Don't worry if at the beginning it's not very smooth. Mine wasn't, either. It's become much better with use (if it's good, then just forget what I said).
some shots with the Rokkor 58 1.2. Question for you guys with this lens...my copy is very soft wide open, is that normal? I have seen several shots posted by this lens wide open that seemed sharp and my copy is VERY soft. However, at f/2 it does clean up quite nicely, but I bought it for f/1.2 use, not f/2
snowboarder wrote:
Very clean, but somehow lacks character... Not sure why.
I much preferred Pentax 43 Ltd, it had a more "dramatic" rendering I liked.
I prefer the 43 as well... the 31 has been the hardest FA Ltd for me to get to grips with.
I'm not sure about "lacking character" though... sounds like pixie dust-style bullshit, and I've seen plenty of character-rich shots from this lens. (Albeit not from me. )
I'm just wondering a) precisely what "lack of character" you see in those images, and b) why you attribute it to the lens rather than my poor compositional and post-processing skills.
Or are you commenting on your own experience with the 31Ltd?
edit: not trying to be confrontational here, just genuinely curious.
deadwolfbones wrote:
I'm just wondering a) precisely what "lack of character" you see in those images, and b) why you attribute it to the lens rather than my poor compositional and post-processing skills.
Or are you commenting on your own experience with the 31Ltd?
edit: not trying to be confrontational here, just genuinely curious.
For example this shot. Very clinical, sharp and clean.
But, a scene like that, with a nice backlight and a crisp subject should have a much more
appealing rendering, this one doesn't really have any microcontrast, the transition into
OOF areas in the front are quite ugly, the bokeh on the right/lower side is nice,
but the bg is strange and not very clean. Could be post-processing.
Overall a scene which should pop like crazy feels flat and ... flat. Just IMO.
Well, I'm not sure I see what you see, but goddammit, I respect your right to see it.
(fwiw, the background ugliness may be due to my overzealous use of the clarity slider in LR. also, it's mulch and tallish grass, which is inherently a bit busy.)
)