50 mm f/1.4 or my A 50 f/1.7 due to missing AF and 'A' settings. I see it as a plus as it give me reason to hold on to 3 similar 50/55mm lens

Cosina 55mm f/1.2

2008-11-11 Posted by Hin Man

This Cosina 55mm f/1.2 is my fastest lens in my gear. When I first saw this from my friend Miserere, I would play it down as I already have a fast Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 and I love my Pentax 50mm. I also had the manual focus Pentax A 50mm f/1.7 which is sharper than my f/1.4 though slower. Call it peer pressures or one's thoughts of green pastures from over the fence to another photographer, I come to realize the usefulness of having a lens that allow me using ISO 200 instead of ISO 400 in my K10D. It is a shame that 3 weeks has passed and I don't have a single picture other than a product shot of Pentax F 35-135 f/3.5-4.5 which I had trimmed in my gear list

Test shot in ISO 200 indoor
1/80 sec

The initial impressions get me blown away and I sent a gratitude message to my good friend Miserere for holding his last copy of Cosina 55mm f/1.2 for me. I am yet to use it in night shooting and I love to push my hand-holding limits to the range of 1/8 to 1/3 seconds. This lens will allow me to go in ISO 200 instead of ISO 400.

Related:

Mamiya/Sekor 55mm f/1.8 (M42)

2008-11-06 Posted by Hin Man

This is a small M42 lens in 55mm. Like the Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f/3.5, it has a big enough lens base to be converted to K mount lens easily. The lens base is big enough for the K mount pin on body to secure the lens in place. It can be a converted K lens with an adapter mounted on the lens. I find f/1.8 a bit soft in test pictures, when stopped down to f/2.8, sharpness is quite good and bokeh is decent. And I did several quick test pictures with the little lens. That Mamiya is not bad when properly stopped down to f/2.8 or smaller apertures

Test Photos:

f/2.8 in iso 400
cropped, no sharpening

f/2.8

f/8.0

f/2.8

Hin's Photo Corner

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 with +4 Close-up

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 in aquarium

Cosina 55mm f/1.2 Test Shots

Cosina 55mm f/1.2

Mamiya/Sekor 55mm f/1.8 (M42)

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