A below the radar gem of a lens in a couple of unique ways. 40mm being my favorite street walking focal length most all other legacy manual focus lenses being of the f2.8 variety. This 1.8 beauty is not only faster than it’s completion, but sharper & smaller than most Ta boot. Not only that, but somehow the lens adapter length is somewhat shorter than all the other same era manufacturers. The combo of short lens & short adapter has this feeling like a normal sized lens on my digital bodies, unlike every other competitor on the market. The fast aperture, sharp, wonderfully colored results & compact size, not to mention the high quality construction, places this cheap as rocks beauty in a class by itself, especially so if this relatively unique focal length is your cup of tea.👌
Got this lens with a Konica Autoreflex TC for 30€ this summer. Best buy ever. Just had to redo the seals on the camera body and clean a small fungus in the lens. The rest was in mint condition. I love it.
I love this lens, it's tack-sharp, like the Hexanon AR 50/1.7, which is legendary. Ordinary, i am mostly using Contax Zeiss & Yashica ML Lenses, and some others, think Minolta MD Series, but the Konica Lenses are also being extraordinary. Hint: Use the Konica 57mm Square Metal Lens Hood for it, as it is sensitive for loosing contrast/flares without a Hood. The Hood does have 24 / 28 mm printed onto it, but don't worry - it's perfect also for this Konica 40/1.8 Hexanon AR. I use the A7 (Original, Mk. I) I see, you also use the cheap & great (for the asking price) K&F Adapters, i do have them for more than 5 years.
Hey Calvin, nice review, I’m in Calgary and my buddy is sending me this lens as he never uses it. I’ve seen some reviews in they say it’s soft wide open but you say it is sharp wide open. So I’m looking forward to trying it out. I already have the Nikon Z 40 F2 but I think this lens will have a little more character, especially with flaring and it’s going to be handy for video, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Regards, Gerry.
Daniel Andujar they use 2.8 and faster for astrophotography so that’s not true. It also depends on the ISO performance of the camera you are using, meaning how high you can push your ISO before you get unacceptable noise in the image. What type of photography are you doing? Can you use a tripod and use longer exposures or are you doing concert photography or something like that? Remember the faster the lens the smaller your depth of field so depending on what your doing you may need to use a higher f stop anyways.
A below the radar gem of a lens in a couple of unique ways. 40mm being my favorite street walking focal length most all other legacy manual focus lenses being of the f2.8 variety. This 1.8 beauty is not only faster than it’s completion, but sharper & smaller than most Ta boot. Not only that, but somehow the lens adapter length is somewhat shorter than all the other same era manufacturers. The combo of short lens & short adapter has this feeling like a normal sized lens on my digital bodies, unlike every other competitor on the market. The fast aperture, sharp, wonderfully colored results & compact size, not to mention the high quality construction, places this cheap as rocks beauty in a class by itself, especially so if this relatively unique focal length is your cup of tea.👌
I picked mine up about 15yrs ago at a yard sale on a nice Konica camera for $5 Canadian. That was before people found out how good they are.
Nice video. The Konica Hexanon AR 52mm 1.8 and the 50mm 1.7 is super.
Got this lens with a Konica Autoreflex TC for 30€ this summer. Best buy ever. Just had to redo the seals on the camera body and clean a small fungus in the lens. The rest was in mint condition. I love it.
Tip: post more images taken with the lenses you review.
This was the same input I was going to give
Agreed. That being said, you're off to a good start. Not a bad idea to show more of yourself too. People miss seeing faces nowadays.
I love this lens, it's tack-sharp, like the Hexanon AR 50/1.7, which is legendary. Ordinary, i am mostly using Contax Zeiss & Yashica ML Lenses, and some others, think Minolta MD Series, but the Konica Lenses are also being extraordinary. Hint: Use the Konica 57mm Square Metal Lens Hood for it, as it is sensitive for loosing contrast/flares without a Hood. The Hood does have 24 / 28 mm printed onto it, but don't worry - it's perfect also for this Konica 40/1.8 Hexanon AR. I use the A7 (Original, Mk. I) I see, you also use the cheap & great (for the asking price) K&F Adapters, i do have them for more than 5 years.
Is your hood still in production, or do you have to buy it used on ebay?
Thanks, just go this one from a 2nd store. This was helpful. Great to watch. 👍
Thanks for the upload. Just bought a Konica TC SLR with this lens on it. This was helpful, thanks! 👍
PS. Some sample photo's would be nice, imo.
Hey Calvin, nice review, I’m in Calgary and my buddy is sending me this lens as he never uses it. I’ve seen some reviews in they say it’s soft wide open but you say it is sharp wide open. So I’m looking forward to trying it out. I already have the Nikon Z 40 F2 but I think this lens will have a little more character, especially with flaring and it’s going to be handy for video, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Regards, Gerry.
Nice video! The 50mm 1.7 is sick.
Hi, did you have any vignetting issues with this lens and your full frame sony? Thanks for answering ✌️
Great lens 👊👊💥
I own this lens and also the Samyang 35mm 2.8
I am always unsure what to take with me as a walk around lens on my A7RII..
Is this considered an anamorphic lens? & is it compatible with Samsung NX?
Which adapter do I need to make this lens fit a Sony A99? Thanks
At what aperture the lens begins to be sharp ????
What mount is this lens?
I managed to score this lens for a whopping $5 USD at my local camera store.
Calvin nice video.) I have one on the way! have you tried the kiron 28mm f2?
Just got into adaptive lenses and photography. Picked this exact lens up for 8 bucks USD. Crazy deal.
Where did you get your adapter?
More video dans demos of old lens!
I found this lens for 85$CAD WITH a FC-1 body!!! Great deal!!! But I prefer my AutoReflex TC than my FC-1.
Calvin or anyone who knows.
How is this lens at night.
Because i heard that at 1.8- 2.8 is garbage.
??????
Daniel Andujar they use 2.8 and faster for astrophotography so that’s not true. It also depends on the ISO performance of the camera you are using, meaning how high you can push your ISO before you get unacceptable noise in the image. What type of photography are you doing? Can you use a tripod and use longer exposures or are you doing concert photography or something like that? Remember the faster the lens the smaller your depth of field so depending on what your doing you may need to use a higher f stop anyways.
you can tell a real photographer from a gearhead in that the photographer features his photos and the gearhead features the gear.
oh snap!
Good 1st try
Wide open it's really bad, f1.8, f2.8 garbage, f4 decent, f5.6, f8, f11 incredible. f5.6 is the sweetspot. Good for portraits, has nice creamy bokeh
Asking?
So at night at 1.8 is garbage??
Thanks for your advice👀
Heyy just asking because i shoot at mosly at night.
Can you tell how is it at night???