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...

Last summer I reviewed the Pentacon 50mm 1.8, which has quickly become my single most used vintage lens and I’ve been looking for more Pentacon lenses since then so when, a few months ago, I saw an ad for a box of lenses and cameras among which was this Pentacon 29mm I just had to buy it. For those of you who are not familiar with the brand, it was founded in 1959 in the German Democratic republic and it mass produced cameras and lenses, popularizing the m42 mount. It still exists, by the way, but now it is in the injection molding and cnc turning business The Pentacon 29mm weighs 220g, it is 44,5mm long when focused to infinity and 50mm when extended, with a 55mm front thread. The iris has 6 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f2.8 to f22, with a switch to select auto or manual. The focusing turns 160 degrees and minimum focusing distance is 25cm. Pentacon lenses come with an m42 mount .  (affiliate link) Sharpness wide open is good in the center, but it...

  The Pentacon 50mm was mass produced and it was sold as a standard lens on Praktica and Pentacon cameras, usually with an m42 mount; they are usually pretty easy to come around and cheap to buy. Yet, this is the only one I’ve found so far, here in Italy.  As we saw with the Petri 55mm, just because a lens came as a standard kit, it doesn't mean it is bad. In fact, the Pentacon is really, really good and for me it was love at first shot.  Let's be honest, I haven't done much research this time, I more or less know the brand, I like the lens and it was fine for me, so I didn't need to dive deep into researching. Plus the good old Mark Holtze has already published a very in-depth, and as always very well done, video so check it out.  What I did found is that the one that I got, the version with the double chrome rings and the stripes all around, should be the earliest version, the one closer to the original Meyer Gorlitz Optics design.  Now, the lens itself ...