FD 35mm f2 Concave at British Museum

[igord]

<p>Interesting, shallow dof and wide perspective.</p>

[frederick_muller]

<p>I've learned a lot about dof by shooting wides a lot. Early on, I took lots of dof for granted whenever I mounted a wide angle. It wasn't long before I found I wasn't always getting the results I expected. Then I started carefully checking dof scales and dof tables for wide angles all the way from 12mm to 35mm ... at various apertures and distances. You get a lot less depth of field than you might think with a wide angle up close and wide open. For museum shots like these, I often get better results with an RD-1s and 12mm VC Heliar that provides lots of depth of field at f5.6. But then again, I can take the RD-1s up to a usable EI 1600, while I am not too fond of Superia 1600 film.</p>

<p>To really see some exceptional use of wide angles for extended depth of field shots, watch the films of director John Frankenheimer. Especially his older films like "The Train", "The Manchurian Candidate", and "Seven Days in May". Virtually all of "The Train" was done with a 25mm. In the other films, he used 25mm, 18mm, and other ultrawides. He shoots ultrawide from various angles, with careful composition. His prescription is "lots of light, and stop them way, way down to maybe f11". For handheld 35mm shooting, we can't always control the volume of light, so working with the film or sensor sensitivity is pretty much what we are left with.</p>

[capitalq]

<p>excellent shots, frederick. did you have to sneak the shots or does the British Museum allow non-flash photography? </p>

[frederick_muller]

<p>Thanks Capital. The British Museum actually allows photography both with and without flash. What is forbidden is the use of tripods. I am considering buying a compact, telescoping monopod.<br>

Some museums have become quite liberal in allowing photography. You can photograph without restriction at the Victoria & Albert, and at the Science Museum in London. However, ALL photography is forbidden at the Naval museum at Greenwich. Sir John Soane's house is BEAUTIFUL ... and they make you check cameras at the door.</p>

<p>I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Louvre allows photography, both with and without flash. Ditto the museums in Berlin. As a consequence I have begun to develop a sneaky suspicion that many of the paintings hung at Louvre are reproductions, including the Mona Lisa ... and all the originals are stored in the basement. Would you allow the originals to be subjected to thousands of flashes a day?</p>

<p>The NY Metropolital Museum allows photography; it's bags they don't allow in. So whatever spare lenses you carry with you have to fit in your coat pockets.</p>

<p>Museums in Amsterdam don't allow any photography at all. Museums in Eastern Europe are completely mercenary. Photography is forbidden unless you pay for a special double-price ticket - then you can take whatever pictures you like.</p>

<p>Italy is tough - no photography in the Ufizzi, no photography in the Sistine Chapel ....</p>

<p> </p>

[igord]

<p>Frederick, I will check films of this director, thanks. I am very interested in wide angle shots with my professional photography. Have been using 28 mm a lot recently.</p>

[ray_storege]

<p>Very nice and quite impressive as well. Thanks for sharing. </p>

[User_502260]

<p>Another correction - my fastest 28 is the 28/1.8 Konica UC Hexanon. </p>

[jeff_guthrie]

<p>The concave is my favorite FD lens, I can't say enough good about it. I like it so much that I have to have at least 2 of them (sometimes more).</p>