100mm Canon F/2 How best to test?

[uhoh7]

I managed to find a flawed 100 f/2 Canon RF for what seemed a reasonable price (315 w/hood & shipping).

here it is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

the seller will allow a return if I feel the interior scratches affect image quality.

What would be the best way of testing?

I should note right away, at the risk of causing considerable cringing, that I intend to use the lens on the nex aps-c for now---hoping we will see a full frame EVIL at some point under 7k.

I'm in the idaho mountains, here's the sort of exterior conditions we have now :



TY very much sirs

[Never Satisfied]

Reading the add on eBay it sounds like the lens had fungus or similar that got cleaned off, not many other ways to damage an internal element.

Take some shots into bright light to check for flare and ghosting, if you cant see anythng in shots then just enjoy.

I have one of these lenses and they are more difficult to use on an RF than a 75mm summilux due to the almost 340 deg turn in the focus ring.

Enjoy, Andrew.

[Sonnar2]

Your attached picture gives a quite good test scenario. From my experience the 100/2 is excellent at infinity. It's hard to decide which is better, the 100/2 or the (also excellent) 85/1.8.

[uhoh7]

Well it arrived.



It is in extremely good condition except:



this in an interior element. It appears to be the only mark on the glass anywhere. Foucs and aprerture are very good.

overcast today, but here we go anyway:

have you seen enough cats yet?

this is wide open



there should be a fine for posting cat pictures, hehe

100



about 10 feet away about f4



100



and at a bit of distance



100



no pp, straight out of this:



Tried shooting into the bright part of the sky, but not really the day for flare test.

What do you think?

[ferider]

What a jewel, RF teles don't get much better than this. Now go get yourself a real camera to use it on Like, a Canon P and some film.

Roland.

[back alley]

that is one of the better cat pics i have seen...and i hate cats!

i doubt you will notice anything from that scratch...as rollie says use it, enjoy it.

[uhoh7]

Originally Posted by ferider

What a jewel, RF teles don't get much better than this. Now go get yourself a real camera to use it on Like, a Canon P and some film.

Roland.

hehe, I'm in awe of you guys--seriously. I should just get a nice canon just to have one.

I've had that cat since he was a kitten, now he's 13---yow. Outside cat too, amazing he has survived.

I took my first look at this lens and could not believe it. I saw the scratch and LOLed. I am so lucky. Makes up for all those times I've overpaid,

Now here it is in real battlefield conditions--very dim, wide open 1/60 ISO 800



100



this is handheld. Pretty damn impressive to me.

Cannot thank you guys enough for your help and comments

[aoresteen]

Is that an Industar 55mm f/2.8 with the green rear lens cap?

[uhoh7]

Originally Posted by aoresteen

Is that an Industar 55mm f/2.8 with the green rear lens cap?

yes:



16USD + 20 shipping & relube by me, hehe. Still some barrel play, I think older is better on the i-61

here the 100 f/2 again



bigger:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5255/...d3839c92_b.jpg

oof rendering:



bigger:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5094/...ed31d30f_b.jpg

hard to complain about this wonderful lens

[raid]

I used to have such a lens.

[mabelsound]

I regret selling mine. Will probably re-buy one of these days...

[Steve M.]

I've found that the best way for me to test a lens is to go out and simply shoot what I normally would, making sure I include some wide open close ups and portraits, some mid range shots at f8 or so, and some infinity shots stopped down. Maybe a landscape w/ good tonal variations.

[Nokton48]

JSU,
Those are lovely.

[raid]

.. and also very sharp.

[uhoh7]

I'm not normally a complusive lens tester, but as noted above the seller noted a flaw and I had just a short period to return the lens, if I wanted to.

To give a an idea of the size of the 100:



bigger

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5091/...202cc0a9_o.jpg

here you can see it alongside the heavier 85 f/1.9, an elmarit-m 90 f/2.8, and several others you probably recognise.

Considering the speed, it's a pretty reasonable size and weight.

the modern Canon 100 f/2 is 460 g and the canon museum lists this at 515 g. Interestingly the modern canon is also considered a fantastic lens.

The famous Zuiko AUTO-T 100mm f/2.0 for Olympus, which fetches top dollar today, weighs 500 grams.

For fun let's add the soligar 135 f/2



bigger

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5060/...97b34d1a_o.jpg
The LTM seems to handle flare well--in the mountain side shot above the sun was just above the frame.

[Moriturii]

Eff me that's a big lens to put on a rangefinder.

[Nokton48]

Originally Posted by Moriturii

Eff me that's a big lens to put on a rangefinder.

I disagree.

[uhoh7]

Originally Posted by JSU

It is also the longest f-2.0 RF lens I know of. There are times when there is no substitute for lens speed.

nice when you are wide open with that paper thin DOF,

oops I thought you were talking about the focus throw....

re the big 135:



bigger:

http://g2.img-dpreview.com/BF9216678...D5571484D7.jpg

missed my focus a bit there, but the thing is pretty darn sharp wide open.

[Nokton48]

I now have a lovely 100mm F2 Canon RF coming from Japan. Should have it in a few days.

Can't wait.

[squinza]

Well, sharp is sharp, but a little heavy for my taste....

Untitled by Il conte di Luna, on Flickr

[Sonnar2]

Then take the 100/3.5 instead... :-)

[squinza]

Originally Posted by Sonnar2

Then take the 100/3.5 instead... :-)

I have both
I always carry the 3.5, it's so small!

[Sonnar2]

Excellent! :-8
The 100/2 is a luxury.
You seldom need the speed, but if you do, the lens is not *too* heavy, when compared with others. I found that the size advantage of the black 85/1.8 doesn't matter (and with most Canon bodies the 100mm is a better choice).
For some reasons a sharp 100/2 lens seem to need certain volume. The Canon has the same size as the Olympus OM 100/2, which performance is comparable. The Komura 100/1.8 is smaller thanks to Ernostar but not as contrasty. My oppinion is that the Canon 100/2 and 85/1.8 are the first "modern" (means: size and weight optimized) Gaussian telephoto lenses in history.

[raid]

Life is too short to worry about lenses that went away.
Enjoy your Canon 100/2, and show us more results.

[Bill58]

I used to have a 100/ 3.5 black and got rid of it because the only use I had for it was filming performers on stage (at night) that were constantly moving and I couldn't keep it in focus. I got rid of it and bought an 85/1.8 black just for portraits. I also have an Jupiter 9 85 Russian too. 85mm is the practical, upper limit for my RF lenses.