Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
martyn_bannister wrote: |
Nothing wrong with that for me! Nailing that focus is tricky though |
Aye, I bought a regular M42 adapter as I was planning on using it with my 400 and 500mm teles which would be on infinity most of the time. Silly me, should have got one with an AF confirm chip because the viewfinder on an EOS 10D is useless for ascertaining focus so it's a case of guess the distance to the subject, set it on the lens then shoot a sequence of half a dozen shots with slightly varying focus on each and hope one of them is actually in focus!
I was wondering if an old clip-on rangefinder like a Watameter would be a useful accessory to have on my hotshoe. Could determine the correct distance to the subject with the RF then dial in into the lens. Anyone tried this? I wonder if red dot laser rangefinders are cheap secondhand? Be handy for those closeups where you're stood there thinking 'hmm, it's between 50 and 70 cm away'. Of course, all that would be irrelevant if my EOS had some kind of proper focusing aid in it's VF!
Ever occurred to anyone else there would be a market for an all-metal, all-manual digital version of a classic SLR like a Nikon F3, Pentax LX or even the good old Spotmatic? I'd be quite happy using one of those cameras and only difference I'd want would be they took a CF card instead of a film cartridge. Something not right about people screwing old Takumars on modern DSLRS with no focusing aids, Pentax should make a digital SLR in a spotmatic body, no opening back just a mini USB port and a CF slot at either end to tell you it's digital.
I think this set of pics shows the lens is a good one but the photographer is an inexperienced one. Clearly, there is a lot of potential in this little piece of Russian kit to create beautiful images, I particularly like it's potential for closeups like the shot of the pine tree and the bokeh is every bit as nice as people say (makes me want to get a Helios 40 now!)
I think it's got very acceptable sharpness and the contrast is very good too. The Serial number starts with 74 so I'm guessng that the year it was made. It's got the purple coloured coating, is this multi-coating or single? Whatever the case, I think the contrast is fine, the shots were taken late afternnon with the sun low in the sky and the lighting was quite challenging as you can see in the shot of the corrugated roof.
I've got two more 44-2s on their way to me, one I'm planning to remove the rear element from to make it a mild telephoto lens and hoping this also increases the amount of blurring and swirliness in it's bokeh, a bit like a cheap diy version of a Helios 40. Got the idea from this webpage, looks like a very simple modification:
http://www.novacon.com.br/techhel.htm |