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Oldies but goodies tested today

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Airy:
I had a look at second-hand lenses today, Boulevard Beaumarchais ( = photo avenue in Paris).

A 15/3.5 AIS sold for the price of a new 14-24 - out of the question. The lens is very heavy, displays tons of CA, but seems very contrasty. Also, distortion seems relatively low (compared to, say, the 20/2.8).

The 24/2 AIS is the exact opposite. Moderate CA, and overall better IQ than I would expect after having read so many negative reviews. Also, it is surprizingly small and light: smaller and lighter than the 28/2. Vignetting is obvious at f/2, but moderate from f/2.8. But:
1) contrast is visibly lower (than the 15/3.5 for instance) - at any aperture
2) the blur circles, away from the center, tend to get an elongated shape, yielding a somewhat nervous bokeh.
3) the distant edges and the corners tend to lack sharpness

Price was 498€; I did not buy it, despite its perfect condition and very nice handling.

Frank Fremerey:
I bought and later sold the 2/24ai for 200€

Bjørn Rørslett:
A bad sample of the 15/3.5? Some CA is expected as this lens is pretty early in the lens history and was designed for film - nobody knew about the quirks of digital photography then. As the CA is almost exclusively of the lateral kind, it can be easily cured. It has the further advantage of quite low barrel distortion as far as super-wide lenses go, too.

The 24/2 is a strange bird as many samples aren't performing that well, whilst some are exceptional.  It took me many years to find one of the latter kind.

Bjørn J:
I gave the 24/2 only one try, it was a dud. I was more lucky with the 20/2,8 and the wonderful 28/2.

Airy:

--- Quote from: Bjørn Rørslett on July 28, 2015, 21:50:23 ---A bad sample of the 15/3.5? Some CA is expected as this lens is pretty early in the lens history and was designed for film - nobody knew about the quirks of digital photography then. As the CA is almost exclusively of the lateral kind, it can be easily cured. It has the further advantage of quite low barrel distortion as far as super-wide lenses go, too.

The 24/2 is a strange bird as many samples aren't performing that well, whilst some are exceptional.  It took me many years to find one of the latter kind.

--- End quote ---

The 15mm lens was far from bad, and lateral CA (here : angles, esp. at f/8, several pixels wide) is easily corrected. Pics being prepared. I hope I made it clear that the pics looked good ! such high contrast on a SWA was a big surprize.

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