thanks, no tripod - i had just got the MC/MD adapter and ran out on my lunch break to test it with the MD mount lenses i had with me. i just handheld the shots with the lens at mfd and fired a burst (whenever i do this it seems the first is always the keeper as my focus drifs through the burst). as it happens, when i switched lenses to my rokkor MD 24mm f/2.8 another bumble be landed on that exact same flower and i was able to get a very similar shot of with it for comparison:
focal length and max aperture issues aside the two lenses have rather different drawing styles (and i'm sure the MD 28/2 will be closer to the other rokkor than the vivitar). wide open my rokkor is sharper (but a stop slower) and has greater contrast. stopped down they are both extremely sharp. the vivitar has an extremely smooth bokeh that to my eye flattens the look of the images. this can be very nice for portraits and very busy backgrounds, but overall i like the slightly less smooth rokkor style bokeh that seems to keep some of the images depth intact. i'm always amazed how consistant all of my MD lenses have been in their drawing style (the MCs i've used seem a bit different).
anyway, enough of my rambling. good luck with the MD 28/2, i'm quite jealous. i was stalling trying to decide which lenses i could sell to buy it myself (getting the NEX and Cindy's 42mm has maxed out my camera spending for a bit). post some shots when you get it. and if for some reason you want to sell it or the MC version let me know.
Interesting comparison between the two lenses and a most useful observation about the impact of the slightly edgier bokeh on the image depth. Were the two pictures shot at the same aperture?
So you bought Cindy's 42/1.2. I can remember, when I was just getting into Pen F lens for m4/3, I'd found a 42/1.2 for sale and sent Cindy a PM asking how she liked that lens. She told me that she liked it a lot and that was all the information my Department of Rationalization and Self-Justification needed in order to authorize the purchase.
If I do decide to sell one or other of my Rokkor 28/2 lenses, I'll send you a PM first.
Good to see people trying the old Rokkor 28/2 on theNEX.
I have both 49mm and 55mm filter size versions and was planning on trying them out on a Nex when I buy one.I really like the lens on my 1ds3.
Sharp wide open and great value since I got each copy for $200.
58/1.2 and 28/2 are my favorite Rokkors.
Wayne, did you do the Canon conversion yourself, or did you send the lens(es) to Jim Buchanan?
have you done any comparison between the two (55mm and 49mm filter thread) to see if there are any differences in performance?
Red Bailey's
Minolta Lens Chronology provides this information about the 28/2 Rokkors:
January, 1975
MC W.Rokkor-X 28/2 [10/9] (ø55mm) 0,3m f/16 65,5x61mm 340g
A brand-new lens as a fast 28mm. This fine optic also uses floating element correction.
October, 1977
MD W.Rokkor-X 28/2 [10/9] (ø55mm) 0,3m f/22 65,5x61mm 340g
MD up-date of the fast 28mm, closing to f/22.
October, 1981
MD 28/2 [9/9] (ø49mm) 0,3m f/22 64x50mm 265g
Up-dated fast 28mm, optically pretty much the same, but this has been compacted and now sports 49mm filter threads.
But according to the
Minolta Manual Lens List, there were three MD variants:
MD I (1977)
MD II (1978) Plastic (not metal) aperture ring and changed front engraving
MD III (1981) Reduced weight, 49mm filter, aperture lock added, amber ft scale (from green), focal length marking next to red mounting bead
My current 28/2 is the MD II version. Not sure what Red Bailey means when he says the MD III version is "optically pretty much the same" so it'll be interesting to see if/how the changed optical formula (from 10/9 to 9/9) has altered the rendering. But perhaps Wayne can tell us about any differences he's noticed.