ClubSNAPpers in Melbourne..

[NedKelly]

heheheh no worries.
Point definitely taken!

but yeah me getting the manual lens is exactly for the intended use at f1.4 to get those creamy bokehs and small dof.

The street photographys are definitely better and perhaps more fun using a wider lens too. but I was just having fun that day

The lens i got for nikon had the chip inbuilt so i can meter and change the aperture from camera. The metering is sweet. but I do find that for the rokinon some how i prefer exposure to be at +0.7.

and i guess the last point of getting this lens is because I cant afford the automatic version whether they are from sigma, or nikon heheheeh... well at least not for now

I am tempted to get the split screen .. will have a think about it and see where that will take me.

 

[MRSAMO]

Is the Rokinon a little dark on yours? I'm not sure about mine but I feel its a little bright, need a pro to check it out. What's your setting for night shots on the streets? I'm going to try the night markets and would like some advice on the kind of settings I should use.

With the split screen, get a quality one and not a cheapo! Remember, its gonna be stuck there whether you need it or not.

 

[NedKelly]

Good advice. Think if i get i will get the katzeye

Interesting, i felt mine was dark but i pretty much use on matrix metering rather than spot/centre so maybe that could be the reason. I have seen similar reports on flickr too.

I shoot on f1.4 most of the time esp when it is dark. if in really bright sunlight I might go f2, 2.8 or 5.6
I know lenses will get sharpest peak at f8 in general. but apparently the rokinon/samyang performs best at f1.4 (though razor thin focus plane). Reports seem to show that it is rather sharp across f stops but if you compare the lens to the branded ones eg canon/nikon, it is pretty much on par for sharpness only at f1.4 to f4. after f4, it loses to canon/nikon.

so for what it is worth, I shoot at f1.4

I shoot with the D90. for night shots (blue hour onwards) I tend to ramp my ISO up to 1600 and shoot at ard ISO 1/60-1/80. I tend to brace myself against something if less than 1/60. Shooting in aperture priority too.

And I shoot in raw so if i have to i will shoot a bit faster shutter speed to get a dimmer but sharp image then increase exposure post process.

hope that helps.

 

[Mike Y]

Hayfever takes at least 1-2 yrs of periodic exposure to develop. It'll get worse each yr, and exponentially in most cases. Prolonged inflammation due to allergy response allows some opportunistic bacterial infection when the inflammation sufficiently damaged the affected area and lost considerable amount of its immune defence due to the damage. for ur case, it pretty much follow this chronological order: hayfever -> infection. u probably did not get cold. cos cold has the same symptoms as hayfever, and they feels the same. all mucousy and disgusting. if u did not have fever, bacteria infection has not set in. it's probably still hayfever. of course, when u do have fever, the infection is considerably bad. If u re still sticking around, get the desentisation jab after this pollen season

Thanks for the advice man, it looks like I'll definitely have to look at doing that. Cheers!

Regards,
Mike
The Camera Rental Centre Melbourne
Website| Like us on Facebook!
Tel: 0426 268339

 

[Mike Y]

Hey Mike,
wah you plane photos sat siah.

I am doing my phd here in newcastle, med science research.
definitely will support CRC melb! had always visited CRC in spore when i go back for cny... dunno if i can do that for the coming up CNY though

Thank you, and thank you! Any support for CRC's efforts are welcome!

When do you complete your Phd? What kind of job are you looking for?

Regards,
Mike
The Camera Rental Centre Melbourne
Website| Like us on Facebook!
Tel: 0426 268339

 

[NedKelly]

hehe hopefully in a couple of months time.
Medical science research would be my line of work.

 

[MRSAMO]

Anyone know of any cheaper (like e-bay prices) camera and parts shops in Melbourne or around Australia? Looking for filters locally because ordering overseas may take too long and probably not in time for my christmas trip.

 

[MRSAMO]

Good advice. Think if i get i will get the katzeye

Interesting, i felt mine was dark but i pretty much use on matrix metering rather than spot/centre so maybe that could be the reason. I have seen similar reports on flickr too.

I shoot on f1.4 most of the time esp when it is dark. if in really bright sunlight I might go f2, 2.8 or 5.6
I know lenses will get sharpest peak at f8 in general. but apparently the rokinon/samyang performs best at f1.4 (though razor thin focus plane). Reports seem to show that it is rather sharp across f stops but if you compare the lens to the branded ones eg canon/nikon, it is pretty much on par for sharpness only at f1.4 to f4. after f4, it loses to canon/nikon.

so for what it is worth, I shoot at f1.4

I shoot with the D90. for night shots (blue hour onwards) I tend to ramp my ISO up to 1600 and shoot at ard ISO 1/60-1/80. I tend to brace myself against something if less than 1/60. Shooting in aperture priority too.

And I shoot in raw so if i have to i will shoot a bit faster shutter speed to get a dimmer but sharp image then increase exposure post process.

hope that helps.

Thanks for the tip, didn't a lot of that stuff including raw! Why would the canons/etc be sharper after f/4? I'm concerned about that because I'd like to try landscape with this thing and it'll have to be f/8 and so on.

 

[Jemapela]

I shoot on f1.4 most of the time esp when it is dark. if in really bright sunlight I might go f2, 2.8 or 5.6
I know lenses will get sharpest peak at f8 in general. but apparently the rokinon/samyang performs best at f1.4 (though razor thin focus plane). Reports seem to show that it is rather sharp across f stops but if you compare the lens to the branded ones eg canon/nikon, it is pretty much on par for sharpness only at f1.4 to f4. after f4, it loses to canon/nikon.

so for what it is worth, I shoot at f1.4

I would think that some/many photographers would avoid shooting at widest-open aperture for a few reasons. The extreme accuracy of focus is one reason. A lesser known/understood reason would be the excessive internal reflection that inevitably occurs with super fast (wide aperture prime lenses) due to the large surface area of the elements.

For this reason, everytime anybody says his expensive f/1.2 or f/1.4 lens is razor sharp, I detect the ignorance and big-is-better ego.

Here are examples of wide aperture internal reflection that causes flarey softness. Although not always noticeable depending on the lighting and colour of the subject, it is always there. True, a fast prime lens is generally sharper than a zoom lens, but the large surface area always causes this internal reflections that result in flarey softness.

This will also happen with professional grade Canon L-series and Nikon ED-series. Even if Canon labels their lenses as super-double-L or ultra-triple-L, or if Nikon labels theirs with Nano Crystal Diamond Coat ED, this flarey softness is still there.












Do a bit of research on the web. It is almost always recommended never to use lenses at its widest aperture. Stopping down 2 stops from its widest aperture would result in significant improvement to your image quality, as you can see in the example images above.

 

[MRSAMO]

For this reason, everytime anybody says his expensive f/1.2 or f/1.4 lens is razor sharp

But really, mine is tack sharp! :bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[Fallenphoenix]

I would think that some/many photographers would avoid shooting at widest-open aperture for a few reasons. The extreme accuracy of focus is one reason. A lesser known/understood reason would be the excessive internal reflection that inevitably occurs with super fast (wide aperture prime lenses) due to the large surface area of the elements.

For this reason, everytime anybody says his expensive f/1.2 or f/1.4 lens is razor sharp, I detect the ignorance and big-is-better ego.

Here are examples of wide aperture internal reflection that causes flarey softness. Although not always noticeable depending on the lighting and colour of the subject, it is always there. True, a fast prime lens is generally sharper than a zoom lens, but the large surface area always causes this internal reflections that result in flarey softness.

This will also happen with professional grade Canon L-series and Nikon ED-series. Even if Canon labels their lenses as super-double-L or ultra-triple-L, or if Nikon labels theirs with Nano Crystal Diamond Coat ED, this flarey softness is still there.












Do a bit of research on the web. It is almost always recommended never to use lenses at its widest aperture. Stopping down 2 stops from its widest aperture would result in significant improvement to your image quality, as you can see in the example images above.

good to know... i always thought i've shitty copies of my primes....everyone claim theirs re super sharp... -.-

 

[Jemapela]

Having used/assessed/adjusted/repaired many lenses, I know with certainty that almost all fast lenses will have some degree of softness at its widest open aperture. As I said before, it is always there, but depending on the subject that you shoot, don't always see it. I deliberately shot these images knowing that it will show up very clearly even to the visually-impaired.

Here's more examples with a fast professional grade zoom lens.





People who say their lens is super/razor sharp just aren't aware. Even if the fast lens is truly sharp and without such softness which is rare, eventually over time and use, internal parts get worn (lose their precise shape/size) and cause the optical elements to become out-of-alignment thereby produce similar optical degradation effects like these images.

 

[Jemapela]

good to know... i always thought i've shitty copies of my primes....everyone claim theirs re super sharp... -.-

Apart from the wide aperture softness that is inevitable, many third-party lenses don't have durable internal parts, and soon lose their precise positioning of optical elements and blocks. Then the question to ask is whether or not such parts are available from the manufacturer to the sole agent or distributor for repair replacement.

 

[Fallenphoenix]

Apart from the wide aperture softness that is inevitable, many third-party lenses don't have durable internal parts, and soon lose their precise positioning of optical elements and blocks. Then the question to ask is whether or not such parts are available from the manufacturer to the sole agent or distributor for repair replacement.

i've 2 sigma lens =(

what's the usual lifespan of these parts and the cost of repairing them?

 

[Jemapela]

i've 2 sigma lens =(

what's the usual lifespan of these parts and the cost of repairing them?

There is no easy, sure or standard method to quantify their lifespan. Everytime you zoom or focus, these parts wear out and lose shape as they move along grooves in the barrel. A drop or impact may distort/break them. Generally these parts are small and cheap, probably plastic, nothing fancy in material but could be made to 0.01mm accuracy in diameter or width. The bulk of the cost to repair is time spent lining the optics to unforgiving precision. I can't tell you for sure how much any particular lens will cost to repair, but some aren't worth repairing.

 

[Fallenphoenix]

There is no easy, sure or standard method to quantify their lifespan. Everytime you zoom or focus, these parts wear out and lose shape as they move along grooves in the barrel. A drop or impact may distort/break them. Generally these parts are small and cheap, probably plastic, nothing fancy in material but could be made to 0.01mm accuracy in diameter or width. The bulk of the cost to repair is time spent lining the optics to unforgiving precision. I can't tell you for sure how much any particular lens will cost to repair, but some aren't worth repairing.

hope it's economical to service my lenses in future...somehow the nylon gears in the tamiya cars popped into my head when u said that..

 

[Fallenphoenix]

hehe hopefully in a couple of months time.
Medical science research would be my line of work.

u've submitted ur thesis? i'm writing mine..2#$@#$%! way behind the deadline....
what field re u in? planning for do post-doc here?

P.S: don't do post-doc in uni melb, unless it's in microbiology dept. Probably, the only dept in the uni that allows u to do proper work.

 

[NedKelly]

Great points Jemapela!
yeah I know that lens tend to get sharper as they stop down away from the max aperture... but then of course once it gets too far stopped down eg past f16, diffraction occurs resulting in less sharp images too.
I remember reading someone did some test comparing the samyang 85mm to Canon and nikon. And they found that the sharpness at f1.4 is similar across, but when stopped down eg f4-f8, the canon and Nikons were sharper.

But your point on the ease of wear and tear, and availability of repair parts on third party lens is a good one. Hope mine lasts a little bit longer than I can expect it to be hehehe. Itching to upgrade to an autofocus one.. but then for the time being this will do. Need to improve overall skills first.


@Fallenphoenix
Yeah i am writing mine too! also way behind deadline and *(&*@(!#%$##
I am in microbiology and immunology, looking at emphysema development in animal models
I was applying to the pharmacology group the other day.... sigh not looking too good.
Thanks for the heads up hehehehe.

 

[Reim1o]

Hello all, I'm new here. Joined CS long time ago, but I just found out about this thread.

Anyone know of any cheaper (like e-bay prices) camera and parts shops in Melbourne or around Australia? Looking for filters locally because ordering overseas may take too long and probably not in time for my christmas trip.

For emergencies, I usually order from Digital Rev. They're usually abit more expensive than other ebay sellers, but they use frikkin fast DHL shipping. I ordered an NEX from them and it arrived in 3 days (plus 1 day wasted to have it reshipped to my office coz I mistakenly put my home address for shipping).

 

[MRSAMO]

Thank Reim1o, I'll order bodies and lenses from grey imports but for little stuff like filters it might take a while at this time of the year, which is why I'm looking for local shops for quick pickup. Besides, Digital Rev is not really my favourite shop.