Marco Aries

In my opinion, the Pentacon 50mm 1.8 is one of the most versatile vintage lenses and one of my favorites. I’ve shot multiple rolls of film on it and used it countless times on digital and because of it I’ve been curious to try more lenses from the brand. Unfortunately, the 29mm didn't hold up to 50 and the 135 kept eluding me; until now. There are three versions of this lens that I know of: the first and most sought after has fifteen blades in the iris and it is a copy of the Meyer-Optik Görlitz Orestor. The second version is the one we're testing today and the third is the Praktica version with a Praktica mount. So let's take a closer look. The lens is made of metal, it weighs around 460g, it is 89 to 101mm long and it has an external diameter of 65mm, with a 55mm front thread. It has a built-in sunhood. The iris has 6 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f2.8 to f22 with half steps. It has an auto/manual switch near the bottom. The focusing ring is textured, i...

  Some of you might remember that I was putting together a set of Konica Hexanon lenses, but unfortunately I had to sell them to pay the bills. I was sad to let them go, not only because they were all in great shape but also because I really like Konica Hexanon lenses as they have that vintage look without an overpowering character. There are at least three versions of the 135mm: the big and heavy 2.5 I showed you a few years ago, the highly praised 3.2 and today’s subject the 3.5. So let's take a closer look. The lens is made of metal, it weighs 315g, it is 83 to 99mm long and it has an external diameter of 63mm, with a 55mm front thread. It has a built-in sunhood. The iris has 6 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f3.5 to f22 without half steps, plus auto. The focusing ring is rubberized, it turns 160 degrees and the minimum focusing distance is 1.5cm. It has a Konica AR mount. The lens itself is well built, compact and balanced. The controls turn smoothly and are ea...