A bevy of Vintage 50s and focal reducers

This article may not be for you...

Disclaimer about sharpness. The question of sharpness and 50s isn't new. I've seen a lot of photographers knock the idea of pixel peeping, and responses like "Just stop down!" or "Why shoot wide open?" or "Stop chasing sharpness." 

Well, to each their own, but It's still an important aspect of photography to me. I like seeing that critical focus on that part of the subject that I want in focus. Sure, I'm not going to use max aperture on everything - but when I do, I still want a crisp subject in my isolation. 

Why am I using old lenses?

Since the dawn of the camera, gear nerds have always had G.A.S. Gear Acquisition Syndrome. 
It's the insatiable desire for better IQ, more bokeh, faster lenses, longer wider etc.
Over the years I've accumulated a large collection of vintage glass.

I started micro-four-thirds with an E-PL1 and Panasonic Leica 25mm F1.4. I really liked this combination. Micro-four-thirds was new at the time. The problem with any new camera system though - there aren't many lenses for it. I adapted a four-thirds fast zoom, but I really liked primes. The sensor was a bit lackluster at higher ISO. It's not just about sensor size, but also about development. It's 68% the size of Canon's APS-C sensor, but Canon handled high iso a lot better than the size difference suggested.

Then I saw that mirrorless with a low flange distance could adapt lenses. Behold! Cheap fast primes were suddenly available. DSLR lenses, range finder lenses, c-mount...

Mirrorless cameras today are like digital-backs for older lenses. The crop of the micro-four-thirds sensor meant every lens was effectively longer. Were they any good? Sure. Maybe not wide open, some lemons, some degraded with time, some had nice character - some too much! This moon was shot with the $40 Vivitar 400mm with a cheap Vivitar teleconverter. I thought this was spectacular. 

Vintage glass was also a cheap solution for macros.

And vintage glass could be fast! As fast as F1.2 without getting too expensive. My most expensive glass was the Nikon 50mm F1.2 ($375) and Canon FD 55mm F1.2 SSC ($271). Compare this to the Canon EOS 50mm F1.2 L which was $1300 - perhaps $1000 used.

I did want to try a full-frame look with these lenses. I got the Canon FD 55mm F1.2 SSC first. I replaced the FD mount with an EF mount conversion kit. Being successful there, the next part of my plan was to purchase a used Canon 5D classic - but the mirror would hit the back of the lens, so I used a Dremel to grind the mirror. I swapped the focusing screen and wow, cheap full frame 50mm F1.2 for far less than Canon's 50mm F1.2L. My daughter was just a baby now, and I was getting some real keepers.

Manual focus is a different kind of beast - you have to learn tricks on how to focus. I'd practice with my daughter - She'd run and jump and I'd try to prefocus at a point and nail it. Sometimes, I'd focus on the ground where she'd be expected to cross, and as she got to that point, I'd time it and snap.

With the focus screen, and my then younger eyes, I still had a lot of missed focus shots - but they weren't bad. And upon nailing the focus just right, I'd be rewarded with the creamy goodness of that F1.2 f-stop. This is my little angel running towards me. This was shot wide open on the 5D, 1/100, ISO 800. Given that the 5D ISO got noisy above this, I was thankful for the fast lens.

Is this gear "pro" enough to be recommended in place of current gear? LOL NO... Not then, not now. This is an amateur's hobby gear. A fun experiment that occasionally gives astounding results. The 5d was perfect for me - the Canon EF mount was a few millimeters shallower than the Pentax K, M42, Leica R, Nikon, Contax Yashica, and Olympus OM mounts - So I was able to adapt most of my older DSLR glass to this amazing camera. Naturally, I'd be looking up the most common cheap fast lenses of all - 50mm glass. Back then I'd score F1.4 speeds for $30 off eBay or KEH. The price of those jewels has risen quite a bit, as the mirrorless crowd gobbled them up.

At ~2013, Metabones released their focal reducer - branded a "Speed Booster". Focal reducers weren't new - they were used in telescopes mostly but used between a mirrorless camera's sensor and DSLR's lens (designed to be far from the sensor for a mirror), suddenly crop sensor cameras were giving pictures more similar to larger sensors. It wasn't perfect, but the image brightness was noticeable, and the concentration of light did somewhat increase resolution. The result was 50mm, which had a field of view of a 35mm lens. An F1.8 captured light like an F1.3. An F1.4 was like an F1.0. An F1.2 was a blistering effective (theoretically) F0.86.

Clones followed. Focal reducers as I mentioned were used in telescopes before, so finding appropriate glass and fitting them into adapters was the next step for cheaper brands. Metabones sold their adapter for $600. Cheaper brands sold theirs for $70 on ebay. Guess which one I picked up.

I'm still using micro-four-thirds, but my Canon 5D is relegated to nostalgia. A Sony A7 is the current house "darling" delivering the creamy smoothness of a full frame with a resolution that leaves the Canon 5D behind. But... I still love my micro-four-thirds. It's so small... Not just cameras, but lenses, and thus necessary tripods, bags etc. I have so many 50mm lenses - and I jumped on a couple eBay deals to snag an old Metabones "Speed Booster" EF to MFT adapter, and Zhongyi "lens turbo II". Naturally, I had to test these lenses and adapters. Perhaps a lens may favor one or the other. Was the Metabones really that much better? I set up a quick test...

I aimed for the center of the larger chart, and went back enough to get the eye-chart at the edge.

What am I testing

There are 3 main speed boosters you can get today. Probably more - "Commlite" comes to mind, but it's likely they're using an existing lens design. Here are the speed boosters I have. Zhongyi Lens Turbo II, Metabones EF-M43 "smart" adapter (aperture control), and the Pixco "generic" speed booster. Do note that the "smart" feature of the Metabones Speed Booster works against adapted old lenses, shorting out the pins. I disabled my speed booster. All focal reducers here are EF mount - because so many other lens mounts work on EF.

Here's a look at the lenses I tested. I should probably weigh them. The Nikon 50mm F1.4 and Contax are the lightest here. The Canon 55mm F1.2 could possibly be weaponized against zombies.

A look at center sharpness

I'm not going to say which is best. Some of these are close enough to be subjective. You can see and judge what you like. 

Some notes though.

• Minolta is off by itself since it cannot mount to Canon EF. That lens has its own Pixco adapter.
• The Cheap $70 Pixco has nicer contrast and sharpness than the Zhongyi, although the Zhongyi lens turbo II is a little brighter. I'd recommend the Pixco based on that though.
• Viltrox provides aperture control and autofocus. The image though is smeary Vaseline. 
• All shots were done with a flash to keep exposure mostly constant. ISO 200, 1/160 shutter speed, and lenses were used wide open.
• I think the Nikon 50mm F1.4 is quite good, being the "newest" of the vintage class. It's almost as bright as the 1.2s but has better contrast wide open. The Minolta is cheaper to obtain but not quite as sharp. 
• The sharpest lens wide open is the Rokinon 50mm F1.4. The Zeiss is beautifully sharp too and the Takumar is spectacular given its age, but the Rokinon has truly impressed me here.
• The SMC Takumar 50mm F1.4 yellowed with age. That's radioactive glass! It's beautiful and crisp - but darker than the F1.7 Zeiss Planar. I left it in the sun, with some foil under it to "cure" the yellowing (UV light). It did lighten up a lot before this test. I left it there for maybe 2 weeks. I think the dark effect of the glass diminishes the benefits of this fast lens.
• The Canon 55mm F1.2 and Nikon 50mm F1.2 seem close. I snapped the tabs off the Nikon lenses so that I could use them on all the focal reducers. The Canon 55mm F1.2 SSC is spectacular on the Metabones adapter and is ahead of the Nikon 50mm F1.2 there. Strangely enough, I think the Nikon F1.2 does better on the Pixco adapter than the Canon. I've gone back and tried this several times. It really does seem that an adapter can work better with some lenses than others.
• The Nikon 50mm F1.4 on Pixco looks really good - spectacular given the price.
• The Rokinon has me absolutely floored. I really wasn't expecting it to blow me away. Online reviews generally paint it as "average". Not a bad lens - but in competition with modern brand specific 50mm F1.4s, it does not really stand out - while at the same time, lacking autofocus. Getting this used at a fraction of the cost ($334 from their site, <$200 used) provides a magnificent manual lens for use on a focal reducer.

What about the Edges?

NOTE: pending redo!

• The Nikons seem to have the edge here on the Pixco and Zhongyi LensTurbo II, though the LensTurbo falls apart at the edges.
• The Nikon 50mm F1.4 continues to impress on the cheap Pixco adapter. A good combination of contrast and clarity.
• The biggest disappointment is the "modern" Canon 50mm F1.4 USM. That current lens just can't keep up with the Nikons.
• The Zhongyi just isn't as nice a render as the Pixco. Given that the Pixco is a half to a third the price new, it just seems like a better buy.
• Neither cheaper adapter can do the Canon 55mm F1.2 justice. The Metabones Speed Booster clearly shows superior contrast and brightness. 
• I'm not investing in Canon EF gear, and the Canon 50mm F1.4 USM sucks using manual focus. Wide open it falls to the older Canon 55mm F1.2 SSC. Given that, and the fact that my Panasonic G9 would error out with vintage glass attached shorting the Metabones "smart" adapter pins, I disabled it. I opened the Metabones and cut the ribbon cable. Now there are no more errors and problems with vintage glass.
• I'd say the Metabones Speed Booster is worth it if you still like vintage lenses and want the most out of them. Just use eBay and hunt. I'd be very satisfied with the Pixco-generic if the only available Metabones Speed Booster was $600 (current cost).
• I might try cutting the protrusion off the Nikon lenses so that I can run them on the Metabones and see how they perform there.

Other aspects of the lenses are also relevant!

• A lens could be sharp, but also difficult to focus. I don't think the Modern Canon 50mm F1.4 USM is bad. But it's not great, and manually focusing it is compounded by the sticky, rough focus action.
• Focus action on the Canon 55mm F1.2 is butter smooth, and long. It's easier to move past focus and move back to where you saw focus peak. the Takumar is also great for this. It's a pleasure to use. the Contax Yashica Zeiss is also nice. Not as smooth and damped, but still a pleasure to use. 
• The Nikon focus action isn't nearly so nice and damped. It's not nearly as rough as the modern Canon 50 USM, but I'm surprised it's not smoother.
• The Canon 55mm F1.2 SSC is an FD mount. This predates EF and is not adaptable. I found a mount replacement (EdMika) that replaced the FD bayonet mount with a brass EF mount. This makes this a one-of-a-kind lens.
• The Nikon 50mm F1.4 can go from $75-$100 on eBay. The Pixco adapter is ~$70. You can end up with a $160 35mm F1.0 with this combination. An impressively low price for the speed and quality.
• The Rokinon is a beautifully made lens - but it's large. It's larger than the Canon 55mm F1.2 FD, and the Canon 50mm F1.2 USM. The focus is nice and damped, with just the right length of throw. It's not metal, but decent-quality plastic. If this were metal, I doubt it would be affordable.

How they look on M43 cameras

The Panasonic G9 is my current "main". In this picture, the Metabones + Canon 55mm F1.2 is mounted to it. The Olympus E-M10 II is my backup. I've put the Nikon 50mm F1.4 and Pixco adapter on that one.

Here we can see my current favorite - The Rokinon+Metabones on the G9. An old GX1 wth the Pixco+Zeiss 50mm F1.7, and an ancient E-P3 with the Pixco+Minolta 50 F1.4.

Todo:

• Attempt to put the Nikon lenses on the Metabones adapter - it deserves a try 😁
• Go out and have fun with the Canon 55mm F1.2/Speed Booster. 👍
• update: Nikons tested! Broke tabs off with pliers. Pretty sharp, but lacks contrast on Metabones wide open. Have to update the images.
• Have to test bokeh smoothness and flare. That may be interesting ;)