leighton w wrote:
Some folks don't take the time to read the instructions.
I resemble that remark... It has been pointed out to me more than once that there is benefit in reading instructions. I'm more inclined to jump right in and figure it out... sometimes at GREAT cost.
We’ve been on a short road trip for a few days, and the thread has certainly moved along. I relied on my MF travel combo of 25-50/4 and 75-150/3.5 E. I supplemented them with 20/2.8 and 16/3.5 fisheye, but mostly used the two zooms. Contrast seems snappier on the 25-50, but the 75-150 performed admirably. Post-processing can boost the constrast if necessary. I recently picked up a hood for the 75-150, and that helps since the lens is prone to flare when pointed towards bright light sources. I’m still looking for a hood for the 25-50, so if any of you know of any sources, I’m all ears.
BTW, I carried the D300s and 2 DX-format AF zooms, the 18-200 and the 10-24; but I never had them out of the camera bag. I just enjoy shooting the MF lenses more.
I’ll post some images as I get around to processing them. Here is one of lenticular clouds over Mt. Thielsen in southern Oregon.
Lovely photograph. Lovely rendering too, even stopped down like that!
Woodworking. I chiselled some stone a while back because I had something in my mind that wanted out. Same goes for woodworking. I'm trying (very hard) not to indulge too much in these urges because I know I could find a project in every possible discipline. I could even think of a flipper machine I'd want to build (I even started on that one, but stopped some 25 years ago)
As for woodworking, I still want to find a large enough piece of workable wood to chisel a table out of. In one piece. Containing some highly detailed parts combined with a truly unique design. I bet it'd take me some months to get that done, and since, at the moment, time is a commodity I do not have enough of, I just stick with photography, painting and sculpting until I find the time to do some scale model building, followed by... and so on.
A workshop can be a great place for inspiration though. Lots of photographs, just waiting to be taken
With all the recent talk about the 55mm f1,2, I just had to make this picture. It made me think about perfection. Neither the camera, nor the lens is perfect. Yet, both inspire me more to try and become a photographer then any of the newer cameras or lenes do. I played around with Kristinas 135mm f1,8 Sigma Art, and even though it is a magnificent lens, I found the pictures I took using the lens bland and uninspiring. And then, I change the SIgma for the 55mm, or even a 50mm f1,4 and I see the world through different eyes. I know these lenses are far from perfect. They have flaws, and I know those flaws. And maybe it's the flaws that make me want to create something beautiful. Aspiring to be a photographer. A person who makes drawings through the means of light. Perfection... just would not do to achieve such a result.
Tront wrote:
Sure, thanks. Sorry about that
Tront - nice photos, sweet daughter. Here is a solution to your problem here. Simply send me the Otus, and I will send you a Nikon 85mm 1.4 ais. I will even pay for freight!
raboof wrote:
Pretty much like photography for me. I now have TAS syndrome. At least, tools are cheaper at the moment...until I develop the equivalent of "ED" stage, then they can get expensive.
You think that's bad, I have access to not only laser cutters, but many 3D printers... I am hoping to make my own tools soon. Basically tabletop versions of stuff like a table saw, etc.
the solitaire wrote:
Lovely photograph. Lovely rendering too, even stopped down like that!
Woodworking. I chiselled some stone a while back because I had something in my mind that wanted out. Same goes for woodworking. I'm trying (very hard) not to indulge too much in these urges because I know I could find a project in every possible discipline. I could even think of a flipper machine I'd want to build (I even started on that one, but stopped some 25 years ago)
As for woodworking, I still want to find a large enough piece of workable wood to chisel a table out of. In one piece. Containing some highly detailed parts combined with a truly unique design. I bet it'd take me some months to get that done, and since, at the moment, time is a commodity I do not have enough of, I just stick with photography, painting and sculpting until I find the time to do some scale model building, followed by... and so on.
A workshop can be a great place for inspiration though. Lots of photographs, just waiting to be taken
With all the recent talk about the 55mm f1,2, I just had to make this picture. It made me think about perfection. Neither the camera, nor the lens is perfect. Yet, both inspire me more to try and become a photographer then any of the newer cameras or lenes do. I played around with Kristinas 135mm f1,8 Sigma Art, and even though it is a magnificent lens, I found the pictures I took using the lens bland and uninspiring. And then, I change the SIgma for the 55mm, or even a 50mm f1,4 and I see the world through different eyes. I know these lenses are far from perfect. They have flaws, and I know those flaws. And maybe it's the flaws that make me want to create something beautiful. Aspiring to be a photographer. A person who makes drawings through the means of light. Perfection... just would not do to achieve such a result.
Taken with a Nikon D3 and an 80-200 f4 Ai-S Zoom Nikkor...Show more →
Wow, I don't know. Keeping that big of a piece in its shape might be hard.
I am only making bookshelves for now. My wife has a ton of books but buying nice hardwood cases cost almost a Nikon Df a piece. I just can't afford buying 4 cases.
Oak, cherry, and walnut are plenty around here in the midwest. I decided to try my hand at woodworking...still have my fingers.
asiostygius wrote:
Andy, I bought this zoom last year anticipating my trip to Italy, but in the end I favoured the 25-50/4 and the 75-150E.
I have not used it reversed (good idea! Need to experiment!), but anyway I made some comparison shots at MFD with & without close up filters. Already posted here in January, anyway I repost just for you; sorry for boring others here.
All shots with a D610 at ISO 1600 + tripod, "macro" (M) setting at the lens in the minimum focusing distance (MFD) at different zoom positions.
WD = working distance subject to lens front.
The subject is the venerable Nikkor 16mm f/3.5 F.
Thanks Jose ! good to know it does ok the right way round. With my limited kit these days a normal zoom could come in handy especially with my upcoming month in Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast visiting my daughter.
I'll let you know how it performs backwards ! very useful range if it works ok, kinda like the Canon MP-E but possibly even more useful as 4X to 5X is not used so much and the ability to go less than 1:1 being something the MP-E can't do.
I got out with my D800E today and quickly remembered why it will remain my primary camera body! It is such a precise piece of equipment that adds something that words can't quite capture to the immersive experience of using MFNG. I won't process those photos until I have access to my desktop computer, so today I offer a more intimate view of Lake Superior's north shore, shot with some MF Nikkors on the Fuji X-E2 and processed in the Lightroom app on my phone.
This is Fort Rock in central Oregon. It is a tuff ring, the result of a volcanic vent opening in one of the shallow Pleistocene [ice-age] lakes. The ejecta accumulated in a ring-shaped island nearly a mile wide in the lake. Eventually waves breached about 1/4 of the ring on the south side. As the climate warmed, the lake evaporated leaving the 3/4 of the remaining ring standing above the former lake bed. Prominent wave-cut benches visible near the base of the vertical wall next to the road show successive lake levels as it receded.
The 1st is a 5-shot pano using the 75-150/3.5 E at 75mm.
The 2nd is with 16/3.5 fisheye.
The 3rd is a 4-pano from the middle of the crater area also with 16/3.5. The extreme field of view makes the rim look more like a straight wall than a ring.
The last is indian paintbrush growing inside the crater with 20/2.8.
Reagan wrote:
Glen,
If you like the Xe-2 don't try an XT-20 or XT-2
You will succumb to mirrorless
R
I'll stay away from such temptation at least until I get settled into my new home, overcome the shock of paying for the cross-country move , and regain a sufficient sense of financial freedom!
Reagan wrote:
I thought I saw that piece of wood in Bar Harbor last year
R
Yeah, I hear it's a bit of a drifter.
For those Fuji+MFNG aficionados out there who can tolerate processed-on-cell-phone photos, here are a couple of shots taken at sunset in Thunder Bay, which is at the west end of Lake Superior.
My good wishes everyone. Last couple of weeks life got ahead of me. Came down with the flu, then work has taken every bit of energy left. Things are going well but I have no time for me!
I bought a fifth 55mm 1.2 in the S.C variation for $150 in mint but dusty condition, sent it to APS for a CLA, they charged $180 and left it like new, ultra clean and smooth focus. Total so far $350 and still non-ai so it was not much of a bargain after all, but it is still mint.
, and regain a sufficient sense of financial freedom! 
