Auto Revuenon MC 50mm f/1.4 - a great walk-around lens

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon 50mm f/1.4 at f/2.8 (the "Feengrotten" in my hometown Saalfeld)

The fast Revuenon MC 50 1: 1.4 was introduced in 1980 as a kit lens of the sensationally good Revueflex AC2. "Revue" was the trademark of the company "Quelle" from Nürnberg, go bust in 2009. 

It is often told in the Internet that revue produced exclusively in the former GDR.

The here discussed "Auto-Revuenon 1.4 / 50 MC" comes not from GDR production, but from the production halls of Chinon or Cosina (were both, Cosina was rather too M42 times of suppliers, Chinon rather to bayonet era).

By far the largest part of the range of the former "Foto-Quelle" is built by Cosina and later at Chinon and come with Revue label to Germany. Meanwhile, the lenses of the brand "Revue" spread worldwide. There are many cruel bad lenses, but also some real highlights. This lens is one of the really good specimens of Revuenon.  There are at flickr, but not only there countless examples of the fantastic quality of this lens even at full aperture.

First, the usual statistics:

The manual focusing lens has a minimum focal distance of 45 centimeters. The lens mount of my copy is a Pentax K bayonet. The filter diameter is 49 millimeters. In the lens housing, there are six elements in five groups. The lens has six aperture blades. The lens is made of metal and weighs approximately 250 grams. The setting is very high-quality and convey a good haptics , the lenses are multicoated. The bokeh is very nice, look here:

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon 50mm f/1.4 at full aperture

A few years ago you got this lens when purchasing a camera "Revueflex" as it were bestowed with it. But times are changing.  The prices for the really good manual lenses have so tightened that you pay today up to ten times what had been common even five years ago. Today you pay sometimes  up to a hundred Euros for the Revuenon 50mm f / 1.4.   I got it for about 50 euros from a colleague from the german DSLR- forum.  The lens is perfect as a portrait lens on an APS-C camera. Converted to full frame is the focal length of about 75 to 80 millimeters.

But also on full frame cameras like the Sony a7 this lens is very good for portraits. Here are examples at open aperture and aperture 4.0. Many thanks to my good friend Hartmut Wohlfarth.

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon 50mm f/1.4 at full aperture

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon 50mm f/1.4 at f/4.0

What can be said about the picture quality? Well, the optical resolution is even at maximum aperture at a very high level. Even the smallest details can be seen very well in a 100-fold magnification.
I have uploaded the images in full resolution, especially for this post.
At full aperture the pictures looks little bit washed-out. But stopping down the pictures are awesome and fantastic in every sense. You'll love the glass.
At the full-frame camera lens vignetting clearly visible. If you stop down two or three times, but this effect disappears completely.

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon 50mm f/1.4 at full aperture

The Bokeh is very pleasing and acceptable although the lens has a total of only six aperture blades.

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon 50mm f/1.4 at full aperture

By direct or indirect backlight, the lens behaves relatively unspectacular. It caused some ghosting and smearing a little, but nothing really bad. You can use these photos without hesitation. For indirect backlit by the sun but a lens hood could be beneficial. But I can not look up what lens hood really fits. Because of their relatively low weight and the acceptable size of the lens can actually use as Always-top lens on a full frame camera.

The sharpness is already at full aperture absolutely fine, but at f 2.8 to f 4 it achieves excellent image quality from edge to edge.   The glass is really a stunner, you do not want to part with it more.

If it had an auto focus, it would be a real bestseller. But then it would certainly be outrageously expensive.

To summarize: If you can get it for little money, then buy it necessarily. I have no regrets and I will certainly use a good long while.

Finally, a few photos with the Auto Revuenon 50mm f / 1.4:

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon at f/1.4

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon at f/1.4

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon at f/4.0

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon at f/5.6

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon at f/2.8

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon at f/1.4

Sony a7 with Auto Revuenon at f/2.0

Olympus OM Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 - a good choice

Sony a7 with OM 50mm f/1.8 at full aperture

Let's start our mini challenge of the cheap 50mm lenses. I begin with a really good glass. The Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 was in the past one of the most sold lenses of OM-system. Today, we would call this lens a typical kit lens. You can still buy it for very little money. Normally it should not cost more than 30 Euros, although prices have risen sharply in recent times. This lens is a secret hint, it is not only cheap, it is lightweight and small too.
We come to the statistical disclosures: the little lens has a length of 32 millimeters and a weight of 165 grams. The maximum diameter of the lens is 61 mm, the thread of the filter 49 millimeters. The design includes six lenses in five groups. The aperture can be divided into stages close of 1.8 to 16. The shortest focus distance is 45 centimeters.  Here you can see the lens on a full frame camera Sony a7.  If think away the adapter, then the Zuiko 50mm is really compact.

I have the lens tested on a Sony NEX-3N and at a Sony a7 with full format. Oh well, I have now collected a whole bunch of different 50mm lenses. And now I can compete against each other.  Who is all in the race? Right now lie before me: besides the OM Zuiko 50mm f/1.8, the Zeiss Jena 50mm f/2.8 (named "Eagle Eye"), the Asahi Pentax SMC Takumar 55mm f/1.8 and the Minolta MC Rokkor PF 55mm f/1.7. At this point I would like to thank my good friends from all over the world who have made it possible to compare these lenses. They have sent me their 50mm lenses, so I test them. Thank you for your trust.

Sony a7 with OM 50mm f/1.8 at full aperture

Getting back to our test candidate. The feel of the lens is excellent. Everything is solid, the mechanism works great. The apertures will snap rich and clearly audible. The aperture can be operated very well even without eye contact. The focus ring runs smooth and has a sufficiently long adjustment path. Ideally suited to adapt to any camera, like Micro four-third or Sony Nex with focus-peaking.  My OM-NEX adapter I purchased at amazon. It is a simple copy from China, which has cost not more than ten Euros.

Sony a7 with OM 50mm f/1.8 at full aperture

Sony a7 with OM 50mm at f/2.8

Sony a7 with OM 50mm f/1.8 at f/4.0

Sony a7 with OM 50mm f/1.8 at f/2.8

How it looks with the picture quality?
At full aperture the images are a little dull and lacks contrast. The center of the picture is sufficiently sharp even at full aperture. But at the full frame camera, the edges are very weak. But stop down from 2.8 to 4.0 the photos are sharp from one corner to the other.
The Zuiko 50mm f / 1.8 is a little sensitive backlit subjects. There is a little purple fringing and ghosting. The whole thing disappears immediately when you stop down the lens. Additionally, you can buy a lens hood made of metal or rubber, which can be screwed into the filter thread.
If you shoot in RAW format, you can quiet conscience work with open aperture. The small weaken of the lens can quickly improve in Adobe Lightroom. Used at full aperture shows the OM Zuiko 50mm f / 1.8 results comparable to the legendary lenses from Zeiss at the Leica- M. OK, that sounds very enthusiastic, but look at my photos. Sometimes you can guess the 3D effect.
Unfortunately, this lens is only a slight telephoto lens on an APS-C sensor. But to fully recommend it as a portrait lens.
Let us summarize: I can fully recommend this lens. The price-performance ratio is perfect. As far as optical and mechanical power for so little money there is nowhere.  My recommendation: If you can get it cheap, then buy it.

The 50mm challenge - it is worth a try

Hi guys, i will start in next few days a challenge of the really old and cheap 50mm lenses. Do you lie in your showcase even such old baby around? Then send the items to me so I can try them. The more the merrier.  For starters, all of Minolta MD, Canon FD, M39 or Nikon Ai (S) would be a great thing. I know there are also a lot of M42, but the right adapter I have not yet here. I'll try the lenses on APS-C and full frame test on. I just need cheap Sony a7; o)

misty morning

In November, the early hours are usually foggy, cold and uncomfortable. It's the same this year. Every morning I run my usual route to work and sometimes I take my camera out of my pocket. Today I will show three photos that are incurred in the morning twilight between night and day.   

As usual with me everything in black and white. Looks a little bit like Bruce Barnbaum, is not it?

art and communications- a short visit in Nürnberg

To knowing about Nürnberg in two days was my destination for a little trip. It was damn a very short time to see all of the highlights of these nice town in franconia. I had no great pleasure to haul a lot of cameras and lenses.  So I grabbed my little Olympus E-M5 and had a good time. Only the 25mm f/1.8 and a 17mm f/2.8 pancake and it was good.  The main thing I shoot for myself black-and-white images. Look the pictures and enjoy it- my special kind of photography:

My black and white diary from Tuscany

See and experience only one week in Tuscany is far too little Well no matter. I have a huge amount of photos shot. I need forever to sort all photos.  I present some of the many pictures here. Maybe you like them.  Here's a few shots first. There are more in the next few days.

The Tokina RMC 28mm f/2.8 - a small gem for little money?

Caveat: a smooth Yes to my own question in the title. I have many lenses with 28mm focal length tried in recent times. Some lenses, like the Sigma 28mm mini wide II were very impressive in the image quality. For other lenses, such as the Vivitar 28mm f/2.8, it was necessary to stop down before I really satisfied with contrast, sharpness and colors.

However, the Tokina RMC II 28mm f/2.8 is really a very impressive lens.

As with the wide angle Tokina RMC II 24mm f / 2.8 is also the 28mm lens already to very good use at open aperture.   The Tokina 28mm f/2.8 you can buy for less than 30 euros. And you get a really good lens for your little money.
Let's start with the statistical data: The Tokina 28mm is a very compact lens with dimensions 64 x 42 mm and a weight of only 160 grams. The minimum focus is 0,3 meter, it is a multi-coated lens with 5 elements in 5 groups. The filter size is 49 mm.  A beautiful lens to adapt to a sony-nex or sony a7.
What about the image quality?  Already at open aperture sharpness and contrast are very good. If you stop down only grows the depth of field.  I have the lens used in bad weather and sunshine. The sharpness and resolution were always excellent.
In some situations, such as for example in the back light, it is better to use a lens hood. Otherwise the performance of the lens is blameless. Or in other words: I can really recommend this lens. One gets an excellent performance for very little money. I hope you can see on my photos, for example, how good this lens really is.

Sony NEX-3N with f/2.8, 1/250s, ISO 200

Sony NEX-3N with f/2.8, 1/100s, ISO 200

Sony NEX-3N with f/2.8, 1/250s, ISO 200

Sony NEX-3N, f/4.0, 1/200s, ISO 200

Sony NEX-3N with f/5.6, 1/250s, ISO 200