I have and like the CZ 55mm. The VL 50 is obviously a duplicate in terms of FL. But for a while I've been longing for a manual lens of some retro "character" with strong performance, and I think now I found it. Manual focus with a genuine manual lens makes for a different experience in the street as the way you frame and focus are quite different from AF. I think this lens will be a keeper. It also made me keen to try other VL lenses
My hit rate is low as of now, as peaking doesn't work well in all situations and I don't use magnification as it slows the process down.
Gunzorro wrote:
I rather like the first one of these four. It's quite abstract, but anchored in reality by the rocks and pebbles.
If it were me, I'd very slightly exaggerate the dynamic "push/pull" of (very) slightly more saturated cool blue color on the top, and make the bottom section slightly warmer tint -- like the color of Raw Umber (almost a true cast bronze color -- deep, deep, dark yellow-brown -- almost with a hint of yellow-green; almost a sepia, but not so far as orange-based). Basically just what you have here but a very equalized cool/warm balance (unless your house works better with a blue/grey balance).
Ronny Olsson wrote:
Now we leave this and I promise I will not post any more Iceland pictures
until I come home from the Iceland from next trip in late sep 2017
All of those Iceland shots would be superb printed Ronny.
You could also print this particular snail one (as large as possible perhaps) and hang it above your bedhead! That could work well I think! ........................................................(forgive my sense of humour!)
Swans at Bosham, West Sussex, shortly before Christmas. Both cropped a little - Leitz Tele Elmar 135mm on A7R2
I have and like the CZ 55mm. The VL 50 is obviously a duplicate in terms of FL. But for a while I've been longing for a manual lens of some retro "character" with strong performance, and I think now I found it. Manual focus with a genuine manual lens makes for a different experience in the street as the way you frame and focus are quite different from AF. I think this lens will be a keeper. It also made me keen to try other VL lenses
My hit rate is low as of now, as peaking doesn't work well in all situations and I don't use magnification as it slows the process down.
I love manually focusing the Nokton 50/1.5 as well, but I can tell you that focus peaking is usually only an approximation. If you want real sharpness, you must use magnification. With a bit of practice, it can be done fairly quickly. But even if it is slower than peaking, your hit rate will be much higher.
Ronny Olsson wrote:
Thanks
Interesting Jim .. However, I am not entirely sure how you want it to look like
Have made an effort but don't know at all if it was as you said
Now we leave this and I promise I will not post any more Iceland pictures
until I come home from the Iceland from next trip in late sep 2017
Ronny, you're brilliant! Yes, that's what I was talking about. It looks so other-worldly and abstract.
You can try desaturating the whole (or any portion), or likewise increase the saturation.
I'll warn you, that when you make a change, walk away for a few minutes, then sneak back up on it and steal a peek. Otherwise you get accustomed to the +/- saturation changes, and you might not like it days, weeks, months later.
It's a painting technique, that if you mix a blue (such as ultramarine blue) with a brown (such as burnt umber), you get an almost perfect neutral from the pigments, resulting in everything from white (adding white) to almost pure black, and all the greys in between -- just like your middle area there.
Anyhow, it's just offered for a different perspective and impact. There is no "right" answer. Thanks for trying out my suggestion, I'm honored.
Ronny Olsson wrote:
Fantastic shots John ! lovely environment
Thanks for the encouragement, Ronny - sometimes when out there I think that its just not the landscape for a 60+ year old to trek about in, but I only have to get home and see the images, and I'm planning my next trip. Here are three more from the same trip - all were taken on New Years Eve...
-John
Edit - found another copy of the first image that is not so clipped.
Upper falls on the Makatote River - Ultron 21 - (shows highlight clipping from the smooth reflections app)
Lower falls on the Makatote River - VM Distagon 35
Both falls from below at sunset - Elmarit-M 90 - my last image for 2016!
Fantastic work everyone! This is my favorite thread on my favorite forum on the web.
My time in La Jolla/San Diego is soon coming to an end, so I'm making an effort to get out and photograph as much as life with two small kids allows. These days there is great potential for fantastic sunset shots, as long as the high-altitude cloud cover and the fog of the low-altitude marine layer play along.
Tide pools near La Jolla Cove (first sunset of 2017)
Outside Belmont Park
Ellen Scripps Memorial Pier at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Actually I had probably thought little more "abstract" images
hmm.. it's hard
I never think that my pictures are very good
I am thinking they are ok ....but not WOW
and I'm never completely satisfied
