Category: lenses

Daily Image: Sera Posing 17 June 2024

ruminator3 Comments
Sera posed for me this afternoon. She is such a hoot. Shot with Sony A7Sii and a vintage Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.4 wide open. Post processing with Nik Tools 6 Silver Efex to produce a Tri-X look.

I am still adjusting my new workspace. I did a bit of work on it this morning, while working through my coffee and getting started on my day. I am struggling to wait to work on the PC side because I need to get ready for Field Day and field work (next week).

Nonetheless, a new-to-me Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon arrived in the morning mail. I retrieved it from the mailbox on the way out to hike, but did not open it until we returned, I finished the day’s activities, and rested after my hike. I decided to shoot a few images of Sera to see how it performs.

It will take more repetitions with the lens to get it. That is OK. The process is good for me. I have not worked with my post-processing tools enough and I have a lot of glass that will keep me busy for weeks, if not months.

Change of subject: It is so good to have my MBP back in the workroom and connected to my speakers. I listened to a few old favorites this morning while having coffee. Some of them are so poignant and take me back to when Wife and I so enjoyed exploring new music together.

In particular, I have To The Bride playing as I write. It was compiled in the mid-70s when Barry McGuire, The Second Chapter of Acts, and A Band Called David toured together. It was a time at the beginning of what came to be called contemporary Christian music and much of it sounds like worship music that is now common in the church.

Wife and I saw McGuire not long after this record was produced. He came through Kansas City while we lived there. I so loved hearing him sing and play and tell his stories. He was a true minister of God and I learned much from him.

I so loved Wife at the time and sharing those experiences was so good that I do not have words for it. My heart swells as I think on it and a tear comes to my eye. She is still truly, deeply missed.

But, life goes on. It is different, but still good. I am grateful for all the years we had together. I am grateful.

Daily Image — 13 September 2023

ruminator
Shot of Aloha Liquor Store with the Asahi-Kogaku Optical Company 58mm f/2.4 at f/8 with the Sony A7Sii and Vivid Creative Look.

This (very) vintage lens came to me a couple of weeks ago. It is from an Asahi-Kogaku rangefinder camera, probably made in the 1950s. I had to order a M37/M42 adapter so I could mount the lens. Then I got busy with field work and did not take time to shoot it.

Well, I decided to reprovision my stock, so I took The Girl and we drove down to Aloha Liquor. She waited while I did a little shopping. Then I made this capture of the store front.

The lens is certainly sharp at f/8. The colors are not quite as nice as the Hexanon 40mm f/1.8 produces. But they are good.

I made a second capture in black and white, below, of my Lucas plushie. This one was shot wide open (f/2.4). It is also quite sharp and there is a hint of swirly bokeh in the background. It looks like this lens will also produce some soap bubble bokeh balls as well. I need to play with it some more.

One more thing — this lens is heavy. There is a lot of metal in the lens.

This is a shot of Lucas using the Asahi-Kogaku Optical Company 58mm f/2.4 wide open. Captured with the Sony A7Sii and the Black and White Creative Look setting.

Wollensak Six Inch F/4.5 Cine Lens

ruminator
I captured these willow berries along the linear park near Governer’s Field in Carson City. We were walking and the image reached out and grabbed me. Shot with a Panasonic G3 and a Wollensak 6-Inch f/4.5 lens. Exposure data unrecorded.

The Girl and I walked this morning, as we usually do. The only time we don’t walk is when one of us is not feeling well. That is not often.

This morning I carried the little Panasonic G3 micro-4/3s camera and a pouch full of C-mount lenses. The 25mm f/1.9 is an interesting lens. I made a few captures with it as we walked the rosebush hedgerow near the old flume. One of those is on my IG feed.

I decided to take a longer walk and we walked the linear park that crosses Roop Street and passes along the north side of Governor’s Field. It’s a favorite route. The Girl can run off-lead, there is a wetland there, and there are plenty of fat ground squirrels to chase.

In the winter the sun shines brightly along the path and the willows provide a little shelter from the wind. In the summer the cattails are full of blackbirds (and others) and the sound is pleasant. We like the path.

There was a hawk sitting atop one of the field lights. I mounted the Wollensak 6-inch f/4.5 lens on the camera body and made a few captures. But I’m not entirely satisfied with them.

But this old willow gave me some interesting contrast. I thought the highlights in the background might provide some bokeh-balls. So I made the capture and we walked on.

When I opened the images this evening, I liked this one. The contrast is good. The image is sharp. And the background is just fun. It’s a good memory of a good morning spent with the Girl.

Dog and Friend

ruminator2 Comments
This is one of my buddies from the time I lived at the Plaza Hotel here in Carson City. He and his dog like this little park as much as do the Girl and I. Shot with a Panasonic G3 and a Wollensak 3-inch f/4 lens. Exposure data unrecorded.

I’m a little entranced by the Wollensak 3-inch f/4 cine lens. It has a character that I find interesting — very vintage but excellent image quality. The image circle is large enough to cover micro 4/3s without vignetting.

The Girl and I were walking one of our usual routes when I spied a friend from my time at the Plaza Hotel here in Carson City. His dog loves the Girl and this man is solid. I’d have him at my back any day.

I’m enjoying playing with the Panasonic G3 again. I have only a few cine-mount lenses (C-mount). I think addition of a few more Wollensak lenses is in order. They produce a very nice image that has a look I really like.

Vivitar Series 1 800mm f/11 Cat

ruminator

I don’t have a lot of use for an 800mm lens. But, now and again, it’s a useful tool to have when shooting wildlife, especially from long distances. It’s a catadioptric lens, meaning it’s a mirror lens. It’s an unusual piece in that the glass is one solid part. It was unusual and expensive when it was made, so not very many were sold. It’s also a decent piece of glass and can get the job done.

On my crop-sensor Nikon D300, it’s the equivalent of a 1,200mm lens. That’s a lot of reach. I have a Nikon 1.4x extender that I can use (and lose a stop), but there’s not much out there that needs to be shot that can’t be reached with an 1,800mm lens.

I made some minor adjustments to the image, mostly exposure and contrast, and added a bit of sharpening as a final step. Enjoy.

Little Buck

Tokina 28–85/f4 Zoom

ruminator

Tokina 28-85-4 Test IMy friend Jimmy loaned me a Tokina 28–85mm f/4 zoom lens in Nikon mount a couple of weeks ago. The lens isn’t particularly fast, but it’s the right focal length for both my D300 and my Nikon film cameras. It’s a chunk of glass and the build quality is excellent. Focus is smooth but not too light. The zoom action is internal (it’s a two-touch zoom) and has no creep. It’s a good match for the dSLR although it’s a bit of a chunk on the Sony NEX-5N, but then what isn’t a chunk on that itty-bitty mirrorless body?

The lens has been out and about with me several times on the D300. On the crop-sensor camera, it’s in the range from normal to medium telephoto. It’s a little slow to isolate a subject well, but the optics are quite good. I shot the image on morning walkies a few days ago (with the Girl) at 85mm and about f8. It’s sharp enough, especially for a zoom. Color rendition looks neutral to me.

When I grabbed the lens for a closer look, Jimmy said “That’s the last I’ll see of that lens.” He’s probably right.

Chinon 135/2.8 Test

ruminator

Spiny Flower

My friend Jimmy loaned me this Chinon 135mm f2.8 lens in Konica AR mount. It’s a beautiful build with a really unique shape. It’s a little broad at the aperture ring and tapers a bit at both ends. It’s a beautiful lens and worth having just for those characteristics.

I’ve been carrying it on walkies the last couple of days. Yesterday morning the light was right on this small flower. The lens doesn’t focus particularly close (about five feet), but with a 200mm equivalent focal length on the Sony’s APS-C sensor it’s still close enough for a decent image. The bokeh of this lens is very smooth and it’s plenty sharp wide open.

I think it’s a keeper, even if I already have four or five (or more) 135mm lenses.

Pentacor 135/2.8 Test Shot

ruminator

Pentacor 135/2.8

My glass-pushing friend Jimmy loaned me a Pentacor 135mm f2.8 compact lens a while back. It’s in the Practika B mount, which is a bayonet. I didn’t have an adapter for my NEX, so I had to wait for one to be shipped from China.

The adapter arrived late last week, so I put the lens on my NEX the other morning for walkies. The image quality is quite good. The colors seem a little cool (probably the Zeiss heritage), but the lens is adequately sharp wide open and has a very well behaved bokeh. The out of focus background is smooth and not busy. I rather like the lens.

If I didn’t already have so many 135mm lenses, I’d probably keep it. If the price is right, I’ll probably keep it anyway. 🙂