As much as I like how the Contax N 24-85 performs for IR photography when mounted on my Samsung NX500 -- which is to say a lot! -- it's a bit large and porky and, of course, has to be used with a preset, fixed aperture because it's electronically operated and there's no manual override.

After much research, I drew up a shortlist of possible lenses and decided to start with the early 80s vintage Minolta MD 24-35/f3.5 zoom. It's small, light (only 285g!), and inexpensive -- I paid $120 for my copy -- and this morning, I finally finished fabricating a lens panel so I could use it with my FrankenKamera VII.

I stepped out my front door, setup my tripod, aimed the camera down my driveway and across the street, and took this single photo before the HOA's landscapers arrived at my front yard and started making a mess with their power tools of mass destruction and leaf blowers:



The focal length was set at 24 mm, the aperture at f8, and the focus point was the stalk of the door mirror. While it's much too early to hazard a guess as to the level of image quality this can lens can muster, I don't see any obvious issues and, more importantly, I don't see a hot-spot, either!

This afternoon, I took another test photo, but this time, I used the Minolta MD 35-70 Macro lens I also purchased recently for $75.

The focal length was set at 35 mm, the aperture at f8, and the focus point was the front edge of the tile roof over the front door:



Again, there's no great art on display here, just a pair of test photos that, at least initially, suggest both of these lenses may perform very well for IR photography, as I'm not seeing any evidence of a hot-spot with either one.

More later, as I gain more familiarity with them. For the moment, though, I'm optimistic!