Thanks Peter for the info and youtube link. I have three or more lenses yet to test - two of which are enlarging lenses. I sold three more
enlarging lenses that I wish I had now to test - including the 50mm f2.8 El Nikkor. I hung onto the sharper 50mm for when the
light is coming from the back of the lens - the Schneider 50mm f2.8 Componon-S. I have used one of my enlargers as a macro
camera before, but it certainly is not a convenient method. I am surprised and not surprised at the performance of the old uncoated
lenses. Interesting candidates to test would have been the lenses in my Retina IIIC, 6x9 Zeiss Ikonta & 6x6 Ikon, and various Exa,
Exakta lenses I once owned. But I never would have guessed at the range of variation I am seeing so far. I always loved the old glass
and I am bit chuffed that in some ways they are better.
Jim
Oosty wrote:
Hi James
I read somewhere that Nikkor enlarger lenses can be adapted for this type of work. It amy be worth exploring as they were extensively used in inexpensive (for the 1970's) Durst enlargers which are probably available for a song today. This set up looks very precise and good for the job - apart from the camera strap
Georg, I added a new camera (5DS-R) a few months ago when I came across a deal.
Jim
georgms wrote:
That's a funny looking camera, James! Congrats to your Essential film holder and thanks for sharing your thoughts about the lenses.
I have to admit that I use a Sigma 105mm-Macro lens for 35mm-„scans”. The 55/3.5 Micro Nikkor is my lens of coice for 4x5 sheetfilm. But maybe I will try the PC 85/2.8 for 4x5 (stitching several „scans” for higher resolution).
Colin, This photo is magic! I chickened out on converting my D300, because I didn't want to de-solder 7 points. The R720 filters
make for very long exposures. This has pushed me toward converting my 7D since I can avoid de-soldering completely. Argh!
Jim
DeltaSigma wrote:
Rafael - I like both for different reasons. Your rig makes the FTZ look tiny!
George - I have been enjoying your images from Germany.
Leighton - agree what other have said about the 50/1.2 images. The door is wonderful.
Jay - spectacular forest images.
A view towards Whitehall from St James's park in London.
By the time we got out and about the sun had all but disappeared so the muggy conditions were not the best for IR.
Thanks Jim. Go for it!
I can't wait to get my D610 back from the camera conversion company. 3 weeks into an 8 week backlog.....
Since purchasing the Z6ii I have hardly used it. Managed to bag a couple of mid-week tickets to Wimbledon so am looking forward to trying out the Z6 in anger with some medium sized telephoto lenses. IBIS, quiet shutter and focus peaking will really help. Five rows back from the edge of court 3 (no roof) so quite close to the action. Weather forecast isn't great though. Welcome to the British grass court season......
Colin
James Markus wrote:
Colin, This photo is magic! I chickened out on converting my D300, because I didn't want to de-solder 7 points. The R720 filters
make for very long exposures. This has pushed me toward converting my 7D since I can avoid de-soldering completely. Argh!
Jim
James Markus wrote:
My Essential Film holder showed up after a very circuitous route, and it is not only well thought out, but well made. I have been modifying my light panel with Lego & Alien tape purely for technical reasons concerning keeping the light panel parallel to the film plane. I have tried three different setups, and have been surprised at the variation of image quality. The Nikkor 105mm f4 ais micro + tubes was disappointing for 35mm film copying. The author of NLP (Negative Lab Pro) states that the lens is "incredibly important" - which makes sense. Currently an extremely old German 105mm f3.5 Novaflex bellows lens with more iris blades than I can count is the leader in image quality, but vignettes the corners. The overall leader is the Nikkor 55mm f3.5 AI which is a tad sharper than the others, but sees dust that the other two do not. This has boosted my opinion of it greatly; as I avoided it for the short working distance, and seemly poor IQ. I have other lenses to test.
Looks like a great setup. The EFH is definitely well made, versatile and a decent bargain too. The only issue I have with it is sometimes the film gets stuck at the other side and wont go through. A small tap underneath the film fixes it. Small inconvenience.
London was the busiest I have seen it in 15 months.
It felt normal. Lots of people out and about. It was good to see.
Outside of the public transportation system very few masks were evident.
I should add that Wimbledon is participating in a government pilot event.
All attendees must provide double vaccination certification or show a valid negative PCR test within 48 hours. Attendence is limited initially to 50% capacity so it will feel very strange.
I doubt this guy will be at the tennis.... but at least he was wearing a mask of sorts
Oosty wrote:
Lovely images in the last couple of days, Colin.
I suppose these idiots will always be with us - protesting about their rights being violated while not giving a damn about others' rights at all.
Judging by his companion, and his historical reference, he shouldn't care either way as he's unlikely to pass on any mutations by breeding!
Peter,
Ouch! At least he provided a good photo opportunity. Slightly missed focus due to not compensating enough for the IR focus shift. Not sure if the lady was with him.
Serge - I really like the Silver Efex processing of the NYC skyline. Good call with the hazy summer light.
Georg - I love this film shot, pretty amazing at the dynamic range of that shot and I agree with you about the highlights. That must be some secret sauce in that developer
Joey - nice shot with the 28mm. Were you on a boat or something on the water? Looks like a beautiful area
Jim - nice setup. My EFH came last week, but I have not decided on a full set up yet. I need to get back to the camera shop and see if they still have some used copy stands. I will probably use a Pentax A 645 120mm macro on the GFX 50S for "scanning", but will definitely try the 55mm/3.5 that you have tested.
Samy - you are going to HAVE to post a picture of your camera gear "family" one of these days.
Colin - impressive IR shots. As always. You keep pushing me toward an in camera sensor conversion so I can get the faster shutter speeds. Really like your street shots and it seems like a perfect match in shooting the elephants. The muggy weather has moved in here too, so good IR opportunities are fading. So that conversion itch will probably fade again this year
Scott - So many opportunities for shooting in the woods isn't it? I really like the shot of the logs.
Ken - nice series from Bentonville. Re: the Retro Z, looks like it is not going to be F mount friendly based on the leaked images today. I really like the looks, but even the "special edition" 28mm they have with it does not have a proper aperture ring. So close...
Siphiwe - Really like the shots you are posting with the Z50. So if the Zfc has the same sensor, may have to give it a look.
Film scanning - the Prep. (Post 1 of 2)
I needed to maintain level on the light panel which necessitated adding two feet to the back of it to keep the same height as the knobs - Lego and Alien tape to the rescue.
Then the feet of the Essential Film holder didn't quite fit within the light panel frame - so more Lego were added to provide a same level as the back.
I choose a film frame from 21 years ago of Nina Akamu's design of the Davinci Horse which a local grocery store family funded in Grand Rapids Michigan. It was installed in 2000, and here is a blurry shot for scale of my wife and youngest son. Some websites say it is 24 feet tall and others say 26? It is very big.
*EDIT* to switch out the scale image of my wife and youngest. Epson V700 scan from 10 years ago.
I will provide links to resized images of the Davinci Horse at the end of this post. The winner was the Schneider Componon S. I knew almost immediately upon the it's very first shot, because the whole image just shimmered when focus was achieved. Each lens handled the grain a bit differently. The novaflex made grain less apparent, but held sharp edges. The Nikkor 55mm f3.5 was very good, but actually made grain even more apparent. The Nikkor 60mm afd was very good, the Nikkor 105mm f4 was good. The Schneider was more compact, vibrated less due to having less height on the copy stand, and very solid with the Nikon K tube attachments. I probably will construct a small stage to make focusing easier like the bellows were. Unfortunately - the bellows were too long.
Here are the camera setups
Copy Stand + Camera + 50mm f2.8 Schneider Componon-S + Entire set of Nikon K tubes (approx 65mm)
Copy Stand + Camera + 55mm f3.5 Nikkor ais Micro + 36mm extension tubes
Copy Stand + Camera + 60mm f2.8 AFD Nikkor Micro + 56mm extension tubes
Copy Stand + Camera + 105mm f3.5 Novaflex Bellows Macro + 12mm extension tube (so bellows would fit)
Copy Stand + Camera + 105mm f4 Nikkor Micro + 72mm extension tubes
RESIZED SAMPLE IMAGES (Since two of these are not from Nikon lenses)
The Schneider and Nikkor 55/3.5 look best to me when viewing your webpage images.
Colin
James Markus wrote:
Film scanning - the Prep. (Post 2 of 2)
I will provide links to resized images of the Davinci Horse at the end of this post. The winner was the Schneider Componon S. I knew almost immediately upon the it's very first shot, because the whole image just shimmered when focus was achieved. Each lens handled the grain a bit differently. The novaflex made grain less apparent, but held sharp edges. The Nikkor 55mm f3.5 was very good, but actually made grain even more apparent. The Nikkor 60mm afd was very good, the Nikkor 105mm f4 was good. The Schneider was more compact, vibrated less due to having less height on the copy stand, and very solid with the Nikon K tube attachments. I probably will construct a small stage to make focusing easier like the bellows were. Unfortunately - the bellows were too long.
They did a nice job on the looks IMO. Very nice indeed.
This would have been great to use MF Nikkors on (with that alternate adapter). I don't care about the 20MP or lack of IBIS but APS-C ... Can't get past that.
They did a nice job on the looks IMO. Very nice indeed.
This would have been great to use MF Nikkors on (with that alternate adapter). I don't care about the 20MP or lack of IBIS but APS-C ... Can't get past that.
...
I agree to 100% on your final verdict.
For photographers lacking a huge arsenal of lenses this camera might be really nice as an alternative to other APS-C-offerings.
Nikon should just add some small and fast primes. 18/2, 23/1.8 and maybe a 40/2 or about.
Can't get past that.