[kaseki]

Hi,

That 67 soft focus lens is dreamy. I might have to get me one of those.

Edit: I looked it up on eBay. Is this a design with a sieve aperture plate? That would explain the look. I think I might just buy the thing. I have nothing like that in either the Pentax or Nikon systems.

Stan

I am curious about this also. A sieve would greatly restrict the effective aperture. Cokin made their soft filter by 'dimpling' a clear plastic sheet to mess up spatial coherence. One can design the lens assembly to never get into good focus, but I wonder if something more sophisticated is in play to get the effect.

[barondla]

Hi,

That 67 soft focus lens is dreamy. I might have to get me one of those.

Edit: I looked it up on eBay. Is this a design with a sieve aperture plate? That would explain the look. I think I might just buy the thing. I have nothing like that in either the Pentax or Nikon systems.

Stan

Not sure what a sieve aperture plate is exactly? With lens off camera and set to F3.5, I see nothing but glass while looking thru lens. Stopping down, sharpens the image. At F8 - 22 lens is quite sharp.

The GIANT aperture ring is a joy to use. I se it to F8 to focus then dial in the amount of softness for the shot. Also got the Pentax 67 1.4 teleconverter with it to give a more portrait friendly focal length on the Pentax 67. Love this lens and it's much more affordable than the 35mm versions.

Thanks,
barondla

[ivanvernon]

Pentax 645Z with Pentax 67 120 soft lens. Lens arrived from Japan a few days ago. Finally had a day off to shoot today.




Thanks for looking,
barondla

You inspired me, so here is my version plus one more with same lens and 645Z.

---------- Post added 08-13-20 at 02:14 PM ----------

Hi,

That 67 soft focus lens is dreamy. I might have to get me one of those.

Edit: I looked it up on eBay. Is this a design with a sieve aperture plate? That would explain the look. I think I might just buy the thing. I have nothing like that in either the Pentax or Nikon systems.

Stan

I have this lens also, and have just posted a couple of images. There is also a Pentax Forum soft focus club where you can see lots of these images. With most of the soft focus images, including the Pentax 67 120mm f 3.5 SF, the soft focus effect is created by the deliberate inclusion of spherical aberration which is at its most extreme level at larger apertures, and which gradually disappears by the time the lens is stopped down to around f 8.0.

[w2ck]

Hi,

A sieve aperture plate is a plate with several holes in it as opposed to the single variable hole we are used to. Like looking thru a screen vs a glass plate.

So, it sounds like the P67 120 SF does it with the optics themselves, which is more complicated - and better.

I take it that dialing in the softness means opening the iris (aperture) up whilst looking thru the viewfinder.

Stan

[ivanvernon]

Hi,

A sieve aperture plate is a plate with several holes in it as opposed to the single variable hole we are used to. Like looking thru a screen vs a glass plate.

So, it sounds like the P67 120 SF does it with the optics themselves, which is more complicated - and better.

I take it that dialing in the softness means opening the iris (aperture) up whilst looking thru the viewfinder.

Stan

Yes, that is how it works. One procedure I sometimes use is to set aperture at f 8 in order to focus, then turn aperture back one, two, or three clicks, taking a photo at each f 5.6, f 4.0, and f 3.5 in order to have three different photos at differing levels of softness. There is also a K mount soft focus lens, the Pentax 85mm f 2.8 SF, with apertures of 2.8, 4.0, and 5.6, with the softness virtually disappearing by f 8.0. This lens operates on the same principle as the P67 lens. I also have the Mamiya 645 C 145mm f 4.0 SF. This is a somewhat more sophisticated lens than the Pentax SF lenses. It operates on the same principle of varying the degree of spherical aberration, but also has a separate dial that allows varying the level of softness not only by setting aperture at f 4.0, f 5.6, and f 8.0, but also offers five gradations of softness for each aperture setting. For all these lenses, the softness basically disappears by f 8.0, and the lens defaults into a normal lens at smaller apertures beyond f 8.0.

[w2ck]

Hi,

Thanks. That explains the printing around the barrel at the front of the lens housing. I see a sloped graphic which is now obviously the amount of softness. The aperture is at the front,I suppose from the way the outer part of the lens is made. Yeah. tapers to a line at F8. So, this is very interesting.

And, very different from a Nikon lens that offers Defocus Control, which doesn't change by aperture or change the central image. It super blurs either the foreground or the background via a special control ring. I use this to great effect in, get this, bowling alleys.

My wife was a Pro bowler and I shot the regional women's tournaments for years. Well used to, but she has retired from bowling with back issues and I don't get to any of those events any longer. Anyway, the backgrounds in a bowling alley are, um, really distracting. So, being able to blur those into a sweep of color was a real plus.

This is going to be different. Dial in dreaminess as it were. Sounds like a nice option to have in the bag.

Oh, and for $120 I have one coming now. I really can't believe the low prices on this Pentax medium format stuff. It is the best danged deal in photography today.

I just received my 67 to 645 adapter so I am good to go when the Soft Focus gets here.

Stan

[barondla]

You inspired me, so here is my version plus one more with same lens and 645Z.

---------- Post added 08-13-20 at 02:14 PM ----------


I have this lens also, and have just posted a couple of images. There is also a Pentax Forum soft focus club where you can see lots of these images. With most of the soft focus images, including the Pentax 67 120mm f 3.5 SF, the soft focus effect is created by the deliberate inclusion of spherical aberration which is at its most extreme level at larger apertures, and which gradually disappears by the time the lens is stopped down to around f 8.0.

Nice images! Cone flowers are great subjects. Like you, I set the lens to F8 for focusing and then open up for the desired softness. Great advice to shoot at different apertures for more softness choices. It's hard to decide which effect is "the one" on a 3.2" screen.

Thanks,
barondla

---

Last edited by barondla; 08-13-2020 at 04:56 PM.

[ivanvernon]

Hi,

Thanks. That explains the printing around the barrel at the front of the lens housing. I see a sloped graphic which is now obviously the amount of softness. The aperture is at the front,I suppose from the way the outer part of the lens is made. Yeah. tapers to a line at F8. So, this is very interesting.

And, very different from a Nikon lens that offers Defocus Control, which doesn't change by aperture or change the central image. It super blurs either the foreground or the background via a special control ring. I use this to great effect in, get this, bowling alleys.

My wife was a Pro bowler and I shot the regional women's tournaments for years. Well used to, but she has retired from bowling with back issues and I don't get to any of those events any longer. Anyway, the backgrounds in a bowling alley are, um, really distracting. So, being able to blur those into a sweep of color was a real plus.

This is going to be different. Dial in dreaminess as it were. Sounds like a nice option to have in the bag.

Oh, and for $120 I have one coming now. I really can't believe the low prices on this Pentax medium format stuff. It is the best danged deal in photography today.

I just received my 67 to 645 adapter so I am good to go when the Soft Focus gets here.

Stan

Good luck. Hope it works out well for you.

[barondla]

Hi,

Thanks. That explains the printing around the barrel at the front of the lens housing. I see a sloped graphic which is now obviously the amount of softness. The aperture is at the front,I suppose from the way the outer part of the lens is made. Yeah. tapers to a line at F8. So, this is very interesting.

And, very different from a Nikon lens that offers Defocus Control, which doesn't change by aperture or change the central image. It super blurs either the foreground or the background via a special control ring. I use this to great effect in, get this, bowling alleys.

My wife was a Pro bowler and I shot the regional women's tournaments for years. Well used to, but she has retired from bowling with back issues and I don't get to any of those events any longer. Anyway, the backgrounds in a bowling alley are, um, really distracting. So, being able to blur those into a sweep of color was a real plus.

This is going to be different. Dial in dreaminess as it were. Sounds like a nice option to have in the bag.

Oh, and for $120 I have one coming now. I really can't believe the low prices on this Pentax medium format stuff. It is the best danged deal in photography today.

I just received my 67 to 645 adapter so I am good to go when the Soft Focus gets here.

Stan

Interesting idea, defocus control. Wonder how that is achieved optically? Must be some fancy optics to pull it off.

$120 is a great price for such an amazing lens. It's a large diameter lens but relatively short and not heavy at all. You will enjoy it! Can't wait to see your photos.

Thanks,
barondla

---------- Post added 08-13-20 at 07:00 PM ----------

Yes, that is how it works. One procedure I sometimes use is to set aperture at f 8 in order to focus, then turn aperture back one, two, or three clicks, taking a photo at each f 5.6, f 4.0, and f 3.5 in order to have three different photos at differing levels of softness. There is also a K mount soft focus lens, the Pentax 85mm f 2.8 SF, with apertures of 2.8, 4.0, and 5.6, with the softness virtually disappearing by f 8.0. This lens operates on the same principle as the P67 lens. I also have the Mamiya 645 C 145mm f 4.0 SF. This is a somewhat more sophisticated lens than the Pentax SF lenses. It operates on the same principle of varying the degree of spherical aberration, but also has a separate dial that allows varying the level of softness not only by setting aperture at f 4.0, f 5.6, and f 8.0, but also offers five gradations of softness for each aperture setting. For all these lenses, the softness basically disappears by f 8.0, and the lens defaults into a normal lens at smaller apertures beyond f 8.0.

The Mamiya lens sounds really neat. How does the look compare between the Pentax & Mamiya?

Thanks,
barondla

[ivanvernon]

Interesting idea, defocus control. Wonder how that is achieved optically? Must be some fancy optics to pull it off.

$120 is a great price for such an amazing lens. It's a large diameter lens but relatively short and not heavy at all. You will enjoy it! Can't wait to see your photos.

Thanks,
barondla

---------- Post added 08-13-20 at 07:00 PM ----------



The Mamiya lens sounds really neat. How does the look compare between the Pentax & Mamiya?

Thanks,
barondla

Both are good looking lenses. I really love all the Mamiya 645 C lenses. They are all well crafted and all-metal design.

[TDvN57]

Interesting idea, defocus control. Wonder how that is achieved optically? Must be some fancy optics to pull it off.

$120 is a great price for such an amazing lens. It's a large diameter lens but relatively short and not heavy at all. You will enjoy it! Can't wait to see your photos.

Thanks,
barondla

---------- Post added 08-13-20 at 07:00 PM ----------



The Mamiya lens sounds really neat. How does the look compare between the Pentax & Mamiya?

Thanks,
barondla

Many moons ago when I did weddings, the going trick was to take a UV filter and cover it with a thin layer of Vaseline. You could vary the softness by the thickness of the layer. The mothers and grandmothers loved this effect and since they were usually the ones that paid, it was important to make them happy. The downside was after a session everything in your bag gets a smudge of Vaseline and it was a real problem to clean it off afterwards. But hey money buys the bread...

Thanks to all for sharing your pictures, it is a real inspiration to start my day.

[kaseki]

Many moons ago when I did weddings, the going trick was to take a UV filter and cover it with a thin layer of Vaseline. You could vary the softness by the thickness of the layer. The mothers and grandmothers loved this effect and since they were usually the ones that paid, it was important to make them happy. The downside was after a session everything in your bag gets a smudge of Vaseline and it was a real problem to clean it off afterwards. But hey money buys the bread... ... .

The Vaseline and Cokin approaches should work for a greater range of aperture stops than the spherical aberration method, depending how small the aperture is vs. the structure size of the variations in thickness of the wet (greasy) or dry (bumpy) phase plate one is using. I'll have to get one of the 67 soft lenses and dig out my Cokin filter parts stored somewhere to compare. I don't recall the Cokin filter size, but it should be adequate for all but the largest MF apertures.

[w2ck]

Hi,

See, this is why i am an amateur photographer. I had not heard of the vaseline trick before. Rather clever. Back at the end of December, I shot my first wedding and might well have used that some. My granddaughter insisted I do it. Mainly because if I didn't there would be only cell phone pics. Neither set of parents thought anything else was necessary these days. But, then, they were all unhappy with them getting married in the first place. The kids were on their own. Anyway, grandpa managed with the Nikon Df and 28mm and 50mm primes and a little fill flash.

But, I'd have loved a few soft focus shots.

Stan

[kaseki]

...

But, I'd have loved a few soft focus shots.

Stan

Surely, by now one would expect that a post processing program could convolve an image with a spherical aberration point spread function to achieve something close to the soft lens effect. ... And now that I have raised this question I took a quick look at a web search and found that the topic has plenty of coverage. So wa2kqy, your wish may be amenable to fulfillment by digital fairy dust.

[barondla]

A famous Nikon pro made his own soft focus/diffusion filters. He took an old uv filter and made lots of dots using a black permanent marker. More dots, more diffusion. Method allows custom diffusion filters. More dots around edges softens edges more than center. Design lessens the highlights spilling into the shadow areas and keeps contrast up.

Thanks,
barondla