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Small Emilian towns (part 1): Guastalla
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
About the Snapshot-Skopar.
It's a Cosina lens. But it's not the latest version. The latest version is not called "snapshot-skopar" and it's
rangefinder-coupled.
My lens is the first version. It is not rangefinder-coupled, so you can not focus it precisely.
It is designed to be used in hyperfocal mode, and so it has convenient stops at 1.5 meters and 3 meters.

I bought it beginning of the month, at the used camera fair of Castel San Giovanni.
It is used, but very lightly, in fact it could almost look like new. I paid 300 Euros for the lens, a L39-M bayonet Mamiya
adapter ring (value about 30 Euros) and a gorgeous Voigtlaender 25mm viewfinder whose value alone is around 150 Euros.
So all in all, I paid some 120 Euros for the lens alone. I think it's not bad.

The quality is good. Of course it's not a Biogon. But if you consider that a Biogon costs more than 1000 Euros without hood
and without viewfinder, the little Skopar makes sense for the budget limited photographer.

Here's a sample of image quality.
First whole image resized:



then some 100% crops:

crop 1:


crop 2:


crop 3:


crop 4:


The very good resolvance of the lens can be appreciated in crop 4, if you look at the anti-bird net that is on the bell tower.
It is possible to see all meshes, in spite of the distance and of the falling rain which blurs everything with the drop tracks.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Late at the party as usual, but as the other has said, beautiful pictures Orio. One of the most difficult things in photogaphy or art in general, i think, to transfer what one feels, what one likes, what one loves about a place, a region, a country. To tell it simply, thru your pictures i can "feel" what you feel about those places.
Regarding the brightness, yes some of them are darker, but not in a manner one could say it s an error in expousure, pretty obvious it s a decision. I am surprised that i can see all the dark columns and i can t distinguish only the three last white ones on my laptop.

Tomas


PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
tomasg wrote:

Regarding the brightness, yes some of them are darker, but not in a manner one could say it s an error in expousure, pretty obvious it s a decision.


Yes, one should always look at the highlights in a dark picture - and of course at the shadows in a bright picture.
If the highlights of a dark picture look grey and dull, then it's likely to be an exposure mistake
(not 100% of the times - sometimes photographers want to avoid all white completely - but most of the times, it's an error)
Same with a bright picture, if the shadows are grey and washed out instead of dark, then it's probably an exposure mistake.
When instead a photo displays both extremes of the dynamic range, then it's likely to be a choice.

Another good thing to do when analyzing a photo, is to ask yourself "why", I mean, trying to find possible reason for aesthetic choices.
In the case of my photo #12, I think that most photographers would have done the same as I did - that is, trying to tone down
the cars and the empty foreground, and to put an accent on the church, in order to make it stand out from the
ugly mass of the parked cars.
Unfortunately, until we become very important persons photographers, we do not have the possibility to ask the city police
to remove the cars for us! Laughing so we need to find photographic workarounds Wink

EDIT:
Another example of "reasoned choice" is photo #23, where I deliberately underexposed the street asphalt, because it really
did add nothing to the image, only annoyment.
The church needed to be isolated, for me.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio: Please don't think I was criticising your exposures. I just assumed my monitor was out of calibration. It is not just on your photos - some others in other posts looked dark.

With regards to the calibration charts: My monitor shows all the gradations in picture 1. In picture 2, of the four bands, the first with smooth transitions looks good, the second band I can see all the steps, the third step I can see all the steps but between 1% and 0% is very faint, the fourth band has my monitor struggling - I can see the edge of each step from 85% to about 96% but I don't see any difference in the tones, just at the joining edges.

My monitor is a Medion LCD and wasn't expensive. I have heard that CRT monitors are supposed to be better for photo editing, but mine is sufficient for my needs.

I understand your reasoning for your exposures - to highlight the subjects and I will view them with this in mind from now on. One of the reasons I detest most HDR images I have seen in other places is because it seems that the photographer sometimes tries to eradicate all shadows, thereby diminishing realistic contrast, whereas you have manipulated the exposures in your camera in order to bring the viewer's attention away from unimportant distractions.

I thank you for explaining your motivation and have the greatest respect for your skills.


PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Skida, absolutely no problem in any case Smile

P.S. I don't like HDR either. It can have it's uses for sure, but it's something that I would never use on my photos.


PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 2:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Beautiful series, what an environment for photography! And not afraid to get a little wet, taking them!


PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 2:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Katastrofo wrote:
Beautiful series, what an environment for photography! And not afraid to get a little wet, taking them!


When it comes to taking photographs, I am like a shopping woman: nothing can ever stop me! Laughing


PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Very nice and ipressive series! Skopar looks really nice. It's a pity it cannot be used on ff cameras. Wondering how is it compared to DIstagon 25/2.8 on the same apertures like f/4?


PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Arctures wrote:
Wondering how is it compared to DIstagon 25/2.8 on the same apertures like f/4?


I have not made a direct comparison, but the Skopar is likely to be sharper than the Contax Distagon 25, if for nothing else,
because it is not a retrofocal, so it has a lot less glass inside.
The Distagon, however, is probably be better in the corners, because it is a retrofocal Wink
So you win some and lose some. Wink


PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Many thanks, Orio. Too bad Skopar is for rf only. Would be great to use it on 5D and Nex Smile


PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Arctures wrote:
Many thanks, Orio. Too bad Skopar is for rf only. Would be great to use it on 5D and Nex Smile


You can use it on the Nex.


PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I looked again at the photos and this time I saw them with new eyes! I think I have learned something.


PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
Arctures wrote:
Many thanks, Orio. Too bad Skopar is for rf only. Would be great to use it on 5D and Nex Smile


You can use it on the Nex.


Yes, I know I've meant it would be great to get something wide and use it on a 5D as well as on Nex Cool Last weeks my soul is flying between Leitz Elmarit-R 2.8/35, Leitz Summilux-R 35/1.4 - and Contax Zeiss 35/1.4 they are not not so wide but sooo damn good and could be used on both 5D and Nex.


PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well, I have a Elmarit-R 2.8/35 last optical version (the best version) for sale, if performs great, drop me a note if you are interested in buying.
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