Photography blog – Reviews and Sample Images
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Voigtländer Vito CD With Lanthar 2.8/50mm
Voigtländer created the Vito CD 35mm film viewfinder camera between 1961 and 1966. It is a member of the Vito C series. Mine is totally functional and it has a good feel to it. The only issue – as obvious in photos – is the loading/unloading dial that would eventually pop up but not without…
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Smena Symbol (Смена Символ) Lomo – 35mm film
LOMO produced the 35mm viewfinder film camera known as Smena Symbol (Смена Симвoл) between 1970 and 1993 in St. Petersburg, Russia. There are 3 versions of it, with few differences (mainly consisting of the Industar lens). I have 2 (apparently identical) cameras, the first one is missing the shutter. I did read about it extensively,…
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Soligor (Tokina) 55-135mm f3.5 vintage
I’ll start by saying that this is my absolute favorite vintage lens. I’ve got this 1960s piece as an addition to a Nikon Vintage lens, for few dollars. Fell in love with it instantly. It’s simply beautiful. It’s all metal (or so it feels) with a tiny weird sunshade of something that feels like black…
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Tamron F-mount 200-400/ 6.8 (vintage) – sharpness
I took this vintage (1960s?) lens out to get a better idea of its capabilities. All samples are handheld, manual focus, manual aperture, no optical stabilization, VR or anything remotely similar. The lens itself is simple and quite long but it can be reasonably used either handheld or on a monopod. Mine came with an…
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Tamron F-mount 200-400/ 6.8 (vintage), Nikon mount
I tested a vintage Tamron F-mount 200-400/ 6.8 performance for handheld panning – samples below. This lens has a Nikon mount and has been introduced in 1965 from what I managed to find out. Some lucky people can find it for a price of an expresso. Its Nikon counterpart now costs more than a truck.…
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Takumar-A Zoom f3.5-4.5 28-80mm – Vintage (Pentax mount)
Takumar-A Zoom 28-80mm f3.5-4.5 with Macro setting and a Pentax K mount (KA), made between 1984 and 1988. I was lucky enough to secure a pristine one at the price of a cappuccino. After reading some disastrous reviews, I didn’t expect this unassuming looking lens to be so sharp, with pleasant bokeh and strong contrast and colors. Samples…
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Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8 (Pentax K mount)
Light, compact and very sharp, this lens performs perfectly well under (almost) any light conditions. I will upload few sample photos shortly.
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Hasselblad Stellar SE
I wanted a Hasselblad for a long time, and this tiny camera was an impulse shopping. Reading the reviews – post purchase – I assumed it’s a Sony with a different body and a Hasselblad logo. I assumed wrong. I did shoot with Sony, and I like the images it produces – but this little…
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Sony DSC-HX50V
I found this camera in a thrift shop, in quite a sad state. After a lot of cleaning (exterior only) I took it for a walk on Sumner beach, and I was so very happy with it that now I have it in a pocket pretty much everywhere I go. It is small and convenient,…
Got any recommendations?