Peleng 8mm, Zenitar 16mm

[staplermofo]

Anyone know anything about these crazy lil mofos?
(or correcting for distortion easily)
It looks too good to be true.

[stupido]

Stapler,

I have a Zenitar 16mm. I like it. The links below have some pics I took years ago. Its a nice lens but I don’t use it much.

Also I got the original screw mount version. It will not stop down on a K-mount camera.

http://64.253.97.239/zenitar/zenitar.htm
http://64.253.97.239/panama/2000nov/2000nov.htm

[staplermofo]

Stapler,

I have a Zenitar 16mm. I like it. The links below have some pics I took years ago. Its a nice lens but I don’t use it much.

Also I got the original screw mount version. It will not stop down on a K-mount camera.

http://64.253.97.239/zenitar/zenitar.htm
http://64.253.97.239/panama/2000nov/2000nov.htm

Thanks for the reply. I actually already got the same lens, and aside from being really hard to focus at closer than a meter, I love it. In fact, I’ve used it in 4 of my last 6 farktography entries.

I’m going to try to tape a close up filter on it, I’ll post pics if it works out.

[stupido]

Might be a bit difficult with the close up filter. I would go with an extension tube so that you don’t risk messing up the lens with tape.

I like the urinals!

Which mount do you have?

[staplermofo]

It uses some crazy mount with an EF adapter.

The lil hood looks like it might take a 60mm filter, so I’m going to try that (because it’s already ordered).

Extension tubes look unappealingly expensive, do they do anything other that just hold the lens out further?

[schnee]

Extension tubes look unappealingly expensive, do they do anything other that just hold the lens out further?

They are what they purport to be: “tubes”. No lens or anything else in the optical path. The expense comes from the mount and the electronics to pass autofocus info. And the precision manufacturing – for tubes, 25mm is a bit different than 26mm. You could try to make one from a toilet paper role.

Some people claim tubes give a better image than a closeup lens. Me, I’m not so sure, but I’ve never done a direct comparison. The tube modifies the focal plane which the lens is optimized to use. A well-made closeup lens (two or more elements, multicoated, &c) also modifies the focal plane. Tomato, tomato, I expect.

[sleeping]

Extension tubes have a fairly extreme effect on wide angle lenses, I wouldn’t get one for a super wide angle unless you want to focus *really* close to the front element of the lens. My shortest tube is 12mm, and on a 24mm lens it focuses about an inch from the front element at infinity. On a 16mm lens it would be even closer (magnification for a tube of a given length increases as the focal length decreases), and you might not be able to focus it at all – the focus point could conceivably be inside the lens.

You might be able to get an older and cheaper all manual tube that fits the lens mount if it’s a t mount or M42 thread, though. Given that it’s an all manual lens you don’t need an AF screw or electronic contacts.

If you just want to get a bit closer, a Close up lens is probably a better option. They are the opposite of tubes in that they decrease in magnification as focal length decreases, so to get super close with a wide angle lens you need a fairly high diopter power – that will tend to degrade image quality more than a moderate diopter, especially at the edges and/or when the lens is wide open.

[stupido]

Some people claim tubes give a better image than a closeup lens. Me, I’m not so sure, but I’ve never done a direct comparison. The tube modifies the focal plane which the lens is optimized to use. A well-made closeup lens (two or more elements, multicoated, &c) also modifies the focal plane. Tomato, tomato, I expect.

I have used both. I guess it depends on how close you want to get. For field use, the close up lens are the best choice. For studio work, I prefer to use the tubes if it would otherwise require me to use more than one close-up lens. I just don’t like stacking the lenses. Adds too many optical surfaces.

[Author]

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