A week with ...... (random ramblings of a lens junkie)

[pinholecam]

I've enjoyed the picts shared here for a long time.
Wanted to do the same, but always feared that my busy schedule would ever allow me any form of consistency to follow up on APAD.
Clicked on the "Post New Thread" button quite a few times, had a few ideas running in my head, even typed a few words, but always ended up deleting, since I just 'knew' I'd not be able to commit.

So after so many years, I think I have perhaps found what I should be able to post and at a pace that I can keep with.
APAW.

A week with ... (one of my lenses)
trying to find out what each of my lens can/cannot do, what each focal length can give me, and their strengths/quirks.

I may ramble here a bit on some lenses or its use on some systems, and I hope the reader keeps an open mind about them as they are just one person's opinion (not a 'right', just a user opinion)


Do give me comments and discussion/ideas are certainly welcome.


Ok... enough talk.

 

[pinholecam]

A week with the Canon ltm 35/1.8


20141205-DSC07316-BW-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr
(Wandered around, saw some cosplayers and remembered it was AFA, popped in for 15-20mins around the place and got away with this pretty lady's portrait.)

This lens is really new to me.
1 mth old in fact, so apologies in advance on any wrong info or wrong impressions of it.
But thats the purpose of this thread for me as well, get to use the lens over a week and see what it does.

This is the predecessor of the later 35/2 ltm (often called the Japanese Summicron).
A nice small lens around the size of the Voigtlander 35/1.4 (nokton).
40mm filter thread, Planar 7/4 arrangement, 11 aperture blades.

Seems that the single coating on this lens gives a nice soft contrast to the image (as pict above)
I get the impression that it tends no not clip the shadows as often as more modern lenses.


20141205-DSC07330-BW-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr


General impression is that the center is sharp, but on a non optimized camera like the A7 (the cause is well reported/documented on the internet for those interested), there is additional loss of sharpness off the center.
This and vignetting at wide open, can serve to give additional isolation imo, though composing off the center, may pose problems.


Staring at Moses and me by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[pinholecam]

Many RF lenses (esp. 35mm and wider) have issue on the A7 as mentioned due to the thick sensor stack of the camera/sensor design.
Thankfully, it seems reasonably ok at f5.6, f8, though with these lenses that have field curvature, its good to use the off center to focus to make sure that its correctly sharp.



Beware "The Marker"; by jenkwang, on Flickr
f8, works well enough in real use situations that I'd be comfortable to use this as the only walkabout lens if I wanted to.


Isolation via DOF is pretty reasonable for this 35mm lens with f1.8.
I'd term the bokeh, characterful (a bit 'jittery', but certainly not too harsh or distracting)


20141205-DSC07349-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr


20141205-DSC07347-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[pinholecam]

Last 2 for the week with the Canon ltm 35/1.8


I usually don't like veiling flare, but its often pleasing when it happens on this lens to me.
Esp for the BnW, which seems to add a quality to it.

20141130-DSC07229 by jenkwang, on Flickr


Last one..

20141130-DSC07237 by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[Nikonzen]

Alright a gear based photo thread! Fantastic!

 

[iluvs90]

Nice shots! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Zig Ziggler]

I like how this thread is developing with the description /background of those legacy lens (which I know you have plenty ) and the accompanying pictures.
More please!

 

[wonglp]

Last 2 for the week with the Canon ltm 35/1.8


I usually don't like veiling flare, but its often pleasing when it happens on this lens to me.
Esp for the BnW, which seems to add a quality to it.

20141130-DSC07229 by jenkwang, on Flickr

my canon ltm 35/2 flares alot too haha, has an extremely interesting bokeh though

 

[pinholecam]

Alright a gear based photo thread! Fantastic!

Nice shots! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I like how this thread is developing with the description /background of those legacy lens (which I know you have plenty ) and the accompanying pictures.
More please!

Thanks guys, its a gear thread as well as a trying to learn how to shoot with the gear thread.
I foresee some challenges, like how to use a 400mm for a week (no certainly multi genre and not play it safe by shooting birds and animals)
Still thinking about those

 

[pinholecam]

my canon ltm 35/2 flares alot too haha, has an extremely interesting bokeh though

Yes, this is a pleasant find for me.
The Canon 35/2 ltm is supposed to be the same, but re-calculated for f2 and more sharpness and contrast.
Coating and flare tolerance probably stayed the same.

 

[keithwee]

Nice theme bro

 

[pinholecam]

Nice theme bro

Thanks for the support.

To much CBA/LBA, might as well make user of it.

 

[pinholecam]

Time sure moves fast.
Its a week again.

This time, its a week with....


Voigtlander 21/1.8 Ultron

This is a chunky lens, but still considered small given its a 21mm with a very fast f1.8 aperture.
'Only' the size of perhaps of most makes 35/2 and a bit smaller than most dslr 20/2.8 lens.
Very well built, 11 groups 13 elements lens construction, with 10 aperture blades.


The easiest approach to the lens... wide landscape work, so that gives me pict #1 for this week's self challenge.

A break in the calm by jenkwang, on Flickr

The f1.8 of the lens, of course promises available light work, and I also wanted to add something fresh to my usual reliance of the 50mm as my go to family lens, so this was a challenge for me to use it for a family day out and hopefully not screw it up.


20141207-DSC07413-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr



20141207-DSC07431-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr

Certainly a unique proposition to the photographer.
A wide lens at 21mm, yet having the f1.8 to 'make it happen' when there is a need to throw in some isolation of the subject using a shallower DOF.
IMHO better in this respect than most 20/2.8 or 24/2.8 options in this regard.
All in a still reasonably small package.

 

[pinholecam]

The 21mm perspective is also supposed to be well like by some street photographers.
Wider to give the subject more context.
I too wanted a new perspective, but I usually feared the wider lenses for this, as it can get messy with too many elements captured in the frame.

Took the opportunity to shoot some 15-20min of streets to see how it worked out.


20141212-DSC07454-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr



20141212-DSC07450-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr



20141212-DSC07448-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr



20141212-DSC07453-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr


Overall, I am very happy that I took the plunge with this thread and got out of my comfort zone of relying on some focal lengths for the things I shoot.
The lens proved to be an excellent street/walkabout lens, and I am pleasantly surprised.
Wide views, isolation via shallow DOF, street/people shots with a wider perspective that shows more context, all marked with a 'tick' on the checkboxes.

 

[ahblack]

Ladies & gentlemen... I present to you... The most poisonious thread in Clubsnap!!!

Great thread bro! But... This thread gonna burn a lot of holes in people's wallet... Big big holes...

 

[keithwee]

no worries, my pocket empty already. Keep it going bro !

 

[Nikonzen]

I am very happy that I took the plunge with this thread

Me too! Thanks!

 

[pinholecam]

Ladies & gentlemen... I present to you... The most poisonious thread in Clubsnap!!!

Great thread bro! But... This thread gonna burn a lot of holes in people's wallet... Big big holes...

no worries, my pocket empty already. Keep it going bro !

Me too! Thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement.

Ha... ha.. I certainly hope this is not going to be a poisonous gear thread.
The last thing I want it to be is one of those 'middle aged manhood in crisis, snobbish lens threads'.
So I want to cover cheap lenses as well.
Really affordable ones.
Also the challenge to try to understand a bit more of the lenses I have.

I find that very often, its easy to fall into that sort of 'one upmanship' 'lens arms race'and not focus enough on what the lens can really do.
Take a few shots at wide open, and proclaim that the 'best is conquered!'
But has it?
Can that lens be used well wide open with a subject placed off center in the usual rules of third area and that area have decent sharpness?
How does the lens do in a handheld situation in so-so light when one needs to capture textures of the small stuff one sees in a tour/walkabout? Perhaps with a 1/60, f4 situation.
What about overall sharpness (edge to edge) when used for landscapes?
What about other aspects like flare, size/portability/encumbrance?

I do hope this thread lets me explore and share these aspects.
Within the limits of a 1 week context.

 

[pinholecam]

A week with a Fisheye

Not just a fisheye, but a toy fisheye on a compact camera (the Pentax Q7).
I just feel that sometimes, one can take it too seriously with cameras/gear.
Hold on to that big serious looking camera and that psyche takes hold.
"Must be serious", "Take serious shots"
So its always refreshing for me to reach for the Q/Q7.
Just runs against the grain of this mentality, and go back to the 'basics' of why I do photography.
For the images (not the pixels), the love of things and just fun.

Add to this, toy fisheye.
I had to try this lens more.
See what is possible (and not).

So lens info :
Pentax 03 Toy Fisheye.
3.2mm f5.6 (eq. to about 17mm fisheye lens)
6 elements, 5 groups.
Aperture is fixed at f5.6, no other settings.
Its really just a toy lens option for the Q system, though its performance has surprised me more than once.

The monthly Pentax outing gave me a chance to just stick to it as my only lens for the whole outing.
If is did not work out and could only do wonky wide, distorted views, that I'd be screwed...


Wide views with the fisheye.

20141214-IMGP2768-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr



An eye for Ion by jenkwang, on Flickr


Street/people/candids, really meant an 'in your face' approach.


Don't be angry, its just a tiny Pentax Q by jenkwang, on Flickr



Yumm...tastes better this way... by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[pinholecam]

Exaggerated perspectives..


20141214-IMGP2738-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr



20141214-IMGP2730-2400 by jenkwang, on Flickr


and one more candid people shot.


20141214-IMGP2756-2400 by jenkwang, on FlickrI


I just find that I have only scraped the surface for this lens and a fisheye lens in general.
So much more to try.
Certainly room for another session next time.