It’s been a while since my last blog article. This time I would like to review another vintage lens from the M42 mount: the smallish Auto Makinon 28mm f2.8.

Disclaimer: All photos tested on Sony A7ii. I have not yet tested this on film.

A Super Short History Lesson

Makinon-brand lenses were first introduced by Makina Optical Co. Ltd, a small Japanese lens maker, in the 70s. Though the lenses offered were not groundbreaking or special in any way, they were quite popular due to the impressive build quality for their low price tags.

The 28mm was one of the lens selections offered at the time.

Build and Handling

This is where I would give a high score for Auto Makinon 28mm. It’s solidly built from metal, and it feels comfortable to hold. The long focus ring gives a nice, pleasant tactile touch while the front element moves outward for a minimum focusing distance of 30 cm.

Though larger than a Takumar lens of the same focal length, it’s certainly still on the smaller side and fits right into your pocket.

I quite like how the human object stands out here.

The lens, taken with Fujicolor 100 film.

Image Quality

To be honest, I was rather disappointed when I used this lens for the first time.

It has all the makings of a ‘weak lens’ of its age: strong vignetting even when stopped down, softness when wide open, plenty of softness at the corners, and so on. It’s just okayish, it’s not remarkable. Coming from a rather small lens manufacturer, this is not surprising.

More in this series…

But the more I took photos with Auto Makinon 28mm, I have come to love it for its shortcomings. You have to put extra effort to get the best out of this lens. For instance, by stopping down the aperture to f8 and practicing zone focusing, you might be able to get great results.

Notice the distortion at the top part of the image.

The dispersed reflection on the roof denotes the character of an old lens.

Final Verdict

5/10 (I wanted to give a 6 but the image quality performance hurts a lot).

I would not recommend anyone to own Auto Makinon 28mm as their first foray into vintage lenses. Other 28mm lenses like Pentax Takumar have better performance and are therefore more suited for beginners.

If you’re an avid vintage lover, especially an M42 mount like me, however, then this lens will suit you just fine. It won’t be my first pick to go around, but there’ll be times when you enjoy taking photos with it and appreciating its solid build for days.

I will add more photos with a film camera soon!