New MS OPTICS APORIA 24MM F/2 M MOUNT

[oldwino]

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I've owned three of his lenses, and every single one had to go back immediately on arrival for bad rangefinder calibration. On the last one, the 28/2, the rangefinder cam just moved completely freely. I ended up just returning that to JCH after Bellamy informed me that Miyazaki "didn't have time to fix it."  So much for customer service...His lenses are not inexpensive. 

I really liked the 50/1.1 Sonnetar as it had very interesting rendering wide open, was beautiful at about f1.6, and was sharp as a tack at f4.

[brandnew2]

1 hour ago, oldwino said:

I've owned three of his lenses, and every single one had to go back immediately on arrival for bad rangefinder calibration. On the last one, the 28/2, the rangefinder cam just moved completely freely. I ended up just returning that to JCH after Bellamy informed me that Miyazaki "didn't have time to fix it."  So much for customer service...His lenses are not inexpensive. 

I really liked the 50/1.1 Sonnetar as it had very interesting rendering wide open, was beautiful at about f1.6, and was sharp as a tack at f4.

That's too bad - luckily I had read similar reports online so was prepared when I received the lens. I wonder if they even make an effort to calibrate them out of the gate? Judging from our experiences, lack of rangefinder calibration seems to be more the norm than an isolated issue. I'm inclined right now to just keep my lens as it is rather than sending it on a trip back to Japan. 

[oldwino]

1 hour ago, brandnew2 said:

That's too bad - luckily I had read similar reports online so was prepared when I received the lens. I wonder if they even make an effort to calibrate them out of the gate? Judging from our experiences, lack of rangefinder calibration seems to be more the norm than an isolated issue. I'm inclined right now to just keep my lens as it is rather than sending it on a trip back to Japan. 

Please remember that "they" is really a guy in his basement. 

If you can make the lens work for you, that's great. They are pretty cool. I've just given up on rolling the dice. I don't play the lottery anymore, either. 😉

[brandnew2]

2 hours ago, oldwino said:

Please remember that "they" is really a guy in his basement. 

If you can make the lens work for you, that's great. They are pretty cool. I've just given up on rolling the dice. I don't play the lottery anymore, either. 😉

Haha, yea, I certainly wasn't expecting Leica-like tolerances! I love the lens and what he's done is pretty incredible. It'd definitely be nice to have it calibrated to my rangefinder, but at 24mm and shot mostly at f4 and above, I haven't found it to be a necessity. 

[Simone_DF]

You could pair it with a Lomography 35mm lens and have two super pocketable lenses, although the Lomo lens shows color shift on a M10 - but it's great for b/w

[farnz]

42 minutes ago, Simone_DF said:

You could pair it with a Lomography 35mm lens

Do you mean the Lomo 32/2.8 Minitar-1 M lens?

Pete.

[Simone_DF]

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4 minutes ago, farnz said:

Do you mean the Lomo 32/2.8 Minitar-1 M lens?

Pete.

Yes that one. From what I can see, it's the same pancake size as the 24mm

[farnz]

1 minute ago, Simone_DF said:

Yes that one. From what I can see, it's the same pancake size as the 24mm

Yes they're similar in size but it should be noted that the focussing is rudimentary with click-stops at 0.5m, 0.8m, 3m, and infinity.  It's a novelty lens and not really, nor is it intended to be, an alternative to another 35 mm lens in my opinion.  It brings up 28/90 frame lines on my M10 so, with it's 32 mm focal length, you think you get more in the picture than you actually do so there's potential for cutting off heads and feet if you're not careful.

Pete.

[wizard]

I don't know if someone noted, but the lens seems to be marketed as APORIA, whereas the engraving on the lens itself says APORA.

Andy

[farnz]

21 minutes ago, wizard said:

I don't know if someone noted, but the lens seems to be marketed as APORIA, whereas the engraving on the lens itself says APORA.

Andy

I hadn't, Andy, but it seems that English spelling can be a challenge to Mr Miyazaki at times (understandably) and I recall a picture of a MS Optics "Super-Triplet" that had "Super-Tirplet" written on the lens facia.

Pete.

[Ecar]

On 6/25/2020 at 1:52 AM, brandnew2 said:

Haha, yea, I certainly wasn't expecting Leica-like tolerances! I love the lens and what he's done is pretty incredible. It'd definitely be nice to have it calibrated to my rangefinder, but at 24mm and shot mostly at f4 and above, I haven't found it to be a necessity. 

Miyazaki does lens calibration by eye. No collimator or other tool. Not even LV-enabled cameras last time I checked.

I have a few of his lenses: most of them required focus re-calibration. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at sending them back to Japan, I had a third-party technician take care of it. Interestingly, he once noted that MS lenses are rather easy to adjust - and he couldn't see why the maker couldn't get it right himself... Perhaps Miyazaki's eyesight is not that great - or he just doesn't care 🙄 Pity that he has chosen to churn out new designs instead of focusing (pun intended) more on QA.

[Ecar]

2 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

You could pair it with a Lomography 35mm lens and have two super pocketable lenses, although the Lomo lens shows color shift on a M10 - but it's great for b/w

Actually, it will show funky colors on ANY camera... This is by design: it is supposed to mimic the flaws of the original Lomo LC-A.

Funny little lens for the occasional beach or kids shot, though.

Edited June 26, 2020 by Ecar

[Ecar]

48 minutes ago, farnz said:

I hadn't, Andy, but it seems that English spelling can be a challenge to Mr Miyazaki at times (understandably) and I recall a picture of a MS Optics "Super-Triplet" that had "Super-Tirplet" written on the lens facia.

Pete.

I happen to have one of these. Although the correct spelling here is "Tpirlet", Pete 

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[Simone_DF]

1 hour ago, farnz said:

Yes they're similar in size but it should be noted that the focussing is rudimentary with click-stops at 0.5m, 0.8m, 3m, and infinity.  It's a novelty lens and not really, nor is it intended to be, an alternative to another 35 mm lens in my opinion.  It brings up 28/90 frame lines on my M10 so, with it's 32 mm focal length, you think you get more in the picture than you actually do so there's potential for cutting off heads and feet if you're not careful.

Pete.

Yes, actually I have it and love it for what it is. I find zone focusing easy with this lens thanks to the markings, it’s similar to other cameras I have and use like Olympus Trip 35 etc. 
No, it’s not a substitute to any 35mm - I have a Zeiss Distagon for that - but it’s pocketable, fun to use and has a unique look. Also, I got mine used for 200€ so I can’t complain 😂

Out of curiosity, how’s the calibration on yours? On my M10, the rangefinder patch doesn’t align at infinity, but it does on my Bessa R2A. Pictures come out in focus on both anyway, so no big deal. 

[Simone_DF]

40 minutes ago, Ecar said:

Actually, it will show funky colors on ANY camera... This is by design: it is supposed to mimic the flaws of the original Lomo LC-A.

Funny little lens for the occasional beach or kids shot, though.

Yes of course, that’s the whole point of this lens after all. But on film seems to be more controlled, while on digital shows heavy Italian flag / purple hue especially on the right side

[farnz]

21 minutes ago, Simone_DF said:

Out of curiosity, how’s the calibration on yours?

I got mine a little before lockdown and I haven't used it much at all so I can't really say.

Pete.

[serhan]

On 6/24/2020 at 12:54 PM, brandnew2 said:

Yes, will definitely update with more thoughts/photos the next time I get to take it out! Interesting response from Bellamy though - measuring mine, I don't see how a 34mm filter would fit, and unfortunately I don't have one handy to try. Photo attached with a ruler across the widest part. 

Have you found a regular cap or filter yet? I got mine this week.

[serhan]

Testing it with SL2 yesterday...

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[rpittal]

if it turns a blue sky into that I need to get one!!

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[chasdfg]

On 6/25/2020 at 12:54 AM, brandnew2 said:

Yes, will definitely update with more thoughts/photos the next time I get to take it out! Interesting response from Bellamy though - measuring mine, I don't see how a 34mm filter would fit, and unfortunately I don't have one handy to try. Photo attached with a ruler across the widest part. 

From my experience with ms-optics lenses, you can use 2 filter/lens cap sizes. Basically one size is taken from the base of the hood and the other from the front of the hood. This was the case for my 28 f2 - if i recall correctly it used a 28mm over the front element (i.e. base of the hood), or 37mm at the front end of the hood.