Manual lens comparison page

A6000 mostly manual lens comparison page

These are the lenses I tried on my Sony Alpha 6000 and A5000. It's not a scientific approach, it's just my personal impression, a quick and dirty review. It's a random selection, lenses I had in stock from my A7. So no warranty that I'm right. From the full format lenses I tested on the A7 I only chose the smaller ones for the A6000. In my opinion it makes no sense attaching a big and heavy lens to the small body of the A6000.

When I made my first sample picture series, I was disappointed: wide open the picures were a bit soft, as usual, at F 8 they were o.k. and at F 16 or 22 they were blurred, unusable. Same thing with the SELP1650, made for this series. Something wrong with the camera? I consulted a forum, the answers were all the same: this is normal! If you are interested, here is why. As nobody told me before, a warning: only the luminous lenses which are sharp at F 8 are usable on APS-C sensor cameras.

The most interesting thing about the Alpha 6000 is its short flange focal distance. So there is plenty of room for adapters. Detailed informations about adapters are here. Some information on Russian and other eastern lenses, including the adaption of M39 Zenit mount lenses, is on this page. You will also find some hints for Braun Paxette lenses which have a similar problem on another page.

When using an old manual lens, there is no autofocus, but the A6000 has two features to help you: focus peaking and focus magnifying. And, you have to set the aperture manually on the lens. So before buying a lens, be sure that there is an aperture ring present, most modern lenses don't have one, it's done automatically via electrical contacts and except Sony A and Canon EOS mounts there are no adapters with matching contacts yet. The good news: the viewing system of the A6000 is capable to manage viewing even with a closed aperture.

For details and pictures click on the name of a lens, it will lead you to it's page. Behind the sample images there are bigger ones. So you may look at the full resolution image and judge yourself. I had migrated to a Linux server recently. This caused some trouble with the sample pictures. I hope that it's repaired by now. So if a sample picture gives an error, please let me know. All sample pictures have been taken at 200 ISO unless indicated. Colour setting is "auto". It is sometimes erratic with the tints of old glass. You may compare these to the "daylight" setting with the A7 pictures. Have a look at the EXIF data in case of doubt.

Name	Focal length	FF equiv.	Widest aperture	Length+Adapter mm	Weight gr.

FULL FORMAT LENSES

COSINA 24mm F 2.8 MC Makro.	24mm	36mm	F 2.8	40/46 + 27	180

HELIOS 44 2/58.	58mm	87mm	F 2.0	46/56 + 27	220

JUPITER 3 1:1.5 F=5cm	50mm	75mm	F 1.5	26 + 19/25	135
JUPITER-8 2/50.	50mm	75mm	F 2.0	34/37 + 11	115

Killfitt-Makro-Kilar E 1:3.5/4 cm.	40mm	60mm	F 3.5	38/59 + 26	140
Kilfitt-Makro-Kilar D 1:2.8/4 cm	40mm	60mm	F 2.8	39/78 + 26	166
KONICA HEXANON AR 40mm F 1.8.	40mm	60mm	F 1.8	28/32 + 20	123

LEITZ ELMAR f=9cm 1:4.	90mm	135mm	F 4	78/88 + 11	240

LOMO-T43 1:4 F=40mm.	40mm	60mm	F 4	26/31 + 11	65

OLYMPUS Zuiko Auto-W 21mm F 3.5	21mm	32mm	F 3.5	31/35 + 27	167
OLYMPUS Zuiko Auto-W 24mm F 2.8.	24mm	36mm	F 2.8	31/35 + 27	181
OLYMPUS Zuiko Auto-W 28mm F 2.8.	28mm	42mm	F 2.8	31/35 + 27	155

ORION-15 6/28.	28mm	42mm	F 6	23/26 + 11	60

ROESCHLEIN LUXON 1:2/50mm Paxette	50mm	75mm	F 2	26/29 + 25	85

STAEBLE LINEOGON 1:3.5/35 Paxette	35mm	52mm	F 3.5	23/25 + 25	127
STAEBLE CHORO 1:3.5/38 Paxette	38mm	57mm	F 3.5	17/19 + 25	63
STAEBLE KATA 1:2.8/45 Paxette	45mm	68mm	F 2.8	14/17 + 25	51
STAEBLE TELEXON 1:5.6/85 Paxette	85mm	128mm	F 5.6	33/38 + 25	109

TOKINA RMC 35-105mm 1:3.5-4.3.	35-105mm	53-158mm	F 3.5	90/110 + 26	610

VOIGTLÄNDER Super Wide-Heliar 15mm F 4.5 aspherical.	15mm	23mm	F 4.5	30 + 11	100
VOIGTLÄNDER Snapshot Skopar 25mm F4 MC	25mm	38mm	F 4	29 + 11	95

ZEISS SONNAR 1:2 F=5cm Contax.	50mm	75mm	F 2.0	11/22 + 19/25	150

NON FF AND OTHER LENSES

FOTODIOX PROSHIFT ADAPTER (with OLYMPUS 24mm lens)	lens	lens	lens	24 + 3	176
FUJIAN TV Lens f=35mm 1:1.7.	35mm (crop)	52mm	F 1.7	42	130

HOLGA HL(W)-SN 25mm F8 zone focus on A5000	25mm (crop)	38mm	F 8	24/26	30
HOLGA HPL-SN 0.25mm Pinhole on A5000	~28mm (crop)	42mm	F 140	25	25

INDUSTAR 69 28mm F 2.8.	28mm (crop)	42mm	F 2.8	18/19 + 11	45

LOREO PC Lens in a cap (f=35mm)	35mm shift	53mm	F 11	16 + 27	35

PINHOLE CAP for M39 on A5000	~28mm	28mm	F 127	3 + 11	5

SONY E 3.5-5.6/PZ 16-50 OSS.	16-50mm (crop)	24-75mm	F 3.5-5.6	29/52	110

AND FINALLY, JUST FOR FUN AND COMPARISON, THE IMAGES A FROM GOOD QUALITY POCKETABLE CAMERA, THE CANON S120

CANON S120	24-120mm equiv.		F 1.8-5.7	whole cam	218

* no sample pictures yet

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