I tried mine which slept for many years in my drawer. Macro tests look interesting, and even more with a RAYNOX 4X magnifier on it. Thank you for this video which made me discover this valuable vintage toy.
Well! I have the Ricoh X-RP and this lens. I bought them back in the mid 80s at a local camera shop. I have a k mount adapter for my X-T3 so I'll have to give it a try. Thanks for this info.
I found this particularly interesting because, like you, I've purchased a cheap legacy zoom, the Minolta MD 35-70 3.5. (the macro version of the Minolta wasn't available locally). If mine performs half as well as yours then I'll be happy! It's true, legacy lovers do dismiss old zooms but if they're this cheap then they have to be worth a punt, and you've just proved that. The close-focus shots were excellent. Another superb video.
Thank you so much for your comment. That's great you got the Minolta 35-70mm zoom! I've only tried the one with the macro option which is a fantastic lens! Yeah I personally have nothing against vintage zooms. This is the 5th zoom lens I've reviewed so far and all 5 lenses have been great! If a lens can capture the shot I want, it doesn't't matter if it's a zoom or a prime. Cheers!
@@billkabb Nice!! I recently bought the 28-85 MD zoom. It was super cheap and in a pretty bad shape, but works fine, and so far I'm quite happy with it. Great little zoom.
Great test again, - results look great. I own (use) a 35-70 f3.5 (constant) Tamron and is also a hidden gem ( 5€ ~ 6 $ ) , also hates contrajour but that's normal for many lenses.
Hey thank you so much!! This cheap little zoom is actually amazing. Perhaps the most underrated lens I have! It’s definitely a keeper! I hope you’ll enjoy it if you get it.
Thank you! They do look similar but there are a few small differences - the Konica focuses down to 80cm and has 6 aperture blades. But I do wonder how similar they are optically.
Indeed so - I was going to make that same observation. I haven’t got round to cleaning up my copy of the Konica zoom, so I’ve not seen yet how it can really perform. A comparison would be very interesting
@@VintageOptiks Did a quick clean up of my Konica 35-70 zoom. Disappointingly it’s almost all plastic, so you have to be careful disassembling and reassembling it. It sounded like the Rikenon was less plasticy? I was able to access the front elements which had the main dust and fungus deposits, but couldn’t see a way to easily get to the back elements so I’ve left them alone for now. Like your Rikenon, however, after cleaning it up, some quick tests on my Sony A7ii show the lens to be surprisingly sharp and contrasty.
Rob Tweed That's exactly my problem too - it performs well enough but the ultralight plastic body doesn't fill me with confidence 😄 I still love it though. I find myself using the 70-150 a lot though. I love it 👍🏻😎
This is a good little lens, I also have it. :) I rarely use it, because of the limited zoom range, and at wide open the performance is not too nice at the far ends. There are no half stops so it's essentially a f5.6 lens. So a good fast 50mm will just give better image quality while not sacrificing much on practicality. However, this little rikenon can be used as a fun walkaround macro lens if you put an achromat on it (like raynox 150/250) or reverse it. The small weight and rotating zoom is great feature, image is good stopped down anyways. Resolution will not be amazing compared to a prime but for casual macro the zoom + close focus will be more useful as it gives large range of magnification. My favorite vintage zoom lens is the Pentax M SMC 75-150mm F4. The colors and overall image has something special for me. Built like a tank but overall size is still portable. Fixed F4 makes it very user friendly as the exposure doesn't change with zooming, and great for casual macro with raynox.
Yeah it’s a good little lens for sure. And it costs next to nothing so it’s great for those who are on a tight budget. A fast 50mm prime will definitely give you better images but this little zoom is fun to use and quite capable as well! I personally really enjoyed it.
@@VintageOptiks It works pretty nicely on extension tubes as well. The close focusing feature + extension gives a good range of macro. Not as high resolution as a dedicated macro, but clean image from a versatile set! I wish it had constant aperture though.. will look for a minolta or olympus 35-70 3.5
My copy just arrived yesterday. Cant wait to give it a go. Made couple of shots at night in bad light and it wasnt great-which was expected.... But i tried macro feature with better light and it was ok. Not true macro by any means but nice closeup with narrow view and pretty decent DOF... Thanks for recommending this one. Cheers
@@Oholisfliesandfishing I have tried other Rinenon lenses - such as the Auto Rikenon 55mm f1.4 and the 35mm f2.8 and they are both fantastic. This was my first Rikenon zoom and it did not disappoint. I have a few more Rikenons which I am excited to review in future videos.
Back in the days when it came out Ricoh was not nearly as well known or appreciated in North America. My parents bought me a Ricoh SLR for my bar Mitzvah in the 80s. I think they got it from Sears, but had read reviews in Popular Photography. It was well built and took a lot of abuse. I never would have imagined Ricoh later buying Pentax, but let me see how good they were with cameras and lenses .
Yeah Ricoh is definitely an underrated camera maker. They produced some excellent cameras and lenses back in the day. And this zoom is a perfect example of the quality lenses they created. I also have some Sears branded cameras and lenses that were made by Ricoh, and they are all fantastic!
Thanks much @@VintageOptiks . It;s an interesting company with ties to Japan's government research institution. Back in the day it was more famous forr photocopiers. If you ever find yourself in Tokyo, there was a cool place called the Ricoh Cube in Ginza that had a gallery and museum of their cameras over the years. It looks over the famous (Seiko) Wako Tower. I still use my Ricoh TLR, KR-5 SLR and GRII from time to time. Thanks for the fun videos. Love the retro music (a la CAMERA FROM U*N*C*L*L*E). :). Have a good summer.
@@AndrewWertheimer-xp8rb Thank you for the information! I'm actually going to Tokyo next year and would love to see the Ricoh Cube you mentioned. Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Another great video. I have one but am not sure wether its a P lens. Most lenses from Riken, Rikenon or Ricoh will produce good results. Wether made by them or farmed out to Cosina, Tokina to drop a few names. I would realy like you to try the Ansco mark M lenses from the late fiftys like the f1.9. Ricoh 999 or Ansco mark M. 35, 50 & 105mm. I have these lenses but am still trying to work out how to digitalize em.
Thank you!! I agree that most Rikenon lenses are great! I am excited to review more of them in the future! I have a few broken Ricoh rangefinders with good looking lenses that would be fun to adapt to digital. The Anscomark M is without a doubt one of the most beautifully designed rangefinder cameras I know of. Unfortunately I don't have any of the Anscomark lenses. I would love to try them on digital at some point. I am so curious how they'll perform!
Still enjoying your channel on vintage lenses info and performance. I too have this lens as well. It is a great lens. And now the price goes up. lol **I also wanted to add mine has 8 aperture blades; but many of them had 6. I assumed mine was a 6 until I looked at it more closely. I did learn something. Have a great day. ☺
this lens is great the first one i got off eBay the pin on the macro was broken sadly but got another one for £10 brill all rounder lens. what Sony camera do you use. your photos and videos are great. hope to see more
Glad to hear that you also appreciate this humble lens. I was amazed at the images I was getting from it. I use Sony a7III. Thank you for your feedback.
Looks very cool. Although I do not use vintage zooms (Have only onr thr minolta that is also macro) the images look very cool. The video and the info is great as usual.
Thanks so much! I know that vintage zoom lenses are not everyone’s cup of tea, but this zoom lens is surprisingly very capable and super cheap - a great option for those with a very small budget. Glad you enjoyed the video and the info. Thank you! The Minolta 35-70mm macro is a fantastic zoom lens!
This looks and feels very similar to the Pentax version with the same specs, even down to the Macro needing to be at 70mm before it can be engaged. I wonder how the two compare!
Is there a Ricoh Program pin on this lens? AFAIK some of the Ricoh lenses have an extra pin that gets stuck on the Pentax AF K mount, so always be careful if mountin on a Pentax body!
Is there a Ricoh Program pin on this lens? AFAIK some of the Ricoh lenses have an extra pin that gets stuck on the Pentax AF K mount, so always be careful if mounting on a Pentax body!
The Tamron adaptall-2 35-80mm f2.8-3.8 SP lens is famously known to be one of the best third party zoom lens at the time. Wondering whether or not you'll find one to test.
Yeah, I know of the Tamron zoom! Still haven't found a good copy for a review, but hopefully I can get one in the near future. Looks like a great zoom lens!
No it’s not, but here is a list of partfocal zooms that someone made. Hope it helps. Cheers! www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/201887-list-parfocal-zoom-lenses.html
Thank you! That’s great you got a vintage Nikon zoom! Would love to hear your thoughts on it once you try it out. Sometimes these vintage zooms can surprise you with the images they can deliver. And they are dirt cheap!
Is there a Ricoh Program pin on this lens? AFAIK some of the Ricoh lenses have an extra pin that gets stuck on the Pentax AF K mount, so always be careful if mountin on a Pentax body!
Is there a Ricoh Program pin on this lens? AFAIK some of the Ricoh lenses have an extra pin that gets stuck on the Pentax AF K mount, so always be careful if mountin on a Pentax body!
Is there a Ricoh Program pin on this lens? AFAIK some of the Ricoh lenses have an extra pin that gets stuck on the Pentax AF K mount, so always be careful if mountin on a Pentax body!
Is there a Ricoh Program pin on this lens? AFAIK some of the Ricoh lenses have an extra pin that gets stuck on the Pentax AF K mount, so always be careful if mountin on a Pentax body!
