Quantaray 500mm f8 Mirror
Most Quantaray lenses were made by Sigma and some were made by Tamron and Tokina. This lens performs like a Sigma Mirror lens. It is reasonably sharp if you can hold it steady. It has the typical ringed bokeh we see from mirror lenses. Contrast is surprisingly high. While it is not a Zeiss or even a Tamron in quality, it is still far better than any of the off-brands flooding the market.




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Yashica DSB 50mm f1.9
The Yashica DSB 50mm f1.9 is essentially a Yashinon DS with a C/Y mount. It looks, operates and images like a DS lens.
I tried to make this lens take a bad pic. I couldn't do it. Whle I am sure the Yashica ML 50mm's have better corner sharpness it wouldn't stop me from grabbing this lens to shoot with.
It is sharp at f1.9. and I mean sharp. At f 5.6 it is razor sharp. I'm serious. It is way sharper than most lenses.
Not only is it sharp but the bokeh is very smooth. It is smooth past f5.6.
I'm not done. Fringing is practically non existent. Bokeh fringing is practically nonexistent.
Flare is well controlled. You'll need to shoot directly into sun to get a small spot of flare in the corner of the frame. I didn't notice any loss of contrast due to flare, either.
Ahh yes, contrast. At f1.9 it is just a tad soft. From f2.8 up it is excellent. Shadow detail is excellent and highlight clipping is well controlled.
I had trouble finding a weakness in this lens. It renders in black and white very well. The build quality is excellent. It is a single coated lens and that should mean it is prone to abberations, especially on a digital body, but I didnt see that at all.
I thought this would make a good macro lens with extension tubes on it. It probaly will. After bokeh testing I can safely say it will do well in close focus situations. Color shifts are minimal.
I did not test on a full frame body but I can only imagine that this lens would perform better on a full frame. I plan to find out.


ISO 800 - f5.6 - (see crop)

ISO 800 - f5.6 - 100% crop

ISO 800 - f1.9

ISO 800 - f1.9. f5.6

ISO 800 - f1.9. f5.6

ISO 800 - f1.9

ISO 800 - f5.6

bokeh fringe - f1.9

bokeh fringe - f2.8
reduced

bokeh fringe - f4
still seen at edge

bokeh fringe - f5.6
gone