lumenspixel wrote:
Jim, Since you are shooting mirrorless I would recommend focusing at taking aperture to avoid focus shift. Most of my lenses are subject to that and it makes a small but noticeable difference.
Test your lens for that and see if some are not affected in which case you may continue to focus wide open. Of course if the shift is minimal it will be absorbed by the increased depth of field but this is not always the case.
Variation in focus is mainly between wide open and f4,5 or f5,6. So you could focus at f4,5 and then close to f8 or f11 if this is your intent....Show more →
I had written: Well, I don't know. I can certainly do some experiments with a tripod and the image magnifier on the camera.
If I'm going to shoot at just a stop or two away from full aperture I typically just focus there. But focusing is more precise at full aperture than at, say, f/8 or f/11. At those values I have a tough time noting when I've hit best focus. So I focus at narrowest DOF on purpose.
But the thing is, on my film cameras they always focused at full aperture. If they focus-shifted on shutter I never noticed! Maybe you're saying that digital is less forgiving so I should think about it....Show more →
I just finished up some experiments with five different lenses, my original multi-coated 50mm f/1.4 S-C AUTO, my original 200mm f/4.0 Q, the 55mm f/3.5 AI Micro and 105mm f/2.5 K which I picked up at the strong urging of folks here (and which I really like BTW, so thank you all), and the slightly older single-coated 50mm f/1.4 S which my friend Jim R gave me.
I mounted the camera on the Manfrotto tripod (which Jim R had given me), focused on a tree trunk or blossom maybe 80 to 100 ft away with the + magnifier pushed twice. (IIRC that's 2x per push.) I first used full aperture, then closed down a stop and checked the focus. Then closed down the stop a few more clicks, check again. I switched back and forth between different apertures. (I used Manual Mode to adjust the shutter for the aperture.) Then I changed lenses and did it all again.
I never saw any focus shift, nothing that I could improve in what the viewfinder showed me. None, nothing, nada, nyet, nein, or any other language. Of course these were all Nikkor lenses. Maybe a Sigma or Tamron or (eek!) Vivitar would have been different. The image in the 200mm was so close that I thought I saw shimmering from wind currents. But no focus shift.
I saw one thing that surprised me and at first bothered me. As I changed direction of the focus ring on my original 50mm the image jumped slightly to one side or the other. Were the threads that worn? It felt smooth. Had I banged it around one too many times? But then, this was a x4 viewfinder image. So I repeated it with the older 50mm f/1.4. Same behavior! Okay, maybe everybody's 1.4 was banged up! After all it was the "go-to" lens back in the day.
My final conclusion was that if focus-shift was happening I wasn't god enough to see it. So I'm not going to worry about it!
Mirage44 wrote:
Just saw this thread and love seeing everybody's stuff!
Wanted to share a recent shot from Rittenhouse Square few weeks ago. Shot on a Nikon F3 with the 50mm f1.2 AI-S on Portra 800. (Hope the photo attaches correctly)
I picked up a Zf as well and got my 50S converted to full spectrum and using that for astro and IR mainly using snap-in magnetic filters in front of the sensor. Hope to get out some this weekend with it. Life hitting hard and fast this year.
cadman342001 wrote:
Welcome back George !
I am still rocking the 50S but I have just added a Zf (primarily for astro) a NKJ 28/2 and 55/1.2 that i was out shooting with yesterday.
I guess I have mentioned the Tulip tree I planted before, but look how big it is (well, last fall). It's the first thing that I see coming out of my bedroom. Shot this last fall Nikon N90S with the Nikkor 16mm f3.5 ai fisheye - Cinestill 50D. Fun fact: Color film development takes less time than B&W.
You fit right in though. And your enthusiasm for learning new things.
jimmuller wrote:
You are probably aware already that there is a "Film Is Not Dead" forum here. I recently revived my film camera and one given to me. I've been learning the scanning process, doing it all manually. I'd be interested in anything you learn!
And of course, welcome! FWIW, I'm just a newcomer here by some standards.
BLLX wrote:
Got an offer I couldn't refuse/resist on this 24/2 ai
Nice going, Morten! The 24/2 AiS is a great favourite of mine, and was my "normal" lens for my years living in Copenhagen (late 80's and 90's), so probably 80-90% of my photos were taken with it. Why do I love this lens?
Wide: I really came to love the 24mm focal-length (great for interiors, and not TOO wide for environmental portraits if care is taken to avoid heads-in-the-corners)
Fast: Bright image is easier to focus than the 24/2.8, and of course hand-holdable in 1-stop less light (I regularly shot at 1/8th)
Compact: _barely_ larger/heavier than the 24/2.8 (the 28/2 is noticeably larger/heavier)
Downsides? Soft corners wide-open, and swirly bokeh on the background (though that can be something you grow to like). Basically, I shot it at f/5.6 to f/8 most of the time, but wide-open when that was appropriate.
Oh, and the matching HK-2 "klip-on" hood is a bit funky, but does stay on pretty nicely, though the little screw-clamp on the side of the hood is delicate so I broke two of them. You can also use the HN-1 screw-in hood, but the HK-2 is marginally superiour width/depth.
Man Ray, "you are getting down low for these, and your better than my versions of "Glory of the Snow". I can get down, but getting up is another story. Beautiful photos
James Markus wrote:
Man Ray, "you are getting down low for these, and your better than my versions of "Glory of the Snow". I can get down, but getting up is another story. Beautiful photos
Yes, I am getting pretty low, I find that I truly enjoy these perspectives on ground cover flowers. Having the tilt screens of the Nikon Zs definitely helps (none of my DSLRs had any screen articulation). Next step out I'll try to use the phone as viewfinder and controller (another benefit of the Zs); been awhile since I tried it and I can't remember if the image delay is too long to be workable.
I can get up not great but OK, but my body does not like those low positions for any duration. When I find settings like the following I take advantage of it (not taken with Nikkor MF).
NightOwl Cat wrote:
You fit right in though. And your enthusiasm for learning new things.
I've been thinking about your "learning new things" comment. I have never taken any course in art or photography or design. It's all self-driven. I had a recent email exchange with my friend Jim R, the source of recent lens and camera body acquisitions. He rattled off, well, actually typed away and "clattered" off, half a dozen names of presumably well-known photographers and their style elements, a few of which he suggested I should look up or acted as if I should know them. I recognized none of them! I've never even had a subscription to National Geographic. So the opportunity to learn something new here is exciting!
But as for any traditional "rules" of composition, I don't know any so I have to follow my own. For most photographers, it seems as if there are few interesting subjects, either wildlife or still life or urban activities or flowers or landscapes or portraits. They can all be pretty but the world already has lots of wildlife or flower or landscape shots. Even though my sweetie and I walk though woods and I chase interesting wildlife for myself and her, I don't want to take yet "one more portrait of <such and such>". Instead I try to see things that are right under my nose that may be interesting but are overlooked unless I actively look at them. Or wildlife in real-life, non-idealized situations doing more than just posing. Sometimes I end carrying the camera more than using it.
Overlayed on all that artistic vision nonsense, i.e. lack thereof, is the technical skill to capture it on film or in pixels.
In any case, it's a learning experience and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Plus I get to play with some nice toys called cameras.
One doesn't have to take courses to learn new things. You've embraced new photography knowledge here, for sure. Did you know that the Z's have a setting that you can set the grid up in the viewfinder?
I bet you looked up those references your friend sent you though.
jimmuller wrote:
I've been thinking about your "learning new things" comment. I have never taken any course in art or photography or design. It's all self-driven. I had a recent email exchange with my friend Jim R, the source of recent lens and camera body acquisitions. He rattled off, well, actually typed away and "clattered" off, half a dozen names of presumably well-known photographers and their style elements, a few of which he suggested I should look up or acted as if I should know them. I recognized none of them! I've never even had a subscription to National Geographic. So the opportunity to learn something new here is exciting!
But as for any traditional "rules" of composition, I don't know any so I have to follow my own. For most photographers, it seems as if there are few interesting subjects, either wildlife or still life or urban activities or flowers or landscapes or portraits. They can all be pretty but the world already has lots of wildlife or flower or landscape shots. Even though my sweetie and I walk though woods and I chase interesting wildlife for myself and her, I don't want to take yet "one more portrait of <such and such>". Instead I try to see things that are right under my nose that may be interesting but are overlooked unless I actively look at them. Or wildlife in real-life, non-idealized situations doing more than just posing. Sometimes I end carrying the camera more than using it.
Overlayed on all that artistic vision nonsense, i.e. lack thereof, is the technical skill to capture it on film or in pixels.
In any case, it's a learning experience and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Plus I get to play with some nice toys called cameras....Show more →
I knew about the Disp button but not about selecting a viewfinder grid. Not sure I have any use for a grid just yet. But in looking it up in the manual (around page 600 [yawn]) I found how to set half-shutter button to cancel viewfinder zoom! Yaaay!
Looking up those references is on my to-do list for after I retire (next week). Until then I'm too busy. Bummer about McCurry. The world is full of selfish jerks.
And your enthusiasm for learning new things.
