Test shot with CZJ 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar and the Sony A7Sii. SOOC shot wide open.
A new-to-me Carl Zeiss Jena (CZJ) 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar medium telephoto lens arrived a couple of days ago. It was listed as excellent condition and CLA’d1. It sat on the table for a couple of days, but I decided to mount it on the Sony A7Sii and shoot it this morning. I might take it along on walkies as well.
The focus is a bit stiff and grabby, although not grinding as if the helicoid grease was hardened. It might just be the sample. It might be the age. Or it might need a little better cleaning.
The lens looks good, no obvious flaws. There is the usual minor internal dust and a few cleaning marks on the front element. Neither of these are of concern, although if I open it up to clean and relubricate the helicoid I will clean up the dust (of course).
I have a fondness for the Sonnar design. Lenses based on this old Zeiss optical formula generally produce very nice images, with out of focus areas smooth and a slight softening of the image toward the edge.
This is one of the things I prefer from legacy glass — the images do not have that clinical sharpness common to modern glass (and the computer designs), but have a certain character. There is nothing wrong with the former for the proper application. But for my images, which I shoot for art and fun, I like the character and quirky quality that some legacy lenses provide.
The area we hike in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest was burned a few years ago. The forest is recovering, but the evidence of fire remains. Shot with Sony A7Sii and CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at f/5.6.
Well, I wonder where the Interwebs will take me this week…
I thought that I lost my 6-inch crescent wrench. I found a list of best adjustable wrenches in an article on Popular Mechanics.
Given I want to use my drone to capture aerial imagery on my project sites, I need to earn my UAV pilot’s license. This course looks like a good place to start.
John Free was an American photographer and teacher. He died earlier this year. But, his work bears review and he left some good words on YouTube.
Vertx makes and sells some interesting looking gear.
The Eagles remain one of my all-time favorite bands. I never collected their recordings. I have all of them in my HD Tracks shopping cart at the moment. There will be a sale (I hope) this weekend and I will buy them to update my music file.
At the turn-around point of our normal summer hike, I pause, remove my pack, and give The Girl a drink. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and the CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at about f/8.
Given the hot weather we are experiencing1, we are hiking up above 7,000 ft in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. I found a place there where there is ample room to park the 4Runner and we can hike off of the Kings Canyon trail up a fire road into the forest. A few other folks hike up that way, but not very many and most days we do not encounter other hikers.
The initial climb-out is steep and this old man is huffing and puffing by the time I complete that climb. The Girl runs out and back encouraging me to hurry up.
The remainder of the hike has a couple of climbs, but more moderate. It is good for me. I like it.
If we get out early enough, she does not overheat. However, if the sun is high, then I watch her. I always have water and a bowl. If she needs water, then we stop and I give her some (and usually take a sip myself).
The turn-around is a bit more than a mile from the rig. I sometimes go a little farther and that adds some elevation. But we always stop where we turn around and I doff the pack and water her.
I am liking this milsurp Molle II Patrol Pack. It is big enough but not too big. I have work to do on organization, but will get to it. I also think I need to trim the stiffener just a little — the pack bends slightly in the middle. I think the stiffener is just a smidge too long.
We were out early today. She did not overheat. But she still wanted, and I gave, water.
I am grateful. Life is good.
1It is very hot for Carson right now. Afternoon temperature is running over 100ºF and it is not cooling off in the evening as is normal.
Sera posed nicely for me Tuesday morning. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and the CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at about f/4. No post processing; resize only.
On our way back from the trail’s terminus, we decided to explore a granite outcrop. I wondered if there might be a photograph in the jumble of textures.
Well, there was no joy from the rocks, but Sera posed for me. So I made the capture.
Shot with Sony A7Sii and a Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon at f/4. Raw conversion in DX0 Photolab directly to JPG without modification.
I took The Girl up to our favorite place in the National Forest to walk this morning. It is too hot for her after 0900h, more from the direct sun on her body than the ambient temperature. So, rather than stress her out at Silver Saddle Ranch, we seek elevation and cooler temperatures as well as the shade from the pine trees.
I decided that I have to bring a camera with me. The iPhone makes acceptable images for a number of uses. But I prefer a purpose-built tool that has more control over the image and has better lenses. So I brought the Sony A7Sii with a Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon mounted to it. I brought only the one lens so as to avoid the what lens do I choose for this image loop I sometimes fall into.
So, I had a 35mm focal length lens. I had a lens that has character, something a lot of modern glass lacks. So I made images as we walked. Out of the lot, I picked this one as the one I liked the best. It is not perfect and I can do better. I will shoot another tomorrow and see if I can get a better composition.
She’s looking for the neighbor dogs. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and a lovely little CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon wide open.
Late Sunday afternoon I decided that I needed a Blizzard in my life. The Girl agreed that was a good idea. So we loaded up and headed to DQ.
They were stupid busy at 1830h on a summer Sunday evening. They were having trouble getting orders done correctly and the timing was awful.
Maybe it was my mistake for going inside the store and not the drive-through. Lesson learned.
My Blizzard came out quick but the burger took forever. So, I ate dessert first (and saved some for The Girl).
I made the capture after we returned home. I have a new-to-me Carl Zeiss Jena (DDR) 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon that needs some love. I had it mounted to the Sony A7Sii and the image is straight out of camera with only resizing to fit my weblog.
Alpenglow on the mountain south of the ARRL Field Day campsite. The moon is also in the frame. Shot with my iPhone 13 Pro Max.
I am back from ARRL Field Day camping and radio play. I will write a complete AAR when I return from field work this week. But, here is a hint at what the site looked like. I made this capture early Monday morning as the sun rose over camp.
The trip home was uneventful. It was a good weekend and a good day.
Shot in the car wash with the Fuji X100V. Converted in-camera to the Velvia Vivid film simulation.
In getting ready for a Field Day camping trip, I had errands to run. One of them was to refuel and wash the 4Runner. I noticed the colors and texture of the brushes cleaning the car. So, I made the shot.
The well-worn trail from the sand pit to Mexican Ditch at Silver Saddle Ranch. Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon 35mm f/2 at f/8. Raw image converted to Acros film simulation in-camera. Straight out of camera.
We hiked out at Silver Saddle Ranch the last few days. It is closer to the house and the weather has been cooler, so Sera does not get too hot. I am on the watch for snakes and keep her close in. There is also the chance of encountering another canine and she can be reactive (depending on the other dog).
On this particular hike, I carried the Fuji X-T1 (my first Fujifilm camera) with the little Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens. It is from Fuji’s compact lens series, which remind me of the old film rangefinder camera lenses. The rangefinder cameras and their lenses tended to be compact (and good). There was also less of a range of focal lengths for those cameras because of the limitations of the rangefinder focusing system.
But, I digress. I do like to talk about equipment.
I struggled to keep my attention focused on my space. My mind wandered in every direction, that barking dog or chattering monkey figuratively trailing me on the trail. It took effort to reign in my wandery mind and focus on my Girl and our hike. The camera I brought to help me with that did not help. I struggled to find a subject to capture or a place to pose The Girl so I could make an image.
I elected to carry the old X-T1 because it is small and the 35mm lens offers a different look at things than the 23mm of the X100V. I thought about tossing another lens into the bag before we left the house, but elected to keep the kit small. A recent goal is to keep things as simple as practical because of my propensity for making things overly complicated.
Aside: As I write this early Wednesday morning, Sera just wandered in to my workroom to check on me. She looked at me, made eye contact, and asked if I am OK. She knows I am up early, even for me, and decided to check on me. After some interaction, a few pets, a doggie smile, she headed back to bed. I will return there and sleep a bit more before I really start my day.
For most of the last year, I have been shooting mostly JPG images with the Fuji X Weekly film simulations. The Fuji cameras are particularly good at reproducing certain film looks and I want that film look. (That means I need to shoot more film, I think.)
But, over the last week or so, I decided to revert back to shooting in RAW and then post-processing the RAW files to a processed (in-camera or at the computer) JPG after the fact. I generally have an idea whether I am looking at a subject that will present better in black and white or color.
So, for the trail image above, I knew that I would produce a black and white image. I also knew I wanted to use one of the embedded film simulations in the X-T1. The ACROS seems like the one to use.
Today and tomorrow I will finish up my preparations for a Field Day 2024 expedition. I will camp with friends out south from Smith Valley, Nevada. We will have a good time of radio play and fellowship.
When I come home Monday, I will have to do a quick reprovision of the camper because I have field work the remainder of next week. Then I expect to be home for a bit as I have a number of personal projects to work on before the summer ends.
Camping is good. The fellowship of friends is also good. Life is good. I am grateful.
