Longing for Kinoplasmat – V PRASMA 50

Kinoplasmamart Homage lens

A reviews and photo examples of VARIO PRASMA 50mm F1.5 (MS-Optics / Miyazaki Optical).

For more information about the affiliate program, please see the link below.

Gallery

VARIO PRASMA 50mm F1.5 Photo example (with LEICA M-P)

Review

Overview
Usability
Add info

1．Overview

The Vario Plasma 50mm F1.5 is the fourth in the MS-Optics (Miyazaki Optical) history series, and is a lens with an aberration variable mechanism that pays homage to Kinoplasmat.

Therefore, the title was decided to be “Longing for Kinoplasmat – V PRASMA 50.”

The detailed specifications of the lens are listed in the table, but the main specifications are as follows.

Lens configuration: 4 groups, 5 elements
Minimum shooting distance: 0.5m
Rangefinder coupling with rangefinder cameras is 0.8m
Aperture: F1.5-16
Aperture blades: 12
Filter and hood are 40.5mm diameter screw-in type
- The screws are cut in the opposite direction to normal, and the filter is installed by reversing the front and back

Ms-optics’ aberration variable mechanism adjusts the spherical aberration of the lens by moving a specific lens back and forth, changing the shooting results. Depending on the setting position of the aberration variable mechanism, a deviation will occur in the rangefinder coupling function of the rangefinder camera. If the aberration variable part is in the position marked as position 6, it can be coupled up to 0.8m. The minimum focusing distance is 0.5m.

This lens is available in a wide variety of colors, and in addition to the red metallic that I own, it is available in many lens barrel colors such as blue metallic, green metallic, brown metallic, gold, black paint, black, and silver.

2．Usability

The Vario-Plasma 50mm F1.5 is equipped with an improved version of the Vario-Pez, which has a similar variable aberration mechanism.
The Vario-Pez used a rear group lens to change the aberration, so the control for the variable aberration mechanism was inside the lens barrel.
The Vario-Plasma uses a front group lens to change the aberration, so the control for the variable aberration mechanism can be placed on the outside of the front part of the lens barrel.

This change makes it possible to change the aberration while checking the changes in the image on the LCD monitor or LCD viewfinder during shooting on a mirrorless camera, improving operability and convenience.

The standard position for changing the aberration is position 6, and the closer it is to position 2, the softer the blur will appear on the subject.

In general rangefinder cameras, position 6 is used, which works in conjunction with a double-image overlapping rangefinder. This setting creates a sharp image from the widest aperture. It is difficult to use in other positions because the overlapping position of the double image and the focus position are not aligned.

3．Add Info.

As mentioned above, the Vario-Plasma pays homage to the Kinoplasma lens configuration, and like the Kinoplasma lens configuration diagram posted on the “Blurred Lens” website in the reference link, the front two elements of the front group of three elements are glued together, the back two elements of the rear group of three elements are glued together, and the two central elements are single lenses arranged in a butterfly shape.

Looking at the example images on the reference link site, the original Kinoplasma has a big difference between the sharpness in the center and the distortion at the edges, while the Vario-Plasma feels like a much more ordinary lens.

It is very interesting how similar lens configurations can produce different depictions depending on the designer.

Specification

Items	VARIO PRAZMA	PETZ VARIO PETZ	SUMMARIT
Focal length(mm)	50	58	50
Max aperture	1.5	2	1.5
Min aperture	16	16	16
Aperture blade (Diaphragm)	12	12	15
Lens Construction	4群6枚	4群4枚	5群7枚
Min distance(m)	0.5	0.7	1.0
Lens length(mm)	43	37	43
Lens Max diameter(mm)	50	50	47
Filter Size(mm)	40.5	40.5	41
Weight(g)	135	110	?
Release date	2019	2018	1939-1957
Production numbers	400	100	74,643
Price(Yen/No-tax)	¥90,000-	¥75,000-	–