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[Travis Butler]

Main thing I was hoping to do today (yay having energy!) was test out a Konica Hexanon 135/3.2 I picked up a few weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to shoot with yet. It's supposed to be the best of Konica's 135mm lenses and something kinda special... we'll see!


20250308-SDIM3153 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, Konica Hexanon 135/3.2

...and it has my attention. This one's a little soft, which I put down to a combo of low-light and having trouble holding it steady on the fp in vertical orientation; it's just a little too big and heavy to be comfortable on the fp. But the tonality is everything I love in a lens; it captures all the subtle variations in the gloss on the helmet.


20250308-SDIM3199 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Another one softer than I'd like, but I like the color. The Hexanon 28/3.5 for comparison:


20250308-SDIM3174 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250308-SDIM3195 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

And it can be pretty sharp when I manage to hold it steady.

Take it outside where there's good lighting and a faster shutter speed, and it can be quite crisp, even at 100%:


20250308-SDIM3255 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250308-SDIM3259 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

So yeah, think this one has promise.

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

Main thing I was hoping to do today (yay having energy!) was test out a Konica Hexanon 135/3.2 I picked up a few weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to shoot with yet. It's supposed to be the best of Konica's 135mm lenses and something kinda special... we'll see!

View attachment 8838
20250308-SDIM3153 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, Konica Hexanon 135/3.2

...and it has my attention. This one's a little soft, which I put down to a combo of low-light and having trouble holding it steady on the fp in vertical orientation; it's just a little too big and heavy to be comfortable on the fp. But the tonality is everything I love in a lens; it captures all the subtle variations in the gloss on the helmet.

View attachment 8839
20250308-SDIM3199 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Another one softer than I'd like, but I like the color. The Hexanon 28/3.5 for comparison:

View attachment 8843
20250308-SDIM3174 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

View attachment 8840
20250308-SDIM3195 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

And it can be pretty sharp when I manage to hold it steady.

Take it outside where there's good lighting and a faster shutter speed, and it can be quite crisp, even at 100%:

View attachment 8841
20250308-SDIM3255 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

View attachment 8842
20250308-SDIM3259 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

So yeah, think this one has promise.

Since I got the 40mm f/1.8 Hexanon (and therefore the AR to L adapter for it) I've had more interest in Konica lenses and 135mms are probably the most common after the 50/1.7s and 28/3.5. I haven't gotten around to looking into which are better or worse though so good to know about this f/3.2. Is there only one 135/3.2 or are there different versions?

* * * * * *​

In the interests of properly trying out the Pentax A 28mm f/2.0 I picked up in mint condition last year I took it to the area around my dentist, which is a really good area for pictures of architecture, new and also going back to the 1960s and 1970s. The weather was grim, which is perfect for urban photography.


Sticker by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Concourse by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Urban blossom by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Keep the flowers behind concrete by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Weed by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

Since I got the 40mm f/1.8 Hexanon (and therefore the AR to L adapter for it) I've had more interest in Konica lenses and 135mms are probably the most common after the 50/1.7s and 28/3.5. I haven't gotten around to looking into which are better or worse though so good to know about this f/3.2. Is there only one 135/3.2 or are there different versions?

The best references I’ve found on Hexanons are http://www.buhla.de/Foto/Konica/eHexanonHaupt.html and http://www.konicafiles.com/ - according to buhla.de, there’s three versions, but all appear to share the same optical formula.

I also like the 65-135/4, despite it being fairly long; it’s not too heavy, and there’s something I just like about the rendering. The 28/3.5 I used above is another one I like a lot, and the newer versions are fairly small - though not as small as the 40/1.8 - and fairly common last I checked. The 57/1.4 isn’t bad if you want a more vintage rendering, though it’s a bit bulky; it’s supposed to be particularly good for b&w and IR. And I love the 100/2.8 - it was the first Hexanon I ever tried - although I don’t shoot at that length very often.

In the interests of properly trying out the Pentax A 28mm f/2.0 I picked up in mint condition last year I took it to the area around my dentist, which is a really good area for pictures of architecture, new and also going back to the 1960s and 1970s. The weather was grim, which is perfect for urban photography.

View attachment 8916
Weed by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

I’m usually not one for b&w or industrial settings, but I really like this one.

 

[Travis Butler]

And here's some more with the Hexanon 28/3.5:


20250308-SDIM3217 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, Konica Hexanon 28/3.5 (last 7-element version, which frankly I like better than the earlier 7-element version I had for a while - and the 5-element version is no slouch either.)


20250308-SDIM3219 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250308-SDIM3223 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The National World War I Museum has reworked its section on hospitals and medical treatment since my last visit; I think the new displays are much more effective at displaying the horrors of the war.


20250308-SDIM3234 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250308-SDIM3235 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

And a couple from Liberty Memorial, the outside of the museum, with the Hexanon 40/1.8:


20250308-SDIM3269 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250308-SDIM3275 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

Since I got the 40mm f/1.8 Hexanon (and therefore the AR to L adapter for it) I've had more interest in Konica lenses and 135mms are probably the most common after the 50/1.7s and 28/3.5. I haven't gotten around to looking into which are better or worse though so good to know about this f/3.2. Is there only one 135/3.2 or are there different versions?

​

...well.

In the department of 'it never rains but it pours'... are you interested in the 135/3.2? I just found another copy, in a bit better condition than this one, for a very good price, so I grabbed it. Would you be interested in this copy?

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

...well.

In the department of 'it never rains but it pours'... are you interested in the 135/3.2? I just found another copy, in a bit better condition than this one, for a very good price, so I grabbed it. Would you be interested in this copy?

I'm very tempted. I know I shouldn't - I have a bargain Auto Revuenon 135/2.8 waiting to be picked up at the post office as I type, and the superb Pentax K 135/2.5 and very good Pentax M 120/2.8 - and it's not even a focal length I use very often. Send me a PM with where you're based and how much you're looking for and I will let you know.

On the subject of Hexanons, I had the 50/1.7 on the S5 this morning for some funky bokeh with the last gasp of the cherry blossom


Konica cherry blossom bokeh by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Konica cherry blossom bokeh II by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

I forgot to mention, the other day I saw a Konica 35-105mm f/2.8 for sale for €100. I had never heard of it so had a quick look and it seems quite rare, big and heavy but optically better than other fast zooms of the day. I should maybe have bought it as it seems they go for much more than that usually but I'm hesitant to buy to sell with lenses I'm not familiar with. It might have been fun to use but if it's as heavy and tricky to use as they say then it likely would have sat on the shelf if I'd kept it.

 

[Travis Butler]

I forgot to mention, the other day I saw a Konica 35-105mm f/2.8 for sale for €100. I had never heard of it so had a quick look and it seems quite rare, big and heavy but optically better than other fast zooms of the day. I should maybe have bought it as it seems they go for much more than that usually but I'm hesitant to buy to sell with lenses I'm not familiar with. It might have been fun to use but if it's as heavy and tricky to use as they say then it likely would have sat on the shelf if I'd kept it.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

I already had 2 of the 3 35-70s Konica put out, the constant f/4 and the late plastic fantastic 3.5-4.5 Macro; according to those sites, the third, the constant f/3.5, was the best of the batch, so I bought a full kit - a camera, 50/1.4, and 28/3.5 in a nice metal case that unfortunately had disintegrating foam - just to get one at a local estate sale.

Of course, when I actually went out to shoot with it, it was nothing special, and indeed a step below the other two. ^^;; Not sure if I got a bad copy or what.

(Oh, and also got another copy of the 65-135 f/4 with the kit; that one I have no regrets for, I love the lens and don’t mind having a backup copy!)

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

Some photos with the Auto Revuenon 135mm f/2.8 in K-mount that I got yesterday. It's a bit glowy wide open but that's completely gone by f/4 so that's where I used it for these tests.


Last of the cherry blossom by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

Last of the cherry blossom II by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Last of the cherry blossom III by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Signs of spring by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Signs of spring II by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Signs of spring III by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

This last one is a crop to 25% of the frame


Green bird by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

Some more with the Hexanon 135/3.2. Most of them aren't much better than test pics, the wind was fairly gusty, but perhaps of interest.


20250330-P1022654 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Lumix S5, Hexanon 135/3.2

The lens does handle better on the S5, but it still got tiring (at least in my current condition) to aim up for long periods of time.


20250330-P1022661 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250330-P1022658 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250330-P1022667 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

MFD is about a meter, which can be a bit problematic.


20250330-P1022665 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Though it's reasonably sharp at longer distances...


20250330-P1022672 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

...and at infinity.

 

[Travis Butler]

The Helios-44 is one of the minor celebrities of the adapted lens world, known for being relatively easy to find, relatively sharp when stopped down, and having a lot of character (such as swirly bokeh) when opened up.

The basic lens is a copy of the Zeiss Biotar design, with a bit of interesting history behind it. The original Zeiss factory was in Jena, in what became the Soviet-occupied area of East Germany. After the war, the Soviets took a whole lot of stuff out of the Jena factory - tooling, parts, glass blanks, etc. - with them back to the Soviet Union, and used it to set up their own production lines. So in a sense, they aren't just copies - at the start, they were built with the original Zeiss tooling and designs.

And the Soviets produced the heck out of that design! There are many different versions of the Helios-44, too many to cover here; the two main ones I have are the 44-2 (an early version using a preset aperture mechanism) and the 44-M4 (probably the most mainstream of the later versions). Today I was shooting with the 44-2, which from what I've heard has some of the strongest swirl out of the herd:


20250405-SDIM3505 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, Helios-44-2

You can see some of the swirl here... unfortunately, it was fairly windy today, and the pic with the best swirl is also one where the wind blew my main target out of the in-focus zone.

 

[Nevyn72]

I also have the Helios 44-2. I haven't used it much but it can make great photographs. Perhaps I should try it again.

See the whirling bokeh also on this picture

 

[Travis Butler]

I also have the Helios 44-2. I haven't used it much but it can make great photographs. Perhaps I should try it again.

See the whirling bokeh also on this picture
View attachment 10341

The very definition of puppy-dog eyes...

 

[Travis Butler]

So... if there's a question about how sharp legacy lenses get...


20240903-SDIM2551 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Sigma fp, Auto-Yashinon 50/1.4

...how about 'sharp enough for moire effects'?

• 1/800 sec
• Pattern
• ISO 100

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

I took these at the end of January and now I can't be sure which lens I used... I think it was the Pentax M 50/1.4.


Lamp by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Garden stuff by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

The Vivitar (Cosina) 100/3.5 Macro (49mm) is one of several lenses to receive the 'plastic fantastic' moniker; known for having a cheap plastic body but good optics. So when I saw one for cheap, I grabbed it to give it a try. The first part is definitely true; lightweight plastic bordering on flimsy, so-so focusing action and even the occasional squeal as the threads bind a bit. How about the second half?

As the pics in the April thread demonstrate, it does pretty darn well at normal photo distances, easily capturing the reflective layer texturing on the Trail Closed sign. At macro distances, it was a bit tricky to shoot handheld, but doesn't do too badly:


20250420-SDIM3713 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250420-SDIM3718 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20250420-SDIM3720 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

There can be a distinct texture to the bokeh in some situations, which you may or may not care for.


20250420-SDIM3725 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Overall, though, it doesn't do too badly. And one big advantage to the plastic construction - it's one of the few macro lenses I have that balances well on the Sigma fp, which is a nice thing to have.

 

[Jonathan-Mac]

These were taken on the Oban to Mull ferry with the Pentax M 80-200mm f/4.5


Duart castle by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Rolleiflex by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr