High Shutter Speed Anomalies in Sony A7 and NEX-6 with Manual Focus Lenses

Update: As Mike pointed out, this phenomenon is caused by the first curtain sync being enabled. Thanks Mike!

The first time I took a picture with the NEX-6 and Soligor 80-200mm lens that  resulted in a picture with one side darker than the other, I didn't pay much attention.  In fact, I thought it was the lens.  Over time, this happened infrequently and I didn't really want to investigate more.  But when this happened with the Sony A7, I thought this must have something to do with the camera.

Essentially, when pictures taken at high shutter speed, starting at 1/3200s, you can see that one side of the picture is darker than the other.  As the shutter speed goes up, the severity of the darkness gets worse.  This is more apparent on vertical shots and shots with a lot of white content.  What is happening is similar to using the flash with a shutter speed faster than its rated sync speed; the curtain does not close fast enough and thus leave a portion screen darker than the rest.

Curiously, this does not seem to happen with auto focus lenses from Sony, at least not noticeable.  With the Zeiss 35mm f2.8ZA at 1/6400s, there is very little difference across the frame, and with the Sony 50mm f1.8 on the A7 at 1/8000s in crop-mode, there is also no apparent differences.  So, this seems to be an issue with just manual focus lenses.  It's disappointing, but nothing much you can do.

Sample picture; note dark left side. Taken with Leitz Hektor 120mm f2.5 Projection lens at 1/8000s.

Takumar SMC 55mm f1.8 Revisited

The Pentax Takumar 55mm f1.8 M42 lens is probably one of the most common lens you can buy in M42 mount. It has a sister lens, the 55mm f2, which is essentially the same lens, but with the aperture intentionally set to maximum of f2, and marketed as a lower priced lens. There are many versions of this lens. The last version the SMC 55mm f1.8 with rubber on the focusing ring, and the previous version is the Super-Multi-Coated 55mm f1.8 with all metal construction. I believe these two versions are identical with the exception of the rubber ring. The exists non multi-coated versions as well, usually called Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8, and I could be wrong, but there may be another version called Auto-Takumar 55mm f1.8.

Last version of the Takumar 55mm f1.8. Note rubber skin on the focusing ring. Click for larger.

Let me say this: if you are just starting to play with manual focus lens, and you don't use a mirrorless camera or a Nikon, buy the SMC 55mm f1.8 lens, instead of a cheaper Minolta or Canon FD equivalent. The Takumars are beautifully built, very small, optically brilliant, and focuses like no other in its class.

Other than a bit "slow" with the maximum aperture of f1.8, I see very little fault with this lens. It's sharp, has good bokeh, and still relatively cheap. Even if you don't like it, when you sell it later, you will not likely lose money. Trust me, if properly kept, this lens will last many decades more.

Caddy - Canon 5D Mark II & SMC Takumar 55mm f1.8 @ f4. Click for larger.

Da Shoe - Canon 5D Mark II & SMC Takumar 55mm f1.8 @ f1.8

Graffiti - Canon 5D Mark II & SMC Takumar 55mm f1.8

An Exakta to Canon EOS Adapter that Allows Infinity Focus

I feel weird to write about an adapter that has no name, because if you want to buy one, I can't tell you want brand it is. But this one looks very different than most other EXA to EOS adapters. Do a search on eBay and you should find one. Mine cost $18USD with free shipping from Hong Kong.

I had two Exakta to EOS adapters which I bought few years ago, and both of them could not make the lenses focus to infinity, despite what the seller claimed. I decided to give it another try when I saw an ultra-thin adapter, which arrived very promptly from Hong Kong few days ago after I bought it from eBay. Few of of my Exakta mount lenses have shutter button arm on the lens and the arm prevents the lens from mounting flat on the adapter. Some lenses with longer arms, like the Topcor 10cm f2.8 and the 5.8cm f1.8, can not be mounted on the Canon DSLRs at all. What a pity. For those with shorter arms, like the Pancolar 50mm f2 and the Flegtogon 35mm f2.8, I had to file the raised portion on the arm to mount the lens on the adapter; see picture #3.

It turns out that the new adapter can in fact focus the lenses to infinity, but at a cost. It's very thin and mounts more towards the mirror box than other EXA-EOS adapters, and on the 5D Mark II, it catches the mirror and you can't use it with the optical view finder. I must un-mount the lens/adapter, turn on live-view, flip up the mirror and then mount the lens/adapter. When the mirror is disengaged, it will just rest on the rear of the adapter and that should be OK. Whenever I need to take pictures, I will need to flip the mirror up and use it like a mirrorless camera without a viewfinder.

The new adapter mounts VERY tightly to the lens. Because it's so thin, you can't mount it without using a rag or towel to cushion the edge, so that it won't cut you as you apply force. Unlike most adapters, the locking mechanism is not spring loaded. This means you have to keep an eye on the locking pin as you mount the lens and when the locking pin on the lens is at the center of the notch on the locking mechanism of the adapter, you have to push it down to lock it; see picture #4 below. To un-mount the lens, you would have to manually flip up the locking mechanism to unlock, and then un-mount the lens.

Here is the good news if you don't use a 5D/5D II. This adapter works with my 20D (1.6x), and 1D Mark III (1.3x). The mirror on these two cameras did not hit the lens/adapter even at infinity focus. I would assume all crop-sensor Canon are OK, and possibly the 1Ds series of full frame bodies are also fine. So, perhaps, only the 5D/5D II (don't know about the 5D III) have problems. Also, the adapter is quite precise. If you set the lens to infinity, it's in focus. This means you don't have to check focus if you are going take pictures far away; just set the lens to infinity and you know it will be in focus.

New adapter on left, old adapter on right. Notice the old (silver) one is larger, which is not good as it will interfere more with the arm on the lens.

Thickness test - new one is 0.68mm, old one is 1.04mm. Anything thicker than 0.7mm will not attain infinity focus.

The raised portion on the arm has to be filed flat in order for the adapter to mount flush.

Mounted - Note the manual locking/unlocking mechanism.

The Pain of Adapting Lenses on Canon Full Frame Cameras - Part II

In Part I of this two part series, we looked at the general problems facing the use of manual focus lenses on Canon full frame cameras. This time, we will look at some specific examples.

Generally, the longer the flange distance of a lens, the fewer issues it will have with the camera's reflex mirror.  M42, Nikon, OM, Leica and Contax lenses usually have no problems with a few exceptions, usually with wide angle lenses. For those lenses affected, much has to do with the way the lens was designed. But on the 5D Mark II (and probably the 5D Classic as well), some of the lenses that worked on full frame Canon 1Ds and 1.3x Canon 1D III don't work with the 5D. Below are some of the lenses I have tried and don't work with 5D/5D II at infinity:

M42: Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8, Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9, Takumar 50mm f1.4, and quite a few others.

Yashica/Contax: S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro, Distagon 35mm f2.8

Rollei QBM: Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.5 HFT - won't focus to infinity and hits mirror when lens is turned to infinity focus. I think the Rollei 50mm f1.8 won't work either.

Exakta: On the adapter that can't focus to infinity, most lenses seem to work fine, but with the new adapter I got (I will have a separate post for this), the adapter itself will hit the mirror on the 5D II. It only works with Live View.

There is a wealth of information on the net regarding lens compatibilities. I have only listed a small selection of the lenses that I have tried that don't work on full frame Canon 5D/5D II. The best way to find out, before buying lenses for your 5D/5D II, is bring your own adapter/camera to try it, if possible.

If you are using the old 5D Classic, there isn't a lot of options to go around this, other than shaving part of the reflex mirror. With the 5D II/III, you can avoid this problem by using Live-View. It's not a perfect solution, but works. I shot with the Exakta mount Pancolar 50mm f2 yesterday, and it was manageable. I will have another post about the Pancolar 50mm f2 on the 5D II in the near future.

Sweet and delicious Bokeh - Canon 5D Mark II & Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f2 @ f2

Sunset at Port of Toronto

We have been having a lot of rain the last few days, but yesterday evening we saw a beautiful sunset, which is a treat.  More rain is expected in the next few days, thanks to Hurricane Sandy.

Sunset at Port of Toronto - NEX-5N & Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5. Click for larger.

Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f1.9 DKL - Set #2

Here is another set of pictures taken with the Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f1.9 lens.  I am enamored of this beautiful lens.  It has the good looks and delivers the picture quality.  A gem among DKL mount lenses.

Lady with red hair - NEX-5N & Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f1.9 DKL. Click for larger.

Street Crossing - NEX-5N & Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f1.9 DKL. 

Smoke break - NEX-5N & Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f1.9 DKL. 

Flowers - NEX-5N & Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f1.9 DKL.

Pentacon 100mm f2.8 Sample Picture

When I bought this lens at the camera show, I saw no action on the aperture, so I assumed the blades were stuck.  Later I disassembled the lens and found that there were no blades inside!  There are also some haze inside the elements, but for $20, I thought I would give it a shot and perhaps it can be cleaned/repaired.  But, without aperture blades, there isn't much can be done unless I can find the missing parts.

This lens should be the same lens as the Meyer-Optik Trioplan 100mm f2.8.

Anyways, took some shots with it today and sure enough, most of the pictures came out hazy, especially those shot against strong lights.  But, some level/contrast adjustments brings back some usable pictures.  But I guess I will be stuck with shooting at open apertures for a while.  Even at f2.8, the lens is very usable and quite sharp.  But the lens can not see any side light or strong lights, or it will become hazy.  I think a functional and clean version of this lens would be quite a nice lens to shoot with.

Crab Apples - Sony NEX-5N & Pentacon 100mm f2.8 M42 Mount

Choosing a 50mm Manual Focus Lens

The sound gallery asked me if I were looking for my first 50mm manual focus lens, which one I would choose.  This seemingly easy question is actually tough to answer.

Back in the 70s and 80s, when an SRL was purchased, it invariably came with a 50mm lens.  Some will choose a 50mm f1.4, as an upgrade to the f1.7/1.8/1.9/2.0 lens that normally would come with the camera.  There is a good reason for this.  The 50mm lens has a field of view similar to that of the human eye vision.  It is much easier to compose and use than say, a 28mm wide angle, not to mention the usually fast aperture, which made it usable even in very dim lights.  In other words, the 50mm lens is a very versatile lens.  This hold true today.

But which 50mm lens would one get?  I don't think anyone can answer that question, because there are literally hundreds of different ones made by so many manufacturers, and they cost anywhere from five to thousands of dollars.  For NEX users, the choice is even broader, simply because you can mount more lenses on it than any other interchangeable lens cameras out there.  

Even though I can't recommend a specific 50mm lens, if this is the first time you are trying out a manual focus lens on digital camera, I would suggest starting with something cheap.  Cheap in price, but not in performance. This allows you to try it and see how you like focusing manually.  Really, manual focus lenses is not for everyone.

What manual focus lenses are still cheap in price?  My favourites are Canon FD and Minolta SR/MD mount lenses.  Often the Canon FD 50mm f1.8 can be had for around $10.  I tried a New FD version and it was optically excellent.  Optically equivalent to the EF 50mm f1.8 II, if not better.  The other good choice is the Minolta Rokkor 50mm f1.7.  This lens is often overlooked but optically it compares well with the modern equivalent.  Other low price but good chooses are lenses from Konica KR, Olympus OM, and of course the supremely well made Pentax Takumars. If you don't like stuff made in the east, there are low priced Pentacons, Meyer-Optiks, Carl Zeiss you can also try, mostly in M42 mount.

The danger here is that once you tried manual focus lenses, you may get hooked and even addicted.  Yours truly is a deeply addicted 50mm ( specifically 40-60mm) lens user.  No amount of auto focus lenses treatments has any effect on the condition.  Even extreme treatments with the L formulation did not help much.  Below is a snapshot of the a collection taken two years ago.

Fabulous Fifties. Click to see larger.

Accident at Spadina & Queen

Minor accident this morning at the Spadina & Queen intersection.  Two cars kissed each other.  I didn't see any damages to the cars, but one of the drivers seemed either in shock, or was injured.  The driver was not able to get out of the car, and consequently fire trucks and ambulance were called in.  Firefighters helped the driver out of the seat and into the ambulance.  All was fine, luckily.

Accident Scene -- G1 & Sicor 23mm f3.5.

Helping Hands -- G1 & Voigtlander Skopar 8.3cm f4.5.

Yesterday the battery charge for the Panasonic G1 came.  Very fast delivery from the states, considering it's a holiday season and usually a busy time for the post office.  As half expected, the battery does not work with the G1, which has the firm version 1.3 installed.  Third party batteries no longer works on the G1 after firmware version 1.3.  Another greedy act by the Panasonic.  I am a bit pissed off because the seller did not indicate that the battery does not work with new firmware on the G1, and the fact that Panasonic disable third party battery support.

The good news is that the charger works wonderfully.  Although it seems to charge a bit slower than the original Panasonic battery charger.  Not a big deal.  Charged up the drained battery and tried a new toy I got -- the unusual Minolta MD mount Sicor 23mm f3.5.  Yes, it's not a typo.  It's 23mm.  I believe Soligor also sold one of these lenses under their name.

From the dozen or so pictures I have taken, the lens itself seems to perform as well as most of the wide angle lenses from the 80s, at least in the center of the image circle.  Can't conclude about the image quality or another in that matter about the lens, with only one day of use.  I am sure I will use it a bit more and have an update on it.