Luka, Joe, Ryan and Ron, thank guys
Gregory, very nice shot! Very much like a Steve Huff shot, when he was on tour with Seal
Ron, excellent set of shots! I do love how pick the classical architecture and scenes for the backdrop.
Ryan, yes I did wait for a person, but not one was crazy enough to walk down the lane, on a cold wet and windy evening!!
Luka, literally excellent action capture My understanding is with experienced photogs who have used RF's for a long period, have the ability to focus blind, just by the feel and position of the tab do achieve a very high hit rate, even at f/1.4 and 2.0.
Luka, great series of shots, again!!! Love #4 with the 35 Lux
rscheffler wrote: singletrack wroteOn a separate note - can anyone help me on this point -
I've seen silver halide prints up close and personal, and they are marvellous! So much detail and tone. How is it possible that digital B&W files with only 255 shades of grey (or so I think), can look so good too? If the question is super silly, apologies in advance!
Cheers all
klAre you referring to on-screen display or prints? If you mean on-screen my guess would be that a factor is the backlighting of the display, which is similar to viewing a transparency vs. a print. I.e. transmitted vs. reflected light. Also, a guess is many B&W images are actually desaturated RGB and may have subtle toning shifts, which will mean they're greater than just 255 shades. It also helps to have a full range, from black to white, which lends the impression of full tonality. Ryan's recent police car B&W is a great example.
As for prints... I don't print much, so it's not an area of expertise for me. If it's inkjet, many now print with various shades of gray ink in addition to black to allow for more subtle tonality. Again, there could be some colour in the images through toning, which will further broaden the range of shades. ...Show more →
As Ron, has suggested, there is a vast difference between printed photographs and backlit viewing of images. It would be fair to say, that most of our opinions on photographs, rendering, colour, tonality is based on web images, before we have seen the printed versions. I would think the difference is our perception of b&w shots backlit is based on contrast ratios achievable with good quality monitors, and how we perceive the back lit tones as compared to reflected light print tones. Lesser quality monitors, when calibrated to lower luminescence light levels, may not have the range in B&W shades and can be very limited. I do feel many times when I have printed a shot, it does not emulate the screen shot, and I do know that the perceived viewed constrast ratios are different, and have to adjust the PP for the final print.
Silver halide b&w shots printed well are stunning and the range of tones are just amazing! But they do have to be viewed correctly to appreciate the quality. I do print B&W via an Epson 3880, but it is more difficult than colour to get the prints right. It is a compromise, silver halide prints out of the darkroom, are great but technique is unforgiving, whereas on the screen, soft proofing, seeing the end result on a specific type of art paper is a huge benefit with the large choices that are now available for fine art paper.
Here is a link to a company in Melbourne, Image Science that has a wealth of information, Image Science
Joe, the location is the old part of Geneva. Here are a few more of those columns. I wasn't planning to post them, but since you expressed an interest...
First is ZM50P, second is ZM35C
I also really liked that bench, and actually did a number of photos of my GF on it, but she's not keen about having her photos posted online, so you'll just have to use your imagination. The angle off to the right, looking down the lane with the bench in the foreground is actually nicer, but I didn't shoot that of just the bench - oh well..
Luka, I really like that last set!! All of them are very good and #1 & #3 really call to me. Be careful with the pigeon shots... you'll use up all your spontaneous focus luck for those moments when you *really* need to nail the focus without thinking
denoir wrote:
Here's a shot I expect y'all to be very impressed with :
Impressive, indeed who need AF, huh?
The 28Cron story is also funny! The 35Lux shots are my favorite from this set.
Ron, shall we call you the column master? Nice!
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Yes, spring is here. Went out this evening for a quick ride with my kid. I strapped along my Billingham Hadley Pro with the M9 and 4 lenses, and surprisingly it actually felt comfortable on the upright bike. At one point I was thinking of getting the Timbuk2 messenger bag but maybe its not necessary now. http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/messenger/bike-messenger-bags/snoop-camera-messenger
Luka, the sky shot is awesome! The BIF shot is awesome!!!
Thx for the feedback Ron and Charles - yes, i am referring to B&W on screen vs silver halide prints. It's still quite amazing how a mere 255 shades of grey can effectively a very satisfying viewing experience, no? I guess the fact that we split tone and add hues does make it effectively more than 255 (another factor).
Lovely shots Ron and Greg!
Just a couple more from my 35 Lux ASPH v1
Tx Joe. I basically followed your tips on B&W processing. Just used LR3 though. So convenient.
Cheers
kl
ps: was going to say u need to get a more macho bike but seeing as it is for towing the little fella or should i say the vVIP of your household, please proceed with the bike you have!
Luka - great BIF flight . I like the shot with the crane and the great blue sky in your other set.
Joe - nice hot rod!
KL - great shots...really like #1 & #2 a lot. Great processing on #2!
Ron - more columns are always welcome! I don't think many if any of our significant others enjoy being photographed . If my wife saw the few pictures of her that go on this board she would be furious
Charles - like the night shots. I need to do this soon. What ISO did you shoot at? Typically, what is the highest you go? I haven't gone above 160 very often yet
Charles, nice night scenes. That last street shot is excellent, a classic shot with the expressions, umbrella, rain and pavement!
Ryan, nice work with the 35Lux. Living dangerously on the tracks? Really nice B&W tones to the composition. Love those pics of your daughter too, nicely taken.
Luka - I agree that the shot in front of the fountain is way off in color. I couldn't get it to look quite right. I think the shot after it in the grass while very bold is exactly spot on to what I saw that day. The fountain though, I don't like it much. I really like #2 on what you just posted. The composition is perfect. I love the screws at the very top of the frame....almost makes it a frame within the frame. I think the 28 Cron handles bokeh in that situation much better than the 35 Lux does....the 35 would be a little busier.
Luka, the bench shot is nice (great colors). Any chance you could do a comparison between the 28 Cron and the 25ZM (same situation, same light and if possible with some 100% crops)?
Boris, Zeiss has my ZM 25 - it's in for repairs. I just got a diagnosis yesterday:
2.: Biogon T* 2,8/25 ZM (with 2 lens caps)
Your complaint: The focus ring is uneven.
Diagnosis: Lens barrel and focusing ring needs revision.
Necessary service: Disassembling of the lens, cleaning of the barrel. Revision of the focusing thread and the complete mechanics. Lubricating and reassembling. Adjusting the lens according to the specifications. Adjusting of flange focal distance and cam height position. MTF check, function check and test images.
It looks like they will be rebuilding the whole focusing mechanism. I'll be happy to do the comparisons once I get it back.
Boris, here is the image sharpness you can expect at f/5.6 based on the MTF charts. This is for full frame (36x24). I included the 21 Distagon ZE as it's the gold standard for UWAs:
Observe the scale on the Z (MTF) axis as it varies per plot
While I'm at it, here's a comparison of the 28 Cron, 35 Lux & 50 Lux, also at f/5.6.
The field curvature of the 35 Lux that is evident at 20 lp/mm sagittal is the explanation why I've never been entirely happy with it for traditional landscape photography (i.e stopped down and at infinity).