Well, I'm sorry I've been feeling like a loser who failed to defend a 300 USD rokkor against a 5000 USD Noctilux, so here's my second attempt to save my beloved favorite lens some face by trying some different shooting and editing techniques... Of course it still doesn't scratch to the Nocti level but I guess it fares better now that I have a little more clue of what I should do to induce or eliminate "harsh rings" bokeh. (no, nothing to do with selective Gaussian blur, I know I'm petty but I won't stoop that low )
My apologies for this spamming of non artistic flower shots, I just use center AF box to frame and focus, some came out ok, some still has "busy" background, inspect and comment if you feel like, I can handle critics.
There we go, all boring flower shots made with Rokkor 58/1.2 on 5D. Apart from #6 & #7 (which I intended to get more flowers into focus by stopping down), the rest is wide open where sometimes only a petal is sharp.
I have a few more unedited since I don't have time, and I must go cook now.
Happy shooting guys, shoot with what you have.
PS: I'm actually quite glad bokeh in Shot #3 looks like that of Cogi's dog nose shot. And #5 is busiest as far as I can see
Leon Noel wrote:
My apologies for this spamming of non artistic flower shots, I just use center AF box to frame and focus, some came out ok, some still has "busy" background, inspect and comment if you feel like, I can handle critics.
No apologies needed, just post more pictures of the person on your avatar using this lens
Leon Noel wrote:
Oh on that side note, she's the woman of my dream that I can only dream to touch (I mean shoot of course).
I would second the request. It would be nice to see some more people shots with the fast lenses. The rendering of smooth skin tones is also one of the characteristics to look for in a lens.
cogitech wrote:
I have heard some people say it does, but I haven't noticed it. The thing is, the lens can easily be stop-down focused from f1.2 to f3.5 (with a 5D and Ee-S screen), so focus shift does not enter the equation, because shift is only a problem if the lens is focused wide open and then stopped down. If focused wide open and then stopped down to f5.6 or beyond, the extra DOF would tend to reduce the shift effect anyway.
So the answer is, maybe the lens does have focus shift if used as intended (on a Minolta body) but I don't use it that way so it effectively doesn't have the issue....Show more →
I agree basically, but would like to adjust minor details:
The answer is not maybe but definitely. When trying it out I found way more focus shift in the Rokkor 58/1.2 than in the EF50/1.2L for example.
If the lens can be easily focused stopped down or not will depend on the available light. Generally one would use this lens at the largest aperture openings available of course. I had no problems with the focus shift in practise unless I stopped down after focusing.
I sold my copy pretty quickly; I loved the crispiness wide open, I disliked the focus shift and the bright rings around OOF background highlights. These are personal preferences only, YMMW as we say.
I have posted these about the place over the last few weeks. Its an incomplete conversion to 4/3rds for my E3 with a Konica Hexanon 57/1.2. Its a bit troublesome because its loose on the mount but i just couldn't wait to try it, there's no locking pin and no baffle (which should increase contrast wide open.
No hope of finishing it this week we are flat out here even though its supposed to be 'off season'. Of course there is no EXIF to go by, i think some of the better shots would be at F2 or thereabouts.
thanks,....its an AR Rob, the RF lenses have too short a register, there are pretty close at 40.7mm with a wide mount flange enabling them to be fitted without an adapter.
robsteve wrote:
My Noctilux cost no where near $5,000, but I have owned it for about ten years. Back then they could be found in the $1,600 -1,800 range.
What do you reckon $1600-1800 10 years ago should currently be worth now? These creep up about $5000 on eBhay occasionally, and they let you inspect before buying so I wouldn't say scams. That price is more realistic, not $16k, but kudos if someone can sell at that.
Regarding the link of the Naughtilust for sale, I wouldn't buy it given I had that amount of money for a lens, a 200/1.8L or 200/2L IS makes more sense, or even the gigantic 800/5.6L. Basically the more jacked up its price is, the less extra punch per buck it has over high performing "cheapos" (not exactly) like the alternative examples shown in this thread.
Maybe the Nocti handles busy BG well and smoothly, but the Rokkor has a very exotic way of painterly rendering the OOF details (read: brush strokes). I'm not saying this because I own 1, I've always been fascinated since I first saw early shots put out by Cogitech, which then inspired me to acquire 1 copy and convert it myself.
Garth: nice shots, impressive sharpness and soft (enough) bokeh.
Edited by Leon Noel on Jun 16, 2008 at 08:09 AM GMT
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And #5 is busiest as far as I can see 
