GFX 100 II Vintage Lens Test part 1

[@michielrotgans]

Cool video. I'm shooting the full Contax 645 set on a GFX100s with both Fringer adapter and Kipon speedbooster. Good to see more people adapt old stuff

[@paulschefz]

thanks! the Contax lenses look amazing, I had the Pentax on hand so that is where I started. So much old glass out there, I just received the Pentax 135 macro, will do a video on that as well!

[@kriteh3402]

Can you comment on the Kipon speed booster? I have not found any info on it and its quality. Is it with the price? I have the Fringer and in general love the Contax lenses. Which ones do work with the speed booster and which ones don't? Or do all work? I know questions but your comment would be most appreciated. Thank you!

[@michielrotgans]

​@@kriteh3402 AF wise it's on par with the Fringer one. The extra stop of light is super welcome and also the wider angles. Sometimes I get a lightbulb in the center when shooting direct in the sunlight, on those moments I Switch back to the Fringer.

[@kriteh3402]

@@michielrotgans Thank you very much for your reply. How about the corners? I have the original Pentax 67 x0.7 adapter and it is basically unusable outside of 75mm and 55mm range. Heavy vignetting in the corners. The 105 is not really usable. Do you have experience with the 35mm, 45mm and 140mm (assuming that the 80mm is fine) and the Contax adapter cornerwise and sharpness wise? I would love to be able to see the lenses without "cropping" again.

[@hautehussey]

I don’t know how you can compare them this closely with motion blur and focusing at different spots probably.

[@Mattrossphoto]

I get you on the 35-70…it’s so cheap it feels wrong using all the time 😂. And the autofocus in unreal fast

[@paulschefz]

I know, 😂 every lens I try, I keep coming back to the 35-70 , it makes the GFX a great deal. The 45P was probably my favorite lens on the hasselblad X but having a zoom is even better!

[@TylerMcCool]

that 35-70 surprised me how nice it is... best buy in the GFX system really I think.. Especially used / you can get for $500.

[@paulschefz]

@@TylerMcCool I agree! I keep telling everybody getting into the gfx system how great that lens is and how much I like it, they all nod, go and buy one of the other zooms and some primes and end up with it eventually anyway, glued to their camera. Its the "cheap kit lens" stigma that turns people off.

[@TylerMcCool]

@@paulschefz they don't believe it...

[@paulschefz]

@@TylerMcCool part gear snobbery, part age old wisdom that inexpensive glass just isn't good, which for the most part is true, but fuji makes excellent glass to begin with and IMO the key to this lens is that they were not afraid to stay with f4 and even go to f5.6 (the horror), just makes it easier and cheaper. I will post a review of some astrihori manual focus lenses soon, shows what can be done if you are willing to stay away from "bokeh monsters". I have to admit I was aware of those lenses but disregarded them as well for a long time.

[@yangcanggihdotcom]

Yes, I love my GF 35-70mm too :D

[@HealingMushroom]

Great video! Right now I am looking for a lens for GFX 100II that has a minimum focus distance, closer to what the 35mm FF cameras have. Most of GF lenses have 68cm MFD while the GF 35-70 seems to only have around 35cm MFD. I might need to check out the GF 35-70. What is your opinion for AF speed and MFD? Cheers

[@paulschefz]

thx! MFD is a little tricky. First: I think the 35-70 has to have a place in any GFX kit, it's a no-brainer. great performance, fast AF, versatile range, small, light and dirt cheap. I have shot still life with it because I was able to get just a little closer with it (compared to most other lenses). I just got a shorter macro ring and will look into some tests in regard to MFD but I dont expect miracles from the 35-70 in that regard? but who knows it always surpasses expectations! I definitely have no issues when it comes to AF speed (or accuracy), it always delivers, the only GF lens that I always thought was a little slow (other then the 120 macro which has a really long focus range obviously) was the 32-64, but I also have to say I havent used it on the 100II. hope that helps!

[@HealingMushroom]

@@paulschefz That are some good insights! I mainly shoot fashion and portraits but sometimes I feel like I can't get close enough with the general GF lineup. MFD being 68cm is not that great. Therefor the 35-70 got interesting for me :) I just hope that the f4.5-5.6 is sharp enough wide open! Any thoughts on this? You definitely further helped me pulling the trigger on this lens. I can't wait to test it out.

[@paulschefz]

@@HealingMushroom I think the sharpest of the 3 mid range zooms is the 45-100, which even at f4 is just crazy but it is much much bigger and heavier and I always found myself wanting more space at the wide end, so I reluctantly sold it. I dont have any issues with sharpness wide open with the 35-70 but I mostly shoot it around f7 - 8,. I am editing a fashion shoot right now, shot on the AstrHori 40mm, and a new (for me) manual GF 90mm lens (which I will do a review of shortly) and the 35-70 and it is just such a joy to shoot with, wide, close, always hits focus, just great.

[@HealingMushroom]

@@paulschefz I just had it delivered yesterday and took it out for a spin. The focus actually is really nice on the gfx 100 II. Switching between close, wide, with the subject is definitely the biggest positive for this lens. At 70mm MFD, it is really soft in comparison to the 45-100 which is super sharp across all focal lengths. The 35-70 will be my new action lens whenever I need to jump around and have more flexibility. I don't mind the less sharp image, my photography doesn't need 100% sharpness. My other lenses will be used whenever in studio or in rather slow shoots.

[@paulschefz]

@@HealingMushroom the long end is not a strong area and yes (especially) the 45-100 is simply better. BUT size, price, weight its just hard to beat all around and for the shots I use it for the down sides simply dont matter. enjoy!

[@bruno_dias]

I couldn't endure till the end... To little prepared and technically all over the place...

[@paulschefz]

thank you for your feedback! always trying to improve!

[@GKhanKutar]

Pentax lenses has amazing colors

[@paulschefz]

yes, I am really starting to appreciate the colors and tones of the Pentax glass!

[@kriteh3402]

Not only that. Pentax 67 lenses are a collection of the best lens formulas ever created in the last 100 years. It looks like that the did pick and choose and copied/modified only the best. For example the 105mm is a Gauss/Planar, the 120mm soft focus is a very old Cooke design, the 75mm for example is a rare Angénieux design which beats the famous Zeiss Hasselblad 80mm for 3D, bouquet easily.

[@paulschefz]

@@kriteh3402 interesting, that makes sense, the 75mm is definitely on my radar!

[@kriteh3402]

​@@paulschefz Just to make sure. It is the cheap 4.5, not the 2.8.

[@paulschefz]

@@kriteh3402 good to know, thank you!

[@doogieham]

Thanks for the overview of these lenses, Paul. I’ll look forward to Part 2. I have a Mayima 645 150/2.8 that I really love on the GFX system. How do you like using the tilt adapter on the GFX 100 II? Your camera looks pretty nice with the GF 35-70 on it as well. I’m thinking of getting the same set up. How do you find the sharpness of images with the lens wide open?

[@paulschefz]

Thx! I think there will be a few of these videos, there is a lot to work through and honestly the improved EVF size and resolution makes using all kinds of manual lenses just so much easier. what I really like about the 35-70 is that it is not bitingly sharp and more or less stays constant throughout the entire range and all f stops. I usually have all sharpening off and add a little for final output. the lens sharpens really well. most of the GF line is optically really outstanding and I am in general not a big fan of a digital crispy look.

[@doogieham]

@@paulschefz Thanks, Paul, I have similar thoughts about the camera so I’ll look forward to your future videos showcasing some more vintage lenses.

[@doogieham]

Paul, do you see any improvements in the IBIS on the GFX 100 II with vintage lenses compared to the GFX 100S?

[@paulschefz]

No, I can’t see a difference.

[@doogieham]

@@paulschefz Darn!

[@malcolmanderfam]

I know this is probably obvious but if you put the lens focal length in the camera info you can get significantly better ibis, I did it wrong for a while myself with my 100s.

[@paulschefz]

how do I enter the lens focal length in the camera? none of the lenses nor the adapter have contacts, this would have to be done manually every time I switch the lens? I am still trying to figure out best use for the adapted lenses I am starting to like well enough to actually use. @@malcolmanderfam

[@malcolmanderfam]

@@paulschefz it took me a second to find it originally, if you go to your menu and under I.Q. it will be the last option in the I.Q. menu, it's called (mount adaptor setting). Click on it, then click lens registration. Then there should be six options to put in custom focal lengths and you can name them too. Every time you switch Focal lengths on your no contacts, manual focus lenses you can go to the mount adaptor setting page and swap to one of your six preset focal lengths. It's a little bit of an irritating process but definitely better ibis performance! Hope this helps!