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

[pinholecam]

Single with Schizophrenia
(in February...... )

No...no... not me or course...


But if there is a a word that describes my feels of this lens I used over February, Schizophrenia is it.


20160221-DSC00396 by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

Single with Schizophrenia
(in February...... )

No...no... not me or course...


But if there is a a word that describes my feels of this lens I used over February, Schizophrenia is it.


20160221-DSC00396 by jenkwang, on Flickr

Looks sharp, this is wide open?

 

[pinholecam]

Looks sharp, this is wide open?

Likely f1.4-f2.

 

[pinholecam]

You know how such things are...

very often, its alright and calm.

20160221-DSC00385 by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[Tiredofallthese]

You know how such things are...

very often, its alright and calm.
https://flic.kr/p/EFrYVR
20160221-DSC00385 by jenkwang, on Flickr

Where is this building? Nice bnw

 

[pinholecam]

But then without notice, the schizophrenia strikes.


20160221-DSC00416 by jenkwang, on Flickr

the out of control, out of focus highlights, no fixed pattern, all going about in all directions....

 

[pinholecam]

This does seem to be one of the hardest lens to 'get right', when it comes to making sense of the bokeh.


20160221-DSC00389 by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[pinholecam]

Yet, when the delirium lifts, there are often very good output from this lens.



20160212-DSC00329 by jenkwang, on Flickr

Sharp in the center at f1.2 and perhaps the sharpest f1.2 at wide open (in the center) at close distances.
Its just that the bokeh can swing so wildly between very nice (in combination with that good center ) to really 'off'.

 

[pinholecam]

20160212-DSC00356 by jenkwang, on Flickr

When the situations where it works, its wonderful to me.

 

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20160221-DSC00394 by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

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20160221-DSC00428 by jenkwang, on Flickr


The lens for the month is the Canon FD 55/1.2 SSC.
8 elements / 6 groups
8 aperture blades
58mm filter diameter
565g
79x55mm

This is a well made chunk of glass.
Very hefty as the 565g suggests and not small too with the 58mm filter diameter.
One look and one can tell that its 'business'.

Build quality is high but this is wrt FD era of lenses with the bakelike type plastic used here and there for the body.
Nonetheless, an impressive lens.

 

[pinholecam]

20160221-DSC00402 by jenkwang, on Flickr

If there's any hint to its strength in the bokeh department, my current feelings are these :

1. Close up is better than futher
2. Weaker for foliage
3. Better for urban

 

[pinholecam]

Lonely doing some backtracking (in March)


20160227-DSC00465-1-BW by jenkwang, on Flickr

Backtracking in more ways that one I think.

For one, its about the lens for the month.
I began much of my lens journey like many others in this digital age.
So much info out there and most of them point to the so called 'musts' of a 'good lens'.
Fast and sharp! Fast and sharp!

So it is that the enthusiast these days will be bombarded by this theme again and again that it becomes passed on from person to person.
(often w/o first hand experience, but into a 'truism' in itself)

As such, I've often passed over some lenses that have an aperture value slower than f2.8

 

[pinholecam]

However, I think over time, I have found how wrong I can be.
Lenses like the Pentax M20/4, M85/2, DA40/2.8XS with their compact size, K28/3.5 with its fantastic performance, has shown me again and again that slow does not necessarily mean bad.

In fact, a slower lens can bring about advantages too like being small while being fast enough for the job.


20160227-DSC00467-BW by jenkwang, on Flickr

and a smaller more portable lens does go more places than a heavy/big one that sits more often at home.

 

[pinholecam]

I like to have a 'usable set' of lenses for whatever mount I have.
'Usable' as in a range of focal length from wide angle to short tele.
The typical lenses one uses on a short trip or a day out.

Having some RF lenses, I thought about adding a small/portable short tele to the set.
I already have the excellent (and very under rated) Nikkor PC 100/2.5 ltm, but its a bit
of a hefty lens and tending towards the size of a SLR lens as well.
Furthermore, on day trips out with the kids, sometimes the short tele gets used very little (and often not at all).
So a heavier/larger lens would end up being carried around the whole day for nothing.


20160228-DSC00489 by jenkwang, on Flickr

 

[pinholecam]

20160228-DSC00492 by jenkwang, on Flickr

I've known about the Canon ltm 100/3.5 for quite a while, but its not that common a lens.
So finally, when I found one in decent condition, I jumped at the opportunity.


34mm filter thread
5 elements/ 4 groups
Dimensions 44 x 69.5mm
Weight 184g
No. Blades 15
LTM mount

The size of this lens is one of the things that make it special.
Bunch about 2.5-3 of your fingers together and thats about how big the lens is. (depending on your finger size )
'Perfect' for my casual needs if it works out... with the f3.5 max aperture........

 

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The first worry was whether f3.5 at max aperture would be good enough for isolation type shots (esp portraits).


20160320-DSC00611 by jenkwang, on Flickr

From the above 2 shots and this one, it seems a reasonable trade-off.

Not only that, but the Triotar based lens design in 5 elements/4 groups (a Cooke Triplet derivative) proves to offer a little bit of 'kick' to the bokeh as well at portrait distance.

 

[pinholecam]

Catching up on this thread after quite a while.
So many distractions in life.


20160605-DSC01358 by jenkwang, on Flickr


I think as can be seen from the frequency I am updating this thread that the one lens a month format just isn't working out that well for me.
Not only am I not rotating my lenses enough with this format, I'm also not shooting as regularly with one lens that I'd like to since I do shoot quite a few genres.

Therefore, I think I'll be switching back to a lens a week format and hopefully, I get this thread going on a regular basis again.

 

[pinholecam]

So it seems, its a backtrack for me.
Starting out thinking that fast long lenses are an absolute must, but in the end, getting a slower lens and liking it a lot.

20160605-DSC01364 by jenkwang, on Flickr


The Canon ltm 100/3.5 is just one of these old lenses than transcends what can be told in lens reviews nowadays.
A size and portability that is such a joy, coupled with performance that is 'ready' right from its beginning aperture of f3.5.

 

[pinholecam]

A week in Bali (Part 1 - Going ultra wide )

Part one of a 4 part series with musing over the four lenses I used for the trip.


My Pentax K1 arrived just 2 week before the trip, so that got me pretty excited.
Its been a wait for the longest time for Pentax to release a FF and I can finally get to use many of my lenses with AF, open aperture metering, etc.
Not to mention getting to put the camera thru its paces.
I even wrote a review of it here :
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1615366

But thats the camera and part of the story for me.
The rest are the lenses certainly.


So what to bring?
Landscapes, people, stuff that I see on a tour.


The easy one was the ultra wide.
I have only one.
The Samyang 14/2.8.


Tanah Lot #4 by jenkwang, on Flickr