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Got my Kalimar 35-70mm f3.5 1:5 macro.
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:04 pm    Post subject: Got my Kalimar 35-70mm f3.5 1:5 macro. Reply with quote
I could not find any information on this specific lens but did find the Kalimar brand not well thought of so I was concerned I had bought a turkey. It is in mint condition so that is a positive start. Took it out this morning in very gray overcast sky for a test shoot. See what you think.

All shots are taken @ f5.6, one stop down from wide open.


1. @ 35mm, focus on bulrush near centre of frame




2. @ 70mm




3. 1:5 macro




4. Back of our house, 35mm, Infinity focus




5. Back of our house, 70mm, Infinity focus



PostPosted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
erm well if it is a crap lens, you have got some very good results considering the weather.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Looks like it produces nice colors and has good contrast. Not bad for a piece of junk. Laughing


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I was hoping for more feedback from the folks here.

My opinion is that it is soft in all but the "macro" shot, what do you guys say?


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
eccs19 wrote:
Looks like it produces nice colors and has good contrast. Not bad for a piece of junk. Laughing

+1


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ron: I too have a Kalimar zoom lens. I think I mentioned that to you in an earlier post. I found the results quite acceptable, as are yours. But to really make an assessment we need original images. I was more please with mine at first than now. I think the initial response is almost always more positive. Let's see if I can explain myself here... IF we think about lenses performing on a scale of 100 points (this is totally arbitrary), most lenses fall in the 95-100 percentile. Not scientific, just how I perceive it. We seem to examine results almost as if we're surprised to get images from some lenses and are amazed at how well they do. But in the end, we're really looking for those that fall closer to the 100 mark, not realizing how closely all these lenses really perform. So I think you're going to be satisfied that the lens performs very satisfactorily, but is not on that level a few points higher like the more reputable brands. I don't use my Kalimar zoom, preferring to use my primes instead, or in my case, when I do want a zoom for convenience, I take one of my Minolta AF zooms.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for that Woodrim, yes it is pretty subjective.

I have been using mostly primes but thought this 35-70mm was a good range zoom for a walk-about lens. I get out walking about with a prime mounted & invariably wish I had another lens when an opprotunity presents itself.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 3:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
revers wrote:
Thanks for that Woodrim, yes it is pretty subjective.

I have been using mostly primes but thought this 35-70mm was a good range zoom for a walk-about lens. I get out walking about with a prime mounted & invariably wish I had another lens when an opprotunity presents itself.


I know what you mean, and when I was young I carried as many of my lenses as I could so I wouldn't be without the lens I needed for that magical shot. I rarely got any magical shots and sometime missed the opportunity because I was switching lenses. These days I think I understand better that the photograph is more a product of the mind than it is the equipment. This is not to discount the obvious benefits of lens choice, but to get my head more into the art than the mechanics. Not an easy transition for me as I don't consider myself a natural - I have to work for it. So what I do now is select a lens, a different one each time, and do my walkabout with just that one lens. I look for and take pictures of subjects best served by that lens. I've come to like this approach.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
woodrim wrote:
So what I do now is select a lens, a different one each time, and do my walkabout with just that one lens. I look for and take pictures of subjects best served by that lens. I've come to like this approach

+1


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
poilu wrote:
woodrim wrote:
So what I do now is select a lens, a different one each time, and do my walkabout with just that one lens. I look for and take pictures of subjects best served by that lens. I've come to like this approach

+1


That is what I have been doing, perhaps I will go back to it after trying the zoom for a while.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
***So what I do now is select a lens, a different one each time, and do my walkabout with just that one lens. I look for and take pictures of subjects best served by that lens. I've come to like this approach.***

Wouldn't suit me as I carry two film cameras one with WA lens and other with zoom or telephoto, for best results.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
woodrim wrote:
So what I do now is select a lens, a different one each time, and do my walkabout with just that one lens. I look for and take pictures of subjects best served by that lens. I've come to like this approach.


This is exactly what I do. If I plan on shooting stuff with my macro / 100mm, that's what I watch for. I don't bother even looking for birds, unless it's dead on the side of the road. Laughing


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
eccs19 wrote:
woodrim wrote:
So what I do now is select a lens, a different one each time, and do my walkabout with just that one lens. I look for and take pictures of subjects best served by that lens. I've come to like this approach.


This is exactly what I do. If I plan on shooting stuff with my macro / 100mm, that's what I watch for. I don't bother even looking for birds, unless it's dead on the side of the road. Laughing


+1


PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
NikonD wrote:
eccs19 wrote:
woodrim wrote:
So what I do now is select a lens, a different one each time, and do my walkabout with just that one lens. I look for and take pictures of subjects best served by that lens. I've come to like this approach.


This is exactly what I do. If I plan on shooting stuff with my macro / 100mm, that's what I watch for. I don't bother even looking for birds, unless it's dead on the side of the road. Laughing


+1


My subject is this land, whatever presents itself. I take only a macro, the deer show. I take only the AF Zoom, I take more snapshots, then I see a new plant or insect, or, I see a new long-distance view. I'd rather have primes along than the zoom, so I take a kit, 17, 28, 50, 85, 135, 200. That's heavy. The deer don't freeze watching me change lenses then raise camera to eye.

Now what I do is take the zoom for scouting, then return with primes to specific subjects. With the AF zoom I get the shot I would have missed. With AF zoom I also make more snapshots than I would with MF lenses, more ideas for later photos with primes.
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