RADOJUVA

According provided by lens Auto Tele Raynox 2.8 / 135mm many thanks to Boris Vyazovsky.

Overview of Auto Tele Raynox 2.8 / 135mm

As far as I know, only 1974 lenses have been produced under the Raynox brand since 6 (5 fixes and one zoom). Raynox is now better known for its macro attachments.

Auto Tele Raynox 2.8 / 135mm is a fast tele-prime lens for film cameras with M42 mounting thread. The lens has compact dimensions, at first I even thought that they sent me some kind of high-aperture 85-ton, because the Raynox 2.8 / 135mm is quite 'chubby' and has a short length.

How to use with modern cameras?

Lenses with mounting thread M42 (M42 X 1 / 45.5), such as the lens from this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both SLR and mirrorless), for this it is enough to choose the right adapter (adapter). You do not need to carry out any additional steps to modify the lens.

The cheapest adapters can be found at Aliexpress.com... There are adapters (adapters) with a chip that provide more convenience during shooting, usually chips are used to confirm focus and / or metering exposure, and form the correct EXIF. The chip does not affect the image quality in any way.

For some SLR cameras (for example, with the Nikon F-mount), you need to use adapters with a corrective lens, which allows you to focus correctly at all focusing distances. For any mirrorless cameras, such a lens is not needed, and the adapter is a simple decorated hollow metal tube with an appropriate mount.

For SLR cameras

1. Canon: For cameras Canon EOS with bayonet mount EF / EF-S need an M42-Canon EOS adapter, such an adapter with a chip can be found herewithout chip here.
2. NIKON: For cameras Nikon DX / FXas well as for cameras Fujifilm и Kodak with a Nikon F mount, you need an M42-Nikon F adapter, you can buy such an adapter without a lens and a chip here, with a lens without a chip herewith chip without lens here, with lens and chip here. Why a lens? Why chip?
3. PENTAX: For Pentax cameras with K mount, you need an M42-Pentax K adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.
4. SONY/MINOLTA: For cameras with a Sony / Minolta A mount, you need the M42-Sony A adapter, you can find such an adapter without a chip at this linkwith a chip at this link.
5. OLYMPUS/PANASONIC/LEICA: For cameras with a 4/3 bayonet mount (not to be confused with Micro 4/3!) You need an M42-4 / 3 adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.

For mirrorless cameras

1. SONY: For cameras with 'E'/'FE' mount series SonyNEX и Sony Alpha you need an adapter M42-Sony E (aka M42-Sony Nex), you can find it at this link. An autofocus adapter is also available for these cameras. Techart PRO Leica M - Sony E Autofocus Adapterwhich can be found at this link.
2. OLYMPUS / PANASONIC / KODAK / XIAOMI: For cameras with a bayonet mount Micro 4/3 (Micro 4:3) you need an adapter M42-Micro 4/3, you can find it at this link.
3. CANON M: For cameras with Canon EF-M mount need adapter M42-Canon M, it can be found at this link.
4. CANON R and RF-S: For cameras with Canon RF mount need adapter M42-Canon R, it can be found at this link.
5. Nikon 1: For cameras Nikon 1 Series need adapter M42-Nikon 1, you can find it at this link.
6. Nikon Z: For cameras Nikon Z series (FX/DX) need an adapter M42-Nikon Z, it can be found at this link.
7. FUJIFILM X: For cameras with mount X need an M42-Fuji X adapter, you can find it at this link.
8. FUJIFILM GFX: For medium format cameras G-mount need M42-Fuji GFX adapter, you can find it at this link.
9. SAMSUNG: For cameras with NX mount, you need an M42-Samsung NX adapter, you can find it at this link. There are no adapters for the NX mini camera yet.
10. PENTAX: For Q-mount cameras, you need an M42-Pentax Q adapter, you can find it at this link.
11. SIGMA / PANASONIC / LEICA: For cameras with L mount you need an M42-Leica L adapter, you can find it at this link.
12. LEICA: For cameras with a bayonet mount Leica M need adapter M42-L / M, you can find it at this link.

If you have any questions on compatibility and adapters - ask in the comments (comments do not require any registration at all).

Auto Tele Raynox F 2.8 135 mm

The copy of Raynox 2.8 / 135mm sent for review has a broken aperture mechanism - the aperture blades are always in approximately the same position, from f / 3.2 to f / 4. Also, the lens is devoid of a protrusion (jump rope) for controlling the aperture, most likely this copy has gone through a not entirely successful repair.

Raynox 2.8 / 135mm has a 'A-M' aperture mode switch, the aperture itself consists of 6 matte blades and could close up to f / 22 :(. On the lens barrel you can find the depth of field scale and focusing distances in meters and feet ...

Auto Tele Raynox F 2.8 135 mm

The focusing ring is not rubberized, with a wide metal 'grater' for a comfortable grip. When focusing, the front lens extends but does not rotate, and the focusing ring rotates approximately 120 degrees. Focusing is smooth. I really didn't like small stroke of the focus ring, Usually, such lenses have a much greater stroke of the focusing ring. When I took test shots, I got a lot of marriage precisely because of misses with focusing, this behavior is not peculiar to a better 135th. MDF is 1.5 meters. The lens uses 58 mm diameter filters.

Enlightenment of the front and rear lenses of Auto Tele Raynox F 2.8 135 mm lens

Overall, the lens is very well assembled - the lens barrel is completely made of metal and feels like an anti-personnel grenade in the hands. I did not find an indication of the country of manufacture on the lens. Unfortunately, the Raynox 2.8 / 135 did not show the image quality typical of the 135-aperture. The lens from the review is not very sharp, not contrasting and is afraid of backlight like fire :) But the lens has good bokeh quality.

The parameters shown in the photo gallery:
Everything is filmed on Nikon D700. On camera JPEG L (compression 'optimal quality'), without treatment. Functions: Control vignetting, ADL, noise reduction at slow shutter speeds, noise reduction at high ISO, AIB - were off. All shot in Picture Control mode SD (standard mode): contrast correction - 0, brightness - 0, saturation - 0, hue - 0, sharpness - position 5 out of 10. The size of the photos has been reduced to 3 MP. Meaning aperture indicated 'F / 3.2 *' due to the broken aperture device and it is very difficult to determine the exact value.

Auto Tele Raynox F 2.8 135 mm ZK lens view

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.com.

Results

Raynox 2.8 / 135mm is very well made, but the copy from the review showed poor image quality, and it is also very inconvenient to work with the lens due to the small stroke of the focus ring.

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