Tag: normal lens

Review: Pentax 40mm f/2,8 M Pancake

Posted on by Gianluca Bevacqua

My sample came well beaten up, with the filter ring bented and the focus ring locked.

I repaired it by myself with a couple of hammer blows.

Now it works like a charm.

Unbelievably small and compact for a SLR lens it is, like every almost other normal lens, a wonderful performer. Even if, for compactness sake, it lose something compared to other normals.

pentax 40 pancake

Your mileage may vary, but I find the 40mm focal lens almost perfect. It is wide enough, and long enough, that you may go everywere with just one lens on the camera, for casual shooting, and cover pretty every photographic opportunity you may find during your rounds. Really a one lens band!

Rating: ★★★★☆ on film

Rating: ★★★½☆ on digital (full frame and Dx)

Review: Nikon 60mm f/2,8 Micro AF

Posted on by Gianluca Bevacqua

Picture from Nikon.com

Built like a little tank, but with a stiff focusing ring (compared to the manual version tested above), it’s not one of my favourite lenses.

It is very sharp, whit an higher contrast respect the old Non-Ai version, but the images have a less pleasing and distinctive look.

Not bad, indeed a great performer, but compared to the Non-Ai it traded the “soul” for the technical edge.

And in macro, you know, the autofocus is pretty useless…

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review: Nikon 55mm f/3,5 Micro Non-Ai

Posted on by Gianluca Bevacqua

A very useful lens.

On the DX format it will perform like a short macro tele.

In both cases, FX or DX, the quality level of the lens is undoubtedly superb, super sharp and with a pretty cool color cast (but you may color balance easily if you wish to a warmer tone).
nikon 55 micro ai

In IR it perform in the same fashion, but sometimes I may observe some ghosts and, only rarely, a light hot spot if I’m shooting under certain conditions (high contrast light and high reflective subjects, like sea or lakes).

And did I mention that it may cost only 30 euro?

Rating: ★★★★★ visible light

Rating: ★★★★½ infrared