JCPenny Auto Lens 135mm 1:2.8, Take II

Vintage Lens Test: Image making with A JCPenny Auto Lens 135mm 1:2.8, Take II on the Olympus E-P5.

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An extension to my previous images with the JCPenny Auto Lens 135mm 1:2.8, a manual focus prime telephoto lens from the 80s. While many comments and reviews mentioned that the lens was made in Korea, mine comes with a 'Lens Made in Japan' stamp, and no mention of it having multi-coated (MC) optics. So I am assuming here that the lens is an earlier version made before its production was moved to Korea.

The (MD Mount) lens is a solid glass and metal construction, has a 55mm filter ring, and comes with a built-in lens hood. Nice and handy in the hand, it is a bit of bulk though, and tips my kitchen scale at 390 grams The lens was mounted on my E-P5 with a common variety lens adapter that comes with a tripod support.

Olympus E-P5, JCPenny 135mm 1:2.8

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JCPenny Auto 135mm 1:2.8, Mild and Mellow

Vintage Lens Test: Image making with a JCPenny Auto Lens 135mm 1:2.8, Take I on the E-P5, impressive images.

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The JCPenny Auto Lens 135mm 1:2.8 manual focus prime telephoto lens that I tested is probably an early version manufactured in Japan (as it carries the 'Made in Japan' mark) before production was moved to Korea and the elements multi-coated (as seen on a few other images of similar items posted on the Net).

Looking up the heritage of the lens was also quite impossible. Aside from a very scant mention that 'Pentax had a deal with JCPenny and some other department store chains some years ago...', there are no clear indications as to which manufacture the lens originates from either.

Olympus E-P5, JCPenny Auto Lens 135mm 1:2.8

The test unit is an MD-mount, very well done, in all metal and glass, with superb mechanics and very smooth focal action, and as far as I can see, is still in top-mint condition. I had the lens mounted on the E-P5 for these shots, wide open, handheld. Impressive images.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, Living Colors

The CCD Sensor: Image making with an 8.4MP CCD Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 CCD images, high-quality low-noise images, almost film-like.

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Top and backlighted images from just outside my door captured with the vintage Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, a super zoom bridge camera with a 1/2.5" 8.3MP CCD sensor, an 18x (28-504mm equivalent) zoom lens, also is capable of doing images with a 1cm macro mode. The camera was launched in 2007 and has a 188,000 pixels EVF and A 2.5" 207,000 pixels LCD monitor, switchable to function only alternatively. The function, which can be confusing at times, is controlled by a button switch located near the thumb rest area (when holding the camera up to the eye) on the upper part of the backplane of the camera.

The camera itself, compact and lightweight, weighs 360 grams without battery and measures 117.6 x 75.3 x 88.2 mm. The low pixel count from both the EVF and LCD monitor (by today's standards) is insufficient to give you a thorough image of the frame you are looking at, but, believe me, the proof will be in the images themselves, which will blow your mind away. CCD sensor images have a following among photographers who prefer the images' different look and feel, which are high-quality, low-noise images that some say are almost film-like.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

If you are wary about the ever-spiraling cost of film, and the equally high cost of acquiring new high-end digital camera products, vintage cameras with CCD sensors are more than adequate to cater to your interest. Even though CCD sensors on digital cameras have virtually been replaced by CMOS sensors, there is still a following among photographers who prefer the images from these sensors that have a different look and feel, with some saying they are almost film-like. CCD sensors are more sensitive to dynamic range, and lower noise output, with more vibrant colors.

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Photax 400mm 1:6.3 T-Mount Preset, Take II

Vintage Lens Test: Image making with a T-mount Photax 400mm 1:6.3 Preset telephoto lens, totally unexpected, Take II.

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The T-Mount Photax 400mm 1:6.3 Preset Telephoto Lens, sometimes just referred to simply as a long tube lens, dates back to the 1960s, is a low-cost commonplace lens and can be found under a variety of brand names such as Astranar, Impakt, Photax, D&N, Prinz-Galaxy, Paragon, Sirius, Ensinor, Quantaray, Optomax, Kenlock, Praotor, Hanimex and more.

Olympus E-P5, Photax T-Mount 400mm F6.5

Typically these are 4 elements of front-end focus T-mount lenses with a two-ring preset aperture and a very convenient built-in tripod mount. The unit I tested weighs 741 grams minus the soft velvet pouch and the 340mm hard faux leather sheath it comes in. Images, shot here with the lens mounted on the 2x crop sensor Olympus E-P5, are at the equivalent focal length of an 800 mm lens on a full-frame camera. 

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SMC Pentax-A 50mm 1:1.4, Pastel Art II

Vintage Lens Test: Image making with an SMC Pentax-A 50mm 1:1.4, soft and subtle images.

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Pentax SMC (Super-Multi-Coated) lenses were introduced in the early 1970s, at the end of the M42-mount era, when it was launched with the introduction of Pentax K-mount lenses. Though not designated officially as the K-series, the lenses are usually given this designation to distinguish them from later K-mount lenses (such as the M, A, F, FA, and DA series). K-mount lenses were exclusively manual focus lenses with no electronic features.

The K-series was followed by the manual focus M-series which is again without any electronic features, though they are generally smaller in size to match the more compact bodies of the Pentax M-series 35mm SLR film camera bodies that were being produced then. The A series of lenses saw the introduction of "automatic" aperture settings. The lenses had an aperture ring that could be set manually, and a click-button "A" mode setting which allowed the camera to control the aperture automatically.

SMC Pentax-A 50mm 1:1.4

Like all A-series lenses, this very fast standard lens supports P and Tv exposure modes in addition to Av and M and is adaptable to all K-mount Pentax SLR cameras, including digitals. It is slightly softer at 1:1.4 but reaches very good figures from 2.8 downward. The lens is also recommended for portrait photography on digital cameras and produces images that are soft with smooth out-of-focus blurring.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, Up And Running Again

The CCD Sensor: The preference for image making with an 8.3MP CCD digital camera, high-quality low noise almost film-like rendering.

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I

asked Bing to write me a fun story to read and the AI language model came back with a story about a boy, Jack, who found a door on a magical tree. Jack opened the door and stepped inside, and to his surprise, he found himself in a magical world filled with talking animals, fairies, and other magical creatures.

Jack spent the next few days exploring this magical world, making new friends, and having all sorts of adventures. He even helped a group of fairies who were out looking for their lost treasures. Eventually, it was time for Jack to return home. He said goodbye to all of his new friends and promised to come back and visit soon. As he stepped out of the magical tree, he found himself back in his own world.

The story is reflective of me as well, as I went trudging through the storage bin and picked up the Lumix DMC-FZ18 last used 10 years back, put away because the battery was not holding its charge anymore then.

Panasonix Lumix DMC-FZ18

I ordered a pair of new batteries online, had the battery installed, and Walla!, the camera came back to life just like it was switched off only a few minutes ago. Took the camera out to the porch for the trial re-run, had the few shots post-processed on the digital tabletop, and went head over heels for the excellent quality images. Images like these are preferred by some photographers because of their look and feel which are different from those of later digital cameras.

Is this my magical door then? An opening to the days of the old, and a chance to re-live images captured with the CCD sensor? Let's stay on and find out what happens.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5, Kid's Play

The CCD Sensor: Image making with a vintage 16MP CCD Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5, an ultra-compact digital camera.

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If you are nostalgic about going back to the days of the vintage CCD sensor, with a very low budget to start with, take a look at the 2012 Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5 as your optimal choice. The S5 comes with a 16.1 MP CCD sensor, a 28-112mm equivalent 4x optical zoom lens, Mega Optical Image Stabilisation, Sonic Speed AF, and iA shooting mode that makes picture taking as easy as can be. The camera will adjust the automatic settings for Intelligent ISO Control, Face Detection AF/AE, Intelligent Scene Selector, and Intelligent Exposure. It's almost kid's play.

With a weight of only 115 grams with battery and a size that is just slightly bigger than a credit card, the 13mm thick Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5 is extremely light and small and easy enough to fit in your pocket. Controls, with a 2.7 inch TFT 230k dot LCD screen and buttons on that include a d-pad with a menu in the center, playback, delete, mode, and the zoom rocker is equally easy. The d-pad gives you access to exposure compensation, timer, display, and flash, as well as a means to cycle through the menus.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5

I enjoyed my time running around with the camera and liked it very much, but ultimately, as I posted earlier, I found a fantastic new use for the S5, which is now a product-shot camera for my online side hustle. Fantastic!

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HMD Nokia 3.1, A New Night

Mobile Photography: Image making with an HMD Nokia 3.1, a new night, on a respite from the weather.

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While it could just be a respite from the weather as the monsoon is still with us, it has been a while since we had the last bright and sunny day, with clear and almost cloudless nights. Today was a nice change, bright and sunny, lovely twilight, but it seems to hold only for another day.

HMD Nokia 3.1

I was out planning for a time-lapse video shoot of the full moon, which will be in a couple of days, and decided just a well on the few shots of the twilight of a new night.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5, A Second Look

The CCD Sensor: Testing out the vintage ultra-compact 16MP CCD Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5 beyond its first outing.

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A second look with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5. Images were shot in Normal Picture mode from just outside the front door, transferred to my desktop image editor, and tweaked with Auto Tone Correction, Crop, Tone Curve, Brightness & Contrast, and Unsharp Mask.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S5

The images look good, sharp and crisp, almost technically perfect, but is that all there is? I have a gut feeling that there is still something I have to discover with the camera, whatever it is...

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