Samy, thanks for your kind comments. Your "moving objects" with their implied action really hold my attention as I imagine all that is happening and about to happen in each one, and I love the cloud formation in your sunset photo.
John, your use of the 16 f/3.5 is always a joy for the eyes, but your shot of the Plaza de España on page 6130 is especially nice to look at, with its vast expanse of foreground brickwork and the relatively tiny, horizontal line of building in the middle distance. It's a fantastic example of artistic use of negative space. And your cathedral / basilica photos show what a great lens this one is for shooting indoor scenes.
Here is my final set of images from the aircraft museum, again shot with the 16 f/3.5 on the crop-sensor Fuji X-E2, showing a series of four planes, starting with a very small scale model and ending with a very large cargo plane, with an aerobatic plane and a mail plane in between.
Lovely set of lenses Joseph. I love how personal this adventure becomes with each person drawn to certain lenses as they embark on the next chapter of their search. It seems the pre-AI lenses eventually come into favor with folks as they continue this adventure. I happen to have a 200 f/4 Q.C. AI sitting on the desk in front of me as I write this. I recall how smitten I was with this lens when it arrived. I already had a pristine 105 f/2.5 P.C. AI for which I'd paid a premium but the wide focusing ring of that lens didn't inspire me as much as the early Sonnar lens with a narrower ring. But the 200 was and still remains, at least to my eye, the second most beautiful lens. I think everyone knows the 55 f/1.2 S.C. is still my favorite. I was fortunate to find three copies of that lens, each with the Nikon AI conversion kit.
Kit building is forever, in part because our circumstances change and our interests evolve over time. All good...
As Chris suggest, there are always other lenses to consider. And as he has demonstrated, you can even sell ALL your lenses AND start all over again... Have fun Joseph.
I had to add a photo of the 200 f/4 Q.C. AI... I pad $89 for this lens.
Glen, thanks for the kind words about the shot of the begonia leaf. We each have our own way of seeing the world. I often wonder if my way is of any interest to anybody else. Additionally, I think the wrinkled, withered look of the leaf resonates with my sense of impending decrepitude. Actually I’m doing better than most people my age—68 in a couple of months. Yet I’m daily reminded that the body at 68 just doesn’t work the way it did at 28, or even at 48.
CGrindahl wrote:
Lovely set of lenses Joseph. I love how personal this adventure becomes with each person drawn to certain lenses as they embark on the next chapter of their search. It seems the pre-AI lenses eventually come into favor with folks as they continue this adventure. I happen to have a 200 f/4 Q.C. AI sitting on the desk in front of me as I write this. I recall how smitten I was with this lens when it arrived. I already had a pristine 105 f/2.5 P.C. AI for which I'd paid a premium but the wide focusing ring of that lens didn't inspire me as much as the early Sonnar lens with a narrower ring. But the 200 was and still remains, at least to my eye, the second most beautiful lens. I think everyone knows the 55 f/1.2 S.C. is still my favorite. I was fortunate to find three copies of that lens, each with the Nikon AI conversion kit.
Kit building is forever, in part because our circumstances change and our interests evolve over time. All good...
As Chris suggest, there are always other lenses to consider. And as he has demonstrated, you can even sell ALL your lenses AND start all over again... Have fun Joseph.
I had to add a photo of the 200 f/4 Q.C. AI... I pad $89 for this lens.
the solitaire wrote:
John, I'm really enjoying your views, and the lack of decent editing software doesn't distract from the travel journal at all. Thank you for sharing these
Thanks!
I wish I had more Nikkors than the 16/3.5, but my travel setup on this trip consisted of:
16/3.5 AI
21/2.8 Loxia
35/2.8 Sony
85/1.8 Sony
180/4 APO CV AIS
A7RII
the D800 + Nikkors just are too large and heavy to lug around Europe with my style of travel (which is pretty low weight and volume).
Thanks for the likes and comments back .... pages ago. I have been enjoying all the contributions, and liking photos. I feel like I get to travel via your images from the comfort of my home - thanks!
Some of you may find this interesting. Many years ago I used one of my enlargers as a camera to do macro work. I found out about the technique from a book I had read. I made an 8x10 out of Lincoln on the back of a Penney, and I it taught me some things about lens geometry. It also taught me about looking at things backwards...by letting light go through the enlarger lens and bellows to strike unexposed film in the negative carrier. As I play with my recent Nikon F bellows, and lens purchases I came across a site HERE that rated enlarger lenses along side bellows, macro, micro, and other close-up lenses. Back in the 1990s I went through many enlarger lenses looking for the best, and about 15 years ago I sold most of them - except a couple I thought were particularly good. I also recently picked up a 55mm f3.5 Nikkor Micro lens for $40, and I find for bellows work it doesn't allow me any decent working distance for proper lighting. I use to own many El-Nikkor enlarging lenses for up to 4"x5" negatives, but I only saved a good medium format 80mm f5.6 El-Nikkor, and a 50mm f2.8 Schneider Componon-S. So, all I needed for a test was a M39 Leica thread to Nikon F bayonet adapter, and a subject to shoot (a Blue Jay feather found yesterday). Both appeared within the last couple days. Anyway, the take away from all this is you can get excellent results using enlarging lens instead of the sometimes much more expensive bellows lenses. They have similar working distances, compact designs, and are easily adapted to bellows work. *AND* there is a whole other family of Nikkors out there that you can start collecting...
Equipment (shot with D300 and 55mm f3.5 Micro)
Results
55mm f3.5 micro (D800 and following lenses)
50mm f2.8 Schneider Componon-S Enlarging lens - exif is wrong LINKED HERE
James Markus wrote:
Thanks for the likes and comments back .... pages ago. I have been enjoying all the contributions, and liking photos. I feel like I get to travel via your images from the comfort of my home - thanks!
Some of you may find this interesting. Many years ago I used one of my enlargers as a camera to do macro work. I found out about the technique from a book I had read. I made an 8x10 out of Lincoln on the back of a Penney, and I it taught me some things about lens geometry. It also taught me about looking at things backwards...by letting light go through the enlarger lens and bellows to strike unexposed film in the negative carrier. As I play with my recent Nikon F bellows, and lens purchases I came across a site HERE that rated enlarger lenses along side bellows, macro, micro, and other close-up lenses. Back in the 1990s I went through many enlarger lenses looking for the best, and about 15 years ago I sold most of them - except a couple I thought were particularly good. I also recently picked up a 55mm f3.5 Nikkor Micro lens for $40, and I find for bellows work it doesn't allow me any decent working distance for proper lighting. I use to own many El-Nikkor enlarging lenses for up to 4"x5" negatives, but I only saved a good medium format 80mm f5.6 El-Nikkor, and a 50mm f2.8 Schneider Componon-S. So, all I needed for a test was a M39 Leica thread to Nikon F bayonet adapter, and a subject to shoot (a Blue Jay feather found yesterday). Both appeared within the last couple days. Anyway, the take away from all this is you can get excellent results using enlarging lens instead of the sometimes much more expensive bellows lenses. They have similar working distances, compact designs, and are easily adapted to bellows work. *AND* there is a whole other family of Nikkors out there that you can start collecting...
I was getting bored this afternoon, so I grabbed the 55/2.8 Micro. There is usually something that can grab my interest when viewed through this lens. Here is another crocosmia shot illuminated by bouncing light off a white background and overexposing 3 stops—a situation almost guaranteed to produce lens flare and desaturated colors. This lens continues to amaze me. At the risk of breaking monitors I may post a 100% crop of the central blossoms later just to show the lens resolution and flare resistance.
So much great stuff on this page. Thanks everyone for your contribution.
Phillipe, it was FORTY-FIVE years ago that I spent two weeks in Paris in the middle of July. My then wife and I stayed at a very inexpensive hotel on the Quai de la Tournelle in a room with a view of Notre Dame. The mattress had been so beaten down it was practically impossible for my wife and I to stay to our side of the bed... not that that was a problem... The evening of July 14th, Bill Haley and the Comets performed near our hotel. It was a magical two weeks. I don't recall a parade but I certainly recall the cafes, restaurants, museums. What a magical city.
James, love your paean to old gear. You're right, of course, these old lenses COULD appeal to some among us... Kevin seems with the program and I wouldn't be surprised if Buddy showed some interest as well. The EL lens performs like a champ.
Love both your offerings Ken B. Honestly, I enjoy practically everything you bring to the thread, so please indulge yourself and let us decide what strikes our fancy.
George, we have iron breaks at some points on the Bay. We never have too much rust on this thread. The Cape Hatteras photo comes on a day when I was viewing Hatteras motor yachts. I learned while researching an old friend online that he has a 40 foot Hatteras. He lives in Florida so perhaps during my next trip to visit my partner's wife I'll check in with him. We owned a cabin cruiser together when we were both young... decades ago... That was in Minnesota where every boat had to be taken out of the water when winter arrived. My friend Jeff left in his mid-twenties, moving to Fort Lauderdale where he made some money refurbishing and selling cabin cruisers. He now lives adjacent to a canal where his "motor yacht" is moored.
Chris you mention scotch made in the Netherlands. It appears looking at those lovely Glencairn whisky glasses that there are at least two different whiskies being sampled. I'd be interested in exactly what you were drinking... on the off chance I make another trip to your wonderful country...
Nothing wrong with two years between postings Francis, but you shared nice work both times, so I'd encourage you to share a bit more. Thanks for this lovely portrait taken with the venerable NOCT.
The conversation about Joseph's metal focusing ring lenses prompted me to mount the 85 f/1.8 H.C. yesterday for a walk through a midweek farmers' market in San Rafael. Today I made a stop at the Marin Art and Garden Center and played with the same lens. Here are a few random shots. Playing a bit I confirmed what I'd discovered previously, at least my copy of this lens is not happy wide open. It produces sharp photos at f/2 but wide open everything is soft. I may stop down the 55 f/1.2 S.C. AI but it will still deliver the goods wide open. Not so the 85...
And from the market. There are farmers' markets most days in one or another community, but the two major markets at both in San Rafael. The largest is Sunday morning. The operators of that market have been given permission by the Board of Supervisors for Marin County to construct a building to house the market. It operates year round on Civic Center vacant parking lots, rain or shine. The second large market is Thursday morning and early afternoon. That is the one we visited. I was carrying produce so didn't have much freedom to take photos but I got three worth sharing.
Have fun Joseph.
