The Guitar Player and His Fan

Faithful Listener -- NEX-5N & Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9 M42

This guitarist has been playing at the Distillery District for a number of years.  I don't think he does it for money.  I think he just likes player there for his own and other's enjoyment.  I first saw him in 2009 and took a picture of him with my 1D III and Carl Zeiss Contax 60mm f2.8 Makro.  He plays beautiful music.

The Three Brewers

The 3 Brewers -- NEX-5 & Meyer-Optik Primoplan 58mm f1.9. 

The best thing about working downtown, is that there are so many photo opportunities.  I could take a walk in my lunch hours, and come back with at least a couple of view-able images.  I ventured out further than normal this afternoon, to Dundas Square.  Very busy place.  A transformation that's much more lively than those old run-downs stores at the corner of Yonge & Dundas a decade ago.  Very good move on the part of the government to revitalize downtown Toronto.

Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Primoplan 58mm f1.9 M42 Mount

My first Meyer-Optik lens was 50mm f2.8 Domiplan with a Tessar design. It didn't have a manual A/V switch and I didn't have an adpater that worked with it, so never really used it. Then at the extreme end, I got a monstrous Meyer-Optik 400mm f5.5 Telemegor, which I used a few times and enjoy its unique qualities. In the previous camera shows, I got a couple of Primoplan 58mm f1.9 V in M42 mount.

From what I can tell, the Primoplan 58mm f1.9 seems to be well liked by many. Not the most common lens in the used market, but definitely not rare or even hard to find. These lenses have some common problems.

One is the coating. If you clean your lens with lens paper or fiber cloth, and do it hard enough, the coating will come off. It could also come off by itself. One of my Primoplans suffers from the coating problem.

The other is dust inside lens. This is not particular to this lens, but is common to all old lenses. In most cases, some dust does not affect the image quality, unless there is a layer of very fine dust that make the lens look hazy. This haze will reduce sharpness, contrast and flare resistance. The lens needs to be cleaned if it has a hazy coating.

Yet one more common issue is stiff focusing. This happens when the grease that lubricates the focusing mechanism has dried up, making focusing stiff, or rough and uneven. For this, you need to take the lens apart and clean/re-lube it.

There is much to like about the Primoplan. Like the 400mm f5.5 Telemegor, it has a painterly effect on pictures at wide apertures. It's soft and sharp at the same time. I would imagine this lens is perfect for portraiture. Got to try it later. The bokeh is different from most lenses I have used. Many also like the swirling effect when pictures are shot wide open.

The sad fact is that this lens does not work at infinity with the 5D. The butt hits the 5D's mirror at infinity, but works fine on non-full frame bodies.

In all, a very inexpensive (around $25) lens that offers some unique qualities. Be sure not to pass on it if you see one at low price. You won't be disappointed. Sure, it's not a lens for all occasions, and flare could be a big problem, but if you avoid its short comings, and use it where it shines, there could be pleasant surprises to be had.

Note. This lens also comes in Exakta mount.


Note interesting bokeh. Shot wide open -- Canon Digital Rebel 550D & Meyer-Optik 58mm f1.9 V. Embiggen.


Art? Sorry but I think it's disgusting -- Rebel 550D (T2i) & Meyer-Optik 58mm f1.9. Embiggen.


More "art" -- Canon Digital Rebel 550D (T2i) & Meyer-Optik 58mm f1.9.