A few from this morning, just goofing off with the 20 F3.5 Ais on a Fuji S5 Pro. Not a really good match to be honest, some color fringing that is not an issue on my other cameras. The Fuji S5 pro was the successor to the Fuji S3 Pro and sported a Nikon D200 like housing. The color pallet changed unfortunately and this camera ended the era of my favorite Fuji colors and no camera since the S3 has shown me those colors since then. Still the S5 did sport the same CCD sensor with Dual pixels, a special set for capturing highlights that back in the day made the Fuji's DR kings until Nikon dethroned them with the D600 and D800 models. I believe the color issues might well be the reflection of the CCD sensor back on to the image. Not all lenses do that. I do happen to have a Fuji S3 Pro as well still and will recharge the AA batteries so i can take it for a spin tomorrow.
Both are pano merged images. The first is a strange angle, for some reason because its odd it is a little engaging. The other is obviously processed.
saph wrote:
Here's a glimpse of the "Ben made me get it" lens. (yes Ben, don't blame Curtis for this one, he's not even into RF!) Complete with a tacky "for Nikon" strap, to keep the Nikon purists happy.
The LTM Nikkor 5cm f2 H on its native Leica IIIf. Both were made somewhere in the early/mid fifties. These RF Nikkors for the Leica thread mount caught the eye of David Douglas Duncan just as the Korean War was getting started in 1950. He and his fellow photographers dumped their Leica and Contax lenses when they accompanied American troops into the war. His book "This is War" has photos that really immerse one into what it might have been like in the middle of the battles (as much as one can be reading a hard cover book with shiny pages on the kitchen counter). He also writes about the war. I have only gone through the beginning of the book so far; he describes the war both with the ground level view of an embedded photographer and a strategic look at what all machinations among the key leaders at that time (both political and military) led to such a destructive outcome.
Back to the story of the Nikkors in the book. The photographers didn't take the 5cm f2, which had been in manufacture since 1948. They took the 5cm 1.5 instead, which I presume was to pull as much light in as they could onto the Kodak XX film they had with them. The 5cm 1.5 was quickly superceded by the 5cm 1.4 S, which then lasted throughout the Nikon RF era but must not have been available at the start of the war. They also had the 8.5cm f 2 and the 13.5cm f3.5 (that second one Ben's sporting now on his M10). The Barnack Leicas of that era would have needed accessory viewfinders for the longer lenses,since the built in viewfinder's frameline only covers the 50mm view. Focusing and accounting for parallax correction with those longer lenses couldn't have been easy to say the least. I think I already mentioned how tiny the separate rangefinder on these Barnack Leicas is, with its little patch for focusing.
Given all those challenges, the quality of the photos on this book, which was first published soon after the war, are just amazing. Really tells you "This is War"....Show more →
Thanks for sharing this, it inspired me to find some of Mr Duncan’s books, many of which can be had for just a few dollars used and ordered 3 of them to look at and then donate to the library if I don’t want to keep them. I can already see his use of incredible deep depth of field in some of the works of his on the Internet, it is a favorite type of photo I like to make where there is the picture inside the picture and then another inside that where the eye is really drawn in and in deeper into the photo. I look forward to these and on a side note, hope to visit the WW1 museum we have here in KC this week. Wasn’t open today due to the holiday.
Ben, I am just glad you are showcasing the RF Nikkors on your M10. Look forward to seeing your Sydney scenes with the 5cm.
Chuong, that was a delicious glimpse of the F. Hope we see the Tri-X pics from it soon!
Scott, love all the scenic shots but that first scene with the 18 3.5 is absolutely gorgeous. Somehow that lens always reminds me of Ray from Florida. I got inspired by him to get that lens, but have really not used it much.
Leighton, lovely market scenes. Some day soon I might even have some pics here with the Leighton lens
Colin looks like the mounted officers appreciated your photography!
Peter (Knysna), what an old timer beauty, perfect processing on that shot!
Mark, let me know which of Duncan book(s) you end up getting. They are indeed very inexpensive, somehow his work doesn't seem to be all that well known surprisingly.
Philippe, cool pictures from your latest trip. Seems you didn't run into anyone with your wide angle closeups there
Reagan wrote:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks, The roof is already paid for just rearranging some things as usual
I truly believe my "Happy Place camera was the D700
Reagan
I still have yours.... It is for sale. You have priority.
I picked up a gem today! Looks brand new, no dust or flaws in the optics, focus ring is smooth. So far it performs well on my new Nikon D850. What do you guys think of this lens? I’m sure many of you have one....
