[MSL]

Time to launch the fourth edition of: Something Special About That Lens


The goal of this contest is to show off some special feature of a lens, whether it is a fish eye, bokeh monster, super starbursts, perfect for reversing, super sharp, dreamy colors, super fast wide open aperture / narrow depth of field, creative use of vignetting etc. Pull out that hidden gem you haven't used in a while and find how it can enable your creativity. While members are free to like any image they like, ideally voting should be towards images that show off the special feature of the lens. Entrants are encouraged to include a short description with the image to tell what special feature they are trying to highlight.


The formal stuff:

• 1 entry per person per month. Any brand of lens, but the photo should be taken with a Pentax or Ricoh DSLR/SLR camera.
• PLEASE INCLUDE a short blurb explaining the special characteristics of the lens you are trying to show off
• To enter, reply to this message and put your image in this thread.
• The top entries (this will be adjusted based on how much interest there is each round), based on total likes, will then be voted on in a poll for the monthly prize (one 128 GB SD card, or three (3) 32 GB SD cards).
• The 2nd - 4th place finishers in the poll voting each month will be entered into the December contest for additional prizes.
• Contest winners will be asked for a brief blog post describing the technique you used to shoot and process your photo, as well as what equipment you used. Additional information about the lens and how and when you tend to use it will be most welcome.

This month: 40 to 49 mm (absolute lens focal length, don't include any crop factors - no math required!). (Fewer lenses this time, but more chance to find a creative use for many of the eligible zoom lenses)

Entries will close at the end of the month, but voting will continue until June 13 and then the shortlist voting poll will run for 10 days after that.

If you have any questions and they are specific to this month please put them here, otherwise please use this thread (Something special about that lens - NEW CONTEST series - PentaxForums.com) to learn more about the origins of this contest.


FINALLY: Whether you enter or not, please go view the photos from Issue 3 (Something special about that lens: Volume 1 Issue 3 - PentaxForums.com) and LIKE the ones that you think best show off a special characteristic of a lens. To that extent, credit should be given for those who included a short blurb about their images as befitting the purpose of this contest.

[pepperberry farm]

Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f2 SL II

Such amazing clarity and colors from this little pancake lens - plus superior build-quality, and a focus ring that is quite-nearly perfect....

[RichardJ]

A photograph taken in January this year when heavy snow hit the UK. I used my Lensbaby Sol 45 lens and my Pentax K-70.

The lens is manual focus, with a focal length of 45mm and fixed to an aperture of F3.5. It has a property of a circular focus blur so the centre point of the image is in focus and a circular out of focus area surrounds it. I find this is a lens that quite add quite a magical effect to some scenes. Sometimes I'll use it just because it can turn an otherwise familiar and innocuous scene into some intriguing and unusual. In this case, with the snow coming down quite heavily I thought the circular out of focus area might help capture something of the visual confusion of falling snow. I was pleased with the results.

[MossyRocks]

I got nothing in this range except for that tokina zoom I used for last month's but looking forward to seeing what I should consider buying. So far some fun shots.

[MSL]

I got nothing in this range except for that tokina zoom I used for last month's but looking forward to seeing what I should consider buying. So far some fun shots.

The same lens can be entered more than once, as some special effects may be more present in certain focal length ranges than others, just as some optical deficiencies are more apparent at some focal length ranges than others (usually weakness at the extremes)

[marland]

Camera: Pentax K-m . Lens: SMC Pentax-M 40-80 mm F2.8-4. Focal length: 40 mm. Exposure time: unknown. ISO: 400.
This old zoom lens is much sharper than expected! Interesting is the vintage colour result. This photo of the Wolfslaar country estate in Breda, the Netherlandfs was taken on a winter afternoon.

[MossyRocks]

The same lens can be entered more than once, as some special effects may be more present in certain focal length ranges than others, just as some optical deficiencies are more apparent at some focal length ranges than others (usually weakness at the extremes)

While I know that it is a lens that I don't use consistently (even though I do like it) and I've found that I usually use it at the short or long end. As it is an old zoom it doesn't communicate the focal length unless manually set. I don't think I've ever used it at a length in the 40s. I may have to give it a try since I do like that lens.

[SFTphotography]

My entry for the month

Pentax 645z - HD 28-45 F4.5

This was taken on Rannoch Moor



This lens is incredible - and massive. Razor sharp all over the frame, silent and rapid AF and stunning colour rendition.

[marland]

Regarding my submission, the exposure time is 1/180. As I used a manual lens, there was not F number indicated in the EXIF data.

[Gene D]

"Emerald Bay Morning".....taken with my smc DA 40mm Limited. An early morning hike looking down at Emerald Bay in South Lake Tahoe. This is a great example of how sharp this lens is and the great contrast and color rendition. The detail here at f5.6 and ISO 100 is so clear. This is what I like so much about this lens...plus its so small and compact!

[DeKay]

This was taken with an smc PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 XS mounted on a KP at 1/2000 F2.8 ISO200.

In my opinion, the best features of this lens are that its incredibly sharp and has fantastic contrast when shooting in black and white.
It’s also great for street style shooting as the focus is really fast and its incredibly small so people don’t get freaked out that you are taking photos.

[JensE]

The HD DA 40mm f/2.8, with its simple 5 element design featuring HD coating, has outstanding flare resistance. It renders detail in the deepest shadows next to bright lights. Combine that with very low distortion and you'll have an excellent lens for shots like the below, from my recent single-in with it:


KP + HD DA 40mm f/2.8

[jgnfld]

I adore my 40 mm Ltd at golden hour on the ocean as it renders those colors extremely well. This is an older pic taken soon after I acquired this lens in 2016 and which was mounted on a K-50 at that time. It shows the exact conditions where the 40mm performs best for me in my environment.

[dougieazar]

Ok here is my submittal to the contest. I have done absolutely nothing to the photograph. I have PS and Lightroom but this pic has not seen either. It is straight from the machine. this was shot at my ex-brother-in-laws horseback trail riding concession at Deadhorse State Park in Cottonwood, Arizona. I used my Pentax k-5 with SMC Pentax 28mm-90mm f3.5-6.3, and the exposure is f11.0 at 1/1500, ISO 800 and 45mm on the lens. I will work on it later but for this contest I am doing a purist thing and this is the photo as shot.

[MSL]

Just a few more days to enter this round