demet

Thanks everybody for your feedback. I've come down with a nasty cold, so working on this has stalled, but hope to focus (pun intended) on it tomorrow. I'm open to the possibility that it's my eyesight which has been declining in recent years ;-/ But it just seems so... clear. The image is very clear and I've tried to find something else to focus on but cannot. I should say I definitely need the magnifier to be able to focus at all. I will try again tomorrow.

Thanks for your reply orsetto, and everyone. I have tried to find this ghost image, or anything like it, and I cannot. The focusing screen looks even and 'flat', and focusing with the magnifier seems easy. I have a memory of the 'dual/ghost' image thing from other waist level cameras I have used in the past, but I can find nothing like it with this one. I did check the position of the screen and it is installed correctly, by David Odess I guess. I purchased the camera aprox. 2 years ago and promptly got a lens jammed on it. I couldn't unjam it using the little screw inside and so it sat for quite awhile until I had the money to send it to David Odess. I got it back from him in late November and these are the first rolls through it. Other then that I do not know the history of the camera although I don't think any of it matches. I have been in touch with David Odess and will shoot a test roll following his instructions to narrow it down to the lens or body. (BTW I do know about getting the film under the tab when loading.) Thanks again for the feedback. I actually wish it was my eyes/focusing ability, but the results are very consistent and it's hard for me to believe I could miss every shot! Best demet

When I look through the focusing hood the image is clear and I see no ghost image or anything that I could be mistakenly focusing on. It seems actually very easy to focus! I just tried to focus on a house across the street and at infinity I don't think it is focused properly... Not sure what that says and I'll try to test more, but any help still appreciated. I'm thinking of running a test roll through it, and using both the 60mm that I have been using, and also my 80mm to see if the lens is creating the problem.

Hi all, I recently put the first rolls through a 500cm that I have had for a few years but never used as lens was jammed. Sent it to David Odess in the fall and had the body and 50mm lens serviced. First rolls just back and every image is out of focus. I was fairly careful with focusing, using the magnifier in the hood and rolling in and out of focus to get it as spot on as possible. I was shooting wide open at 3.5 and subject was generally fairly close in the 5-10 foot range. So yes, shallow DOF but no way I missed focus on every shot of four rolls. And in almost all the images I can see that the actual focus was about 1-2 feet behind my intended point, and it looks quite sharp there. And ideas about what might be causing this? I elected not to have the back serviced, so that might be it, although it winds and functions normally. The plate behind the film is springy and evenly so. Thanks in advance for any insight!

Thanks everyone! I verified my lens is OK, at least for my use. And I learned a few extra things ftw!

50mm1.4

50mm1.2

Hi Jochen, thanks for your thoughtful feedback, I learned some things! And I redid the test using a newspaper at ISO 200 (1/50s, f5.6). The main point of the test is actually to see if the 50mm1.2 is actually in OK shape, because I felt it was soft, but had no real testing. It seems OK, based on this second test, at least to my untrained eye. I'm using the 5dMkII. These images in second test are JPGs straight out of camera, not resized. I used the 'unsmoothed' setting. (First test were also not resized but smaller JPGs). And yes, I like a lot of bokeh, and often shoot in low light, which is why I like these prime 50s, especially the 1.2. And they are affordable for me.

Nikkor 50mm f1.4

I have a few old manual lenses that I run on my Canon 5d with an adaptor. Nikkor mount. I stopped using the 50mm1.2 a while ago as it was feeling soft, but I never did a test. So today I did a little test exercise with the lenses I have atm. All shot on a tripod with ISO 6400 at f5.6 and 1/30s (except the Tamron 24-70). It seems like the 50mm1.2 is not any less sharp then the 1.4... I was considering getting the 1.2 serviced, but don't want to throw away money. Any feedback based on these images? Thanks in advance?