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6.8/150 Dagor...some test photos on Canon 350D
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:46 am    Post subject: 6.8/150 Dagor...some test photos on Canon 350D Reply with quote
It has been cloudy and dark, and even the very occasional sunshine is of very low intensity at this darkest time of the year, and the WB is very skewed, not really correctable. Under these circumstances, focusing with an f/6.8 lens on 350D wasn't any too easy.

Well, the bad news first. The bokeh isn't so good after all, there is a very prominent bright edge. Here are two test shots. First, some distant, out of focus lights:



Then one of my standard test shots. Note also the dimly visible but distinct edge lamp post outline on the right.



There was some sunshine but it was dim, and I had to shoot the lens fully open at ISO 400 and still too slow shutter speeds for hand-held shots in a cold weather. Fully open the contrast is on the low side as expected and there is some lens flare visible in the full resolution pictures.


(full resolution version at http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_dagor_files/da8411.jpg )

In the next shot, some glare is visible even in the down-sampled version:



Another shot:



(full-scale, with noise reduction and some sharpening applied: http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_dagor_files/da8420_nrs.jpg )

Due to the small maximum aperture of f/6.8, the distant background doesn't get very out of focus in the next shot:



In the final example, the sharpness may be limited by the circumstances, i.e. 1/200 s for a 150 mm lens with slightly shaking hands.



(full-scale, with noise reduction and sharpening http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_dagor_files/da8411_nrs.jpg )

The final verdict will have to wait till the light gets better.

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
OK, the bokeh is like from a mirror lens, but I love the "glow" of the lens. Resembles the old Leica RF lenses...


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
LucisPictor wrote:
I love the "glow" of the lens. Resembles the old Leica RF lenses...


This certainly is one of the main reasons to use these old lenses, the different signature, which no amount of post-processing can completely eliminate. If you don't know, it is sometimes very difficult to put your finger on the difference, you just feel it when looking at a photo taken with an old lens on a dSLR.

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The sun appeared for a moment, and I took a photo at f/11, ISO 800, 1/200 s hand-held. No sharpening or contrast adjustment. The full-scale version will give an idea of the resolution of the Dagor, at f/11 the 350D may already be slightly diffraction limited. Anyway, with more light, lower ISO and a tripod...



(full-scale: http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_dagor_files/da8448.jpg )

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow! That's amazing! Shocked

Tell you what, this lens is my favourite lens of your very-old-lens-collection!
(Apart from the highlight bokeh Wink)


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'll be waiting to see more good weather images, but so far I have to say that I prefer the Radionar and Cooke.

-


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 1:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You can now throw the rest of your lenses away, just keep this one. I'm
kidding, but just barely.

Bill


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
LucisPictor wrote:
Wow! That's amazing! Shocked

Tell you what, this lens is my favourite lens of your very-old-lens-collection!


The Cookes are about as sharp, they are 1.2 stop faster, and have a different flare behaviour. The Dagor has one trick up its sleeve: it is fully symmetrical and will work reasonably well on a dSLR if one half is removed leaving an about 9/260 lens - just like having a built-in 1.75x TC!

Quote:
(Apart from the highlight bokeh Wink)


Sometimes a vice can be turned into a virtue. With a suitable background, the bokeh will be almost like abstract art. Here are two examples, shot at f/8, local contrast enhanced:





In some photos, at least when viewed at a large enough size, the flare will be quite nice. Here is an example at f/8, 1/1000 s. The flare effect is best visible at full-size, in the lower half of the photo.



(full-size at http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_dagor_files/da8458.jpg , no sharpening, no contrast adjustment)

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
vilva wrote:
LucisPictor wrote:
Wow! That's amazing! Shocked

Tell you what, this lens is my favourite lens of your very-old-lens-collection!


The Cookes are about as sharp, they are 1.2 stop faster, and have a different flare behaviour. The Dagor has one trick up its sleeve: it is fully symmetrical and will work reasonably well on a dSLR if one half is removed leaving an about 9/260 lens - just like having a built-in 1.75x TC!


It's not about sharpness here for me. It's the very pleasant "glow". With most of your other old lenses this glow was to intense for my eyes. The Dagor hits my aesthetical centre. Wink


PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just had to test using only one half of the Dagor. I didn't have enough extension tubes for a bookshelf shot so I took a photo of the only things which were far enough for the extension I had available. Here are the full frame down-sampled and a crop, at ISO 800, 0.6 s, f/9, 260 mm, no post-processing. It was very difficult to focus with the 350D due to the lowish light level - I tried to focus on the barcode. The width of the barcode is 31 mm, and the distance was about 6 m. (The camera under the book is my Zeiss Ikonta A, a 645 folder.)





Some of the noise is due to the ISO 800, some is due to the lens as I wasn't using a lens shade, and there was a lamp shining on the lens. I'd say the result is pretty good given the circumstances, and with some slight post-processing, a 8" x 12" print would be quite decent.

Veijo
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