1:1 performance of Kiron/Dine 105/2.8 on D200

[arnabdas]

at the sweetest spot, f8. BTW -- if focussed carefully, damsels seldom need

apertures smaller than f8.<div></div>

[arnabdas]

ISO 100, raw sharpen medium.<div></div>

[arnabdas]

tail ...<div></div>

[jean melissa]

Beautiful! Did you use a tripod, or any other accessories for your camera (handheld light-meter, etc.), to take this photo?

[arnabdas]

I used a tripod, focusing rail, cable release and my standard lighting accessory -- a compact hand mirror from Macy's :)

[ky2]

Remarkable, Arnab. How's the VR? ;)

[studor13]

This damsel has me distressed. Well done on a fine job Arnab.

[aravind raman]

You really relish these unknown macro lenses. <p> Hearing "Dine" for the first time :)

<p> Just curious, what are those below the tail of damsels? eggs!?

 

<p>Thanks for sharing, <p>

Aravind

[arnabdas]

<p>Thanks guys. Point of this thread was to demonstrate

performance of this 6/6 1:1 jewel at 1:1 including corner

sharpness.</p>

 

<p>Aravind: I'm not sure I'd call it an "unknown" macro

lens, it was well-known and extremely well-regarded in its time

(that time ended about 20 years ago) - now reduced to cult

classic status with the Vivitar/Tokina/Tamron 90s. Of course,

this is not as well-known as the pedestrian OEM/3rd-party 100/105

AF macros of today that every macro enthusiast and his brother

seem to own. As for Dine - some of these lenses were made for

dental photography equipment retailer Lester A Dine, and labelled

as such. I don't think those things on the tail are eggs..

damsels lay their eggs in water. I suspect those are some kind of

parasites/ticks.</p>

 

<p>Yaron -- <em>"How's the VR?"</em> You know how to

get me started, don't you :) Actually, I'm really let down by the

lack of VR in this lens, if it had VR it would make paralleling

the sensor plane to subject plane soooo much easier when shooting

handheld, I would not have to lug this tripod and focusing rail

around. Also, I really hate the aperture ring on this one - I

wish I could get it chipped and then I could superglue the ring

at f32 and cover it with black adhesive tape to save myself from

the embarrassment of others noticing I'm using a non-G lens. But

you know, I'm sooo glad this moderately heavy lens does not come

with a tripod collar. I still ordered a PN-11, not sure what I

was thinking - this time it's not due to Guinness beer overdose.

I'll probably never use it. No macro lens should have a tripod

collar. One should never use a tripod collar if he really wants

to unleash his compositional creativity, and seasoned closeup

shooters just don't need that crap.</p>

 

<p>See attached image, I was casually experimenting with

environmental compositions and trying to close in for a

hopper-on-leaf type of portrait. If I had a tripod collar, I

could effortlessly include the tip of lower leaf in the scene,

reduce distraction on top-right corner and provide more

"hop-space" on top of the hopper -- addall done in just

one slight 30 degree clock-wise twist of the lens. Then it's just

a matter of closing in with focusing rail. How boring.</p>

 

<p>Thankfully, the lack of tripod collar encouraged me to tilt

the camera towards the right (effectively screwing up the

composition) and then try to slide the tripod legs towards the

left to bring things in order. with all this fumbling I managed

to scare this poor creature who hopped out of the scene --

disappointed at my performance. Not having a tripod collar saved

me from processing yet another NEF. </p><div></div>

[arnabdas]

Bonus tip for shooting grasshoppers - approach from top with lens slightly tilted downward instead of approaching directly from the side. This helps bring all the important parts (eyes, thighs, antennae, legs and lataral part of thorax/abdomen) to cut through a common plane of focus, letting you capture maximum detail. Depending on the size of the grasshopper you should now be well-covered without needing to use anything smaller than f11 (or f16 for real tiny ones).

[neil_parker]

Arnab, how do you use a cable release on a D200? Or did you use a wired remote?

[klix]

Just got my Kiron lens today (it's immaculate!) - can't wait to try it out.

 

But first I have to get a hand mirror :-)

 

Thanks for the tips Arnab.

 

KL

[arnabdas]

Neil, you're right - when I said cable release I did mean a 10-pin electronic remote relese (a Chinese knockoff of MC-30).

 

KL, congratulations! Exciting times ahead ... don't forget to post samples and your impression of the lens :)

[greg_barnett]

Arnab, you never cease to provide inspiration and motivation for my macro work. Thanks, awesome stuff as always.

 

Greg.