Overview of SOLIGOR AF C / D AUTO ZOOM + MACRO 70-210MM 1: 4-5.6 UMCS

I got into the hands of a little-known lens SOLIGOR AF C / D AUTO ZOOM + MACRO 70-210MM 1: 4-5.6 UMCS... At first it may seem that the name is from the Belarusian city of Soligorsk, but this is not so, and not even from the fungicide "Soligor". SOLIGOR is a German company (trade mark) that still exists, however, it produces only tele converters, photo bags, photo filters, tripods, etc. Previously, SOLIGOR had decent lenses like the SOLIGOR 135mm 2.0.

Lens view Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6

Lens view Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6

TTX: SOLIGOR AF C / D AUTO ZOOM + MACRO 70-210MM 1: 4-5.6 UMCS
Focal length: 70-210mm
Aperture Limits: F4-5.6 to F32.0
Front Lens Diameter: 52mm
Number of aperture blades: 6
MDF: 1.5m + macro.

On the lens SOLIGOR AF C / D AUTO ZOOM + MACRO 70-210MM 1: 4-5.6 UMCS from this review proudly flaunts napps Made in Japan. Actually, the lens is already very many years old, but it works and works.

View of the Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6 Macro lens on a modern camera

View of the Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6 Macro lens on a modern camera

But, if you try to find something about this lens, there will only be disappointment. It seems that no one has ever seen him, and there is very, very little information. The secret is that the German company SOLIGOR produced the same lenses in Japan under other names, such as the COSINA AF 70-210MM MC and Vivitar 70-210MM. Even now, Vivitar launches its products under several names. But even about COSINA and Vivitar there is very little information. According to unverified information, Tokina produced Soligor lenses at its factories. Most likely the Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6 Macro is a copy of the lens TOKINA AF 70-210 1: 4-5.6.

Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6 Macro with maximum trunk length

Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6 Macro with maximum trunk length

First impression

As for zoom telephoto, the lens is just super compact. SOLIGOR 70-210 is very small and not heavy, sits nicely in the hand. The case is made of iron and plastic, the mount of the bayonet is metal. The zoom ring is rubberized. My version of the lens for the Nikon system.

Sample photo on the Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6 Macro

Sample photo on the Soligor 70-210 F4-5.6 Macro

What you need to know about SOLIGOR AF C / D AUTO ZOOM + MACRO 70-210MM 1: 4-5.6 UMCS:

  1. Lens from film cameras. It will work well both at full frame and in DX format.
  2. The lens has a native F mount for use on Nikon. It was just that there used to be lenses from third-party manufacturers, such as Soligor with an interchangeable system that allowed you to install it on almost any camera.
  3. It will be possible to automatically focus on the lens only on Nikon cameras that have focus motor. On younger cameras Nikon D40, D40x, D3000, D3100, D5000, D5100, D60 and the like, auto focus will not work. All other functions, such as metering exposure и EXIF data - will work correctly.
  4. When focusing the front element goes forward and even turns. It will be difficult to use specific filters. Personally, I like the internal focusing, in extreme cases, at least so that the front element does not rotate when focusing, for example, as in Nikon 50mm F1.8D AF.
  5. The lens has the ability to shoot macro. True, this is more of a marketing ploy than reality. Macro is rather weak side of the lens.
  6. The lens has aperture control ring. In order to correctly use the lens on a modern SLR camera, you need to turn the aperture control ring to F32.0 and fix it there with a special lock button. The aperture control ring is important for video operators and for use on some cameras.
  7. Front the filter is only 52mm, like a normal whale lens. Easy to find filter.
  8. The lens has a focus scale with a distance to the subject. Infinity begins after 10 meters. MDF of the order of 1.5 meters + another macro zone.
  9. The lens has enlightenment. This can be seen from the violet glare on the lens glasses.
  10. When used on DX cameras, the angle of view will be equal to the angle for 105-315mm lens when used on 35mm film. And 315mm is already a decent approximation. Read more in the article about crop factor.
Sample photo on the Soligor 70-210mm F4-5.6 Macro

Sample photo on the Soligor 70-210mm F4-5.6 Macro

 important points

Manual focus on the lens is not very convenient, since the focus ring is very thin and its stroke is approximately 90 degrees. Autofocus slow. This is not a D lens, so the focus distance is not transmitted to the camera - it's okay, but lenses with the D version are more suitable for shooting with a flash. My copy number is 3733300 and the lens very often doesn’t have electronics working - it shows the diaphragm that it wants, the aperture can sometimes not be changed, and sometimes the camera refuses to see the lens. This glitch is most likely due to its age. This does not affect the quality of the picture.

Macro example on Soligor 70-210mm F4-5.6 Macro

Macro example on Soligor 70-210mm F4-5.6 Macro

Picture

The picture has good contrast and color reproduction. The lens is not very afraid of back and side light. Zaitsev catches a little. True, he suffers greatly from friging (purple halos on contrasting objects). HA quite tolerant. Friging and HA disappear somewhere after aperture 8.0. More or less normal sharpness also starts on my cropped camera at 8.0 aperture. Interestingly, the diffraction limit is quite large and on the cropped matrix it starts to spoil the image somewhere after F16.0. Vignetting is almost not noticeable, the distortion is small, typical of such lenses of this class. At first I really liked the lens, but the 210mm sharpness greatly spoiled the overall picture. The bokeh of the lens is no different from the bokeh of dark televisions, I personally like it.

Photo on Soligor 70-210mm F4-5.6 Macro

Photo on Soligor 70-210mm F4-5.6 Macro

Recommendations

If you have a camera with a focus motor, then you can take this SOLIGOR 70-210 as a budget telephoto to replace Nikon 55-200 f / 4-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor or to replace Nikon 55-200mm f / 4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor. I recommend finding old Nikon 70-210mm f / 4 AF or Nikon AF 70-210mm f4-5.6that will delight just incredibly high-quality picture. This Soligor is quite suitable for portraiture. Due to the large focal length, it will be possible to blur the background quite strongly. Also, on this lens you can shoot not very shy animals.

Photo on Soligor 70-210 mm F4-5.6 Macro

Photo on Soligor 70-210 mm F4-5.6 Macro

Using this lens, remember that this is a telephoto, and in order to get a sharp picture when shooting from your hands, you need to follow shutter speed following the golden rule described in the article as take pictures with hand.

Photo on Soligor 70-210mm F4-5.6 Macro

Photo on Soligor 70-210mm F4-5.6 Macro

Sample photos on SOLIGOR AF C / D AUTO ZOOM + MACRO 70-210MM 1: 4-5.6 UMCS. All photos without processing, RAW → JPEG, Q80%, resized 1600 * 1200, with imprinted EXIF.


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Conclusions
Compact zoom tele lens with a small aperture. Only suitable for Nikon cameras with a focus motor. Can be used as a budget telephoto on DX and FX cameras. Suffers loss of sharpness on open apertures and maximum zoom.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

Add a comment: Sergei

 

 

Comments: 19, on the topic: Overview of SOLIGOR AF 70-210MM 1: 4-5.6

  • Smetanka

    photo with a traffic light oooooochen liked !!!)))

  • Alex

    the gray kite turned so serious on macro.

  • Alex

    Dear Smetanka user: correctly write photos with traffic lights according to alternations of vowels and consonants.

    • anonym

      Kolis, still for the plivkovo era, dks in 2003, I bought an o, active Soligor 70-210 / 4,5-5,6. Vin buv is light and plastic. The brightness of the image is in the middle, do not say it better. Obviously, a little
      For two rockies, there were no more than 2 rides (72 frames). Then, one day I’m a beautiful woman, knowing that she’s a shafi, de vin zberigavsya. I raptom s, I felt that the mechanism of diaphragms in a new way is not right - stuck. About, active on glue, non-folding. Also 150 dollars for the period 2003 bulo wikinto kotu pid hvist)))

  • Basil

    And who can suggest anything on Soligor 28-200 &

  • Catherine

    Someone can tell you about the Vivtar 35-105M macro focusing zoom lens for Nikon lens, I can’t find information about it and will it be suitable for portrait shooting, is it embarrassing that it is macro?

  • Arthur

    It is possible to take a Soligor 4.5 90-230mm M-42 lens. Please tell me, will it work with infinity on the Nikon D 90 through an adapter?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      If you use the M42-Nikon adapter without a lens, then the ability to focus at long distances will be lost. If the adapter is with a lens, then infinity will remain, but the quality will deteriorate.

  • Ivan ...

    element ... understandable, forgivable ... but not seriously, Arkady))))

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Corrected. Thank you for your attention.

  • padfoo

    How much can you say about “active”?

    • Sergei

      we (America) Soligor 75-205 for Nikon costs $ 60 with a filter.

  • anonym

    finished shit. where are the summer photos?

  • anonym

    Ps and mois france (zskiy)! Do you have a photo at another time of the year (it's better - it's summer)?

  • store

    dlia nikon d3100 eta xaroshi obieqtiv?

  • Cotofey

    I use this on the alpha system, but under the original manufacturer's label - Tokina. The main advantage is its compactness, without hesitation I take it to shoot as “something long”, fill an empty pocket in my bag. The glass is sharp, but not very contrast / micro-contrast (if you don't like it - master raw converters). Moderate HA.
    It is quite capable of competing with the cropping zooms of type 55-200.
    Indecently cheap.
    Recommend.

    An example of a photo in the open: 110mm, F4.5. In-chamber JPG, no processing, resize

  • Alexander

    Here's another beast on Avito - AF soligor 28-300mm Nikon F mount
    For 1500 re they sell everything.

  • Paulius

    I have a whole shelf of old, manual tuning, Soligors, there are excellent ones, there are mediocre ones. One of the best in the M42 is a 135 / 2,8 preset. It has a practically circular aperture with amazing bokeh. Very good in M42 200 / 3,5 and 300/4-glass / metal, large and heavy. Later they began to make zooms with the designation CD (computer designed). The optics are beautiful, their size and weight are small. They work reliably on Canon and Sony A7R2 with various adapters.
    What they are doing on behalf of Vivitar and Soligor, these are not at all the same lenses, the wrong owners and the wrong design, the gray horses.

  • Dmitriy

    Arkady Good day to you!
    Happy holiday to all! PEACE LABOR MAY. Thank you very much for your reviews, I learn a lot of interesting things, what can you say for SOLIGOR MC 28-85 1: 3.5-4.5 ???
    I have something to say on this lens.
    Health and successful staff to all!
    Is it possible to attach P / S in the comments of the photo?

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