The Photographers' Corner 2013-2020

[Ronstar]

Ah, the joys of mirrorless cameras
I just wanted to share my legacy glass collection that I've been building over the last 9 months. I've been shooting a Sony A7RII for about that length of time, and I love the fact that I can adapt vintage glass to the camera. I also shoot a couple of modern lenses (Zeiss Batis 25 f2, Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens) but I really love working with older quality glass. On many of these lenses there is a certain character to the shots produced, with some absolutely beautiful bokeh on a few. Do any of you also share this enthusiasm for vintage glass? The collection keeps growing as my research leads me to search out other older lenses. In addition, some of these can be found very inexpensively in thrift stores, when they don't know what they've got.

Here's my collection so far:

1975 Vivitar series 1 70-210mm f2.8 Macro Zoom
Canon FD 35mm SSC f2.0 (thorium glass)
Konica Hexanon AR 28mm f3.5
1969 Nikon Nikkor-O non AI 35mm f2.0
Nikon 55mm Micro Nikkor f2.8
Kiron (Lester Dine) 105mm f2.8 Macro
Pentax-M 50mm SMC f1.7
Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm MC Auto-S
Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f1.7

View attachment 25080

Nice collection! And I do want some vintage glass - mainly primes.

 

[Sunset]

Ah, the joys of mirrorless cameras
I just wanted to share my legacy glass collection that I've been building over the last 9 months. I've been shooting a Sony A7RII for about that length of time, and I love the fact that I can adapt vintage glass to the camera. I also shoot a couple of modern lenses (Zeiss Batis 25 f2, Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens) but I really love working with older quality glass. On many of these lenses there is a certain character to the shots produced, with some absolutely beautiful bokeh on a few. Do any of you also share this enthusiasm for vintage glass? The collection keeps growing as my research leads me to search out other older lenses. In addition, some of these can be found very inexpensively in thrift stores, when they don't know what they've got.

Here's my collection so far:

1975 Vivitar series 1 70-210mm f2.8 Macro Zoom
Canon FD 35mm SSC f2.0 (thorium glass)
Konica Hexanon AR 28mm f3.5
1969 Nikon Nikkor-O non AI 35mm f2.0
Nikon 55mm Micro Nikkor f2.8
Kiron (Lester Dine) 105mm f2.8 Macro
Pentax-M 50mm SMC f1.7
Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm MC Auto-S
Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f1.7

View attachment 25080

Are you saying that new digital camera's can use the old lenses from 35mm film SLR's ?

I have an old Fujica ST801 with a number of lenses and macros and was just thinking the other day what a shame to throw them out (didn't even think it was worth donating).

 

[hesperus]

Nice collection! And I do want some vintage glass - mainly primes.

Thanks Ronstar. It's certainly worth looking around - you will be surprised at the quality of the lenses you can find at good prices. There are several primes I found after researching them that I consider excellent. The Canon FD 35 SSC, the Nikkor-O 35mm, and the Pentax 50mm SMC are all very good glass. The Kiron 105 is a 1:1 macro that is absolutely a fantastic lens. One of my earlier macro photos that I posted here was taken on that lens. Although you don't typically think of vivitar as a good lens maker, the series 1 70-210mm was actually made by Komine, a high quality japanese lens maker in the 70's.

Are you saying that new digital camera's can use the old lenses from 35mm film SLR's ?

Yes, the mirrorless ones. At least my Sony does.
You lose automatic functionality with them, but I prefer setting my photos up manually anyway.

 

[photoguy]

The Photographers' Corner

The Sony has a really short flange distance (distance from sensor to the mounting ring). As a result you can mount almost any lens if you can find an adapter and still achieve proper focus. In some ways you can think of the Sony a7 series as a universal camera body. We're no longer restricted to buying just the camera makers brand of lenses but we can now buy almost any lens in existence.

I use my Sony body with a bunch of canon lenses. My adapter (metabones) maintains electronic communication and I have full control with pretty good autofocus. I may get a Nikon adapter once they work out the electronic communications to support af (manual adapters exist right now, AF adapters are in beta).

It's also very popular to mount Leica lenses on Sony bodies. I dare not try any as I'm afraid I will want to buy them.







Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[DrRoy]

It may have been mentioned before, but if you like online forums (you are here after all), and you like photography (that is this thread), then you might also try a photography forum - uglyhedgehog.com.

 

[kcowan]

No one can predict the future, but this is an interesting take. If you want to skip the history of photography you can skip the first 20 minutes, the last 10-15 were the most interesting to me.

https://youtu.be/aanabyZgquU
The Past, Present & Future of Photography
Tony & Chelsea Northrup

Thanks Midpack. That is a great piece. A keeper for sure...

 

[hesperus]

It's also very popular to mount Leica lenses on Sony bodies. I dare not try any as I'm afraid I will want to buy them.

^^^this!^^^

 

[Ronstar]

Street performer in Key West, Florida

 

[Ronstar]

The beach, Key West, Florida

 

[Khan]

 

[Khan]

 

[RonBoyd]

View attachment 25138 (Post #2611)

Great shot!

 

[Khan]

 

[Walt34]

Khan, I like your sunset shots.

Does anyone else use off-camera flash a lot? I love Nikon's CLS system and the TTL flash control to get results like this. For this shot (and all the others on Christmas) I used four Nikon SB-900 Speedlights set up on the fireplace mantel and a bookcase in the family room, all aimed at the ceiling/walls to bounce the light off of, so in effect the walls and ceiling become the light source, bigger than all but the largest softboxes. At the beginning, or nearly so, I take a shot of the Colorchecker Passport and use that to set the white balance in Lightroom later on. Otherwise the light is going to pick up the color of the walls, in this case a light brown or tan. I've found the Colorchecker method to be very accurate for color correction.

So for family stuff like this I set the camera (Nikon D7000) to manual, shutter speed to 1/250 (max sync speed) and f/8.0 for a good depth of field and the Speedlights just follow along, adjusting output for the scene as needed.

I like the results - a brightly lighted scene that doesn't scream "This was shot with flash!"

 

[Ronstar]

Walt - very nice! What ISO? I had to shoot a group Christmas photo at ISO 6400. Should have used a flash. I need a couple more lights to pull that off.

 

[Walt34]

ISO 200. I probably could have got away with 100 (lowest possible) but I try to avoid maxing out the flash output. And these are never going to be headed for a gallery anyway.

ETA: I'm still thinking of buying a couple more Speedlights on eBay or Craigslist if I can find them at a good price. $550/each for the SB-910 is too much to justify but the SB-900s are old enough now that little-used ones can be found in the $200/$250 range, and I'll pay that much. Of course I get diminishing returns for each one I buy as a percentage of the total light output, but each additional light also "smooths out" the evenness of a scene. I'd love to pull a "Joe McNally" and have a dozen or more but that just isn't in the budget for photography gear.

 

[Ronstar]

Have you looked at Yongnuo flashes? Very inexpensive and get good reviews. I have 1 and I have only used it a few times, but seems to work ok.

 

[Midpack]

I just sold my Nikon D90 and two zoom lenses. It served me very well, but I'm shooting more video than stills these days. [I'd like to start a videography thread, but I'm not sure how many takers there might be here]

May be unwelcome/out of place on this thread but I'm looking at a Sony RX100V or a Lumix LX10, but I wish the Nikon DL's would come out. It's surprising how much I can shoot with just my GoPro Hero and iPhone - good enough for 95% of the population. And the DJI Mavic Pro brings a new dimension to video.

 

[RonBoyd]

First, let me say that a Videography thread is a good idea and you should, indeed, start one.

In any event, I am curious what the dedicated Video cameras bring to the table that the high-end DSLR cameras are missing... and in some cases not so high-end, including some of the supposed Point-and-Shoots. I am unfamiliar with the Nikon brand but the Canon G3X promises this:

1080p Full HD and Expanded Movie Options
With its large sensor and high performance lens the PowerShot G3 X camera creates spectacular 1080p Full HD video, but this premium model takes video-making even further with several high-end features. Set video capture to your shooting needs: 24p, 30p or 60p, with MP4 format available for easy sharing. Advanced audio includes expanded dynamic range, better S/N ratio, and external microphone and headphone jacks. Improved Dynamic IS significantly reduces shaking caused by handheld shooting. Manual controls (Av, Tv and ISO) can be set prior to and during shooting for full creative expression, and Manual Focus is also available. Shooting to commercial specifications is now possible with five aspect ratio grid line options, HDMI Live Out for checking images on an external monitor, and an Advanced Tripod Hole for smooth panning and tilting.

Granted that is not 4K but I am sure that is in the works.

And my 7D Mark II promises this:

Stunning Full HD video with Custom Movie Servo AF (speed and sensitivity) for continuous focus tracking of moving subjects, multiple frame rates including Full HD recording at 60p in MOV and MP4 formats and uncompressed HDMI out.

HD Quality, EOS Performance
While offering performance improvements across the board for still photography, the EOS 7D Mark II is also an incredibly capable HD movie camera. Taking advantage of its Dual Pixel CMOS AF capabilities, the EOS 7D Mark II has customizable Movie Servo AF options: not only can AF location be defined, AF speed and tracking intervals can be specified too, for fluid, smooth focus transitions. The EOS 7D Mark II delivers refined and detailed image quality with Full HD 60p recording at ISO values up to 16000, has an HDMI output and records to both SD and CF cards for versatility and security during important shoots.

 

[Ronstar]

Midpack - Please start a videography thread. I use a Gopro for making home movies, and I'd like to see what cameras/techniques others are using.

 

[Walt34]

Have you looked at Yongnuo flashes? Very inexpensive and get good reviews. I have 1 and I have only used it a few times, but seems to work ok.

No, I haven't looked at those but I will. Thanks for the heads-up.

ETA: I looked at several online and while they have attractive price tags the reason for that is they're entirely manual in operation. It appears that none will work with Nikon's CLS. I like Nikon's CLS (creative lighting system) shooting TTL (through the lens) because it keeps the exposure the same regardless of the scene's lighting. In a studio manual is fine because the scene is relatively stable. Not so with family moving around!

 

[Ronstar]

No, I haven't looked at those but I will. Thanks for the heads-up.

ETA: I looked at several online and while they have attractive price tags the reason for that is they're entirely manual in operation. It appears that none will work with Nikon's CLS. I like Nikon's CLS (creative lighting system) shooting TTL (through the lens) because it keeps the exposure the same regardless of the scene's lighting. In a studio manual is fine because the scene is relatively stable. Not so with family moving around!

I don't know if Yongnuo's flashes are that sophisticated. I don't think mine is.

 

[Ronstar]

A shop in Key West

 

[street]

Ronstar >>> if I may ask did you take that picture and this is a real photo from today??

 

[Ronstar]

Ronstar >>> if I may ask did you take that picture and this is a real photo from today??

I took the photo a few weeks ago in Key West. There is a street of older looking shops along the wharf that have that rustic look.