Tag: 50mm f/2.5 Macro

Missing Lens Caps

Posted by Chris Klug – February 7, 2010

5D

Ok, so yesterday it was kinda comical around here. There was the snow, of course. But as I looked out the window at the photographic possibilities, what hit me was a chaotic combination of opportunity and equipment, to wit:

  • I had my Mamiya 645e in working order;
  • I had just been reminded what a lovely film Ektar is, but all I had was 35mm, so I couldn’t use it in the Mamiya;
  • I hadn’t really had much chance to use the F100 I bought last fall, but the roll of Ektar was shot with that camera, and that reminded me I wanted to use the F100 more often;
  • Of course, there is the relatively 5D and all of its possibility.

So, I started hauling everything out. The F100 had a roll of HP5 loaded and half-shot. Thank goodness I had the ‘AA’ batteries for that body charged. I took it outside, took a incident reading (I don’t know the F100′s meter well enough to adjust a reflected reading from it with all the snow and glare) and fired off the remaining frames of HP5 (thinking all the while ‘gads, what a nice film camera the F100 is. Man, how it handles. Hmm, I gotta get a modern auto-focus lens for this baby . . .’ and on and on). With the HP5 finished, I then loaded a roll of Ektar in the F100. Check.

Oh, wait, the Bessa has a roll of HP5 half-shot in it, too. I’ll fire off the rest of those frames (‘ooh, how nice the snow will look with that Zeiss lens, wow . . .’). So with those frames finished as well, I then loaded Ektar in the Bessa. Check.

I grabbed the Mamiya and loaded PanF into it. Just so that I’d have a different POV with that camera, I put the 150mm f/3.5 on it, and went looking for specific mini-images to pull out of the whole with the telephoto. Quickly burned through a roll of PanF, loaded another. Now I’m working three cameras, mind.

Came inside at that point. The sky was still overcast. The kitchen table was strewn with bodies and lenses. Peg says “it looks like you took out every camera we own, dear.” She’s about right.

A couple hours pass, and the sun comes out, with the sky a brilliant blue, and the sun peeking through clouds to the West.

5D & 17-40 Zoom

I go back out with the 5D, the Bessa, and the F100. I shoot a bunch of images, looking for color this time. I go back in, grab the Mamiya, capture a bunch of close-ups of branches in b&w, go back in, take out the exposed roll and load Velvia 50, go back out. Get more images. The contrast between the blue of the sky, the warm late-afternoon sun and the white snow is striking. Expose the roll of Velvia 50 and go back in for the F100 and the Bessa. Grab the FTb, loaded with Tri-X and with the 28mm FD f/2 mounted. Shoot a couple images with that camera, but grab the 5D again for the color. The sky darkens and I go in.

Today comes and I go back out, finish the roll of Ektar in the Bessa and the roll of Ektar in the F100. Shoot the remaining Tri-X of ice cycles near the front door and then get the 5D and Peg’s macro lens, with which I capture the image at the top of this post.

After all that frenzy I realize that I have mis-placed the lens cap from the Mamiya 150 lens and also from the 28mm lens on the FTb.

Peg is laughing all the time. I really enjoyed myself, though, and I wouldn’t trade the chaos for anything in the world. Below is an image of me with the snow blower working my way up the driveway, captured by Peg on her 40D yesterday.

That snow blower is worth its weight in gold, I tell ya

Moving Day

Posted by Chris Klug – December 1, 2009

Boxes, boxes, everywhere

Boxes, boxes, everywhere

Sunday the movers arrived with my things that had been in storage. Lots and lots of boxes. Boxes that contain many personal items belonging to both my wife and myself. We had been waiting for them a long time, and were glad to see them. It felt like I had finally moved back home.

As it relates to this blog, the boxes contain the following items:

  • My umbrella and stand
  • My Mamiya and lenses
  • My photo library
  • My desktop computer and software (Capture One and scanning software)
  • My Nikon scanner for my negs
  • My Gibson SG
  • My Martin Dreadnaught

I have over a dozen rolls of b&w film I can now develop and scan. Very very nice.

Thanks to a few people at my old job who were very helpful in getting my things back to me.

Cold Morning

Posted by Chris Klug – November 27, 2009

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/320, EV -1.7

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/320, EV -1.7

Very brisk morning today. One of those where the rain semi-froze as it dripped off the branches.

Thanksgiving

Posted by Chris Klug – November 27, 2009

ISO 1600 without Dfine noise reduction

ISO 1600 without Dfine noise reduction

I just wanted to take an opportunity to give thanks

To my father for introducing me to photography
To the readers of this blog who inspire me to stretch myself as a photographer and see differently
To my guides who help me every day
But most of all to my wife Peg who supports me no matter what

Thank you.

5D High ISO?

Posted by Chris Klug – November 26, 2009

ISO 1600 at 10pm

ISO 1600, 1/40, f/2.8 at 10pm

So, one of the things I was looking forward to with the 5D was not to just use it to capture great landscapes, but to use it for street shooting as well. As some of you may remember, I tried using the 10D back in Tempe and trying to get street shots in dusk or dark resulted in a LOT of noise. So, walking back to the garage last night I figured I’d try to get a couple test images with the 5D at ISO 1600 and see what we got.

I ran this through Dfine which took out almost all the noise and then processed it in Nik Silver Efex. I really like the way this feels. There’s a little noise, sure, but not enough that it bothers me.

Off the Balcony

Posted by Chris Klug – November 25, 2009

Today's sunset off our deck

Today's sunset off our deck

One thing Pittsburgh possesses is clouds. Somewhere near our part of the country the jet stream hooks to the south and drags moisture off Lake Erie and sends it our way. In the summer this means it rains a fair amount; in the winter it means we get frequent dustings of snow. In the fall, we get cloudy skies. Our family room faces west, so we can see the sun setting through the doors to our deck.

Tonight, as I was walking from the family room towards the kitchen, I saw this sunset through the trees. I didn’t have much time, so I just grabbed the 5D and took this image with the 50mm Macro. Two minutes after I got outside, the sun had faded and the light in the sky had vanished.

5D #3

Posted by Chris Klug – November 24, 2009

Play of light

Play of light

So, one piece of fallout from shooting with the 5D is I’m looking for a ‘normal’ prime for this new beastie. I’ve been shooting with my wife’s 50mm Macro, which while a very sharp lens, focuses like molasses. Probably as designed, btw. I did some research today on Canon’s 50mm offerings, and the only one that gets consistent kudos is the 1.2 version, which is (gulp) $1400 or so. The Sigma 50mm 1.4 is liked by many, but seems to have some focussing flaws (which full frame will exacerbate). I’m leaning more and more towards the Zeiss 50mm f/2, which would give me Zeiss optics to go with my 5D sensor (which might just be a marriage made in heaven). The only downside is manual focus which shouldn’t be a problem for me at all. I’m thinking of renting one to see what it is like to handle. This seems like a real plan for me at this point, as shooting with the 50mm Macro has really felt good to me and I am really liking that field of view. Alternatively, I might rent the Zeiss 35mm and the 50mm and compare.

For me these are really exciting times.

For Ove

Posted by Chris Klug – November 22, 2009

A rack of bicycles made me stop

A rack of bicycles made me stop

A frequent reader of this blog (Ove) often posts wonderful images of bicycles he captures in his home town. I walked past a rack of bicycles and a parked moped the other day and had to stop and try to get some images. I had to stop, Ove. You inspired me.

Lots more 5D to come. One thing this camera inspires me to do is simplify. Shoot only primes; that sort of thing. I sort of stand outside myself and try to observe my thoughts.

5D Post #2

Posted by Chris Klug – November 21, 2009

This image is from the same session as the first 5D walk-around. This image is more about some work I did in Color Efex than the 5D, per se. But I like this a little more.

A little work with Color Efex

A little work with Color Efex

The 5D is changing my shooting style a little bit. I have a number of images I’m working on, and I’ll be posting them over the next few days. It’s weird in that the camera is almost identical to my 10D in its basic functionality, but it feels so different to use that I’m going to work on being as articulate as I can about how it is different before I talk about it too much.

A new era begins

Posted by Chris Klug – November 18, 2009

Out the back of the Building where I work

Out the back of the Building where I work

If you look at the tags section to the right, you may notice a new camera listed there. This image is one of the first few I captured with this new member of the family. As far as digital goes, this is going to be my main ‘go-to’ camera from now on.

I bought the camera used from Paul Maxim, who had upgraded to the newer ‘Mk II’ version a while back, I mentioned at the time that if he ever decided to sell his older version, I’d be interested in buying said camera. We reached a deal, and it arrived recently.

I am going to take my time getting used to it, because it is a different picture-taking experience from the 10D. I’m not ready yet to make proclamations about it, but at first blush, I’ll say this:

  1. • more dynamic range than the 10D
  2. • ISO ratings are conservative; ISO 400 is more like ISO 600. I know Sean Reid, my #1 all time favorite web-photo site, talks about this in some detail in his essay about the camera, I experienced it first hand and LOVE this aspect of the camera. I find myself shooting it at -1/3 or -2/3 EV, which protects the highlights and gives me lots of shadow detail at the same time.
  3. • renders black&white beautifully
  4. • draws very differently than the 10D, and this is the thing that I have to get used to the most. Images from this sensor have been described as being film-like, and I do find that to be true. WHICH film is a different matter, because I don’t think it is any slide film I’ve ever used (the images are, well, gentler somehow).

I’m going to write a very detailed reaction to this camera, but this is yet to come. What I need to do right now is to thank Paul for holding the camera until I was ready for it, and going above and beyond in his delivery of it. He refused to accept payment for the camera until I had auditioned it, which just astounded both my wife and I both. Thank you Paul, and partly in reaction to that and partly because it’s overdue, I’ve added Paul’s great must-read blog to the blogroll on the right hand side of this page.

Lastly, today a moving truck loaded my things out of the storage place in Arizona and began the long trip home. I teared up, honestly, when the lady at the storage place told me that ‘they’re loading the truck right now.’ There’s a much longer story about how that all came to be, but that I think is a tale best told over a beer or two.