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Forum: Lens Clubs
02-25-2021, 02:23 PM
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As a freelance writer/photographer, I get to take interesting product shots. This was taken with the 35mm on a K-3. It's a Smith and Wesson Model 27 (.357 magnum) in its fitted presentation case. The beautiful walnut grips are handcrafted painstakingly.
John
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-07-2020, 08:34 AM
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In retirement, I have been writing articles (and a book - 101 Classic Firearms, available on Amazon) on classic and historical firearms. I recently took this picture of a couple of Smith & Wesson revolvers that were shipped in my birth year, 1939. I habitually use the 35mm lens for its sharpness - it reveals even small details. It took me years to find specimens that were in near perfect condition, given that they have been around, like me, for 81 years!
John
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-14-2019, 01:38 PM
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I do quite a bit of writing and photography for firearms publications, and I thought this shot of a Smith & Wesson Model 48 (in .22 magnum rimfire caliber) turned out nicely. I used the 35 Macro Ltd, as I routinely do with handguns. This specimen is in excellent shape for being 44 years old!
John
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Forum: Lens Clubs
06-15-2018, 07:17 PM
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This is a pic of my recently-deceased superdog, Joe. He was then basking in some sunshine on our back patio. He was a wonderful dog - loving, caring, and supportive in every way. I miss him greatly - he had cancer, and we finally had to put him to sleep about a month and a half ago. It was gut-wrenching.
K-3, 35mm Macro Ltd, f/2.8, 1/8000, ISO 320. This fine lens did a great job again.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
10-23-2017, 11:24 AM
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This is a picture I took of a 60-year-old Ruger .44 Magnum revolver for an article I've written. The 35mm macro ltd. is amazingly sharp and shows the tiniest detail. It's my "go-to" lens with my K-3 for illustrations.
John
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Forum: Lens Clubs
02-12-2017, 04:44 PM
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Here's another firearms picture I took with the SMC-DA 35mm Macro Ltd. These two pistols were manufactured 66 years apart. The top one is a Ruger Standard .22 pistol, manufactured in mid-1950. It's one of the very first guns made by Sturm, Ruger and Co. The bottom one is the evolved Ruger Mark IV target pistol, made in 2016. You can see the family resemblance.
John
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Forum: Lens Clubs
09-01-2016, 07:45 AM
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I use the 35mm Macro Ltd a lot for product shots, as I write for firearms publications. Here's a recent shot of two Smith & Wesson .44 Special revolvers, Models 24-3. These were part of a limited run of revolvers in this caliber in 1983 and 1984, and are prized by S&W collectors today. Taken with the K-3.
John
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-21-2016, 09:55 AM
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I have both the 35 macro and the 100 macro . They are very close in sharpness, but have different applications. The 35 macro is great for staged shots from a tripod, getting up close where there is no subject motion involved, and is more versatile in that it can serve as a "human eye" view the same as a 50mm always has with a full frame camera.
The 100mm has a slight edge in sharpness, and is great for longer macro shots where some motion might be involved using it handheld. The bokeh is also more pleasing. These things are where it shines; but other than these there is little use for a 150mm FF equivalent fixed lens compared to a zoom such as the 18-135.
In sum, the 100mm macro is sharper, has better stand-off ability and has better bokeh, while the 35 is better for static closeup work and as a general walk-around lens. Both have their special uses and attributes, and I use them both frequently.
Johh
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-03-2016, 11:34 AM
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The 35mm Macro Limited never fails to amaze me. I am a free-lance writer/photographer, writing for firearms publications. A recent challenge was to photograph a classic Model 3913NL Smith & Wesson pistol on a white background (for publication purposes), where the pistol itself was pretty close to white. I used a variety of lenses with my K-3, photographing outside in the shade for soft shadowing. With other lenses, I could not get enough distinction for the subject to give it good discernibility against that background. Until I used this outstanding lens - the sharpness and the color rendition it provides gave me the contrast that I wanted.
John
PENTAX : PENTAX Photo Gallery artist page
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Forum: Lens Clubs
03-01-2015, 02:43 PM
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Good question. On highly reflective surfaces such as plated firearms, my technique is to shoot from a slight angle, outdoors in the open shade. If you shoot straight down, you will almost always pick up reflections of the camera and/or tripod. With angled shots in the open, at most you'll pick up a reflection of the sky or clouds, both of which are inconsequential. It helps to take a few test shots to be sure nothing else is reflected. I mount the camera on a tripod, at a distance in which the subject fills about half the frame in the center, to avoid any chance of minor distortion and to minimize chromatic aberration. When a tripod is used, I turn off the shake reduction. On the product shots I use the 2-second timer to eliminate vibration from the mirror retraction, and consistently use f/8, which I believe is this lens's "sweet spot" for sharpness. I use the full manual mode, and adjust the exposure time by bracketing in 1/3-stop increments. I also focus manually. After picking the shot that's closest to what I want, any minor adjustments and cropping will be made in post - I use Photoshop Elements 10 for this.
John
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Forum: Lens Clubs
03-01-2015, 12:53 PM
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In retirement, I've started a "second career" as a freelance writer/photographer, specializing in firearms subjects. Until fairly recently, I managed to struggle along with a K5 together with the FA 50mm 1.4 and the DA 18-135mm as my most used lenses for "product shots." However, with the purchase of a K3, I decided to get the SMC-DA 35mm macro Limited so that I could take full advantage of the sharpness of both the K3 and this lens, which has a great reputation. My primary criteria are sharpness and crisp color rendition.
I gotta tell you, the 35mm macro is now my "most used" lens, noticeably better in all respects than my previous lenses, with the added benefit of practically zero distortion. Here are some sample shots to illustrate how I use the lens, and the results. In downsizing, some sharpness was understandably sacrificed, but these may give you some idea of how I use the lens.
For my purposes, I couldn't ask for a better lens - it meets all my criteria, and then some. The macro capability is an added bonus, and I may take advantage of it at some point to illustrate tiny proof marks and other stamps on firearms. I'm a happy camper.
John
PENTAX : PENTAX Photo Gallery artist page |
