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Flektogon 25/4 Update - Additional Image
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:13 am    Post subject: Flektogon 25/4 Update - Additional Image Reply with quote
I debated whether to post this shot, as it is not taken under very good light conditions. I was frankly not out for photographs, though I had the Flektogon mounted on my camera and in the back seat, as always. I wish I would have been carrying a neutral grad filter. Crying or Very sad

I've not taken many shots with the Flek yet, but at least this lens shows the nice wide aspect of this 25mm lens.

I'll be sure to post some good representative shots with the Flektogon soon, and I'll try to get nice scans from my friend's Nikon LS-50 Atilla, for a lens review of this fine glass.

Quinault Valley Scene
Flektogon 25/4
f:8, 1/125
Fuji Sensia



River Rocks with Ice Shards - Closest Focus - I'm not sure why the boulders to the right are out of focus, seems that even at f:4 they should be okay? I'll be able to tell more after more use of the lens. Almost certainly an error of my technique, or possibly a function of being at the closest limit of focus? The image is very very soft at the corners... Shocked
Flektogon 25/4
f:4, 1/125
Fuji Sensia


January 9, 2008
I still had the Flektogon 25/4 on the camera, as I made my way down the short trail to the wilderness beach north of Kalaloch Beach. It is typical "jungle-like" growth with the Black Willows taking a toehold against the pernicious wind coming off the North Pacific constantly, thus the twiny, interstitial growth that develops into odd shaped trunk patterns.

Although this is a VERY busy photograph, it still is a good indicator of the differentiation in sharpness from center to edges.

Again, the falloff of sharpness into the corners is pretty evident. The lens was stopped down a little, to f:5.6, but like Orio indicated it looks like things aren't going to start getting cleaner until maybe f:8 or higher.

Because of the long depth of field of this wide lens, there is very little differentiation to allow the viewer to gain a sense of depth.

Fortunately, I am going to be able to re-visit this "jungle" soon, and it has good possibilities. I would like to get the trail a bit more into the frame next time, and I also want to be able to decrease the depth of field in order to "snap" the willows into better focus and a more pleasing image. I may not be able to accomplish this with the Flektogon, so I will try some other lenses as well, to see if I can improve the imagery.

Beach Trail and Black Willows
Flektogon 25/4
f:5.6, 1/30
Fuji Velvia


Last edited by Laurence on Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:36 pm; edited 2 times in total


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Beautiful - but I must stop buying no matter how good the lens looks. Cold up there huh. We have just had a two day blizzard - but down here in the valley it is gone by mid-day. Smile Smile
#2 gives me the shivers


patrickh


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow! How lucky you are! Nice shoots on a very nice place!


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lovely composition.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
These shots are stunning! Very well done.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks guys, but HORRIBLE softness in the corners. I hope it is just a problem with my technique. More shots will tell the story, and it MIGHT be the crappy scans are contributing to much of this. Evil or Very Mad

Stay tuned...


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Laurence, you need to stop down the Flek to f/8 to obtain virtual evenness from centre to borders, wide open the corners are soft.
The poor Flek does miracles for the money, but can not turn itself into a Leica lens Sad


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
Laurence, you need to stop down the Flek to f/8 to obtain virtual evenness from centre to borders, wide open the corners are soft.
The poor Flek does miracles for the money, but can not turn itself into a Leica lens Sad


But Orio, I want ALL my lenses to be absolutely sharp from corner to corner at all apertures! I want it ALL, darnit! Laughing

You mean...I have to WORK with my lenses? Maybe I should just trade it all in for an auto-focus wonder! Wink


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Laurence wrote:

But Orio, I want ALL my lenses to be absolutely sharp from corner to corner at all apertures! I want it ALL, darnit! Laughing
You mean...I have to WORK with my lenses? Maybe I should just trade it all in for an auto-focus wonder! Wink


Laughing

No problem, every problem has a solution... and a price Wink Sad

Buy a Contax Distagon 25mm second version (MM)
perfectly sharp corner to corner. Maybe not supersharp at wide open, but for sure since f/4.
Or, even better, buy the new ZF version with Nikon mount, which will give your adapter more room in the infinity department (I had to sandpaper one of my adapters to get infinity with the Distagon 25 Contax).

But by the way I need to make two comments.

1) When you stop it down to f/8, the Flek really sings, and there is little doubt about that. OK it's not as sharp as a Nikkor or a Distagon. But it delivers a "freshness" to the images, that in my opinion, no other 24 or 25 mm lenses can give.

2) You live in a fantastic place. One day, if you can find a place to lay down my sleeping bag, I must pay you a visit.

Finally, I suggest that you do not update your original post when you add more images at a later time, because the thread becomes difficult to follow, as you anticipate, in the original post, replies to comments that will appear after it.

-


PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
Laurence wrote:

But Orio, I want ALL my lenses to be absolutely sharp from corner to corner at all apertures! I want it ALL, darnit! Laughing
You mean...I have to WORK with my lenses? Maybe I should just trade it all in for an auto-focus wonder! Wink


Laughing

No problem, every problem has a solution... and a price Wink Sad

Buy a Contax Distagon 25mm second version (MM)
perfectly sharp corner to corner. Maybe not supersharp at wide open, but for sure since f/4.
Or, even better, buy the new ZF version with Nikon mount, which will give your adapter more room in the infinity department (I had to sandpaper one of my adapters to get infinity with the Distagon 25 Contax).

But by the way I need to make two comments.

1) When you stop it down to f/8, the Flek really sings, and there is little doubt about that. OK it's not as sharp as a Nikkor or a Distagon. But it delivers a "freshness" to the images, that in my opinion, no other 24 or 25 mm lenses can give.

2) You live in a fantastic place. One day, if you can find a place to lay down my sleeping bag, I must pay you a visit.

Finally, I suggest that you do not update your original post when you add more images at a later time, because the thread becomes difficult to follow, as you anticipate, in the original post, replies to comments that will appear after it.

-


GREAT, I KNEW there was going to be a "price" to all of this...haha!

Good suggestions on lenses; wow, I can certainly dream.

And, as I'm sure you know, I'm "tongue in cheek" about expecting sharpness from the Flek in the corners at open apertures. But being honest, I WAS anticipating a bit better at f:5.6. So, I will ingest your wonderful suggestions, and take a series with the Flektogon in its sweet spots of f:8 and up.

One thing as a caveat to all of this: in the original slides and negatives, I see a sort of "personality" in the Flektogon - a sort of "look" that has a glow to it and gives a unique interpretation to the image. I can see it when I projected the slides last night, it jumped out at me. I would call it a "creamy smoothness" in the image, for lack of a better group of words.

Regarding the altering of the post, I did realize that after I posted in the new material. I thought of editing by cutting and pasting the material and inserting as a "reply" so that it would go to the end. But...I got lazy! Laughing

Regarding visitation, I given all members of this forum an open invitation to come over to the Pacific Northwest sometime in the near future. I have family issues at present that I will take care of, as that is my personal obligation. But I have already had a photography group of about 10 people come to my area this past summer. It not with pejudice or exaggeration that I say, "they all felt it was the best photographic trip they had ever experienced". I am EXTREMELY lucky here. We get our share of rain, with the southwesterly winds constantly streaming in from the Pacific basin, but the temperatures are moderated by the proximity of the ocean. Glaciation starts at the low elevation of 3500 feet, thus there are some tremendous glaciers that feed the rain forest valleys from the central core of the Olympic Mountains. In turn, we get the benefit of well-watered rain forests, huge boreal temperate forests, wonderful subalpine terrain, all very close to wilderness beaches.

I tend to expound heavily on this, but I feel that my description is accurate.

So again...YES, I will have great pleasure in sometime sponsoring visits from you folks from overseas. I think it is a great pleasure in life to "show" others the things I love. It puts a new perspective on things when I can look through others' personal reactions, and others' photographic interpretations, of this great land of ours. After all, this is NOT "my" part of the country...this is ALL OF OURS...we are ALL patrons of this great Earth, it belongs to ALL OF US.

If only governments would think somewhat the same....
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