yong_shin1 Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 For those who enjoy 50mm perspective @ f1.0 DOF, anyone knows of suitable center filter which closely matches Noc's light falloff curve? Nocs appear to have a smooth(almost linear) fall off curve down to almost about 3 stops at the corners at f1.0. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 Would not use of a 2 or 3 stop center weighted neutral density filter defeat the purpose of an f/1.0 lens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 Considering the price of centre filters, it indeed would not cost much more to get a secondhand summicron. And one would also get a smaller, lighter and better lens. But one would lose the narrow DOF... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles barcellona www.bl Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 Shoot a summilux instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yong_shin1 Posted February 12, 2003 Author Share Posted February 12, 2003 I think 50mm perspective @ f1.0 DOF is a unique combination. With this combination, one can effectively isolate the subject against background. You also get that special look (pleasing distortion, one might say) only Nocs at f1.0 can provide. B/W is fine but when using color, light falloff can really drive people away. Nowadays you can do this kind of effect using Photoshop but I am too lazy to do that kind of work. I'd rather go with neck strain and shallower pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougfromtumwater Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 Yong wrote"B/W is fine but when using color, light falloff can really drive people away." I had not heard about that film distinction before. Could you explain more about why you feel that way? F/1.0 environments are often accompanied by extreme lighting which downplays the 1.0 vignetting no matter what film is used. I do know that some Nocti users mount NDx filters and use slow film for daylight 1.0 shots. I have seen some color examples of these photos and they don't look bad to me.....but maybe you have the wrong lens for your preferences? Maybe the answer for you is to try a 75 Lux @ f/1.4. At this aperture the depth of field is narrow like the Nocti and the vignetting is better controlled. Both lenses were design by Mandler and are well regarded for bo-ke and gentle OOF transitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yong_shin1 Posted February 12, 2003 Author Share Posted February 12, 2003 Doug: I am no expert in this field but what I know about color film is that its exposure latitude is much smaller, something like 3 to 5 stops in case of ASA 64~100. For BW it is more like 5 and up, and for films like TX, it is 7+. So, photos taken with low to medium speed color films @ f1.0, have very dark edges to the point where you can almost see a circle encased by the 24mm x 36mm frame. I guess what I am saying is that the effect is much more pronounced in color photography. Some use that effect to their advantage in aiding isolating the main features in their photos on top of utilizing the DOF. What I am hoping to achieve is: 1. Wider coverage using 50mm. Longer lenses cut more atmospheres surrounding the main subject. 2. Scene with enough (or ample) light but I want to use f1.0 for that distortions (coma, spherical, etc.) peculiar to Nocs. 3. To use low to medium speed color film. So people are not distracted by film grains AND by edge darkening. 4. And, the very shallow DOF. You know film grain is more pronounced when exposure is not correct. In this case 'under' exposure in corners. Finer grains also help discern fine gradation of colors (or distortions?). 'Strange,' one might say but I am in love with Noctiluxlry distortion. I hope I am making sense here. By the way, I am no mechanisexual. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrestrikon Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 "By the way, I am no mechanisexual." Yong: by DEFINITION, your posting here makes you mechanisexual! G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yong_shin1 Posted February 13, 2003 Author Share Posted February 13, 2003 I am very pleased to find out my new identity. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougfromtumwater Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Yong, here is the closest thing I could find at a decent price. A 62mm 2x ND center filter, so you would also need to purchase a 60mm to 62mm step-up ring for the Nocti. They should have that at B&H also for a few $ more. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh1.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___102139___MACNDMC62___REG___CatID=262___SID=F38BB846FA2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Color slide film has a 5 stop range, not a three stop range. While black-and- white and color negative <B>films</B> have greater range, once you print that range drops to about 6 stops (excluding tonality without detail). Reproduced in a magazine or brochure the contrast range for both (once again excluding areas without detail) drops to 4 stops.<P>You are making sense by the way. You are breaking "the rules' but you have a clear grasp of which rules you are breaking and why. I think the results of yor experiment should be very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_morris4 Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Doug, thanks so much for the link. The last time I checked center filter prices, I don't remember anything below about $500. It's nice to see something for less than $150. I don't need one for a Noctilux, but that should be just the thing to go with the extra-wide CV lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefano_ferrando1 Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Noctilux can't be used, normally, with all its pro and cons?It could be interesting. Expecially the use of the Noctilux for a not so well known application: taking pictures.Regards,Stefano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_collier2 Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 The Noctilux has a deeply recessed front element to help contol some nasty abberations caused by skew rays. This literally functions like a too small lens hood. So the only way you are going to even out the frame illumination wide open is to fit a lens cap. I agree that with color neg films the grain size is annoying in the under exposed areas. If the scene contrast range is not too high, try over exposing by a full stop to lessen the grain in underexposed areas. What do I do? When I shoot colour wide open, I use slide film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yong_shin1 Posted February 13, 2003 Author Share Posted February 13, 2003 Thank you very much for all the kind advices and especially to Doug who went his way out to find suitable center filters for me and apparently for others as well. One caveat emptor. With a center filter, hood might not fit or extentable. This might sound like a bumer but I am out of Noctilux at the moment. I had two samples in the past and the both had hics of some sort. One had very uneven focusing stiffness and the other a finger print on a surface of one of the internal elements (don't know how it got there. bad resale value). So I traded them for other equipement. Now, I am looking for a Noctilux owner who is interested in a trade. Or another thread with 'WTT' heading might be in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen hazelton Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 I seem to recall reading that the center filters normally furnished for the very wide angle lenses were made specifically for those lenses, and varied from one lens model to the next. In which case, a generic center filter might or might not give the exact effect you're after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-bug Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Here's an example of some nasty vignetting at F1. I still love the lens, though. It hasn't been off the camera for more than an hour since I bought it last October. <img src="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display?photo_id=1298998&size=md"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougfromtumwater Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Yong wrote about using a 60-62 step up ring and 62mm center filter:"One caveat emptor. With a center filter, hood might not fit or extentable" I'm glad I could help out Yong and John with the earlier post citing the affordable center filter at B&H. BTW, I have used a 62mm B&W filter, with a step up ring, on my late model Noctilux and the hood did extend out over the filter just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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