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VIDEOMAKER >>> MAY 2019ally heavy, due to all that metal and glass, but they
exude a certain confidence that journalists of old
must have found reassuring and reliable when out
in the field, surveying the war zones of the sixties
and seventies — baseball bat dependable, as Dad
used to say. I think these non-ai specimens, and
their later cousins, make great every day carry
lenses precisely because of their build quality —
but, also because of their classic tone. My Nikkor
50mm f2.0 (1962) reflects a beautiful cobalt color
from the front element, is not prone to flaring and
has a wonderfully neutral tone.Olympus OM (G. Zuiko) 50mm f1.8
The Olympus OM (G. Zuiko) 50mm f1.8 lens has,
by far, the smoothest focus feel and the finest
construction of all the lenses I tested. Its compact
size and quality are unsurpassed. The materi-
als and handling of this high-end equipment
are what drew me to the Olympus line so many
years ago. The spun aluminum barrel fitted to
the chrome plated brass flange is accented by
the rubber focus grip and the beautiful amberand aquamarine coatings that reflect back at
you when you gaze into its internal groupings.
This lens has remarkable bokeh at wider f-stops,
often resembling the results from the Helios
mentioned later.
The lens feels expensive. Ironically, it was a
full $100 cheaper than the Zeiss Planar 50mm
F1.7 discussed earlier. This lens came with a
used price tag of around $100-$150. With the
exception of a “chunky” f-stop ring and a six-
blade diaphragm, the “Zuiko” and the Zeiss are
almost indistinguishable from one another. Both
are razor sharp, but the Olympus has a kinder
contrast than its Zeiss counterpart.Konica AR 40mm f1.8
The Konica AR 40mm f1.8 lens is, to my mind,
the first actual pancake lens. It is small and thin,
and it weighs in at a mere 140 grams. Its original
length is around 27mm, but the MFT adapter
adds another 13mm to the overall size. Even so,
it feels nice in the hand when mounted to the
GH4. This lens is sharp and renders a medium
contrast to its images. The beautiful coatings
make this lens difficult to flare, and the fast f1.8
maximum aperture performs better than the
Zeiss 50mm f1.7 at wide open.
At 40 millimeters, the Konica AR is at the wide
end of the range of “standard” lenses, but it con-
veys a natural field of view that, when adapted
to the GH4 becomes a comfortable 80mm
equivalent. That makes this lens great for looser
portraits and all around shooting. It is also a great
focal length for most video coverage, offering me-
dium close up framing and a modest bokeh.Takumar 58mm f1.8
The Takumar 58mm f1.8 is a legend. This lens,
Brian remembers the fallen. Yashica 50mm f1.9, wide open at ISO 100. with its M42 native flange, is easily adaptable toCandy stix at Rocket Fizz! Nippon-Kogaku 50mm f2.0 at ISO 1600. Notice
the bokeh highlights?Mother Nature with fawn. Olympus OM 50mm f1.8, wide open at ISO1600. “Bokehlicious!”
384 F02 Vintage Lenses.indd 34 3/19/19 2:19 PMVIDEOMAKER >>> MAY 2019 35
modern digital cameras and has an extraordinary
resolution suitable for modern images. Its com-
pact size and all metal construction make this lens
a super value at $45 used. When matched with
an MFT adapter, I was able to marry this lens to
my GH4 with an added benefit. Many of the M42
to MFT adapters on the market come built with
three set-screws that allow for the flange to be
rotated, so the witness mark is on top of the lens
for photography, or at the side for video shoot-
ing. This is something that cannot be done with
bayonet flanges because the tines on the bayonet
are designed to lock into place.Canon 50mm f1.4 FL
The Canon 50mm f1.4 FL is an impressive piece of
glass! It sports an all metal construction, includ-
ing the focus grip. The f-stop ring is situated near
the front element, like an Olympus lens, and has
a beautiful 2-tone black and silver color scheme
that makes it easy to pick out the aperture ring
at a glance. The front element has a rich amber
reflection that kicks back, suggesting that the color
rendition will be slightly warmer with moderate to
higher contrast than some of its competitors.
These lenses were among the first to incorpo-
rate the rare quartz fluorite in their design. Fluo-
rite is a unique glass that has extra-low dispersion
qualities that reduce internal flaring of the image
and aid in color registration. Since fluorite is
rare, glass elements are not comprised of fluorite,
rather, modern glass elements are coated with
fluorite minerals to provide outstanding sharpness
and clarity.Minolta 45mm f2.0 Rokkor-X
The Minolta 45mm f2.0 Rokkor-X is another
pancake-style lens from the early 80s. It’s a bit
smallish, so not too heavy for a walkabout and
very portable and discreet. It seemed to be aperfect pairing for my GH4. The equivalent focal
length of 90mm made it the perfect portrait lens
for people pictures, and the fast f2.0 aperture gave
these images nice comfortable focus roll-off in the
backgrounds. This lens is also very sharp, with
natural color rendition — which is proving typical
of all the Minolta vintage lenses tested.Minolta 58mm f1.5 Rokkor ML
The Minolta 58mm f1.5 Rokkor ML is another
vintage lens that was a pleasure to shoot with. The
native 58mm focal length translated to a 116mm
equivalent on my GH4, giving each frame an intima-
cy that I like from a longer telephoto shot. The field
compression of this lens was very noticeable, espe-
cially at wide f-stops. The resulting separation was
perfect for creating interesting visual focal points.Arial selects a Halloween pumpkin. Konica AR 40mm f1.8, wide open at
ISO 100.Shooting darts on Halloween at the Bull and Bush. Takumar 58mm f1.8,
wide open at ISO 400.Lynn selling Halloween wreathes. Canon 50mm f1.4 FL. Wide open at
ISO 100. Neutral colors!384 F02 Vintage Lenses.indd 35 3/19/19 2:19 PM