Vivitar 85/1.8: Samples [1] - FF

Photos taken with the Sony a7c (FF, 24MP) and the Vivitar 85/1.8 at f/1.8.

See also related notes:

• Vivitar 85/1.8: дополнительная информация (2022-05-08)

Image albums:

• Vivitar 85/1.8

Staeble-Telexon 135/3.8 (M39x1/44): The lens for the Braun Super Paxette II

I bought a broken Braun Super Paxette II BL camera, but the purpose of the purchase was the four lenses that came with the camera. One of them is the Staeble-Telexon 1:3,8/135.

This is a lens from the 1960s.

As expected, the Telexon has the M39x1 mount with the flange focal distance of 44mm, it is indeed for a Braun camera. And it has a rangefinder coupling.

The minimum focusing distance is quite long, just a bit less than 3m.

The optical design of the lens is known. It has 4 elements.

And two front elements are cemented.

The optical design is similar to the Wrayflex Lustrar 90/4:

The aperture has 10 blades:

The aperture ring has click stops at f/3.8, f/5,6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f22.

The filter thread is 52mm, it is easy to find a suitable cap. And while I am used to very compact Staeble lenses (35mm, 85mm), this Telexon is quite long.

The Telexon 135/3.8 (on the right) and the Pentax M 135/3.5 (on the left):

Unfortunately, this copy of the Telexon is not in good condition. There was fungus on the optical elements. I removed the fungus, but its imprint is still visible. Maybe the lens coating is damaged or the fungus has even etched itself into the glass. However, that doesn't stop me from using the lens.

See also related notes:

• Staeble-Telexon 135/3.8: Samples [2] - FF - f/3.8 (2025-04-09)
• Meyer-Optik Helioplan 40/4.5 (M42x1/45.5): Simple dialyte lens (2024-05-09)
• Steinheil Quinon 50/2 (M39x1/44): "Planar" version (2024-05-02)
• Staeble-Lineogon 35/3.5 (M39x1/44): Retrofocus evolution of a triplet (2024-04-27)
• Staeble-Telexon 135/3.8: Samples [1] - FF (2024-04-01)

Image albums:

• Pentax M 135/3.5
• Staeble-Telexon 135/3.8
• Staeble-Telexon E 85/5.6

K&F Concept Pro: Nikon F - Sony FE/E adapter

Fotga adapters are pretty good for the money, but the Fotga Nikon F - Sony FE/E adapter has lens play due to a poor locking mechanism. And the adapter length is too short, based on using my two Nikon F lenses, both of which focus beyond infinity.

I thought about another non-Fotga adapter, but they were too expensive. But by chance I bought a used Nikon F - Sony FE/E adapter (made by K&F Concept) for a good price.

It is a simple adapter from the "Pro" series.

The adapter has no aperture control (neither does the Fotga adapter). However, the mentioned lenses don't need it and don't provide it.

The Fotga adapter (on the left) and the K&F adapter (on the right):

The most important thing is that the length of the K&F adapter is correct. I checked the Vivitar 85/1.8 lens and now it has the hard stop focusing at infinity. This means that the KIWIFOTOS LMA-NK_NX adapter (for Samsung NX) was too long and the Fotga adapter (for Sony FE/E) was too short (as I suspected).

Meanwhile, the Mitakon [Zhongyi] Creator 85/2 still focuses beyond infinity, apparently the lens is not properly adjusted at the factory. I have tried to find a way to adjust the focus myself, but have not yet found it.

See also related notes:

• Mitakon Creator 85/2 II: Pentax K mount (2025-07-07)
• Mitakon Creator 85/2 II vs Vivitar 85/1.8 (2023-04-11)

Image albums:

• Lens accessories

Filtron OP621: Oil filter (still in use)

I still use Filtron OP621 and Blue Print ADK82102 oil filters for the M-series Suzuki engines (including the M13A in my Jimny Sierra).

But I prefer the OP621 between the two:

Simply because the oil filter wrench JTC 1114 (65mm/14) fits well.

See also related notes:

• Масляный фильтр Blue Print ADK82102 (2020-03-30)
• Масляный фильтр Filtron OP621 (2020-03-14)
• Съемник/ключ для масляного фильтра JTC 1114 (14 граней, 65 мм) (2015-03-27)

Image albums:

• Oil filter

Risespray 11/2.8 Fisheye: Samples [2] - FF

Photos taken with the Sony a7c (FF, 24MP) and the Risespray 11/2.8 Fisheye at f/2.8.

See also related notes:

• Risespray 11/2.8 Fisheye (for full-frame mirrorless cameras) (2023-08-14)

Image albums:

• Risespray 11/2.8 Fisheye

Olympus E-PL1: Malfunctions

My recently obtained Olympus E-PL1 has two malfunctions.

1. This is typical for old digital cameras (same thing as with my Samsung NX10 and NX2000). The time/date resets after a battery is removed from the E-PL1. This is very annoying because a battery should be removed to charge (with an external charger).

2. Another problem is typical for old Olympus. The in-body image stabilization (IBIS) is broken. It doesn't work. And there is the blinking red IS1 indicator on the screen.

However, the camera is still usable (as if IBIS was turned off ).

In general, I planned to use the E-PL1 with manual focus lenses, so IBIS might be more important for live view focusing (at high magnification) than for image capture.

See also related notes:

• Olympus E-PL1 shutter count (2024-06-03)

Image albums:

• Olympus E-PL1

Ricoh GR: "New" case (1+ year)

In the summer of 2022, I replaced my good old case (pouch bag) for the Ricoh GR with a "new", more handy and cheaper one. Yes, this "new" case is convenient to use, I  have made sure of that all the time. 

But it has an important disadvantage: its quality is not good.

For a year and a half, the case has been badly worn because a material it is made of is very cheap and poor.

On the other hand, the previous case (which I bought in 2014 for $15) is still in very good condition, with almost no signs of wear. But it's not as practical.

See also related notes:

• Yet another case for the Ricoh GR (2024-07-20)

Image albums:

• Ricoh GR

M42x1-M39x1 adapter (16.7mm)

I already have a modern M42x1-M39x1 adapter (M42x1 for a lens, M39x1 for a camera). This adapter is for non-standard lenses, it is thin/short (4.5mm). For example, I use it for a M40x1/44 lens.

But it is inconvenient to use standard M42x1/45.5 lenses with this thin adapter, because you should use an extension tube or something to compensate the flange focal length difference.

Obviously, there should be an adapter to mount M42x1/45.5 (SLR) lenses on M39x1/28.8 (rangefinder, without coupling, of course). But I never saw one until recently, when I bought one by chance.

Yes, it is for a M42x1 lens:

And for a M39x1 camera:

I don't know the origin of the adapter, if it is handmade or serial product. Its quality is good.

The most important thing is the length of 16.7mm (45.5-28.8). It allows direct mounting of M42x1 lenses without an extension tube.

This adapter (with the M39x1-FE adapter) on the right, the M42x1-FE adapter on the left:

Note that they are the same length.

And the Takumar 105/2.8 (II) mounted on the adapter (together with the M39x1-FE adapter).

The M42x1-M39x1 (4.5mm) adapter on the left, the M42x1-M39x1 (16.7mm) adapter on the right.

See also related notes:

• Leica M as universal mount (2024-08-01)
• Thread mount adapters for M39x1 (2024) (2024-06-12)
• Thread mount SLR lenses for M39x1 rangefinder cameras (2024-05-20)

Image albums:

• Lens accessories
• Takumar 105/2.8 (II)

Pentax DA L 18-55/3.5-5.6: Using on FF

My rather useless test of the Pentax DA L 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens (11 elements in 8 groups) on a full frame camera (Sony a7c). I was interested in determining the focal length at which vignetting becomes acceptable (this lens is designed for APS-C sensors with 1.5x crop factor).

Of course, the hood was removed. More precisely, the L version of the 18-55 lens doesn't come with a hood.

At 18mm: 

At 24mm:

At 28mm:

At 35mm:

At 45mm:

At 55mm:

So I consider the Pentax 18-55 to be usable from 28mm on a full frame camera. By the way, 18mm on an APS-C camera is also equivalent to 28mm.

See also related notes:

• Pentax DA L 18-55/3.5-5.6: 24mm on FF (vignetting and Flat-field) (2024-04-30)
• Pentax DA L 18-55/3.5-5.6: Samples [1] - FF (2024-04-13)

Image albums:

• Pentax DA 18-55/3.5-5.6

Pentax K 55/1.8: Samples [1] - FF

Photos taken with the Sony a7c (FF, 24MP) and the Pentax K 55/1.8 at f/1.8.

And sunstars at f/8-f/11:

See also related notes:

• Pentax K 55/1.8 vs Pentax A 50/1.7 (2023-10-07)

Image albums:

• Pentax K 55/1.8

Sony a7c: My experience with metering modes

For many years, I used multi-pattern (multi-zone) metering on digital cameras (Pentax, Samsung, Ricoh), often with negative exposure compensation (usually -0.3, -0.5, -0.7EV). The goal is to preserve highlights, while shadows can be recovered quite easily (and of course I only use raw files).

At first I used the Sony a7c in the same way: the "Multi" metering.

But then I switched to the "Entire Screen Avg." mode, hoping for 0EV compensation. However, in some conditions it was still necessary to use negative exposure compensation to save highlights.

And then I discovered the "Highlight" mode. And this mode is so aggressive in saving highlights, that I started using positive exposure compensation! Usually I choose +0.7EV. And that is enough for almost all typical conditions. I even turned off the "Zebra pattern" setting because it makes manual focusing more difficult and doesn't help much with this configuration.

See also related notes:

• Sony α7c (Alpha 7C, a7c) (2022-03-18)

Image albums:

• Sony a7c

Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5: Lens cap replacement

My Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5 lens did not have a front cap. It is a tiny lens, so it is difficult to find a suitable modern lens cap. 

Fortunately, a universal FH-32 cap I bought for the Victar lens fits.

It is not the ideal solution, but it is better than nothing.

See also related notes:

• Anastigmat Victar 50/2.9: Finding a cap (2024-01-17)
• Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5 (M39x1/44): Very rare wide-angle triplet (2023-10-05)

Image albums:

• Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5

Olympus E-PL1: Firmware upgrade

My Olympus E-PL1 had the stock firmware. I wanted to upgrade it, but unfortunately there is no official way to upgrade the firmware by copying a binary image to an SD card (unlike Pentax, Ricoh, Samsung, etc.). 

One site provides instructions and image links for an unofficial upgrade. But not for the E-PL1 camera (only for E-PL1s).

So I bought a cheap USB cable (CB-USB6/CB-USB5 replacement, not original) for $2.

Surprisingly, it works.

For the firmware upgrade, I used OM Workspace (on Windows 10) as recommended.

It successfully upgraded the E-PL1 body firmware from version 1.0 to version 1.3.

For the 14-42/3.5-5.6 lens, however, there is no upgrade.

See also related notes:

• Olympus E-PL1: Micro 4/3 mirrorless camera (from 2010) (2024-02-29)

Image albums:

• Olympus E-PL1

Film camera: Pentax K instead of M39x1

I bought two M39x1/28.8 rangefinder film cameras, and I was disappointed. The first (the Zorki-6) had a broken shutter. The second (the FED-2) had some internal damage. I returned both to the sellers.

Such cheap cameras are old and unreliable, and their sellers are incompetent or just plain lying. Meanwhile, good cameras are too expensive.

I decided that a M39x1/28.8 rangefinder film camera is not a good choice as a first camera to return to film photography (with modern expensive rolls of film). There are too many risks to spoil film.

Even though I do not like SLR cameras, a Pentax K-mount SLR film camera is a better choice. Especially since I have good Pentax K-mount lenses (28mm, 30mm, 35mm, 50mm, 55mm, 100mm, 135mm, 200mm, 500mm). Also M42x1 lenses can be mounted (with some limitations).

I would prefer a simple K-mount camera with manual film advance and manual focus. It should have a TTL light meter with manual (non-DX) ISO selection. It should be powered by cheap and easy to find LR44 batteries. It could be a Pentax camera, but is not required. Ricoh, Cosina, etc. will do.

See also related notes:

• Vivitar V3800N: Film SLR camera with Pentax K mount (2024-04-20)