[iheiramo]

Of course Capture One 12 was released right after my latest purchases. I had skipped v11, so it was a must get upgrade and small add to this months financial disaster

Excellent new layer tools for more flexible editing are a huge step up from v10. I should be able to produce even better shots one's I learn to use it properly. Better software is like an upgrade to all lenses

[repaap]

Of course Capture One 12 was released right after my latest purchases. I had skipped v11, so it was a must get upgrade and small add to this months financial disaster

Excellent new layer tools for more flexible editing are a huge step up from v10. I should be able to produce even better shots one's I learn to use it properly. Better software is like an upgrade to all lenses

Perhaps I should give a try to CO 12...? well I'm quite happy with my LR CC.

---------- Post added 11-29-18 at 21:16 ----------

I was mentioning thing what you get with fast lens vs this zoom. I mean if it is f 2.8 or slower between 70-200 it does not matter to use this unless you want something smaller in your hands.

Have to get fast little longer lens to compare..maybe.

But here is difference of 55 @1.6


and 70-200@ 2.8


I believe that depending of effect that you want it makes difference. I could have posted one more example with 140 mm. it was still closer to 200 than 55 with look. But regardless, subject pops out very different way with these lenses. This is obvious ofcourse, but it is interesting to actually see it your self, eh? Anyways, one more day! This month went so fast!

[pepperberry farm]

my sunrise shot from Wednesday hit explore last night:

[repaap]

my sunrise shot from Wednesday hit explore last night:

congrats!

---------- Post added 11-30-18 at 13:55 ----------

Well I have busy day ahead of me, so just posted last picture of the month.

first of all it was nice task to explore B&W for one month.

I have already posted couple of things about this month. All in all I think that I'm quite far from mastering this lens. It sure is stack of primes, and it almost weights as much. BUT it is well worth lugging around. I tried it also with out grip(for last couple of days), which made it more easy to take out of the bag and put it back. I actually enjoy handling this lens more with handle on...so have to figure good way to go around that. Also IF you don't put hood on, it is less big. I have been afraid to use lens with hout supporting it from barrel before, but I have noticed that K-1 can take it. So if you want to take quick shot and have other hand occupied for one reason or other, no probs. Also had quick release plate on camera and was too lazy to remove and put it on lens handle, there was no problems. But I was also quite causious.
That is what one want to be with lens this grade.

I will explore this lens more to go beound. I basically bought this instead of Tamron because I wanted corner to corner sharpness from 2.8 across the zoom range. That has been reason why I have been shooting wide open. It sure can do it, there is vingetting, but one 'click' in LR and it is gone, as is also distortions. This lens has barrel distortion at widest and pincushion at 200 mm. from 70-100 it is more noticeable, but as I said, one click and gone.

Flare resistance is amazing, some flare for sure and that red ring if shooting in bright objects, but nothing to bother me and actually that red ring is quite cool. Nice starbursts, when you get them. And even if you shoot in light contrast is really good.

All in all, I really like this lens. I wish that they made also other DFA * zooms. One reason to have LBA dreams over those new DFA* primes is because I have this lens...Don't honestly know if i'd get that lighter 70-200 for travelling, even if I had money for 2 lenses, just because I know what this lens can do. Weight is not that much of an problem for me personally. I really like what this lens does to portraits, it is not 'one eye in focus kind' but it still pops out. Bokeh is lovely and really well controlled from 80-200, 70 is little slow, but it still has okay bokeh. Bokeh transition is great too. Did not get many great shots this month, okayish, but they were all great technically. So it is up to me from now on.

Thank you all for this month.

here is on shot from today IMO it kind a sums up this lens quite well.

[D1N0]

Well I made it with the Jupiter in November. It is still on my camera. It is not an easy lens to shoot wide open because of narrow dof and it has so much softness and little contrast focus peaking hardly works. Luckily it has a circular aperture so stopping down doesn't mess with the bokeh other dan making it less blurry.

Here is one I hadn't shared:

[iheiramo]

I went into the month with high expectations. This is the tele lens in M series between 100 and 200mm. A lot like M100/2.8, but better in everything. Only negative surprice during the month has been green and purple fringing. It can be quite severe with this lens and need to be taken in consideration. Like all the M's it's a bit soft wide open. Usable for bokeh shots, but I prefer to stop it down to 4 if possible. From f5.6 it's really sharp.

November is probably the worst month to shoot in Finland. Dark, rainy and colorless month and it can be seen in the album: SIC 2018 11 Pentax M120/2.8 | Flickr

I really like this lens. It's sharp, typical M series rendering and nice bokeh. Also very compact for it's focal lenght so easy to carry on trips. It's been the long lens on my travel bag and continue to be in the future. This lens is a keeper.

This lens is reasonably priced for it's quality and therefore excellent value. It's a bit unusual focal length and not very famous, so apparently people just don't know about it. If you find it somewhere, I recommend you to get it.

Wide open:


f4:


f5.6:


f8:


f8:


f11:

[repaap]

Just one of portraits taken today...but I have been saying all month how good this thing is for portraits and no photo...well even if my wife kills me, here is one.
DFA*70-200 + K-1

[Minimonster]

To sum up the month with the SMC Takumar 135, it's a lovely lens. Nice rich colours and easy to focus and use. I'm just not sure 135 is my length...

Pairing it with the K10D worked well but the camera feels a little clunky and the limited iso is an issue, particularly in a dark month. It does seem to work well with the older lenses and the sensor is lovely. It feels good in the hand too.

I think I'll be happier to get back to a shorter lens in December.

[pepperberry farm]

end of the month review: Vivitar (Komine) 55mm f2.8 Macro

this is an all-metal, all-manual, film-era macro lens - and with its focal length of 55mm, it's not too-long or too-short, but a nice middling length. I have to admit to my fetish for 55mm lenses, so this one was a must-have when I found it on eBay for about $100 - my copy is in great shape, only physical fault is the focus ring grip has lost its adhesive and will spin if you are not serious about gripping it...

anyway, being a macro, the focus ring has a long-throw for accuracy and has great feel to it, but you can get tired of the nearly 670* of spin the focus ring has - yes, it will travel nearly-twice around to get from infinity to less-than-a-foot minimum focusing distance - this is a 1:1 macro...

I find only two negatives in the month I shot with the 55 Macro: first, the weight is a bit much, making my K-3 a bit ponderous for daily use; and, second, the lens' coatings just are not up to harsh/direct light and you'll see ghosting/flare/loss of contrast, but not surprising, given the lens' age...

but, if you want all the sharpness you can find in an older macro lens - this is it:



plus the colors are accurate, bokeh is smooth, and its close-focusing ability makes it a hugely-useful lens in daily shooting...

some of my favorites from the month:







and this last one even grabbed an 'explore' on flickr this month:



and the rest of November's album:

Single In Challenge - November '18 | Flickr


overall, an excellent lens for the month - if you are looking for all-manual, etc....

[pepperberry farm]

almost forgot:

I wanted to thank everyone involved with the SIC... what's happening in December could not have happened without this daily challenge...

just a couple of years ago, I would never have considered owning/using an M42 lens, let alone buying a camera body for that expressed-purpose...