Lens Archives - Goutham Ramesh

22/12/202122/12/2021

My Nikon Zfc!

Not all decisions in life have to be rational, my decision for buying “Nikon Zfc” was just that!

In this post, I will share my experience with this beauty and what I personally think of this beauty and share some pictures shot with this beauty.

Nikon says “Classic design meets modern engineering” when they introduce this camera on their website. I personally agree with this, it is the retro design that was the biggest factor for me to buy this camera. Having used old film cameras in the past I just fell in love with the design and all the controls on the top of the camera.

Important Specifications:

Lens mount: Nikon Z mount

Image sensor format: DX (Crop Sensor)

Image sensor type: CMOS

Total pixels: 21.51 million

Effective pixels: 20.9 million

My Take :

Some Images and what I did to shoot these images; Please note I use different kind of lenses and usually prefer lenses with no electronics and completely manual, so this is not a exhaustive review, however i will try to share my experiences with this beautiful camera and lenses I used.

Usage with Kit Lens (with Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR):

The first thing I wanted to do was check the kit lens and this is what I shot with it.

Exposure : 1/15 sec at F3.5 ISO 200 Shot at 16mm

First thing i did was check the Kit lens and how it performs at fully open aperture and I was pleased to get a decent shot with good color tones and decent sharpness.

The NIKKOR Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR is the smallest and the lightest lens available for the Nikon Z mount.Sporting an all-plastic construction and plastic mounts, these lenses are specifically designed to be as small and as lightweight as possible, while taking advantage of the short flange distance of the Z mount. At a mere 135 grams, it is impressively light ; in fact, it is the lightest DX / APS-C lens Nikon has produced to date! Optically, the lens is comprised of 9 elements in 7 groups, four of which are aspherical elements, and one of which is an extra-low dispersion element. Similar to other Nikon Z lenses, the 16-50mm VR comes with a stepping motor, which delivers quiet and fast autofocus performance. Nikon incorporated optical image stabilization into the lens, and it is supposed to compensate camera shake by up to 4.5 stops ( Yes 4.5 Stops ) .

Considering all this it produces decent results and a great lens to have with Nikon Zfc especially while shooting architecture and street.

Usage with 7Artizans 7.5mm Fisheye Manual Lens:

I love perspectives from fisheye and sometimes even distortions , it is not everybody’s cup of tea and some hate it. But personally for me it gives some perspectives which i like a lot and deviates from mundane.

Exposure : 1/250 sec at F8 ISO 100

Exposure : 1/125 sec at F5.6 ISO 100

Exposure : 1/5 sec at F2.8 ISO 100

7.5mm f/2.8 from 7Artisans produces rectangular images that cover the entire APS-C format, unlike Circular Fisheye lenses which produce round images within the rectangular field. . This Lens has a solid, high-quality feel in the hand and the focus ring completes its arc in about 1/5 of a turn and the aperture ring is click-free. Exposure is not automatic. Set the camera on Aperture Priority and select a suitable f/stop or go Manual and trust the meter. This lens is manual focus; in fact, it’s manual in everything..

The DOF so extreme that precise focusing isn’t necessary at apertures smaller than f/5.6. Minimum focus is 5.9 inches.

Using this lens on Nikon Zfc was fun and they work very well and if you swear by manual exposure and focus like me you will enjoy this; For people who shoot auto and rely on auto focus this lens is not for you.

Usage with 100mm Laowa Macro + FTZ adapter:

This was the combination that I was always interested in , because I do lot of macro and would love to shoot with Bokeh. You can see my Laowa lens review here.

All these images are shot at 2.8 to get a round bokeh.

Using Nikon Zfc with Laowa 100mm and FTZ adapter was fun , but also slightly difficult because of lack of hand grip on the camera ( A simple monopod or a small rig grip will solve this problem) .

I love round bokeh and inorder to get that I need to open the aperture , which gives me a very shallow DOF. Now order to make the picture look good with this setting my focus have to be perfect and also I need to be parallel to the subject, with laowa lens which is manual this is a herculean task , this is where focus peaking on Nikon Zfc helped! What an amazing setting this is.

Focus peaking is a focusing aid in live preview or electronic viewfinders on Nikon Zfc that places a white or coloured highlight on in-focus edges within an image using an edge detect filter.

Now, one may ask why a tool such as this is necessary, with the high-resolution LCDs and EVFs being released today. This is because as great as those screens are and as perfect as your eyesight may be, being able to see what is in focus quickly and clearly can dramatically speed up your work. Also, it is always nice to get another, perhaps more precise, opinion on the technical aspects before you get home and find out that you barely missed the shot you needed.

Peaking also shows up in real time, giving you near-instantaneous feedback as you rack focus through a scene. Importantly it helps you see what all area is in focus!

How to set focus peaking and use , see the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auBqCn9RdLo.

Thats it friends , I just wanted to share my experience and my take for detailed review there are many sources on the net.

I bought this camera from https://www.videolinks.com/ , Great service from Anish George and his team, They really went out of their way to get me this camera, especially during these days when most of the equipments are out of stock.

Thanks if you like the blog, you can leave a comment at Home Page

Cheers

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is TransparentImage-4.png — Goutham Ramesh

06/10/202107/10/2021

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO -My Take

Background :

Recently I bought Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Ultra Macro for Nikon Mount to compliment my aging Sigma 180mm F3.5 which is a brilliant lens by itself but its has started giving me problems with auto focus and since it is a discontinued lens I was forced to look at other alternatives.

This blog is all about my first take on the lens and not really a technical review ; For technical review pls visit

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/laowa-100mm-f28-2x-ultra-macro-apo-review

or look at many youtube videos like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkNOmMxOwIY

Please Note

I have not really tested this lens at 2X yet and may not really use it at 2x as I like lot of space in my images.

I have tested it on only Nikon Mount Nikon D750 Fx full frame body ; Only Canon EF version is equipped with a CPU chip and motor for aperture control via the camera. All other mounts are manual and aperture is controlled by the aperture ring on the lens.
The aperture gets deployed when shutter clicks, so while focussing you will have full brightness across F stops ( This is an issue only when an adapter is used )

Also I’m a hobby photographer and really do not have any association with Laowa ( would love to have one if I get to test their latest lenses  ) or any manufacturer and this is a not a paid review.

Specification

H/AI-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22
Two Low Dispersion Elements
Maximum Magnification: 2:1
Minimum Focusing Distance: 9.7″
Manual Focus Design
Aperture Blades 9 (Canon); 7 (Nikon); 13 (Sony)
APS Equivalent 1.5x: 150mm; 1.6x: 160mm
No Front element rotation
Filter Size 67mm
Available Mounts: Canon EF, Canon RF, Nikon F, Nikon Z, Sony FE

Note : The lens comes with a UV filter and keep this on , removing this will expose the moving parts of the lens to weather.

Test Images and my take:

First thing I do for with any lens is test Bokeh. The above shot was shot at 2.8 with a square LED at the back , as you can see the bokeh is smooth and round.

As you can see in the in above images the bokeh is perfectly round at 2.8 ! At F8 it is septagonal ( 7 blades ) , which is good with more blades it would have been more round , canon and sony mounts might give you near round bokeh.

Color contrast is one thing I always suspected in this lens because my sigma gives an excellent color contrast and this lens did surprise me with color contrast and the contrast is very good.

The above image was for testing sharpness , here also the lens performed exceptionally well as you can see in the result.

Some More sample shots ( Let the images speak for themselves )

Neriidae this was on paddy grass
Exposure:
F2.8 , 1/600 , ISO 100, Natural light

Lynx spider with eastern honey bee kill.
Exposure:
F8 , 1/128 , ISO 100, Natural light

Long-jawed orb weavers
Exposure:
F8, 1/100 , ISO 400, Natural light

Exposure:
F5.6, 1/160 , ISO 400, Natural light

Some Points:

Focus : It is a Manual focus lens; Since manual focus lens are by design “not designed” for faster focus the focus rotation is smooth and gives you longer rotation but not much as I would have liked ( throw is about 60 degrees )! However focussing is smooth and pictures are super sharp. If you are a photographer who uses manual focus like me, you will love this and for photographers who swear by AF and vibration reduction/image stabilization .. my advice is stay away from this lens and this is not for you guys

Build Quality: The lens has a solid, metal body with engraved markings. It measures 2.8 x 4.9 inches (72 x 125 mm) and uses the common 67mm filters. At 1.4 pounds (650g), it is fairly heavy. The lens is officially “internal focusing”, but that’s not strictly true. The outer barrel doesn’t extend, but the whole lens assembly moves inside the barrel, just like it did on older lenses. However to prevent damage to the inner components of the lens, Laowa ships it with a UV filter which should remain permanently attached to the front.

Aperture control : The aperture ring is located close to the mount. On most versions, the aperture can only be controlled on the lens, with no communication with the camera, but Canon’s EF version comes with a chip for aperture control and Pentax’s version uses a mechanical coupling for aperture control (thanks to the K-mount’s backward compatibility) However for a guy like me who started with Nikon FE, Pentax K1000 and Kiev-19 this is nothing new and It’s not a great disadvantage.

Sharpness and resolution: Macro lenses come with high expectations regarding sharpness. In this regard, the lens does not disappoint and the lens is sharp from f2.8 onwards till f22; However it performs best between f8 and f16 after which diffractions can be seen.

Thats it friends , I just wanted to share my experience and my take for detailed review there are many sources on the net.

Thanks if you like the blog, you can leave a comment at Home Page

Cheers

15/08/202115/08/2021

Natural Light Macro with my 180mm.

I usually do not give too much importance to the equipment, however if there is one lens that’s been close to my heart it’s been my beloved Sigma 180mm Macro EX HSM ; This lens has been with me for close to 2 decades and has given me great images. In this blog I will share some images shot with this lens in natural light.

Sigma 180mm Macro EX HSM 3.5, a brief overview:

The Sigma APO 180mm F3.5 EX DG lens was (yes, it is no longer manufactured) a telephoto/macro lens produced by Sigma Corporation.

Lens style: Telephoto , Macro
Focal length: 180 mm
Maximum aperture: f/3.5
Closest focusing distance : 0.46 m
Maximum magnification: 1:1
Minimum aperture: 32
Number of diaphragm blades :9
Auto focus type: AF HSM
Lens Construction: 13 elements / 10 groups
Filter diameter :72 mm

What I liked about this lens!

Shots taken with this lens were quite impressive.
The shallow DOF.
The working distance has always been excellent.
This lens performs extremely well even when the aperture is fully opened at 3.5.
Excellent build , even though the powder coating matte finish peels off.
Lovely Circular Bokeh at 3.5

Me , with my Sigma 180mm on field

Some techniques that I follow with this lens:

Always stay parallel to the subject , this allows me to get the subject of interest in the shallow DOF that this lens provides
Always use a tripod stand! This lens is heavy and is not for people who like to do handheld photography
Use a Macro rail
Use a right angle viewfinder , since most of the subjects are at ground level or very close to the ground, this helps a lot and saves my back as well.
Start shooting with a fully open aperture and keep closing the aperture till i get right DOF
Carry a white sheet of paper as a reflector to bounce natural light and use it to fill shadows.

Some Images:

Argiope in light drizzle. This was a challenging shot due to wind and I also wanted to show the raindrops ( Exposure : F14 , 1/125 second , ISO 400, Natural light )

Argiope after the drizzle . ( Exposure : F10 , 1/320 second , ISO 400, Natural light )

Owl Fly ( Exposure : F10 , 1/320 second , ISO 400, Natural light )

Owl Fly with Bokeh ( Exposure : F16 , 1/50 second , ISO 400, Natural light )

Plains Cupid , Here i have opened the aperture almost full to get a very shallow DOF and have gone almost parallel to the subject ( Exposure : F4 , 1/1250 second , ISO 800, Natural light )

Assassin Bug back lit with a paper reflector in the front ( Exposure : F8 , 1/125 second , ISO 400, Natural light )

Crab Spider back lit with a paper reflector in the front ( Exposure : F13 , 1/60 second , ISO 100, Natural light )

Red Veined darter back lit with a paper reflector in the front ( Exposure : F8 , 1/125 second , ISO 400, Natural light )

Assassin Bug back lit with a paper reflector in the front ( Exposure : F16 , 1/40 second , ISO 400, Natural light )

Back lit Tawny Coaster ( Exposure : F6.3, 1/1000 second , ISO 400, Natural light )

Rant!

These days , Macro photography has changed! ; The way we shoot pictures have also changed with good close up lenses , attachments , great diffusers and lighting support and there is a decline in people using natural light ( Even I don’t use this lens and natural light quite often these days ) . Today we can get much more greater details in the images which is amazing. However personally for me charm of natural light macro is still very close to my heart even though I do shoot a lot of my recent macro’s with close up attachments and diffusers and I do love my Raynox and Radiant diffuser.

Having said that these days manufacturers have stopped making lenses like 180mm due to lack of demand and it’s very sad, one day I hope the demand for macro lenses and this focal length is back on track and we get to see some great macro images in natural light .

Thanks if you like the blog, you can leave a comment at Home Page

Cheers