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Not great shots to show off the lens but casual shots with p&s mentality and the lens does beautifully. And a crop to show the eye's reflection
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All shot with Sigma 60mm f/2.8 and nex 5N
Chewy with Sigma 60mm f/2.8 and Sony NEX 5N
2014-07-25
I met Chewy last weekend while doing the Smog check for my wife's car. I have my Sigma 60 and nex 5N to do some causal shots on Chewy.
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Not great shots to show off the lens but casual shots with p&s mentality and the lens does beautifully. And a crop to show the eye's reflection
DSC07894-3
All shot with Sigma 60mm f/2.8 and nex 5N
DSC07889
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Not great shots to show off the lens but casual shots with p&s mentality and the lens does beautifully. And a crop to show the eye's reflection
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All shot with Sigma 60mm f/2.8 and nex 5N
Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 SSC and Sony A7
2014-07-23
A picture taken by the Canon FD 55mm f/1.4 SSC on Sony A7.
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And some casual test shots with Sony A7 today in my neighbor's garden with wild flowers.
All flower pictures are shot in f/2.0 with Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 SSC and Sony A7. This 50mm has good image quality and it is not expensive to find a good copy with perfect optics. My copy is in outstanding condition. Comparing to the Takumar 50mm f/1.4, the Canon is bigger and heavier and the focusing ring is perhaps a bit tighter than the Takumar but image quality is pleasing. This Canon lens has a warmer tone than the Takumar but overall I am well pleased with the lens for its color and bokeh.
Industar 69 28mm f/2.8 for black and white
2014-07-22
Instead of selling this lens, I renew my interest in keeping it as it has an unique character especially for black and white photos. It is a cute pancake and works reasonably well on aps-c. My copy does not need any modification and focus at infinity is a non-issue for me.
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I have ordered a 24mm to 37mm step up ring attempting to dress it up with a lens hood with 37mm vented Leica style metal hood. I don't exactly know if 24mm will fit the front or if a step-up ring will hinder the aperture adjustment. I will update how it goes in about 3 days.
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Aperture ring is in the front of the lens. Lens is prone to flare lowering its contrast. With a hood, this may become a better street shooter in b&w.
Update: It is a shame that 24mm is not the filter thread size but 22.5mm or maybe 22mm is and I don't think I can easily find a step-up ring that can work with a lens hood such as a Leica style vented lens hood in 37mm.
I just found out the filter size from this blog post and pictures
http://www.lilyandlamb.com/blog/industar-69-28mm-f28
I shot the following in b&w creative with 5N in about f/10. In b&w mode, the peaking focus will help even in strong lit afternoon sun against the LCD. When I shot the following, I was not able to see detail on my LCD because of the Sun and I don't have EVF on my 5N.
I may over-do the processing with Red Hi-Contrast filter on LR.
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I want to find the right lens hood so that I can try improving the contrast. When using this lens for color shot, there are scenes that this lens will come up oddly with low contrast and bokeh is not its strength. Size, form factor and ease of use with exception on the aperture selection make up the fondness of this pancake for the budget minded.
IMGP9995
DSC00794
DSC00796
I have ordered a 24mm to 37mm step up ring attempting to dress it up with a lens hood with 37mm vented Leica style metal hood. I don't exactly know if 24mm will fit the front or if a step-up ring will hinder the aperture adjustment. I will update how it goes in about 3 days.
DSC03598
Aperture ring is in the front of the lens. Lens is prone to flare lowering its contrast. With a hood, this may become a better street shooter in b&w.
Update: It is a shame that 24mm is not the filter thread size but 22.5mm or maybe 22mm is and I don't think I can easily find a step-up ring that can work with a lens hood such as a Leica style vented lens hood in 37mm.
I just found out the filter size from this blog post and pictures
http://www.lilyandlamb.com/blog/industar-69-28mm-f28
I shot the following in b&w creative with 5N in about f/10. In b&w mode, the peaking focus will help even in strong lit afternoon sun against the LCD. When I shot the following, I was not able to see detail on my LCD because of the Sun and I don't have EVF on my 5N.
I may over-do the processing with Red Hi-Contrast filter on LR.
DSC07922
DSC07925
DSC07931
DSC07923
I want to find the right lens hood so that I can try improving the contrast. When using this lens for color shot, there are scenes that this lens will come up oddly with low contrast and bokeh is not its strength. Size, form factor and ease of use with exception on the aperture selection make up the fondness of this pancake for the budget minded.
Industar 50-2 50mm f/3.5 -- a Russian M42 pancake
2014-07-20
Schneider Kreuznach Xenar 45mm f/2.8 and Kodak Retina Reflex IV
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Schneider Xenar 45mm f/2.8 is a pancake that can be converted to M42 and stays as pancake in terms of size.
Among the three Schneider Xena 45mm f/2.8, Xenon 50mm f/1.9 and the Tele-Xena 135mm f/4.0 that I have tried, the best image quality comes from the Schneider Xenon 50mm f/1.9. The performance on the 135mm f/4.0 is excellent but the long minimal focusing distance at 14 feet make it harder to use unless your subject focus is far. The 45mm f/2.8 is the cutest one as an altearnative pancake with reasonable performance.
A word of caution on the DKL mount, many of the DKL to M42 or DKL to K mount adapters are priced in the $35 to $50 range many of them are poorly made with all sorts of failing issues after few usage. I ran through three DKL to M42 adapters to get one good one out of three. They all work initially and after a few mount, they lose the tight mounting or fail to lock the DKL lens into place.
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Xenar pancake on top, M42 to DKL adapter, M42 to Konicar AR, Konicar AR to Sony E, Sony A7 on bottom
A pancake with three adapters .... Oh my but still quite small
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Shot with Schneider Xenar 45mm f/2.8
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Kodak Retina IV, the film rewind is at the bottom. And the shutter release is not on the top plate but on the body and I find it easy to hit the shutter
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Schneider Xena 45mm f/2.8 pancake was gone
The Schneider Xenon 50mm f/1.9 is very good when I tried it on Sony digital bodies.
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The body has a leaf shutter and it is amazing to watch the leaf shutter in action working with the shutter release.
Consolation with Yashica Mat 124G for 120 films
2014-07-18
I had let go my excellent+ copy of Pentax 645N and today, I am taking consolation with my Yashica 124mat G. I took some gear pictures on the Yashica Mat 124G when I first got it in 2010. It is a beauty.
I had it today with me and contemplating which roll of expired film to use among Ektar, Portra, Acros, Tri-X and Agfa Rollei. I got the roll of Agfa Rollei Retra 80X from Steve and that is the only roll that has not expired. All of my other roll films expired in the range between 2011 and 2013.
I used to have Rolleiflex Automat and when I researched today, I find this Yashica versus Rollei twin-lens reflex cameras from Frugal Photographer
Originally posted by Frugal Photographer:
I have a lobe bug with film cameras and I can buy cameras just for the look and gear porn pictures. Look at what I have done to the film gift from Steve -- the Agfa Rollei Retro and it is still unused after 2 years
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I took these product shots earlier contemplating which roll to go first. All of my roll films expired except the Rollei Retro that Steve gave me as a gift.
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And I found my vintage camera strap working well with my Yashica.
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I will hopefully find time to use my 120 expired films.
Film alert I go about online recently shopping for some color 135 films and I find fewer places with good discount and I wonder if the Agfa Vista Plus 400 is worth trying as it cost cheaper to test my unused camera with Contax 137MA -- my red camera.
AgfaPhoto Vista Plus 400 135-36 Film 1175259
I will likely buy a roll to test my red camera with Contax 137 MA
I had it today with me and contemplating which roll of expired film to use among Ektar, Portra, Acros, Tri-X and Agfa Rollei. I got the roll of Agfa Rollei Retra 80X from Steve and that is the only roll that has not expired. All of my other roll films expired in the range between 2011 and 2013.
I used to have Rolleiflex Automat and when I researched today, I find this Yashica versus Rollei twin-lens reflex cameras from Frugal Photographer
Originally posted by Frugal Photographer:
If what you have is a 'Mat, LM, EM, C, D, 635, 12, 24, 124, or 124-G, then use it. Don't worry about trading "up" to a Rolleicord or f3.5 Tessar or Xenar Rolleiflex. You have nothing practical to gain, and the spiritual frisson some enthusiasts get from fondling Rollei gear doesn't impress me. Knob wind film advance is just fine, not as sexy or as fast as lever wind and it doesn't automatically cock the shutter, but it's perfectly useful (and it lets you double-expose, if you're into that).
I have a lobe bug with film cameras and I can buy cameras just for the look and gear porn pictures. Look at what I have done to the film gift from Steve -- the Agfa Rollei Retro and it is still unused after 2 years
DSC08271
I took these product shots earlier contemplating which roll to go first. All of my roll films expired except the Rollei Retro that Steve gave me as a gift.
DSC08279
And I found my vintage camera strap working well with my Yashica.
DSC07910
DSC08301
I will hopefully find time to use my 120 expired films.
Film alert I go about online recently shopping for some color 135 films and I find fewer places with good discount and I wonder if the Agfa Vista Plus 400 is worth trying as it cost cheaper to test my unused camera with Contax 137MA -- my red camera.
AgfaPhoto Vista Plus 400 135-36 Film 1175259
I will likely buy a roll to test my red camera with Contax 137 MA
Takumar Beauty with Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4 8-element and Sony A7
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Some square crops with Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4 8-element and Sony A7. Some of the shots don't have the critical focus but I like the color and bokeh in my first day with the lens. They are shot with Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4 8-element in f/1.4 and f/2.0 with Sony A7. I went through great length of trouble with repeated return of 8-element version of the Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4. When I finally get a good copy, it is worth the efforts, the tiny Super-Takumar have good color, contrast and off-focus rendering is smooth and pleasing.
I tried two other lenses to shoot similar scene the next day with Contax G Carl Zeiss Planar 45mm f/2.0 and Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 SSC. The Takumar wins hand-down on the bokeh and color though the Canon is not too bad to my surprises. The Canon has a much warmer tone and more glowing edges at wide open aperture. I hate my Contax experience not because of poor quality but I use it with a Deo TechArt AF v2 adapter and it just kills the experience with AF hunting. But even if I have a perfect adapter, my biased opinion goes straight to the 8-element version of the Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4.
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