astral

Lense - British word? Forsooth Sir!

 

Lense may only be used in polite British company if it is preceded by the words "ye olde ..." and then it should only be used in such circumloquacious terminological expressions as "Ye Olde Foggye Lense Moste Favoured by Ye Gentelemene of Moneye" ... aka Summar !?

 

Alan C. Robin Hood County (in ye countye of Nottinghame). UK

I can tell you that (optically) life doesn't get easier, so it might be worth planning ahead a little.

 

At "fifty-something-plus-or-thereabouts" of age I use varifocal, plastic lensed spectacles; these are prone to out-of-focus effects (top vs bottom of lens) when I squint through both my M2 (.72) and M6TTL (.58) finder.

 

I actually prefer my M2 v/f even though I have to risk scratched specs in order to see outside the 35mm lines. The M6 (with rubber eye-piece) allows me to see well outside the 35mm framelines, but its 'smaller' v/f doesn't quite feel as nice to use with 50mm or 75/90mm lenses as the 'bigger' M2 v/f.

 

So, my advice is not to rush - I'd reccomend that you really should try a .72 and .58 finder side by side, especially if you think you could join Spectacle-Wearers-Anonymous before you part with the camera, and if you will regularly use 50mm+ lenses.

 

Alan C, Robin Hood County (Nottinghamshire), UK

I definately think you should sell it .... and I'll buy it!

 

I am quite envious in some ways; I have several FTN Nikkos and an FT2 but not an FT3. In my opinion the FT2/3 are excellent cameras, in many ways with better handling and build than the FM/FM2/FM2n.

 

If I have to grab a camera for an instantaneous picture I know the Nikkormats will do the job, and not get in my way with menus, abberant AF or other techno-impediments ... I just wind-on and shoot, bracketing the exposure and focussing on the hyperfocal distances - foool-prooof!

 

I bet you'd eventually regret selling it. I'm gonna have a couple of Nikkormats FTNs buried with me when I go, complete with my ancient and honorable pre-AI Nikkor 24.f2.8 and venerable 28/3.5

 

Use and cherish

 

Alan C, Robin Hood County (Nottinghamshire) UK

Ooohh! Many, many, many! I've saved so much money I'm now almost broke! ...

 

Cheap car ferry from England to France at 85 GBPounds compared to the regular 164 GBP - this will pay for the diesel on a long 4x4 expedition to the Austrian/Italian Alps in June '06 ... or some film.

 

Skopar 35/2.5 Pancake II new, saved 85GBP on regular UK prices. And a

Hexanon 28/2.8M - used, but absolutely mint with 12m guarantee and another 85++ GBP saved! Also, a Skopar 50/2.5 new for 112 GBP, saving 95 GBP on regular shop price.

 

But I blew all these savings on a minty Summaron 35/2.8 (non-goggle) for my M2 which was 345GBP - still a bargain though!

 

I'm now hunting the web for a really cheap airfare to the USA - look-out Utah & Arizona the Englishman's coming back!

 

See y'all in Long Nose Kate's in Tombstone around the end of April - I'm the guy with the M2 and a weird accent. Joy 2 all.

 

Alan C, Robin Hood County (Nottinghamshire), England

Yup

 

Now the same item is cheaper again - they crashed the price tonight so I ordered another one at the new price of 112UKP - this coincided with their website crashing for about a half hour (just as it processed my post/zip code!!) but it's back now and I have automated emails confirming the two orders. Let's see what Monday brings .... at this rate they could be paying us to take 'em away by Wednesday!

 

EU Distance Selling Rules allow customers buying by m/o in the EU to cancel mail order purchases within 7 working days and thereby return the goods. Jessops will additionally allow such unwanted items to be returned within 30 days, including to a local store (for me 3 miles away), or they will collect them at no charge!

 

Seems like a win-win deal.

 

Incidentally Jessops are well over Peter White's prices for several CV items - so buyer beware. Can't see any Leica goodies at half price tho!

 

Wishing you all good luck shopping!! Thanks Santa!

 

Alan C

I have just spotted a nice price on new black CV Skopar 50mm f2.5 in

the UK - �149.97 (UKP) incl. postage! Anyone interested should look

at Jessops dot com - normal price (mailorder UK) would be around �216

(UKP) - I have ordered one but expect a message next week to say "We

are sorry but ..."

 

Happy Christmas/New Year

AC

I've just been using a Sigma 28mm f1.8 ASPH II as a fast standard lens (approximating to 45mm on 35mm). Used on a 35mm camera edges are fairly soft, but as the D70 sensor only sees the centre of the lens field it's pretty ok. (I knew there had to be a use for the Sigma!!).

 

All of the D70 features I need do function, like matrix, and the fancy features seems to work too. I'll try my 70-210mm f4 AF Nikkor tomorrow if the sun shines.

 

The next challenge is to hook up an SB20 flash off-camera using an SU4 slave unit and see if the D70 will squelch the flash output as my F80/N80 does.

 

 

Alan C. Nottingham, UK

No "serious" camera shops seen in Brugge centre last September, but there are numerous small streets which could hide a specialist shop: Brugge has several of these artisan shops. [There is a watch repairer who has some nice stuff like Glycine for example].

Also in another thread -

 

I use a heck of a lot of slr lenses from 20 to 300mm alongside some Leica gear. I find that some manufacturers make rather generous allowances for angle of view so that vignetting is not a problem with filters (though some don?t!) But this often results in shallow hoods that don't give the optimal shading or vignetting control that I may want.

 

My solution is to use any suitable second-hand hood, often via a step-up ring, often giving me better proportioned and more effective hoods for certain applications. To check for vignetting I use a piece of ground glass at the film gate. This often shows that a hood for, say, a much longer lens will give far better shading than a more conventionally sized hood, even with filters attached. I then simply label the hoods for each of the lenses they suit. Step-up rings allow me to use the same hood for a number of different lenses, etc, saving space in the holdall.

 

The ?down-side? is that some hoods look enormous on some lenses: the ?up-side? is that I rarely get flare or ghosting in tricky situations - and I save money.

 

Where cheap hoods shout out their humble origins I may ink-out the engravings/printing using a black marker pen, or may even ink-in the markings, in red or blue, to make the hood look more classy! Automotive 'black crackle' or silver spray paint jobs (on metal hoods) look great too, and baking the paint job in an oven for a while hardens the paint nicely. Plastic hoods can easily be cut down to length if needed, and can clean-up well with metal polish. Such d-i-y jobs cost pennies, take about 10 minutes and look like $50 accessories (for those who think that's important!).

 

Money saved (??$$) over brand-named dedicated hoods goes on film or in the air-fare money-box.

 

Alan Clayton

Nottingham. England

I use a heck of a lot of slr lenses from 20 to 300mm alongside some Leica gear. I find that some manufacturers make rather generous allowances for angle of view so that vignetting is not a problem with filters (though some don?t!) But this often results in shallow hoods that don't give the optimal shading or vignetting control that I may want.

 

My solution is to use any suitable second-hand hood, often via a step-up ring, often giving me better proportioned and more effective hoods for certain applications. To check for vignetting I use a piece of ground glass at the film gate. This often shows that a hood for, say, a much longer lens will give far better shading than a more conventionally sized hood, even with filters attached. I then simply label the hoods for each of the lenses they suit. Step-up rings allow me to use the same hood for a number of different lenses, etc, saving space in the holdall.

 

The ?down-side? is that some hoods look enormous on some lenses: the ?up-side? is that I rarely get flare or ghosting in tricky situations - and I save money.

 

Where cheap hoods shout out their humble origins I may ink-out the engravings/printing using a black marker pen, or may even ink-in the markings, in red or blue, to make the hood look more classy! Automotive 'black crackle' or silver spray paint jobs (on metal hoods) look great too, and baking the paint job in an oven for a while hardens the paint nicely. Plastic hoods can easily be cut down to length if needed, and can clean-up well with metal polish. Such d-i-y jobs cost pennies, take about 10 minutes and look like $50 accessories (for those who think that's important!).

 

Money saved (??$$) over brand-named dedicated hoods goes on film or in the air-fare money-box.

 

Alan Clayton

Nottingham. England

Thank you Emanuele and Bonsignore.

 

I have been away for a few weeks, sorry about the delay in replying. Your comments are most welcome.

 

I have a Landrover Discovery which I wil drive to Italy, and lots of camping gear. The plan is to do a lot of short walks, and I have lightweight camera gear as well as heavier cameras.

 

I do not yet have large scale maps, so I will be searching for these on the internet. Some of your suggestions will fit in with my trip very well. I will post another message soon after I have got back to work here.

 

One question please: what is the cost of diesel fuel in Italy?

 

Very many thanks for the moment

 

Alan Clayton

Does anyone know of an official international standard for describing shutter noise?

 

My Bessa R2 goes "Shlink" but my M2 goes "shk". In contrast, my Nikkormat goes "shddnnk" and my Nikon F4 "SHdinkK-WZZT" - My Mamiya 645 unfortunately goes "SHKERPLUNKKKK-SHLAK"

 

I guess the M2 wins on the number of consonants?

Though actually my Rolleiflex goes "tk" very quietly!

 

Maybe I should cross-post this somewhere for wider consultation?

 

Hope I haven't damaged anyone's hearing.

 

Alan Clayton

 

PS I often make louder noises when the shutter doesn't fire.

Hello folks

 

I am planning a month in south-central Italy in June '05 and would

greatly welcome information please on any interesting photo-locations

in the following regions, especially remote areas which can be

accessed in a Landrover 4x4:

 

Umbria - Marchigiano, Gran Sasso - Monti della Laga, Gran Sasso

d?Italia - Appenino Abruzzese - Monte del Matese

 

I will be driving in from England via Gran Paradiso (Stelvio) and

will be camping or youth hostelling. Regular guide books are ok but

local knowledge is better!

 

I have read an earlier thread on Firenze and Siena which was

excellent, but additional information would also be useful.

 

Many thanks

Alan Clayton

Nottingham

England

My approach to architecture: first, I work hard on selecting the best viewpoint before even looking through a camera; second, I have a choice of equipment that I can use (even if most of it is at home when I need it!):

 

Nikkor 20mm f2.8AF which gives some distortions and a touch of illumination fall-off but is fine for many architectural shots; Nikkor 18-35mm f3.5-4.5 IFED AF has some fall-off at wider apertures and has somewhat more complex distortions than the 20mm; a Tokina 20-35mm f3.5-4.5 (Mk I) which has better fall-off characteristics than the 18-35 Nikkor and appears a touch sharper at some apertures, but has slightly lower contrast - a very good lens nevertheless.

 

However, for wider angles (15mm) and more demanding applications I use a Voigtlander Bessa R2 with 15mm Heliar & 25mm Skopar (possibly a 12mm soon too). The key advantages to me are: a) distortions are better than with most SLR lenses (despite other trade-offs); b) I have a small camera dedicated to the 15mm lens; c) my secondhand Bessa+15mm+25mm cost me less in total (around 600UKP) than a 15mm AF Nikkor would.

 

I also use a Pentax 28mm shift lens at times: this gives good control of perspective and tolerable distortions, but at full shift the effects become unnatural or unacceptable, though interesting. My main use for this lens is in exploiting its depth of field/depth of focus characteristics to the fullest.

 

Alan Clayton

Nottingham

England

What interests me is that there are very few (but loyal and well-voiced) customers for Voigtlander cameras and lenses, so where does Cosina/Voigtlander get it's user feedback?

 

I guess that the whole show is being driven from the top, rather than by objective market research. (Just like Leitz/Leica, no doubt). I haven't seen a Customer Guarantee form so Voigtlander/Sangers-UK doesn't know that I own any VC gear, let alone ask me the usual customer care questions.

 

As a Bessa R2 user with a significant number of VC lenses I'd sure like to chip in my observations on a new camera, etc -wouldn't we all?

 

The UK agents (Sangers) are not particularly responsive to customer feedback, and Cosina's web site is largely in Japanese so users have little opportunity to suggest what we'd like to see in a new model.

 

That's a shame really - we all have positive inputs to make and these deserve to be heard by the manufacturer.

 

My wishlist is:

 

meter/shutter switch/lock ++ quieter shutter ++ auto frame lines ++ 28mm frame line ++ better QC/QA in lens manufacture ++ lenses with a tad better fall off characteristics ++ confidence that the R2 will be supported long term (discontinued after just 2 years is a bit worrysome) +++ and finally, a lifetime's free film and processing with every new camera (well it is a wish list!)

 

So guys, who do we send our VC wish list list to?

 

Alan C

Nottingham

UK

I was out there many years ago and a long lens is certainly essential. However, working apertures of f4 or lower can be tricky in some conditions, particularly low light before and after sunrise/sunset. Also, while the magnification of a tele might be great, the min. focus distance can be too long for some shots.

 

I found that I took a significant number of pics with a fast (f1.8) 50mm lens, especially for closeup & near-macro of tiddly likkle things, for indoors & available light work and, especially for the fantastic night sky long exposure shots that you may not even see in the viewfinder with a 400mm f5.6 lens attached.

 

I'd suggest, therefore, taking one short, reasonably fast semi-wide or 50mm prime. Apart from anything else, they are light and save getting a hernia carrying the "elephant guns". "Big lenses means big tripods". Eg I have a hand-held 1/16th f1.8 sec shot (Kodachrome 25) taken in a luxurious cave entrance at Sinoia, Rhodesia (sic) with a Takumar 50mm - no other lens in my bag was any use - the shot is still stunning nearly 30 years on!

 

Good luck

 

Alan C, UK

Well Guys!

 

In return, if any of you are planning a trip to Great Britain I have similar OTBT (off the beaten track) info that DOES NOT include Stratford upon Avon! Just more interesting things and places. If anyone is heading this way I can most probably provide useful info or recommend UK web sites.

 

Many Thanks

 

Alan C

Woww! THANKS GUYS!!! I'm seriously impressed.

 

Thank you all for the ideas, advice and inspiration - and for the great pics. It looks like I'm in for a great trip, maybe I shudda booked a 6 week trip!

 

I will read everything very carefully and mark my maps accordingly. Following an illustrated talk I gave to a local club here on Hiking in Montana on Thursday last, they are crying out to see "in depth" photography of the USA, not just touristic shots.

 

Alan C. Nottingham, England

The correct quote was ". . . after agonising and researching I decided to keep all these lenses and buy a couple of "modern" zooms - the only rational choice was an F4 for serious work . . . "

 

My choice of and F4 was rational - many of my photographic decisions have been somewhat irrational. It hardly matters though if you're happy with the outcome. My least rational decision was to buy Nikon in the first place, but the outcome? . . . total satisfaction, regardless of model.

Remember though - only the F4 will give you matrix metering with manual focus lenses - no later cameras will (unless someone has info on the F5?)

 

The F80/N80 and F100 ain't very MF lens-compatible - in fact the F80 won't meter at all with MF lenses. The N8008/F801 will not give matrix metering with MF lenses - but I'm happy with the centre-weighted metering that it does give with anything from 24mm to 135mm.

 

I've been through the same decision (and I have 9 AI/AIS Nikkors); after agonising and researching I decided to keep all these lenses and buy a couple of "modern" zooms - the only rational choice was an F4 for serious work and an F80/N60 + zooms for lightweight work. "Modern" lenses work fine on the F4 too.

 

Alan C UK

If you have manual focus lenses and ain't bothered about the hernia (or lightning speed AF) then the F4 wins hands down - you can stick almost any Nikkor made since 1971-ish of an F4 and it'll work ok. More than can be said for the F80/N80/F5/F100. The F4 probably has the best backwards (and indeed forwards) compatibility in the Nikon line-up. At 2.5kg with a 28-70 f2.8 lens I don't get much camera shake, even at 1/16th sec. Finding a good one can be a real problem though.

 

If you only have modern S/VR Nikkors then skip the F4. The F80/N80 is a better "bang for the buck" than the F100, but you're tied to AFn lenses and later with these models - they don't work proper with old lenses. Dump the N90!

 

I hiked around the Rockies (MT) last year with an F4 AND a Mamiya 645. Darned heavy, but I'm now a lot thinner and fitter! This year I'll do Utah with a F80/N80 AND an F4 AND a 645 camera.

 

Finally, you can fight your way out of a Dublin Bar on a Saturday night with an F4 . . . In fact it's so darned impressive that bar-brawl combatants seeing one will probably pose for a photo!

 

Alan C

Two of mine have locked up this way. On one, trying the remedies suggested eventually worked. Since then it's been fine.

 

On the other I (eventually) removed the baseplate and a small fragment of film showing perforations fell out. That all it was - jamming the gubbins! It's worked perfectly ever since.

 

Alan C

In the late 60s I bought Pentax (Spotmatic) when that stuff was significantly cheaper than the Nikon brand and more "sexy" looking than the (better) Nikkormat. In the 70s - 90s I stayed with Pentax (MX, LX) because I had a big investment in their lens systems, but my photography got stuck in a rut.

 

In 2000 I re-discovered the clunky, all manual, Nikkormats that I should have bought in the 60s - and guess what? Nikkormats & F system lenses are often now just as cheap as old Pentax gear. With a Nikkormat and a old battered Nikkor 24mm my photography took off again.

 

In 2003 I dropped an old but nice Nikkor lens - it didn't break, but my insurers paid for a mint used Nikon F4s. My photography just got better. Ok, it's old but is still one of the best manual cameras around, handling almost any old (or new) Nikkor you care to stick on it: and it does AF too - clever stuff!

 

Why did I choose Nikon? Well, clearly I'm stuck in some sorta time warp - always 20 years behind!

 

 

Alan C Nottingham UK

I'm going to spend 4 weeks in Northwest Arizona & Utah in May (flying

in from England). Of course there's a heck of a lot to see and

photograph and I have all the tourist info, but there's no substitute

for local knowledge.

 

Does anyone know any really nice off-the-beaten-track locations for

classic photography, please?

 

My essential interest is in doing some striking near-abstract

landscapes - Slot Canyons will do nicely for a start.

 

Finally where's the best place to buy mega-amounts of 35mm & 120 film

in Phoenix or Flagstaff AND have 'chromes processed.

 

Over to you experts - many thanks

 

Alan C Nottingham UK