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Rapid Rectilinear on Canon 5D
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 8:10 pm    Post subject: Rapid Rectilinear on Canon 5D Reply with quote

Yesterday there was some sunshine, and I succeeded in doing a little bit of shooting with the RR on 5D. It was cold, and there was some wind (almost 10 m/s, 20 mph) so my shooting wasn't any too steady and I was also unable to use my self-made lens shade, which affected the results. I'll post here just one shot, first with minimal post-processing and then with local contrast enhancing sharpening.



This is quite typical behaviour. There is some lens flare, which makes even the down-sampled image quite soft. After sharpening, the image begins to look quite respectable. These photos are all at f/8, but the DOF is shallower than with my old Sony DSC-F505 at f/2.8 and the same FOV.



Of course, this isn't like a photo taken with a high quality MC lens, and it need not be. These photos retain a certain amount of a character of their own even after post-processing.

Next a post-processed photo of the same subject taken a few days earlier, in low contrast light:



Then a B & W version of the same:



The softness of the RR is perhaps best suited for taking photos of flowers etc. It isn't very sharp when used in a small format camera, and there are problems with contrast so it certainly isn't the first choice for architectural photography despite the lack of geometrical aberrations (it isn't astigmatic, but here it doesn't matter because a dSLR only uses rather a small section from the center of the image circle.) However, I think that these examples here and on my site show that it also has potential as a general photographic tool with its own signature.

There are more photos at http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos5d_rr2.html . I also prepared post-processed versions of the Botanic Garden shots at http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos5d_rr2bg.html in order to display the effect of the combination of increased sharpness and the RR bokeh, something not easily emulated with a modern lens.

Veijo


PostPosted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like the examples, Veijo. They have a lot of richness in the medium tones. I find this characteristic very appropriate for architecture. I think that architecture photograph should not be very contrasted, except if one looks for a special effect, because the volumes are (or at least should) already be dictated by the real wolrd shape of the architectural objects, the lens should only capture them in a moment where the light is good, for the rest it should remain "transparent" and allow the original volumes to display their force (if they have any).
The botanical garden photos are surely "sabotated" by a bad day light, yet, they reveal an absolutely champion bokeh, as I would have anyway expected having already known what this kind of old lenses can deliver once in your hands.

-


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have to wonder about portraits with this lens. That glowing softness might be a fine effect for faces. The more I look, the more I like...


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Orio wrote:
The botanical garden photos are surely "sabotated" by a bad day light, yet, they reveal an absolutely champion bokeh, as I would have anyway expected having already known what this kind of old lenses can deliver once in your hands.


Well, I quite often find I prefer this kind of light, the dynamics are easier to handle because there are no difficult highlights, and there maybe a different richness in the colours, here especially after the rather slight PP, e.g. the first rhododendron photo (9436) would be quite different in direct sunshine. I have got a series taken with Leitz glass under similar circumstances, I'll try to post it soon.

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

niblue wrote:
Definitely looks useable - the 2nd shot, with the contrast adjusted, looks like it'd convert to B&W well.


There is a B&W version on the web page, for this photo and several others.

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laurence wrote:
You have to wonder about portraits with this lens. That glowing softness might be a fine effect for faces. The more I look, the more I like...


This lens is maybe a wee bit long, even on an FF body. Anyway, most uncoated lenses will impart some glow on light objects, but for an extreme glow, a meniscus is unbeatable:



Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't think even a filter could replicate that "all over" glow. That is stunning.


patrickh


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 5:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, how beautiful!

I hadn't heard much about a meniscus lens, so I looked it up. It seems that the light passing through a meniscus lens is neither diverged or converged; in other words it simply passes straight through the planar axes with no separation or compression.

I'm certainly not sure of the physics involved, but I must assume that, since the light waves don't intersect at all, then the object that is being imaged has a sort of "even" lighting that cuts contrast.

Any way you look at it though, that glow is impressive.

And here I thought we were talking about meniscus knee surgery or something! Laughing

Thank you VERY much for the example.


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laurence wrote:
Wow, how beautiful!


Thanks Smile

Quote:
I hadn't heard much about a meniscus lens, so I looked it up. It seems that the light passing through a meniscus lens is neither diverged or converged; in other words it simply passes straight through the planar axes with no separation or compression.


Actually, the "meniscus" is slightly misleading in this context. Camera manufacturers used this name for many simple lenses, see http://en.allexperts.com/q/Photography-694/Effect-Meniscus-Lens.htm . A VPK Meniscus Achromat is a type of achromatic doublet, for a schematic see http://www.cosmonet.org/camera/brotan_e.htm

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

patrickh wrote:
I don't think even a filter could replicate that "all over" glow. That is stunning.


Thanks. Well, some people find it rather extreme, but those who like it really do like it.

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for the schematics Veijo. I see now that there MUST be a convergence somewhere, or there would not be a projected image at all! So, it is the differential between the degree of concavity/convexity that creates the image after all.

The effects are remarkable, certainly not good for every application, but patently useful and extremely effective in others.