Thanks, Philber. I've been inspired by all the great images on this thread and plan to participate as much as possible. I never thought I'd come to like the ZE lenses as much as I do - unfortunately, it comes at great expense!
Just received the 100 ZE f2. Just in time for fall. Here are some of my first shots:
1:
2:
3:
4:
Is is amazing how little PP is required for these. I sure have enjoyed looking through the photos on this thread. Very inspirational, and unfortunately, a bit expensive. - Paul
philber wrote:
Fact is, a shoot with 50mm only has never failed yet for me. Those shoots where I failed were with my bag of too many lenses (5). Somehow the concept of the Tri-Elmar sounds crazy, but attractive. I am slowly coming to the conclusion that buying the 28 and the 100 were mistakes, and that my long term kit looks like 21, 35 f:1.4 (am I the only one to find the samples very promising?), 50 f:1.4, 85 f:1.4.
I am really looking forward to the 35/1.4 as well and is basically going for the same kit as you with 21/2.8, 35/1.4, 50/1.4 and 85/1.4 although I am not sure if my 28/2.0 also will be part of my line-up or if it will be unused after the 35 arrives. The 100 MP is surely a fantastic lens as has been proven in this thread over and over but I like my 85 so much and with my Canon 135 I have this focal range pretty well covered.
Morten, beautiful shots! Nice to see a different platform with the A900
Martin great shots. Love your shots with the 50/1.4
Luka, great shots! Excellent capture of the fly
No, I use the EG-S precision matte focusing screen. I find it to be an absolute necessity for anything faster than f/4. That particular shot was taken using live view though.
denoir wrote:
Edit: Hmm, no matter how I try the last image looks like crap when converted to JPEG (severe banding). It's a bit better with PNG, but the board doesn't support it..
For a change, I don't see any banding (nothing to speak of anyway) in your jpeg's.
Nice series again...
Hey philber, I think the problem with your shots are that the compositions are a bit too tight. You've clipped towers and stuff. And if I were you, I'd expose quite a bit higher. The second one is actually a really nice pic, but too tight to the right for being great.
I often feel the same "pressure" when encountering great scenes. The best method is just to relax and take much fewer pictures than you'd want.
Philber, I really enjoy your images on this thread, but I agree with Makten that these most recent compositions feel crowded. I also suffer sometimes from the pressure of trying to get the "perfect" shot and find that if I relax and try to take in the scene first, my photo's are more successful. Hope this helps.
Denoir, I've read posts that stating that metering is off when using the eg-s screen. Have you experienced this? Also, do you use this screen exclusively, even when stopping down to say f8 or f10?
Been there many times. As you know, you can't force these things. It happens for what ever reason. I had the same issue through much of the early summer. Then, I found a new location I hadn't been to before and that helped until I purchased my first zeiss. Then, boom! I couldn't stop shooting and got my groove back. The point is, and I'm sure you know it, but we often don't know why we lose our mojo let alone what brings it back. I would even go out camera in hand and hardly take a photo . . . on purpose. Relax, enjoy your surroundings and let it come naturally.
Thanks Mark. Yes, I'm using the EG-S screen. Stopping down has no effect as you focus wide open and the lens is only actually stopped down when you take the shot. You can of course press the "DOF Preview" button but unless the lens has some serious focus shift issues there is seldom a need to do so.
My primary tool for precision focusing is however not the focusing screen but live view. When you want critical focus then there's no substitute for live view with 10x magnification - then you really see what the sensor sees on the pixel level.
philber wrote:
OK, guys, I guess I have to declare that I am now officially in a rut. I went out to Chantilly Castle this morning. Light was just about as good as it gets, and I had my bag of lenses with me. The result? Disappointing. A few good shots, and even so, not that many considering how gorgeous the site is. Great shots? Nah....
I need to do something about it. My guess is that I am trying too hard to achieve a result, rather than going with the flow. Am I trying to impress and keep up with the Joneses? I actually felt under pressure this mornng, and made a number of technical mistakes. This is WRONG!...Show more →
Don't worry about it. I have as a rule that I'd like to get at least one shot that I really like from one of my typical 2-4 hours photo walks. I've failed in that a number of times but you know what? I have not been too unhappy about it. I'm primarily a landscape shooter and a conformist one at that. I pick pleasant places with enjoyable scenery where I take my walks. Even if I fail to get a good photo, I've still taken a pleasant walk.
Relax and I'm sure you will get some inspiration next time. If not, buy a new lens or some other piece of photographic gear - that always works very well for me.
