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Trying Out a Cosina 20mm f3.8

Posted 16/05/2024 - 16:28 Link
I recently bought a Cosina 20mm f3.8 from E-Bay, despite the many reviews of this lens saying it's basically rubbish but hey! I don't listen to that, I like to make my own mind up. Anyway, I took a couple of photos in my back garden and I am very pleased with my purchase and maybe one day I will get a K1
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Jonathan-Mac
Posted 21/05/2024 - 10:17 Link
TBH with this kind of processing it's hard to reach any kind of conclusions on how well the lens performs. The saturation and contrast would need to be really toned down to normal levels for that.

Old ultra-wides, especially third-party ones, tend to perform quite poorly. You need to get them already understanding that they'll probably need to be stopped down to f/8 or f/11 at all times. As long as you understand that then it's fine, they are what they are.
Pentax hybrid user - Digital K3, film 645 and 35mm SLR and Pentax (&other) lenses adapted to Fuji X and Panasonic L digital
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses
Edited by Jonathan-Mac: 21/05/2024 - 10:19
Defragged
Posted 21/05/2024 - 17:16 Link
Very artsy. Different, but that's okay. Art is subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

As for the 20mm, Cosina made some fine very lenses and this 20mm isn't as bad as some reviewers would suggest. I find many of the disparagers tend to be - let's say - a tad pompous (just my view) and look down on some of these lower priced but otherwise fine lenses. It's good to experiment and make your own mind up. The best 20mm lens after all is the one you own - not the one you might lust after!
C.O.L.B.A.S victim
(Compulsive Obsessive Lens Buying Addiction Syndrome)

What you need are lenses, more lenses, bigger lenses, better lenses, faster lenses, vintage lenses and when you have these, your pictures will be perfect!
LennyBloke
Posted 21/05/2024 - 21:41 Link
The Pentax DFA 21mm f2.4 is just about the pinnacle of quality for a prime at this focal length (give or take a millimetre) and at wider apertures the Cosina is no real match - but stop it down a bit and it's well capable of producing some very nice results. Bang for buck it's worthwhile having it in the arsenal - this shot taken with the Cosina was a POTW on here a few months back...

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LennyBloke
Lubbyman
Posted 21/05/2024 - 22:12 Link
And don't forget that the K5, being a crop sensor camera, won't be using the outer part of the image circle where the lens is likely to be weakest. I've got a Cosina 24mm from the film era and it's better than might be expected on crop sensor cameras.

Steve
Defragged
Posted 21/05/2024 - 23:29 Link
LennyBloke wrote:
The Pentax DFA 21mm f2.4 is just about the pinnacle of quality for a prime at this focal length (give or take a millimetre) and at wider apertures the Cosina is no real match - but stop it down a bit and it's well capable of producing some very nice results. Bang for buck it's worthwhile having it in the arsenal - this shot taken with the Cosina was a POTW on here a few months back...

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A stunning image Lenny but would the same shot with the DFA21mm look any better or more to the point would anyone looking at side-by-side identical photo's taken with the Cosina and the DFA be able to determine which lens shot which photo? I suspect it would be guess work. That's not to say I think the Cosina to be better than the DFA, that would be nonsense but in the right hands, even an older and less sophisticated vintage lens can produce stunning results as you have illustrated.
C.O.L.B.A.S victim
(Compulsive Obsessive Lens Buying Addiction Syndrome)

What you need are lenses, more lenses, bigger lenses, better lenses, faster lenses, vintage lenses and when you have these, your pictures will be perfect!

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