Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1 Review: 1.2 / 55mm

Many thanks to Mikhail Rybak for the opportunity to review the Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1: 1.2 / 55mm lens. sent me him from another area.

Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1 Review: 1.2 / 55mm

Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1 Review: 1.2 / 55mm

Porst 1.2 / 55 is a super fast standard prime lens. The aperture F / 1.2 'lighter' than F / 1.4 is exactly 1.36 times. Is it worth overpaying for a 30% speed boost excerpts or lowering the ISO - everyone must decide for himself. Porst 1.2 / 55 from the review was purchased by the owner for about $ 300. This Porst 1.2 / 55 has a redesigned mount for Canon EOS CZK. Porst lenses are said to not cling to the mirror with their rear lens on Canon full-frame cameras.

Enlightenment of the front lick of the lens Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1: 1.2 / 55mm

Enlightenment of the front lick of the lens Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1: 1.2 / 55mm

The focusing of the lens is smooth, the focusing ring is rubberized and rotates 270 degrees. When focusing, the front lens does not rotate, and the lens trunk lengthens slightly. The MDF is just under 50 cm. It is very difficult to focus accurately using F / 1.2. After several hours of working with the lens, I was ready to pay 1500 USD. for native Canon 1.2 / 50, just to get more sharp photos.

The lens is very well assembled, the diameter of the front filter is 55mm, the minimum aperture value is F / 22. The lens has 8 matte black aperture blades.

Sample Photos

The lens is soft at f / 1.2. At first, I thought it was just focusing misses, but after several hundred shots, the lens still did not give the expected sharpness at F / 1.2. In the photo you can see chromatic aberration, and in the backlight glare. The lens has good bokeh at f / 1.2. When you close the aperture to F / 2.0, excellent sharpness comes immediately and it is much easier to take a sharp shot.

Personal experience

Getting into the sharpness zone at F / 1.2 is really very difficult. I only got every 5th frame sharp at F / 1.2. Pity that there are no intermediate values ​​between F / 1.2 and F / 2.0, but the difference is more than one stop. It turns out, or you risk getting a focusing mistake, but you try to get the most out of the lens. Or you shoot at F / 2.0 with decent sharpness, but with some losses in the 'volume and vintage' of the photo. I was very asked to compare this Porst 1.2 / 55 with Minolta Rokkor F / 1.2 and F / 1.4 and Nikon Non-ai 1.2. In practice, I used only Minolta MC Rokkor-PF 1: 1.4 f = 58mm and Minolta seemed noticeably easier to use on F / 1.4.

View of the Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1: 1.2 55 mm lens on the CZK

View of the Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1: 1.2 55 mm lens on the CZK

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 Conclusions

Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1: 1.2 / 55mm is an excellent super fast fifty. Difficult to 'catch' sharpness using f / 1.2.

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

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Comments: 34, on the topic: Review Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 1: 1.2 / 55mm

  • Mikhail Rybak

    Arkady, did you forget to mention the native rubber hood, how about it?
    Intermediate aperture values ​​can be set by not twisting until a click between 1.2 and 2. I also found a disassembly diagram for this lens on the Internet, and there “craftsmen showed where to groove for 1.4 and 1.7, I lost the link to the source.
    Defective photos I think can be reduced with the help of dandelion.
    And the lens makes just gorgeous photos at night without a flash, sorry Arkady You did not include them in the review.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Thanks for the addition.

  • Igor

    I already wrote a similar comment to Carl Zeiss Planar 1,7 / 50, but I will ask again. The point in buying this glass for $ 300? For this money, you can buy any half-tinkle from Nikon with all the delights of automation. There is not much difference in the photo, and they cannot take pictures when traveling or at a wedding due to the slowness of manual adjustment. Take pictures only on leisurely walks? Well, it would cost 20-50 USD, then yes, the budget version of the fix, but 300 ...

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Many are chasing aperture 1.2, as I wrote in the article, is this game worth the candle - everyone must decide for himself. For example, I once had my personal 50 1.2 Nikon AI-s for $ 500, I sold it a short time after the acquisition. For home and for the soul, a simple Geliov-81N has been in my service for a long time, but with it, almost 100% of the photo is with normal sharpness. Usually super fast lenses are really very useful for video shooting, where the depth of field can sometimes "float".
      I printed 5-6 photos from this Porst into my home album, and I can give a grudge, if I didn’t sign each photo, on which lens it was taken, no person would have guessed that it was Porst. The same goes for “artistic bokeh” - even my fellow photographers who look at my printed photos in the “bokenator” album can rarely tell the difference between a planar and a tessar. Therefore, I believe that it is only a matter of taste and depth of the wallet.

      • Igor

        Well, yes, everyone has their own taste ... Just in my opinion it makes sense to buy a manual glass only when it is at least half the price of a similar new one with autofocus. I took a Nikkor 50mm f / 1.8G AF-S for $ 220 and am happy with it like an elephant. I even shoot 1,8 quite rarely, mostly 2 and higher, so I personally don't need a faster one. His bokeh is also quite soft and does not differ much from most of the fifty-fifty from your reviews. But I would buy myself some kind of super-manual zoom. Although now I am looking towards Nikon's 55-200 ...

        • Lynx

          You see, for example, Nikon 50 / 1,8D from the hands costs from 2 to 3,5 thousand. And for 1,5-3 thousand you can buy Helios-81H in good condition and / or with a "dandelion". And I assure you - the Gelik is much better than the D-Nikon, in the "portrait" part it is unambiguous, despite the "manual" of it (with the G-version, yes, it is much nicer in drawing).
          Often, manual old glasses have qualities inaccessible to “modern plastic motor” versions, although it also happens that there is no “difference in print” between them.
          Again, in some cases, for example, photographing an object made of polished metal, autofocus is practically useless - it misses, i.e. all the advantages of autofocus lenses are reduced to zero, and the lens with which it is more convenient and pleasant to work is taken.

          • Boris

            All this, of course, is true, comrade Lynx ... But here's the bad luck: many years ago I was picking up a Helios-81N for my Nikomat. There was an opportunity to choose from a variety of ... I went through 9 (!!!) lenses, I tried all of them for the purity of the experiment on b / w film. And only ONE of them showed really outstanding results in terms of resolution, plasticity of the Drawing, and bokeh. No, there were still a couple of good ones, and the rest did not suffer from a lack of sharpness, but all nine were made in different ways: either the diaphragm blades are green-glossy, or as if there is no enlightenment at all, and so, the raid is rainbow; then sharpness drifts along one edge, or it is not at all clear where it is better; again, oil is everywhere, and strives to get on the lenses. No, I will analyze, of course, I will clean, but appreciate the uniqueness of the carelessness of the manufacture. Whatever objective is unique, and often not in favor of the consumer. Although, of course, there are also masterpieces!

            • Gregor_S

              "... the uniqueness of the carelessness of manufacture ..."

              better not tell

  • Roman

    Arkady, thanks for the interesting topic. I'm starting to think about not playing with the 1.2 aperture on a full frame ... Please tell me, for these games, what will be better for these games, this lens or the old Nikkor 1.2 (on ebay you can drink for a comparable price + - 100 USD)? Or will it be better to saw through the FD canon?
    Or maybe you have already answered the question with the phrase “… I’m ready to pay 1200 for the sharpness of my native kenon…” and there will be no alternatives here ...
    PS
    Have you noticed that there is a feeling that this lens does not have infinity on the open? (Did not finish it) This is on the first frame and not only noticeable. By the way, the same effect in my planar 1,7 which gave you a test. I sin on the Chinese adapter.
    Good luck!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      On the open one, one really gets the impression that there is no infinity. But these are just focusing misses. In the examples, I don't have a picture in which the focuser ring is turned to the maximum. As for this lens, it was right, on a full frame the sharpness will be better than on an 8 MP crop.

      • Roman

        Arkady, I apologize for the importunity, what can you say about the first part of my comment (comparison of the hero of the review, manual Nikkor 55 / 1.2, version of the sawn canon FD 55 (50) /1.2, or is it all nonsense and pampering, you just have to buy your own 50 / 1.2 for crazy money?
        I was afraid that 6d would touch the manual adapter with the Chinese adapter with a mirror, kind and knowledgeable people dispelled my doubts) I’ll also check it myself and as promised I will take pictures from the planar in full frame and put it in that topic.
        Thank you

    • Misha

      Roman, I have the same porst, converted to Canon. If interested - write taburedka@gmail.com

      • Roman

        Thanks for the offer, but with this kind of soap it doesn't really stick. so simple, I definitely won't take

  • R'RёS,R ° F "RёR№

    Good day! You have a question, Arkady.
    You used mamma / secor 55 / 1.4 and recently there was a review of port 55 / 1.2. If you do not take into account the difference in aperture ratio, which one has a sharper picture in the open?

  • Andrei

    Vitaly, I have 55 1.4 mum and today I bought porst and redid it to canon, I still don’t see the difference in sharpness on the line that mamma 1.4 and porst 1.2 will need to be taken to the streets tomorrow

  • Svetlana

    It's nice to look at your pictures, no matter what lens you take in your hands.

  • Andrei

    Good day! Sorry if not the topic, but m. who will tell you how to remove the leash of the diaphragm from this glass? (Without theory, approaching is somehow scary)

  • Novel

    Good afternoon! Arkady, thanks for the review. Not enough night photos in the examples. I would like to see what the result is.

    My questions are:
    Have you seen the Porst color reflex umc 50mm f1.2 lens?
    Are there any differences from the one presented in the review?
    And how is it compared to the Revuenon 55mm f / 1.4 (if you do not take into account the difference in focal and aperture)?
    Thank you.

  • anonym

    and who filmed at night?

    • Rodion

      I think there will be rare rubbish - the glass clearly has a terrible chromatism and decent software.

  • Alexey

    excellent at night.
    I have porst 55 / 1,2 and reuvenon 55 / 1,2
    both with 2,8 over sharp
    1,2 very artistic
    porst is softer. good for female portraits

  • Stas

    What does it mean that it has no intermediate aperture values? and if put between clicks?

    • zzzzzz

      author amateur in lenses and reviews

  • zzzzzz

    one macro ... there is not a single night out in the open. test about nothing

  • Fedka

    A friend has acquired such a glass. I shot a video on the Canon 7D on IT and I will say that super-fast glass is just perfect for video

  • Fedorov Andrey

    Please, enlighten, what will happen if you put it on Pentax istD and similar devices with a CCD-matrix and a color depth of 36 bits? will there be a gain here for amateur experiences - flowers, kittens, landscapes, etc.?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      ccd has the same depth as on CMOS (for 12 * 3 bits) and others. For experiments, anyway, that. Take a look at what people do for the cheapest Gelik 44-2

      • Roman

        There is processing and boastful Photoshop, it is not dangerous. It’s better to play on matrices and COLOR. And look for that. After all, this is the whole point of photography.

        • Arkady Shapoval

          You have indicated only one of the possible paths in photography, no more.

  • Igor

    Take Takumar, it is both cheaper and purebred ...

  • Vyacheslav

    I bought such a lens for the pentax K10D, but with the intent to put it on the Canon 6D. But on the kenon, he catches a mirror when focusing already 3 meters, so be careful.

    • B. R. P.

      Thanks for the warning.

    • Dima

      At 5dm2-5dm3-5dm4 everything is fine, it does not cling.

  • Dima

    20d and Porst on 1.2.
    Looking through the archives, it turned out that I also shot for a dofiga of everything, of course, the experience is not like Arkady's, but enough)

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