A new lens

by Posted in TTartisans 50mm f2 Leave a comment
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I bought this lens for a few reasons:

  • I came across some reviews on YouTube, all of which were favorable.
  • I wanted to see for myself if it was really as good as the reviews suggested.
  • Although I had a few vintage lenses, I didn’t have a modern 50mm lens for my Sony e-mount cameras.
  • It was inexpensive (less than $100).

So how did I like the lens:

  • A solid lens. Well made. Not in the least “plasticky”.
  • It’s manual focus. This is very subjective. Some people love manual focus, others not so much. I started out using manual focus lenses, so I don’t have a problem with this. Indeed, it can be good as it slows you down and makes you think more about your images. It can also be bad if you’re trying to photograph fast moving subjects.
  • It vignettes a lot. Again subjective. I rather like vignettes, and in any case the vignette is easy to fix in post-production.
  • It’s a little soft wide open but is clears up as you stop down.
  • I’ve read that the lens flares badly, but I was never in a situation where flare would be a problem, so I can’t really comment.
  • Average minimum focus distance (around two feet).
  • Pincushion distortion is noticeable but can be fixed in post-production.
  • Not a lens that will yield great bokeh in any situation, but in many situations, it yields appealing results.
  • Lateral chromatic aberration is OK except for around the edges and in the corners. Can be corrected in post-production. Longitudinal chromatic aberration is surprisingly good.

It’s a fun lens. I like the colors, it’s sharp enough for my needs and I also like some of its “flaws” (e.g. the vignetting). It has the character of a vintage lens but with superior performance. It’s inexpensive (approx $69), small, light, and provides a pleasant shooting experience akin to lenses from the film era. However, it costs less than a vintage 50mm on eBay and will be less bulky than a vintage lens and its adaptor.

I’m sure there will be those who complain about its inadequate sharpness; its tendency to flare; it’s vignetting; its distortion etc. That’s fine. Let them go for their huge, expensive, close to perfect optically, and, dare I say it, rather soulless lenses. For me I like a little character and for this price you really can’t go wrong.

I’m very pleased with my purchase.

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All pictures (except for the first) taken with a Sony A7IV and TTartisans 50mm f2.

Restarting an old project: vintage lens on digital cameras

by Posted in Canon 50mm f1.4 SSC FD, Lenses Leave a comment
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Way back in 2011 I bought a camera (a Sony Nex 5N). I had recently started collecting old cameras and I’d read that this camera could (with the appropriate inexpensive adapter) allow you to use vintage lens with it. I had picked up some vintage lenses with the old cameras I’d bought so I thought I’d give it a try.

I would have to focus the camera manually, so I don’t really know what possessed me to decide that street photography (where things move a lot) was the best way to start (i.e. rather than something which doesn’t move much at all like a landscape).
The pictures below were all taken in Manhattan the first day I tried this experiment. I was very pleased with the results. Subsequently I took quite a lot of photos with vintage lenses on a digital camera. But after a while I returned to auto focus, which I’ve been using for some time now. However, I’ve now decided to start a project using vintage lenses exclusively. We’ll see how it goes.

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Taken with a Sony Nex 5N and Canon 50mm f1.4 SSC FD

A newly acquired lens

by Posted in Fuji XF 10-24mm f4 R OIS Leave a comment
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I decided I needed an ultrawide lens for my Fuji cameras. It’s a Fuji XF 10-24mm f4 R OIS (the earlier version rather than the later version that among other things improved the weather sealing that many complained about the lack of, something that’s not all that important to me.

There’s a useful review of it on Optical Limits. The conclusion reads:

If you read our analysis so far, you may have noticed a few negative findings but this has to be seen in a context. Ultra-wide lenses are never flawless and the Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS is actually one of the best representative of its species. It is very sharp in the image center and the border- and corner quality is very decent. Lateral chromatic aberrations are also low. Yes, image distortion and vignetting can be very noticeable at the extreme wide end but most users will probably take advantage of image auto-correction here anyway. In terms of build quality, we are highly impressed. Fujinon lenses are better than most here anyway but Fujifilm has reached a new level here. However, even so it is a bit disappointing that they didn’t provide weather sealing. While it isn’t something unusual anymore, we certainly appreciate the image stabilizer which actually lifts the low light capabilities of this zoom lens beyond the two ultra-wide prime lenses (Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 and Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R) of the system. If you are still not convinced by now … the author will keep the lens in his private stock. Consequently … highly recommended!

I’d agree. To me it feels relatively light, sturdy, well balanced and very comfortable to use. I can see it staying on my Fuji X-E3 for quite a while.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Venus Optics Laowa 85mm f5.6

Trying out my newly acquired Pentax K10

by Posted in Buildings/Structures, Camera Collecting, Camera Collection, Cemeteries, Pentax K10, SMC 18-55mm Pentax DA f3.5-f5.6, Statues Leave a comment
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After charging the battery I decided to take my newly acquired Pentax to nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, NY to confirm that it was working and see how it handled.

So how did things go. Well, the pictures weren’t bad for essentially quick snapshots. I even quite like a few of them. It was a very dull day and the camera/lens combination was not the best for those conditions: old sensor (2006 vintage) that’s not good in low light combined with a old, slow zoom lens (18-55mm SMC Pentax DA f3.5-f5.6). Added to that I made a stupid mistake: of course the camera was used and in my enthusiasm to try it out I forgot to check out how the previous owner had set it up. Turns out he’d set it up in a way that practically guaranteed slow shutter speeds. I thought they were ok for hand holding, but it seems that they weren’t and this led to soft and in some cases, blurry pictures. Still I enjoyed the 1 1/2 hour walk, the camera was fun to use and I learned a lot about it. I’ll do better next time.

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Taken with a Pentax K10 and 18-55mm SMC Pentax DA f3.5-f5.6