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08-18-2015, 09:45 AM   #1
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FA* 24mm pics ... something wrong or is this "user error"

Hi All,

I guess I've been a member of the forum for quite a few years, but it's been a long time since I posted much. There's a lot of great info and folks here, so most of the time I can find help and news just with the search engine. But ... this one has got me troubled and I don't know what to think.

I've had an FA* 24mm for a little while now and can't seem to figure out how to eliminate what could either be a contrast problem or just a general "grayness" that permeates the photos. I took a few and posted them over on Flickr if you want to take a look:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/91683452@N08/K648Kj

#1039 and #1041 show the problem somewhat. I always need to stop down at least 1-1.5 stops from what the K3 (or before that the SG20) suggests. These two pictures reflect that.

#1272 is the 18-55 v2 that I set at 24mm for comparison.

#1273 and #1274 show the FA* 24mm set at the same condition as the 18-55 and then stopped down to try and help it out a bit.

So what do you all think? Am I nuts? Am I not using it correctly? Is there actually some lens problem here? It really, really struggles with any level of contrast in the photos, and none of my other lenses (primary lens is an FA* 28-70 2.8, the 18-55 v2 and then a few primes thrown in of various vintage) have struggles anything like this.

All input appreciated - even if you decide I'm just nuts.

08-18-2015, 09:50 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by lineswest Quote
but it's been a long time since I posted much
That's like a post a year... 7 posts since 2007.

Not sure that these are fair images to try and base a conclusion on, they are all predominately fairly bland in their colours to start with, i.e. mainly green or mainly grey.

Assuming that you shooting raw, you can give a fairly heavy tweak to the contrast and vibrance in PP which should help no end. Also you've a bit of PF showing up around the signal lights but that's a quick fix too.

Last edited by Kerrowdown; 08-18-2015 at 09:59 AM.
08-18-2015, 09:50 AM   #3
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Lens hood on?
08-18-2015, 09:58 AM   #4
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All your shots are difficult, shot in the dark towards the light. That alone makes things less contrasty.
I have no excuse for the blueberry shot to give you. None of the pics have the "POP" you would expect from a FA* lens.
Can you do another comparison with the 18-55 of something colourful like flowers or cars?

No you are not nutty.

Seb

08-18-2015, 10:20 AM   #5
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FA* 24 is known having low contrast at F2.0-2.4, maybe 2.8. photos show a little "glow" at the edges but the details are still there, which sometime is a nice thing to have, like a soft focus lens.
F 2.8 or smaller, the lens is really amazing. brilliant color and very good contrast (and not overdone).
glare control is not the best character for this lens, although not bad by any means. Hood helps a lot to bring up the contrast.
in your case, do you have an UV filter on the lens? and hood? and foggy or smudge on the surface? Old lens might have some imperfect.
Here are some photos form FA*24


08-18-2015, 10:40 AM   #6
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OP's images look slightly overexposed. Might help to reshoot with EV -0.5 compensation.
08-18-2015, 11:15 AM   #7
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I see the haziness that's plaguing your photos. It very well could be an overexposure issue. However, if this issue is present in all photos taken with the lens, I would double check the lens for any hazing on the elements. I'm assuming you've cleaned the outer and inner lens surfaces. Get a light and some colored construction paper and look through the lens.

Best of luck solving this issue.

08-18-2015, 11:39 AM   #8
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Check for haze in the lens. The pictures of the FA*24 I own are much more contrasted
08-18-2015, 11:54 AM   #9
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I too notice FA* 24 tends to overexpose on K-3. I didn't notice this when I used it on K-5. I used to take a worse picture using FA*24 and K-3 combo - similar to OP's but worse. I haven't figured out why.
08-18-2015, 11:59 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Kerrowdown Quote
That's like a post a year... 7 posts since 2007.
Guilty as charged.
08-18-2015, 12:07 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by lineswest Quote
Guilty as charged
Well it would have been hard to plead not guilty with that evidence against you.

Anyway now you've found your voice again, I hope to see you more often around the place.
08-18-2015, 12:59 PM - 1 Like   #12
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it "might" be the refection off of the sensor (since what I am seeing is a "blueness" to your shadows and yes the reflection of the sensor is indeed blue) -- some of these older lenses are susceptible to this under certain conditions as they didn't need to use anti-reflection coatings in the rear of the lens "back in the day" for film.

Michael
08-18-2015, 01:05 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by MJSfoto1956 Quote
it "might" be the refection off of the sensor (since what I am seeing is a "blueness" to your shadows and yes the reflection of the sensor is indeed blue) -- some of these older lenses are susceptible to this under certain conditions as they didn't need to use anti-reflection coatings in the rear of the lens "back in the day" for film.

Michael
This is what I suspect too although I can't be sure. The picture I got reminded me some pictures I took using 67 45mm lens.
08-18-2015, 01:41 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by grahame Quote
FA* 24 is known having low contrast at F2.0-2.4, maybe 2.8. photos show a little "glow" at the edges but the details are still there, which sometime is a nice thing to have, like a soft focus lens.
F 2.8 or smaller, the lens is really amazing. brilliant color and very good contrast (and not overdone).
glare control is not the best character for this lens, although not bad by any means. Hood helps a lot to bring up the contrast.
in your case, do you have an UV filter on the lens? and hood? and foggy or smudge on the surface? Old lens might have some imperfect.
Here are some photos form FA*24

I would be ecstatic to see any of these images coming out of my FA* 24. I like the idea of going back to the RAW images and starting there, and I'll double check for any haze though I've inspected the lens and it 'seems' to be okay. The blades look to be snappy and not stuck etc. I unfortunately don't have a lens hood though I do have a standard UV filter on it (I picked this up used and it didn't come with a hood), so I try to be careful with how the sun interacts with it.

Here's one of the best pictures that the lens took on the same day at the same time as the railroad signal photos in the album:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91683452@N08/shares/3a4S2m

Here I have specifically turned away from the sun, am standing in shadow, and have purposefully dropped the exposure by 1.5. What is interesting to me is that the image moves from a good contrast to something that looks grayed out from left to right. It's almost like the lens is objecting to bright colors, but is okay with dark.

---------- Post added 08-18-2015 at 12:44 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by hyyz Quote
This is what I suspect too although I can't be sure. The picture I got reminded me some pictures I took using 67 45mm lens.

Very interesting idea.
08-18-2015, 02:50 PM   #15
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It could well be a haze thing on the lens or sensor as suggested, but I guess that you are using an auto exposure, and the camera chose iso 800, maybe try some bracketed manual exposures, (take some readings in the scene) around f5.6 and f8 and use iso 100 and shutter to match, to see how the camera is metering, try centre weighted instead of the matrix, or program metering, what ever it is called, anyway some investigative work is required.
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