Sharpest 85mm legacy lens

[Langstrum]

Sharpest? Just go with either FD 85/1.2 L or SSC Aspherical, even Contax 85/1.2 can't beat them. Jupiter 9 or Helios-40 are good choices too but you have to stop down a bit to be really sharp.

[Gilgenberg]

i have some 80 - 90 legacy lenses

 

i would say the contax G90 2.8 ls very sharp but has to much contrast, so it is not so good for portrait but very good for landscape etc.

for portrait very good is the leica summicron 90mm  

 

also very good is the Sony 85mm and has AF (with sony adapter) but contrast and sharpness from the contax is much better but the sony is better

for portrait but not as good as the summicron but o.k.

 

awesome is the mamiya 80mm 2.8 and i think there is also a 80mm 1.9 (but more weight), it is a mediumformat lens but very light and manual focusing is like a dream...so smooth and precise .....and very sharp!  and cheap but you need two adapters  mamaya 645 to cannon or nikon and adapter to sony e-mount

 

the contax G90 has not such nice focussing so if you want the lens for landscape go for the C/Y 85mm or the mamiya because of smooth manualfocus, the mamaiya is a better allrounder..... portrait and landscape is great

 

if you want to spare money for the batis you could try the minolta MD 135mm 3.5, it is very small cheap and comes very close to the Contax G90

[psdigital]

i have some 80 - 90 legacy lenses

 

i would say the contax G90 2.8 ls very sharp but has to much contrast, so it is not so good for portrait but very good for landscape etc.

for portrait very good is the leica summicron 90mm  

 

also very good is the Sony 85mm and has AF (with sony adapter) but contrast and sharpness from the contax is much better but the sony is better

for portrait but not as good as the summicron but o.k.

 

awesome is the mamiya 80mm 2.8 and i think there is also a 80mm 1.9 (but more weight), it is a mediumformat lens but very light and manual focusing is like a dream...so smooth and precise .....and very sharp!  and cheap but you need two adapters  mamaya 645 to cannon or nikon and adapter to sony e-mount

 

the contax G90 has not such nice focussing so if you want the lens for landscape go for the C/Y 85mm or the mamiya because of smooth manualfocus, the mamaiya is a better allrounder..... portrait and landscape is great

 

if you want to spare money for the batis you could try the minolta MD 135mm 3.5, it is very small cheap and comes very close to the Contax G90

There's an adapter for Mamiya to E Mount. I'm buying some Mamiya glass to try. Thanks for the post as I was going to ask if anyone had tried a Mamiya lens?

[IamJF]

JimmyD - thanks for your answer.

Even lighter and smaller ... wow. When I can catch a "green" version of the lens for a reasonable price I will purchase one. This can take some time ;-)

Would be nice for super light 35(Zony)/50/85 Kit.

[EDBR]

The 90mm f2.8 Contax G is amazing and much better in the corners at f2.8 compared to the Contax 85mm C/Y. 

It even seems to perform better at f2.8 in the corners.

It wins a little by going to f4 but not much, 100% sharpness all over

Of course it could be a sample problem or so but I don’t think so. Joined a crop at 200% form one of the corners and at f2.8, yes all open.

The CA is removed if you selecting "remove chromatic aberration" in LR even without moving the sliders.

It’s just the best lens I own. Use it for landscaping when I need corner sharpness all over the image at f2.8 or f4.

On the other hand I think every lens mentioned above will be ok if you close the aperture to f8 or need it for portrait photography.

Hope it helps...

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[addicted2light]

I just received mine for Contax G and at first view it doesn't work well with the A7R. It hunts even under good light, and it doesn't even nail the focus. There is an adjustment for that, which I have not yet tried. Manual focusing works very well, though.

 

That 90mm is a very impressive lens, I'll soon test it against the 85mm C/Y.

 

Or are you talking about the universal model by Techart for MF lenses?

Thanks for the info! Even if they're disappointing...

 

Yes, I was talking about the universal model, but I doubt there will be much difference in performance.

[Gilgenberg]

so ........if the c/y sonnar has problems in the corner...thanks to Edward De Bruyn!

 

i would highly recommend the Mamiya Sekor C 80mm 2.8, i payed $90 + adapter

 

as it is a high quality mediumformat lens, it has open no vignetting, the same high sharpness in the corner as in the center ( better corner sharpness than the contax G90 ) and a very good focus experience

 

the contax G90mm 2.8 + adapter has 320g the mamiya 80mm 2.8 + adapter has 380g and is a little bit longer maybe 10mm

 

the only lens that is shaper i own is the Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG macro HSM OS..... this lens  is very close to the FE90 macro

[EDBR]

Gilgenberg: "so ........if the c/y sonnar has problems in the corner...thanks to Edward De Bruyn!"

 

The problem 85mm Contax C/Y is not really a problem. It’s just not as sharp as the Contax G 90mm wide open, f2.8.

The fact is that my Contax G 90mm sample is extremely sharp. The samples were not sharpen and the crop sample is viewed at 200%.

However would like to see a test between the Contax G and the Mamiya regarding corner sharpness.

Would allow me to use it on the Mirex TS adapter. The reason why I invested in the Cantax C/Y lenses…

[Gilgenberg]

o.k. Edward De Bruyn, here is your test crop around 400% or more

 

left Mamiya Sekor 80 2.8      right Contax G 90 2.8

 

2.8,

4 ,

5,6

 

corner left,

left,

right

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[Gilgenberg]

and the center in the same way

[Gilgenberg]

and the center in the same way

 

so what i see is that the contax is only better at 2.8 at the center and Left corner up 

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[Gilgenberg]

the hole scene

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[Gilgenberg]

sorry  on small monitors the pictures appear different

 

so the order is :

 

1. sekor 80 2.8,

2. G90 2.8,

3. sekor 80 4,

4. G90 4,

5. sekor 80 5.6,

6. G90 5.6

etc.

 

camera is Sony A7S, ISO 100, tripod

[Gilgenberg]

some more on infinity

 

same order Sekor - Sonnar...2.8, 4, 5,6 , 8

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[Gilgenberg]

and the crop´s right corner

 

 

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[Gilgenberg]

the lense´s:

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[EDBR]

To Gilgenberg 

 

Wauw, nice and indeed much better than the Contax C/Y.

In favour against the Contax G even more compact and good to use on my Mirex adapter !!!

Advantage of using the manual focus ring on the lens (for those who don’t know the Contax G lenses don’t have a focus ring)

Regarding quality must say that it scored rather equal to my eyes (old eyes and didn't download the images).

So indeed big advantage for the Mamiya !

Are there any different kinds or versions, sometimes the quality can change between different versions in time.

What about a good compact 200 or 135 (just to use in the classic way, corners of my new FE 70-200 f4 sony not totally sharp, even at f2.8 my Contax 90mm performs better than my 70-200 at f8.0 in the corners).

Just ordered a second hand 200mm Minolta MC f4.0, but maybe better legacy lenses in the wild J

 Thanks, great work, will get a 80mm Mamiya ASAP !!!

[Gilgenberg]

i have also also a Sekor 150mm 3.5 very good lens, but my minolta MD 135mm 2.8 (4 lenses in 4 groups) is  better 

 

yes i think the newer "N" version of the sekor 80mm has better coating and there is a 1.9 version but i think it´s weight is double

 

IMOH there is no need for 1.9

 

sharpness of the sekor is awesome:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gilgenberg/25598118524/in/dateposted/

 

and focusing is a dream with a lens in good shape

 

P.S. the MC 200mm f4  is brilliant!

[nomad]

Tested a Minolta 200mm f4 against an Olympus 200mm f4 and the Minolta won…

[Gilgenberg]

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i have to ad a information about using the Mamiya sekor 80mm on Sony A7 Body´s 

 

As the Mamiya is a Mediumformat lens, there are lots of reflections inside the Adapter and so reflection are coming to the sensor.

 

So i have added a velour tube inside the adapter to absorb the reflections. 

 

This method is very effective!

[Gilgenberg]

so i have to withdraw my statement about the Mamiya sekor 150mm 3.5

 

it is sharper at F8 than the Minolta MD 135m and has more resolution and less CA

 

corner at F8 are much better...so it is also a great lens if you look for sharpness through the hole frame

[EDBR]

Hello back again, was on the move...

Regarding 80mm and 135mm Mamiya

The 80mm is rather behaving as a 50mm and the 135 around 85mm right ?

[nomad]

No. A 80mm is a 80mm is a 80mm– and so forth.

[nomad]

Good news about the Techart adapter for Contax G: it works really well on the A7R II. So, it seems to be optimized for that AF and doesn't like the weaker AF of my former A7R.

[Golem]

DSC04556.jpg

.............

 

As the Mamiya is a Mediumformat lens, there are lots of reflections inside

the Adapter and so reflection are coming to the sensor.

 

So i have added a velour tube inside the adapter to absorb the reflections. 

 

This method is very effective!

  

Velour lining is a source of dust. To eliminate the light shining  

on the walls inside the adapter, you use a lens shade. That's

what lens shades are for. And even if the velour lining were not

a dust bank, adding a lens shade is still worthwhile. It was very

worthwhile when typical cameras had a tapered bellows, which

functionally does the job that you expect the velour to do, and

does it much better ... and yet lens shades were universal.  

  

BTW, if you can find some textured black rubber in thin sheet

form [typically used a grippy covering material] replace all that

dust grabbing velour with textured black rubber even if you'd

rather avoid lens shades.