9.5/10
Version Notes
Black metal body (no silver ring). Green 'AE' markings. Plastic focus grip. The forth of five versions, the last of the Konica made versions. The specific lens used in this test was manufactured in April of 1977 (code: 7E). Three years after this Tokina took over and redesigned a more compact version, which is quite hard to come by.
Mount:
Year:
Type:
Focus:
Focal Length:
Aperture range:
Aperture Steps:
Blades:
Min. Focus:
Filter:
Optics E/G:
Weight:
Length:
Angle:
Hood:
Konica AR
1973 - 80
Hexanon - D
Manual
35mm
f/2.8-16
(1/2)
6
0.3m
55mm (metal)
6/5
240g
65mm
63°
Separate
Infrared Performance Notes
This is the best IR performance of a 35mm that I have seen so far. I love 35mm as a walk around focal length so am always looking out for good ones. The samples you see here were taken a day after I bought it. Considering how cheap these lenses can be, if you want a 35mm lens for IR that's good at high contrast IR scenes I will definitely recommend this one.
It's a little big / heavy for a 35mm f/2.8 and it's not the sharpest 35mm out there, but it's certainly not terrible. All of these images were shot at f/11, but it wouldn't make any difference on what aperture you prefer because the hotspot intensity stays at a constantly excellent value throughout the entire range.
