Sears lenses.
Feb 14, 2020 14:55:07 #
Hydro47
Loc: NW Indiana
I recently was given a 1984 era Minolta X-370. This was an entry level camera back then. It came with a Minolta 50mm f1.7 and two Sears lenses. The Sears lenses,are an 80-200 f 4.0 Macro and a 60-300 f4.0-5.6 macro. As I understand it, I can pick up an adaptor to mount these MD lenses on a Nikon F mount . I currently have D7100, a D3400, a D3000, and a D40X. I'm interested in doing this as I want the macro ability. The lenses are full manual. I will have to set aperture on the lens and use manual focus. I'm fairly certain Sears didn't make their own lenses. Does anyone on the hog have any experience with lenses from Sears? I'll probably do this just as a learning experience as the adapter is not very expensive. Any input is appreciated.
Feb 14, 2020 15:05:41 #
Hydro47 wrote:
I recently was given a 1984 era Minolta X-370. Thi... (show quote)
The adapter is available from B&H and is Fotodiox.
Has a diopter lens to allow infinity focus.
Is about 35 dollars.
The diopter will slightly degrade the image but is eminently useful for your purpose.
Have fun.
Feb 14, 2020 15:06:19 #
Confirm the Minolta mount, but this is the type of adapter you'd need: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/995092-REG/fotodiox_md_nk_g_pro_nikon_f_mount_lens.html
Note additional glass in the adapter for a DSLR mount. When you use a glassless adapter to a mirrorless body, you have just the original lens, not plus (or minus) of the additional glass.
Note additional glass in the adapter for a DSLR mount. When you use a glassless adapter to a mirrorless body, you have just the original lens, not plus (or minus) of the additional glass.
Feb 14, 2020 15:24:12 #
Check the macro feature before spending money on these lenses. As I recall, they do not give anywhere near a 1:1 ratio..
More like 1:2 or 1:4. Not life size.
More like 1:2 or 1:4. Not life size.
Feb 14, 2020 15:51:27 #
Kuzano wrote:
Check the macro feature before spending money on these lenses. As I recall, they do not give anywhere near a 1:1 ratio..
More like 1:2 or 1:4. Not life size.
More like 1:2 or 1:4. Not life size.
What Kuzano said, the "macro" on theses lenses is pretty much a marketing gimmick.
The Sears lenses were not very high quality. The adapter has glass in it in order to achieve infinity focus so that is another loss in image quality.
Personally, I would hesitate to spend the $35 for the adapter unless you just want to play around with the lenses.
Feb 14, 2020 16:55:30 #
Hydro47
Loc: NW Indiana
I know nothing about macro other than the image should be as large as the object or larger. These lenses show the ratio varying with zoom position. The 60-30 is marked 1:14 to 1:2.8 on the barrel. The 80-200 is also marked as a variable of zoom but no better than 1:2.8. There was also a Sears 3X Teleconverter in the case. I doubt there's enough f stops in the world to make that work on a 5.6 lens. Thanks for all the information. I still don't know what I'm going to do. This was a third hand freebie. If nothing else I'll have an extra case and there's a hard case for the 60-300 and a leather drawstring case for the 80-200 that would hold some of my Nikon lenses. If I go down that road with the adapter, I'll report back whatever the results were.
Feb 14, 2020 17:36:35 #
I bought a Sears 135mm f2.8 lens with a Pentax K mount from KEH for $6. Besides the usual KEH quality I was quite impressed with the lens. It is all manual, of course, and I didn't run any sort of sophisticated analysis of the lens but it seemed to be quite sharp and I like it a lot.
Rick
Rick
Feb 14, 2020 18:08:19 #
What lenses do you have for your Nikon cameras? Perhaps put the $35 toward a macro accessory for the cameras & lenses you have now, rather than the Minolta outfit? Macro can be quite fascinating and addictive. Good luck!
Feb 14, 2020 22:03:32 #
Hydro47
Loc: NW Indiana
I have a Nikon18-55 VR, Nikon 70-300 ,Nikon 55-200 VR,Sigma 70-300 ,Tamron 18-270, Nikon 35mm f1.8
Feb 14, 2020 22:12:15 #
Hydro47 wrote:
I have a Nikon18-55 VR, Nikon 70-300 ,Nikon 55-200 VR,Sigma 70-300 ,Tamron 18-270, Nikon 35mm f1.8
Your 35mm may be the best candidate for use with either a reversing ring or a small - perhaps 12mm - extension tube. Either of which should be near your budget. Either combination will give you a quite close working distance, perhaps less than an inch from the front of your lens to your subject.
Feb 15, 2020 06:43:08 #
I have a sears e-mount 28mm 2.8 lens which I bought el cheapo some time ago. I'm not a pro shooter but I am satisfied with pictures I take with it.
Feb 15, 2020 07:47:27 #
Feb 15, 2020 07:55:42 #
I can't address the Sears issue, but I can address using Minolta mount lenses on an F-mount Nikon. Specifically, I use the Fotodiox adapter on several of my old high-quality lenses and get gratifying results. I put together a teleconverter and zoom lens for a 35mm eqauivilence of 630 mm (please spare me this rabbit hole; I don't effing care) and got some great shots of airplanes overhead. Yes, it's manual all the way on my D5300 but I'm happy to have the extra glass when I need it.
Feb 15, 2020 07:56:06 #
I used the adapter with MD lenses on my Nikon 7000 and 810. For me this wasn’t a good, because I don’t see 20/20. I focused with the green dot in camera. On the 810 was a bit easier to focus.
Feb 15, 2020 08:05:36 #
Kiron Kid wrote:
Sears lenses were often rebranded Ricoh lenses.
As I recall Ricoh lenses were considered to have quite good resolution. I enjoy such tinkering and would look for an adapter without glass as infinity focus is not what I would be looking for and the adapter without glass would act as an extension tube a macro essential in this experiment. As you might guess I have a drawer full of such projects but use Canon.
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