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400mm Lee Harvey Oswald style.......
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
woodrim wrote:
I see you have a NEX; have you upgraded to the latest firmware? I understand the new focus peaking feature is excellent for MF lenses.


TY woodrim

Long story on the firmware---my nex-5 came back from Sony without a functioning USB Sad

I also have a VG10 to use when its getting fixed. I will send it back in next week.

I think these 400/6.8s are a good value right now. They sell for about the same price as the FD 400/4.5, which of course is the other really good sort of affordable 400.

The shoulder stock really works--which is no small thing with a 400, and the lens is a unique performer.

You smile every time you pick it up, hehe.

I may have mentioned there is also a dedicated macro extension built just for it---I will have to go looking for one.


PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
uhoh7,

Your lens beats the hell out of my Tokina SD 400mm f5.6 lens in terms of IQ! Shocked

You should also look up the "Birdman's" work - Doug Herr:
http://www.wildlightphoto.com

He uses this lens a lot. I think he may be a member here.

Also http://www.overgaard.dk/leica_R4_400_telyt-R_68.html


PostPosted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I was up in the rocks testing tonite--mostly 50s, but took the telyt



mostly shooting the late light on the peaks:


to shoot these ones, I sat in the rocks and held the camera steady as possible--above was the best I did--it's the nikon 180ED AIS, below the telyt---suffering a tad for lack of tripod.



the sun went down, and to the south:


(above Nikon 180ED AIS)
it got darker:

(above Nikkor-s 5cm f/1.4)

I fumbled with the slik mini:


PostPosted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
uhoh7 wrote:
woodrim wrote:
I see you have a NEX; have you upgraded to the latest firmware? I understand the new focus peaking feature is excellent for MF lenses.


TY woodrim

Long story on the firmware---my nex-5 came back from Sony without a functioning USB Sad

I also have a VG10 to use when its getting fixed. I will send it back in next week.

I think these 400/6.8s are a good value right now. They sell for about the same price as the FD 400/4.5, which of course is the other really good sort of affordable 400.
...

Here, in Europe, the Leica is much more expensive than the FD, and I think, much better. For now, I'm not impressed by the FD 400/4.5 that I use with it's dedicated x1.4, but it's probably my fault as I'm still looking after the best way to use it. I also have a PK 400/5.6 which is a fine lens. But with a 8m mfd.
(nice shots)
The new firmware of the Nex is tremendous !


PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
it's tough to get great shots with theses really long lenses, no doubt.

The build on the leica is great.

without stock , the lens weighs 1258 grams. Smile

a few more shots with the 400:







PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
nFD 400/4.5 : 1270g PK 400/5.6 1285g : Light weight : A big Pro.


PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Phenix jc wrote:
For now, I'm not impressed by the FD 400/4.5 that I use with it's dedicated x1.4, but it's probably my fault as I'm still looking after the best way to use it.


I bought a copy of the nFD 400/4.5 a few months ago. Haven't used mine with a teleconverter yet, but I do frequently use it with an FD-EOS converter, and the combination works well. I have found that, unless one is able to use 1/1000+ shutter speeds, one should use a tripod or at least a monopod.

With tripod, wide open at f/4.5:



PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
the big ones are hard to use Sad

especially on crop senors.

For me the leica and my nikon 180ED are the easiest--don't know why--but they are just predictable.

My nikon 300/4.5 ED IF is VERY unpredictable---I had a bunch of fuzzy shots and thought the lens had been damaged, then next day it was sharp--seems espcially so back from infinity.


PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yeah, you're right. I didn't mention my EOS is a crop-body camera. And the FD-EOS adapter is actually about a 1.2x teleconverter with the element in place. So, if you do the math, with a 1.6x crop body camera, a 400mm lens becomes a 768mm telephoto. That's why I was saying 1/1000 is the minimum shutter speed for hand holding.

Your Leica is great because it has a stock for stability. And 180mm is just a sweet size for a tele, and still isn't too big for hand-holding, even with a crop body. At 1.6x, 180mm is "only" 288mm, 1.5x (with Nikons) it's 270mm. These focal lengths are still quite hand-holdable with moderately fast shutter speeds. Back in my days as a freelance motorsports photographer, I was shooting lots of shots at 300mm hand-held. It's all about shutter speed.

What camera were you using your Nikon 300mm with? If your NEX, doesn't this new firmware update it has with the "peak focus" or whatever it's called help in that regard?

Shooting with teles is much more difficult than shooting with wide angles. Camera shake, subject motion blur, depth of field, focusing screen issues -- all of these and more can conspire to deliver throw-away photos. Back in my slide-shooting days, I can tell you there would be times I would only have a small handful of keepers out of a box of 36 exposures. But over time and practice, I got better and better at it, and my rate of "keepage" went up. Nowadays, I feel like I'm having to start all over again with my crop-body's squinty viewfinder. I may take a dozen shots of a subject and wind up with one or two keepers. Unfortunately, because the limiting factor with my camera is the small viewfinder, I don't see practice helping. The only way I see of getting around the problem is buying a Hoodman loupe or equivalent that I can attach to my camera's LCD screen and shoot everything using Live View. That or buying a full-frame DSLR. One of these days.


PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I find my 300mm Tair-3C on my EOS 10D (becomes 450mm) to be perfectly useable handheld with 1/500 shutter speed. Maybe the weight of the thing helps with holding it steady.

This was handheld at 1/500 and it's sharp:




PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:

I bought a copy of the nFD 400/4.5 a few months ago. Haven't used mine with a teleconverter yet, but I do frequently use it with an FD-EOS converter, and the combination works well. I have found that, unless one is able to use 1/1000+ shutter speeds, one should use a tripod or at least a monopod.

Hi Michael,
I've read your previous post on that lens.
I use my lenses with a G1 + x1.4 or x2.0 for birding.
So between 1120mm & 1600mm...+/- between f8-f16, often in low light, early in the morning or late in the afternoon, high iso, but still low speed. Tripod ? rarely. Monopod ? Not satisfy. The best is the beanbag, thanks to a member who remind me this old and efficient solution.
I've 3 400mm : nFD, K f:5.6, cheap Sigma f:5.6 APO (written APO...).
Saddly, the nFD shows awfull CA wide open. Not yours ?


PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Phenix jc wrote:

Saddly, the nFD shows awfull CA wide open. Not yours ?


Yeah, there's some. I wouldn't describe it as awful, though. Much better than the nFD 300mm f/4 and 200mm f/2.8 I owned back in the 80s. If you look at the photo of the dove above, you'll see some purple fringing around the tree trunk and branches. That's really easy to clean up in post processing, but I left it in to show how the lens performs, - as well as +.
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