Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK mount prime lenses

2010-04-26T01:25:00.002+02:00

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 200mm 3.5 lens test in a cloudy day with some haze using canon 550d.
two words about this lens, . very nice build, sharp as a razor and definetely almost on pair with L lens if it was not the small bluish degradation color fringing when open. I have taken a lot of nice pictures with this lens. its one of the smallest 200mm and the hood like at the 135mm version is integrated. I wish Canon did the same with their lenses
have in mind the house at the center where is focused is at about 500m from where i took the pictures
pixel peepers here is the gallery with original inedited jps full sized and here Canon 70-200mm f4 L you can check how it compares against L glass /570e/ at 200mm

f3.5

f5.6

f5.6 Canon70-200mm F4 L at 200mm

f11

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 135mm 2,8

2010-04-26T01:09:00.001+02:00

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 135mm 2,8 lens test in a cloudy day with some haze using canon 550d.
two words about this lens, more 3.5 than 2.8 . very nice build, sharp as a razor and definetely better than the Jena. i had a perfect copy of the jena and it couldnt outresolve my camera. yep, it had nice reddish contrast nice for skin colors, but this one is beter. 70-120e on Fleabay.

have in mind the house at the center where is focused is at about 500m from where i took the pictures
pixel peepers here is the gallery with original inedited jps full sized and here Canon 70-200mm f4 L you can check how it compares against L glass /570e/ at 135mm

f2.8

f5.6

f5.6 Canon70-200mm F4 L at 135mm

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 50mm 1.4

2010-04-26T00:45:00.000+02:00

Auto Chinon Multi Coated 50mm f1.4

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 50mm 1.4 is one of the sharpest lens possible for DSLR cameras. its side by side with the SMC Takumar and the Zeiss lens. Sharp is the name. slightly Sharper than the 1.7 and better bokeh and shallower depth of field. Small 49mm filter. You can shoot against the sun, no problem, perfect coating. It would not develop mechanical problems like the Jenas do, perfectly build. soft open but stopped down is a extreme performer. definetely a bit sharper stopped than the famous Contax Zeiss T* which i had also and found it heavier. sells for 80e to 160e, which is cheaper than the Zeiss. Tomioka or Leica, it doesn't matter who made it. its a good lens
For pixel peeping go to the gallery you can find there 18Mp photos straight from the Canon 550d jpg.
its incomparable but go to this gallery Canon 70-200mm f4 L if you like to see how the cheapo stands to the excellent L lens /570e/ at 70mm
clearly this lens out-resolves the camera, so this peaks enough about its outstanding quality
lets pictures made in undesirable conditions speak more than words. no hood, no sun, clouds, a washed out day, center focus point, center at about 500meters:

f1.4

f2.4

f2.8

f3.3

f4.8

f5.6

f6.4

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 50mm 1.7

2010-04-26T00:14:00.003+02:00

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 50mm 1.7 is one of the sharpest lens possible for DSLR cameras. its side by side with the SMC Takumar and the Zeiss lens which costs 7 times more used. i would say that this lens is the best bargain lens together with the Helios 58mm f2.0 lens. Sharp is the name. You can shoot against the sun, no problem, perfect coating. It would not develop mechanical problems like the Jenas do, perfectly build.
For pixel peeping go to the gallery you can find there 18Mp photos straight from the Canon 550d jpg.
its incomparable but go to this gallery Canon 70-200mm f4 L if you like to see how the cheapo stands to the excellent L lens /570e/ at 70mm
clearly this lens out-resolves the camera, so this peaks enough about its outstanding quality
lets pictures made in undesirable conditions speak more than words. no hood, no sun, clouds, a washed out day, center focus point, center at about 500meters:

f1.7

f2.0

f2.4

f2.8

f3.3

f4.8

f5.6

f6.4

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 35mm 2,8 Test Shots

2010-04-25T23:50:00.000+02:00

here are some shots Canon 550d with Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 35mm 2,8 mounted
the day is gray, hazy and not test friendly but so this shows the worst you can expect from this lens. i like it. for me this is a great lens at a cheap price. nice coating and very sharp stopped down. again-cheap under 50e. don't become Zeiss crazy and take a look at this lens. for the original images and pixel peeking go to the gallery using the link below. no sharpen, nothing, straight from the camera jpg
Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 35mm 2,8

f2.8

f5.6

f11

Auto Chinon Multi Coated PK 28mm 2,8 Test Shots

2010-04-25T23:28:00.002+02:00

Ok. time to check .
if you like to see the pictures directly at original size go to Gallery Lightbox or Slideshow

The day was cloudy,pale and hazy. In other words its the worst you can expect from this lens

f2.8

f5.6

f11

f16

So as you can see its not a exceptional performer. Its cheap and useful manual focus lens.I use it for video so i am happy. In the right hands is a good lens. currently the go at Fleabay for about 65e, and i believe is a bargain for the price. Its small, sharp at f5.6 and f8. and below 150e you will not find something better.
Just have in mind that without hood in a hazy and cloudy day the results are not that bad. Its very solid build and has a nice coating. It is very small and light. Corrected and sharpened the result is pretty usable even can become outstanding in the right hands.

Some photos of the lens

2010-04-25T22:46:00.003+02:00

here we have some photos of the lens, all photos are taken using Canon550d with Auto Chinon Multi Coated 50mm 1,7 at f5,6
the original pictures can be seen here at original size

About the Auto Chinon Multi Coated lenses,which ones exactly or how to have a cheap quality prime lenses for a low price

2010-03-06T02:04:00.000+01:00

If you read this may be you are Googling the Auto Chinon lenses and you can not find any info exept in Japanese forums or 2-3 posts on the Pentaxforums.com . The information about this little performers is scarce on the internet. To avoid any confusion i want to make the things clear that we are not talking here about the mediocre zoom labeled Auto Chinon available in various mounts made by brands like Vivitar, Cosina and so on.
We are talking about the beautiful primes mainly PK Pentax K mount but also M42 mount that can be found at Ebay quite cheaply and after testing many manual prime lenses i can say with a hand on my heart that together with the Russian Helios primes they are most value for money than any other, yes - any other lens.If we look in the Wikipedia we will see this under Chinon in the Pentax area:

Chinon 24mm f2.5
Chinon 28mm Auto Multi Coatedf2.8
Chinon 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 MC Macro (55mm filter)
Chinon 35-80mm f3.5-4.9 MC Macro
Chinon 45mm f2.8 Auto Multicoated
Chinon 50mm f1.4 Auto Multicoated
Chinon 50mm f1.7 Auto Multicoated Mac
Chinon 50mm f1.9 Auto Macro (53mm filter)
Chinon 135mm f2.8 Auto Multicoated
Chinon 200mm f3.5 Auto Multi Coated not on the list

Chinon Makinon 500mm f8 Catadioptric
Chinon 28-50mm is not on the list - made by Cosina
???? some zooms are not listed but not worth talking about them, mediocre
if i find not listed in the future will put them here

Apart from the last one - the mirror 500mm i have tested all of them and the ones marked in orange are the one that are of interest to me. the ones in red i wish to find, very rare ones obviously.
So,who made them? The razor sharp ones. The thing is not very clear. Many say Tomioka, other say Leica made the famous 50mm f1.7 and f1.4 , we will speak about this later and any info will be appreciated.
I have in my possession perfect condition the 28mm 50mm/1.4 50mm/1.7 135mm 200mm all of them labeled Auto Chinon Multi Coated made in Japan and exactly with these colors the letters in the ring. All of them have 0 /zero/ mark on the aperture ring. I believe they are the supreme ones of all and s.th. like limited series produced for a very short time. I tend to believe that they are Leica made by special order fom Chinon for a short period of time. May be Tomioka, but at the end who cares, its the performance we are after, not the brand, or i would stick with Canon in that case. So i will try an objective review and comparison of each of that lenses. and most importantly-full size samples. Every one separately and comparing to many of the primes that i have or have passed for a short period in my hands. Also some of these lenses exist under under names -Sears, Revuenon, Makinon... and in other mounts.