[interested_observer]

Morning All,

I am traveling next week on business. On Friday (on my way to the airport), I will have an opportunity to shoot some old cars (Model Ts, As, etc.) inside an old factory building (long and narrow, with old windows (as in hand pored glass) along each side of the building). The lighting will not be extremely poor (10am to 2pm, probably low clouds and snowing), although not really good - but its not a studio, nor do I have any lights (nor want any) - it is what it is. Actually, I am thinking that the not perfect lighting will be an advantage - ambient low level lighting, with the old cars and the brick factory building and walls as a backdrop. I have been there before, using a Panasonic LX3 (24 to 60mm - mostly at 24) but it was during the summer.

I am taking the camera - K5, traveling tripod (that fits in my carry on baggage), ballhead, L bracket (which is essentially permanently mounted to the body), remote shutter release, 3 batteries and 2 lenses. Its the lenses that are on my mind. What would be best for the cars? Zoom and Prime, or 2 primes....

• DA 12-24/4 - would give me a lot of versatility and I really like the lens. I have traveled with it before, so I can accommodate its size. f8 on a tripod would be plenty fast.
• Zeiss 25/2.8 ZK - I am thinking that this would be good with its IQ, sharpness, fast lens (for me), great colors and rendering. It also focuses down to 6 inches - so could do close for various details. f4 through f8 would easily work, even f2.8 which would envelope (as in DoF) the width of the car perfectly (ran some numbers).

I also have available...

• DA 10-17 Fisheye - I have seen it used on cars very effectively, but am afraid of the distortion.
• CZ 28/2.8 - small, and gives both the 25 and 31 a run for the money.
• FA 31 Ltd - Its in the horse race with the ZK. My fastest at f1.8, however I really do not think I need the speed. Size wise its smaller than the ZK which is a plus. I am thinking that the 25's focal length would be a bit better in terms of the distances involved.
• A 50/1.7 - small, I could sneak it in due to its small size.
• M 50/1.4 - small too, and I really do not feel the need for the speed.
• CZ 85/2.8 - small, would details be of interest? Might be too narrow - the 50 would be better

The LX3 did great - perfectly fine. However, this time I want spectacular (well at least one spectacular shot - please). When I shot Old Ironsides for the second time, I had it all planned out, but forgot about the tide coming in and the wind through the rigging, with long bracketed shots (night and early morning), the background was absolutely perfect - but the ship moved... and I did not realize it, so just aggravated the situation by using very low ISO. I also did not count on the 200 foot crane that they had parked next to it - lifting off the sails for winter.

So, I plan to bracket - using 5 frames at +/-2ev. LiveView, on a tripod, anywhere from f4 to f8 for DoF control (to some degree).

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Last edited by interested_observer; 12-01-2012 at 05:23 AM.

[Sagitta]

Unless you don't mind warped bodies, you'll probably want to step back a bit and shoot from a distance. with something wide.

Your best bet would be to just take a tripod and shoot using your best glass, since at that point low light won't be an issue since you'll be shooting with longer exposures.

With your choices, I'd take the 12-24, Zeiss, and the 1.4 just for up close 'tripod won't fit here' kind of shots.

[Swift1]

This past summer I took a bunch of photos of my '77 Celica and I found that for that car, 28mm (on APS-C) was about as wide as I liked before the car started looking stretched. I have one photo of it taken at 16mm that I like, but some of my favourite were shot with a 200mm on a 6x7 (about 70mm on APS-C).
It all depends on the car, and the look you want. I've taken photos of old 40's pickups with my 45mm on 6x7 (15mm on APS-C) that turned out great.
I would think that the 31 Ltd might be perfect.

[lesmore49]

Morning All,

I've enjoyed taking photo's of vintage vehicles for decades. Sounds like you have a great opportunity.
I am traveling next week on business. On Friday (on my way to the airport), I will have an opportunity to shoot some old cars (Model Ts, As, etc.) inside an old factory building (long and narrow, with old windows (as in hand pored glass) along each side of the building). The lighting will not be extremely poor (10am to 2pm, probably low clouds and snowing), although not really good - but its not a studio, nor do I have any lights (nor want any) - it is what it is. Actually, I am thinking that the not perfect lighting will be an advantage - ambient low level lighting, with the old cars and the brick factory building and walls as a backdrop. I have been there before, using a Panasonic LX3 (24 to 60mm - mostly at 24) but it was during the summer.

I am taking the camera - K5, traveling tripod (that fits in my carry on baggage), ballhead, L bracket (which is essentially permanently mounted to the body), remote shutter release, 3 batteries and 2 lenses. Its the lenses that are on my mind. What would be best for the cars? Zoom and Prime, or 2 primes....

• DA 12-24/4 - would give me a lot of versatility and I really like the lens. I have traveled with it before, so I can accommodate its size. f8 on a tripod would be plenty fast.Think F 8 should be fine with the K-5 on a tripod...hand held....would require higher ISO. I have the 12-24 and I don't think there are much better lenses out there for classic car photography. Clarity, resolution...all top.
• Zeiss 25/2.8 ZK - I am thinking that this would be good with its IQ, sharpness, fast lens (for me), great colors and rendering. It also focuses down to 6 inches - so could do close for various details. f4 through f8 would easily work, even f2.8 which would envelope (as in DoF) the width of the car perfectly (ran some numbers).

I also have available...

• DA 10-17 Fisheye - I have seen it used on cars very effectively, but am afraid of the distortion.I have this lens too...it's wonderful for auto photography. I found the secret is to use it @ 17mm and then I find I experiment with angles. I spend some time moving up and down...focusing on getting the lens as 'level' as possible. This seems to prevent distortion. I find the 10-17 @ 17 gives a car ....marvelous 'body'...I know that's not a great description of what this lens does....but some of my favourite vintage photo's have come from this lens. There's nothing quite like it and btw...I'm not a fan of fish eye photography at it's most distorted.
• CZ 28/2.8 - small, and gives both the 25 and 31 a run for the money.
• FA 31 Ltd - Its in the horse race with the ZK. My fastest at f1.8, however I really do not think I need the speed. Size wise its smaller than the ZK which is a plus. I am thinking that the 25's focal length would be a bit better in terms of the distances involved.
• A 50/1.7 - small, I could sneak it in due to its small size.
• M 50/1.4 - small too, and I really do not feel the need for the speed.I have one and frankly I find I don't use this lens as much as I should. I have used it in low light, evening car photography and the 'creamy' flavour it gives to a photograph is a big appeal. Also I use it (along with my 70mm Ltd.) for partial pictures of cars...ie: tail light...hood ornament....use F 2.8 or faster for some really good bokeh with these lenses.
• CZ 85/2.8 - small, would details be of interest? Might be too narrow - the 50 would be better

The LX3 did great - perfectly fine. However, this time I want spectacular (well at least one spectacular shot - please). When I shot Old Ironsides for the second time, I had it all planned out, but forgot about the tide coming in and the wind through the rigging, with long bracketed shots (night and early morning), the background was absolutely perfect - but the ship moved... and I did not realize it, so just aggravated the situation by using very low ISO. I also did not count on the 200 foot crane that they had parked next to it - lifting off the sails for winter.

So, I plan to bracket - using 5 frames at +/-2ev. LiveView, on a tripod, anywhere from f4 to f8 for DoF control (to some degree).

Sounds like a great photo adventure. I would take the K-5, 12-24, 10-17 fish eye, 50 F 1.4, tripod and remote shutter release.

[reeftool]

I do several car shows every year and my DA 15 gets the most use and the DA 10-17 getting some also. The fisheye works better than I expected. Yes, there is some distortion but framing the car from the right position will give a very pleasing and different perspective. I'm always outdoors in the middle of the day. Lots of reflections and hundreds of people. You will have the luxury of stepping back and slow shutter speeds and a tripod. I don't know how much room you will have. When I have used my kit lens, I have rarely shot longer than 24mm but again, I have always been in tight spaces with cars parked very close.

[polachekphotography]

I would definitely consider bringing the 10-17 as well. The fisheye perspective can get tiresome if overused, but it can be fun too! I've also had good luck with it in low-light situations. Here's a link with some shots I got at the San Diego Automotive Museum, all using the 10-17:

http://www.polachekphotography.blogspot.ca/2012/03/san-diego.html

I was using the K-7 hand-held for these, so the K-5 and a tripod you'll definitely be less restricted in your shooting. As for the second lens, I can't comment specifically on your choices as I don't own any of them, though for shooting cars my go-to's are the DA* 50-135 (even in close quarters), the DA* 16-50, and more recently the 15mm Ltd.

[SpecialK]

10-17 and 12-24.

[Ponosby Britt]

12-24