I was out testing my new to me "1959 Meyer-Optik" Gorlitz f2.8 /100 mm Trioplan Lens that is the lens with the red V and the 16 blade aperture .
Meyers-Optik made a few different visions of this lens, the only other Meyer 2.8/100mm that has good boken is the 15 blade lens all others will work fine but considering outstanding Bokeh is the only purpose for using this lens with it's Creamy Bokeh. If you go looking for a Meyer Optik 2.8/100mm trioplan you should make sure that its a M-42 mount which can be converted to most new digital camera mounts (manual operation only). The Praktina mount is very tough to convert but can be converted to a Nikon f mount with a little lens bashing. I would show how to do it later, but for now seem to have miss-placed the images that I took of the process.
You better do your homework or you might find that the lens your buying is not worth what you are paying for it, because some old mount types are very hard to convert if not imposible to convert . In which case you will have a nice but costly paperweight. Look for M-42 and M-39 mount lens or a lens that has an adapter for your make of camera, otherwise stay away, they are just not worth it. In fact some are impossible to convert without the services of a machinist with a lath and even then if he can do it you could end up doubling the price of the lens. Exakta mount lens are what i'm talking about here, they can be converted but if your not clever, creative and handy with tools I have to say you're not going to be happy.
The first image from todays test is just to give you an idea of how smooth the background bokeh
is from this lens. Note that the Bokeh is very smooth (creamy in fact) which is the big deal about the Meyer Optik 2.8/100mm Trioplan lens.
Next I have to say that I was very pleased and in fact surprised at how sharp this lens is. I did not have my hopes set very high in that department and was quite surprised with the sharpness edge to edge and in the corners. I count that as a bonus!!
In the end it comes down to how much money you are willing to spend on a tool that can help you create better images. I am glad to have this lens in my tool bag but I know that you can get the same results with other equipment, but for me, who always shoots manually this lens has some very useful qualities that I look forward to using in my quest to create different looking images.
Note: old lenses have a unique feeling.and image quality because for the most part they were hand assembled and that results in differences from lens to lens. About the images used in this post are all raw files converted to jpegs and cropped no photoshop processing. For those wondering what the flower is, it's Dutchman's Breeches a spring wildflower.
Hope you found this information helpful........................Peter
Copyright 2012 Peter Manship all rights reserved
