Air Ministry [Ross Xpress] 5 Inch f4 More Samples - Part II

This is the second part of the sample pictures from the cheap but wonderful Air Ministry (A M) 5 inch f4. All taken with the NEX-6 and the lens mounted on the converted Vivitar 2X Focusing Teleconverter.

Air Ministry 8 Inch f5.6

The Air Ministry 8 Inch f5.6 is a much larger lens than the 5 Inch f4. Many believe this lens was made by Dallmeyer, but there is no proof of that, unfortunately. Both of these lenses have a brass housing and therefore very heavy. The 8 inch lens is roughly equivalent to 200mm and it needs a very long tube. As with the 5 inch f4 lens, it's relatively easy to put a filter ring on the rear of the lens, and then just add extention tubes. The minimum focus distance is quite long, and I decided to use two focus helicoids, which would allow me to do focus much closer than otherwise possible. As you can see on the second picture below, it looks very ugly on the 5D Mark II, and even uglier when the lens hood was mounted, but I really don't care about the cosmetics. I was more eager to see what lens could do.

I shot about 150 pictures with this lens in pretty much the same setting, so I didn't have a variety of shots. It's very sharp wide open, but contrast seems low, which is normal with this kind of lens. I expected worse, actually, because this lens has more haze than the 5 inch f4. Even with a long hood, most pictures still exhibits some haze, but it cleans up quite easily in post, as you can see in the sample pictures below. I much prefer the rendering style of the 5 inch f4 than this one, but it's by no means very bad. Besides, I haven't used this lens too much yet, so I shouldn't really draw any conclusions until it see more use. It's definitely worth the time it took to put it together, and the very low cost. Ugliness aside, it has potential inside.

Air Ministry 8 Inch F5.6 with filter ring JB-Welded on. Click for larger.

Mounted on two helicoids and 5D Mark II. Click for larger.

Bokeh #1 - Canon 5D Mark II & Air Ministry 8 Inch f5.6. Click for larger.

Bokeh #1 - Canon 5D Mark II & Air Ministry 8 Inch f5.6.

Bokeh #3 - Canon 5D Mark II & Air Ministry 8 Inch f5.6.

Air Ministry [Ross Xpress] 5 Inch f4 Lens - Sample Photos

Today was my vacation day before I start working at the new job tomorrow. So I spent some time and got the Air Ministry (Ross Xpress) 5 Inch f4 mounted on the helicoid and the 5D Mark II. Since the focal length is long at about 120mm, there is no trouble using it on the full frame camera like the Canon 5D Mark II. The rear mount of the lens is just slightly smaller than 55mm, and I was able to JB-Weld the 55mm filter ring to the rear and then mounted it on the helicoid. Very easy to do.

Despite slight haze inside the lens, I didn't have the hazy problem I thought I would, thanks to the very long and effective lens hood I used, which measured at 11cm, almost as long as the focal length of the lens. Like many old classic lenses, this one does not have high contrast at larger apertures, but is very sharp at full aperture. It's definitely usable at f4. I am quite taken by the nice rendering of the pictures, but what makes this lens special is the history behind it.

Lenses like this one were used for aerial reconnaissance in World War II by the British Air Force (Air Ministry). Just imagine for a moment, that this very lens might have been used to photography the enemy and provided intel for the allies, and is very likely part of the significant history as we know it. On the other hand, what history does your auto focus lens have? Not much, I think.

Air Ministry [Ross Xpress] 5 Inch f4 on helicoid. Taken with 5D II & Tamron 90mm f2.8. Click for larger.

The Imperfect Tulip - Canon 5D Mark II & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4. Click for larger.

Bokeh - Canon 5D Mark II & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4. Click for larger.

Bokeh 2 - Canon 5D Mark II & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4. Click for larger.

The silver lining - Canon 5D Mark II & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4. Shot through windshield.