Single in ........ (random ramblings of a lens junkie 2016)

[pinholecam]

Almost Dried by jenkwang, on Flickr

The downside of this lens for me has always been the size.
Its starting to get big for my Pentax travel kit, though to be fair its not that big compared to many UWA peers.

I find that what we ask for, can come back to bite us (as photographers)
We want sharp, we want fast.
So a lens like the Samyang is the result of it.
Pop a few of these in the bag, and we soon complain about encumbrance.

In a landscape lens, I would really prefer sharp to the edges, flare resistant and smaller with a f4 or f5.6 than a f2.8.
But the lens is what it is.

 

[pinholecam]

The UWA certainly offers a different perspective to a wide lens.
It just 'looks down' and to the side where the more limited FOV of a wide will not.


20160529-IMGP1213-BW by jenkwang, on Flickr


So despite the bit bigger size, for my needs, I feel that it adds a good bit to what the travel kit can do.

 

[pinholecam]

Tanah Lot by jenkwang, on Flickr

I find that vast spaces like Bali, and many places with natural landscapes may or may not need a UWA.
There is often enough space to 'step back' to take in the vast view or often a lack foreground to anchor the scene with a UWA.

So some getting used to and looking around as well as practical experience shooting locally will be helpful.

 

[pinholecam]

20160531-IMGP1551 by jenkwang, on Flickr

Interestingly, I did not use the 14mm as much this round than what I thought I would.
Maybe, I was trying to go for less exaggeration of perspective or just that my other UWA in the bag as good enough for the scenes I was in.

Nonetheless, when I needed that large FOV, it was good to have it ready in the bag.

 

[pinholecam]

A week in Bali (Part 2 - Trying to find Balance )


36mp on FF does come with its pluses and minuses, despite all the "once you buy (insert camera of choice) won't look back" blanket statements.
The pros are a lot.
Downsample to get the same IQ as you would with a 24, 18, 16mp sensor.
Downsample to remove the obviousness of noise.
Crop and still retain a large file (esp for printing)

The downside I found myself with was that my only 24mm lens was no longer giving me IQ if I pixel peeped at 100% (do note that 100% on 36mp is not 100% on 24mp)
So my choice of the intermediate wide between 14mm to normal was a bit more limited.

After some thought, I settled on the Pentax M20/4.
One of my favorite lenses to use.


20160528-IMGP1053-BW by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

A week in Bali (Part 2 - Trying to find Balance )

36mp on FF does come with its pluses and minuses, despite all the "once you buy (insert camera of choice) won't look back" blanket statements.
The pros are a lot.
Downsample to get the same IQ as you would with a 24, 18, 16mp sensor.
Downsample to remove the obviousness of noise.
Crop and still retain a large file (esp for printing)

The downside I found myself with was that my only 24mm lens was no longer giving me IQ if I pixel peeped at 100% (do note that 100% on 36mp is not 100% on 24mp)
So my choice of the intermediate wide between 14mm to normal was a bit more limited.

Downsampling is in camera, or post processed?

Have u tried 15-30/2.8 yet?

 

[pinholecam]

Downsampling is in camera, or post processed?

Have u tried 15-30/2.8 yet?

Downsampling in PP program.
I'm using Photoshop CC.


My current lenses prevent me from going the DFA15-30 route.
I already have 14mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 31mm in primes, so how to move?

I tend to like primes for the modularity.
Somedays, I'd like to go light and just use a 20, 50, 77mm combi
Other days, 14, 28, 50mm
On others, when its just a night out during a tour for example, I might just leave most of the lenses in the hotel and go out with a 31mm or 50mm.

 

[pinholecam]

IMGP0824-PixS by jenkwang, on Flickr

The selection of the M20/4 was really after a lot of back and forth since I had the 24mm and the 28mm options as well.
I finally decided to bring the FA31/1.8 limited as well as my wide/normal lens, and that narrowed the choice down to 20mm or 24mm, since 28mm was too near 31mm.

The uncertainty was of course that 20mm was near to 14mm and I knew at the back of my head that its often already enough as a UWA in most cases.
The pros are plenty of course.
Highly portable, easy to use 49mm filters, great versatility in the 20-21mm focal length range and not was exaggerated a perspective as 14mm can be sometimes.

 

[pinholecam]

20160530-IMGP1531-1-BW by jenkwang, on Flickr

So often, I found that 20mm was already 'enough' that I just stuck with this very handy lens.
Simple 49mm filters certainly made going for this lens a rather easy option.

 

[pinholecam]

Tanah_Lot_2 by jenkwang, on Flickr

I often find that in places with a large expanse of land, 20mm-24mm is about there in terms of FOV that does not excessively 'push away' the scene.

 

[pinholecam]

20160528-IMGP1097-1 by jenkwang, on Flickr

Last shot with the Pentax M20/4 for this time.
I'm sure there will be more in the near future with this lens given its high portability.

 

[pinholecam]

A week in Bali (Part 3- Being Normal/Abnormal )



20160530-IMGP1469-BW by jenkwang, on Flickr


I went back and forth a bit on the "normal" lens selection.
Being a 50mm guy, the 50mm comes very naturally to me.
Almost an extension of my vision when shooting in that I can intuitively get to the framing distance within little margin of error and frame the shot I want before lifting the camera.
IMO, it certainly pays off to use a lens/focal length more (and often so with primes) to get such a benefit.


So I approached the selection of the 'normal' lens for the trip with quite a bit of mental fuss.
'Normal' mean to me that it would be the most used lens.
Take people/candids, give shallow DOF for isolation, decent close up ability for the small stuff we see on a tour, sharp for landscapes (most normal are btw).
So quite a burden rests on the shoulders of the 'normal' lens.

 

[pinholecam]

20160529-IMGP1396 by jenkwang, on Flickr

With the coming of the K1, I would be able to use my Pentax lenses with AF as opposed to MF only with my A7.
So that made me reconsider the choice of the normal lens.

I've done the Bali with a 50mm before (the Pentax A50/1.4 that is a MF lens), so a wider 35/31mm came into consideration.
The 35mm is a classic focal length in the arsenal of a street/landscape photographer, with its wider FOV than a 50mm.

However, it does come with the challenge of getting more in the picture when one wants to 'keep it simple'.
So too the more aggressive approach it warrants when taking photos of people.

 

[Nikonzen]

Almost an extension of my vision when shooting in that I can intuitively get to the framing distance within little margin of error and frame the shot I want before lifting the camera.
IMO, it certainly pays off to use a lens/focal length more (and often so with primes) to get such a benefit.

Very well stated JK. To me this is the best way to approach photography. Learning how the lens "see's" things and practicing the concept until application is almost automatic like breathing or something. Bravo Zulu bro.

 

[pinholecam]

20160529-IMGP1373 by jenkwang, on Flickr

So the choice of the Pentax FA31ltd both excited me as well as gave me some doubts.
"Would I be able to use it like I do my 50mm?"
"Would it be too wide?"
etc

 

[wonglp]

Tanah Lot by jenkwang, on Flickr

Love this shot!

 

[pinholecam]

IMGP0852 by jenkwang, on Flickr

The Pentax FA31ltd is that sort of odd focal length and lens that few makers dare to venture to nowadays.
Seemly, the design criteria being small (for the focal length and f-stop), well made (all metal), and a pictorial approach to analyzing the o/p of the lens (as opposed to all flat MTF numbers).

The result, imo, is unique and shows for itself.
Between f1.8 to f2.8, is a sort of isolation effect from its sharpness falloff between center and edges, coupled with a smooth rendering/bokeh and strong contrast.
Stop it down to f5.6-f11, and the lens sharpens up all the way to the edges for real world photos which have dimension and depth, as opposed to the flatness of a MTF chart.

 

[pinholecam]

20160529-IMGP1276 by jenkwang, on Flickr

A 31mm is exactly that wrt to its focal length and the approach needed to get the shot.
This shot, was almost 'in your face' to get near enough.