@pbraymond - great use of negative space!
@AdaptedLenses - your image of the pier; very dramatic composition, love the colour balance
@jimmuller, lirain, BLLX and others - I can’t help but envy your beautiful snowy surroundings. I know, I know considering my location, but Vancouver is wet and grey lately. Well, one day...
JaKo wrote:
@pbraymond@ - great use of negative space!
@AdaptedLenses@ - your image of the pier; very dramatic composition, love the colour balance
@jimmuller@, lirain, BLLX and others - I can’t help but envy your beautiful snowy surroundings. I know, I know considering my location, but Vancouver is wet and grey lately. Well, one day...
Just purchased this Nikkor AM-ED 120/5.6 large-format macro-lens lens on B&S. Ever since I got my PB-4 bellows, I'd always wanted to get a lens with enough coverage to allow tilt/shift movements (my Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 vignettes quite badly with movements), and the AM-ED 120/5.6 was the top of my short list. Alas, Nikon collectors have driven up the price and I had to make do with the Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 135/5.6. The AM-ED I purchased from David is in mint condition, and finally satisfies my ambition to try out this legendary lens (great review here).
The version of the Componon-s I have mounts using a 42mm female thread (T-mount). You can easily find T-mount to F adapters, and that does work fine, but most of these adapters are pretty poor quality and have a lot of slop. I realized that the K2 ring from my K-set is Nikon F to 52mm female, so I purchased a 42mm to 52mm step-up ring, and that gave me a MUCH nicer way to mount the Componon-S.
With the AM-ED 120/5.6, you have a Copal-0 mount which is 32.5mm x 0.5mm, so I found a 32.5mm to 42mm step-up ring, and this allows me to mount the AM-ED lens on the PB-4 using the same setup as the Componon-S. You need to keep the AM-ED's Copal-0 mounting ring on to act as a spacer: Otherwise the controls of the shutter/aperture are jammed. Also, mounting the lens requires unscrewing the lens's rear-group and screwing it back on from the rear, as it doesn't clear the throat of the K2. Another option would be to mount the lens reversed using the front-threads (which are 52mm, so lots of options there, e.g. BR-2A). The AM-ED is a symmetric design, but the front group has a larger front-element, so I assume it would be better unreversed.
I look forward to comparing the Componon-S (which is totally fine) with the "gold standard" of the AM-ED.
James Markus wrote:
Yep! and on a serious note - considering I was blind for a bit in July - I'm really really glad.
Having your sight back is a blessing!
Today's posting is a somber reminder of trouble in the not-so-distant past.
Our favorite wildlife refuge has significant history. Prior to WWII the area was farmland. In 1942 the US Army took it over to build a munitions depot, over 2200 acres containing 50 storage bunkers with connecting roads and RR tracks. WWII ended 80 years ago, and in 2000 the land was given to the US Fish & Wildlife Service. It was opened to the public in 2005, some of the roads becoming walking/cycling trails, the fields having grown to be deep woods, with over half the land closed to public entrance. The bunkers remain, now tree-covered. Rangers conducting guided tours occasionally open them up for viewing, and kids occasionally paint their favorite slogans on them. They sit in silent testimony to a great struggle and the men and women who gave their strength and lives to deal with it.
Morten, that first shot of the church is great - what a viewpoint, atmosphere, lighting, and backdrop.
A quick walk after work, this is a shelter to watch the bird feeders without disturbing the birds. No customers when I was there. First two shots 35mm f2.0 O. third shot 85mm f1.8H.
