Camera Shootout

Cameras, tripods, techniques, etc.
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Re: Camera Shootout

Postby the_camera_poser » Sat 15 Nov, 2008 10:25 pm

I'm actually going to get out the old FD gear and have a play soon- I've been wanting a tilt-shift lens, and there's no way I can afford a TSE 24/f3.5L, so I'm thinking of picking up an old 35mm f/2.8 SSC TS lens for the AI and having a go with it. Could be a pretty expensive introduction to TS lenses though- film development being what it is nowadays.
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Re: Camera Shootout

Postby lexharris » Sun 16 Nov, 2008 12:37 am

the_camera_poser wrote:I'm actually going to get out the old FD gear and have a play soon- I've been wanting a tilt-shift lens, and there's no way I can afford a TSE 24/f3.5L, so I'm thinking of picking up an old 35mm f/2.8 SSC TS lens for the AI and having a go with it. Could be a pretty expensive introduction to TS lenses though- film development being what it is nowadays.


I like the TS35. If you want to shoot Dombrovskis-style landscapes you'll need some way of tilting the focal plane. I also use it with a 2x-B converter which makes it a 70mm TS, and with a 15mm FD extender for close-up work (to almost 1x). With normal macro lenses depth of field is often a problem but the TS with 15mm extender lets you get in close plus lets you open up the DOF in a lot of cases. On its own (and with 2x-B) it has a very close minimum focus distance (about 0.3m) which is really useful too. It can give a little chromatic aberration towards the edges depending on what tilt-shift you're using but overall it's a very sharp lens.

I was really lucky to get a mint one on eBay a while ago, in original box with all the original bits still wrapped in their original plastic. It looked like it had never been used since new. There are two versions of the 35mm TS, both will work fine with an A-1. If you have a New F-1 with AE finder the tilt knob on the earlier one will foul the AE finder when you rotate the lens. The later version has a re-designed tilt knob which clears the AE finder. The versions are easy to spot - the early one had yellow numbers on the distance scale, the later one had green numbers.

I use mostly Provia 100F, its a superb film with very fine grain. I would rate it better than Kodachrome 64 and on par with Kodachrome 25. I buy my stock from Hong Kong at around USD 5-6 per roll. You'll pay around $22 a roll in Australia. Processing (cut and sleeve) adds around $10-11 per roll, and then you have to scan it. You can get your lab to scan it but low cost scanning won't bring out the best from the film. I do my own scanning - I decided to get a good scanner because I have a big film archive going back 30 years or more and I'd have to mortgage my house to pay for commercial scanning. So continuing to use film is no problem for me because I have the scanner anyway.
Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit. ~ Edward Abbey (1927-1989)
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Re: Camera Shootout

Postby nickthetasmaniac » Sun 10 May, 2009 4:22 pm

1) What Camera do you use?
Pentax K20D with a DA* 16-50/f2.8 and DA* 50-135/f2.8
Pentax Spotmatic SP with SMC Takumar 50/f1.4 (for B&W)

2) Why did you buy it?
After a heap of research it seemed like the best fit for my needs. Nikon D300 didn't fit very well ergonomically, Canon 40d/50d aren't weathersealed, and I felt that K20D image quality was better than the Canon's and Sony's A700. I was very tempted by the Olympus E-3, but in the end i just couldn't afford it... I managed to get the K20D & 16-50/f2.8 combo fo the same price as a D300 or E-3 body alone :) I was also impressed with Pentax's made-for-digital lenses.

3) What do you like about it?
The build quality and weathersealing are great, i've had it in some pretty nasty weather and it's never missed a beat. It has some really clever little details, like the 'hyper' mode and green button, that are incredibly useful in real life shooting conditions. Image quality is excellent, and 14.6mp lets you blow prints up a fair bit. High ISO performance is excellent for such a high-res sensor. Both the DA* lenses (particularly the 50-135) are great, especially considering their price compared to similar Canikon glass.

3.1) What DON'T you like about it?
Auto Focus struggles in low light and there isn't a focus assist lamp, ie. Nikon. Metering can be fooled in tricky conditions, and will pretty much always over-expose dark scenes. The low-res screen makes it difficult to check image sharpness.

4) (update) at TasAdam's request - what gear do you carry?
Usually only carry the K20D, 16-50 and 8gb card. I can get 6-700 shots out of one charge so i haven't had need for an extra battery yet. If i'm feeling creative i'll take the 50-135 and a Rocket Blower as well :)

Long-term, i'll wait till the new Pentax K-7 comes out and see if it's as impressive as some people have been saying. If not, i'll seriously consider changing to Olympus' E-system and their wnderful Zuiko Digital lenses :)
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Re: Camera Shootout

Postby north-north-west » Sat 16 May, 2009 7:25 pm

1) What Camera do you use?
Canon 30D

2) Why did you buy it?
Replacement for the 300D which I lost in a mugging up in Canberra (along with my poor beloved grotty grubby patched tattered and battered old bush hat. I missed the hat far more than the camera. Still miss it, in fact. I was planning on being cremated with it.) Went for the 30D because of the metal body - I'm too rough with my gear for plastic bodies to survive long. Nothing fancier because of budget restraints.
Why Canon? My first SLR (first camera, actually) was a Canon, purely by chance, and I learned to like the breed. It's much of a muchness with the major brands, but my old AE1 had some beautiful lenses. The f2 24mm is unbeatable for sharpness, and the f1.4 50mm very very close. Nikons aren't bad - I still have my old Nikonos 5 and the rest of the U/W gear - but their digitals lack one major feature: you can't turn off the review. Big waste of power.

3) What do you like about it?
Solid, hardworking, fast, easy to use, comfortable grip, good lenses.

3.1) What DON'T you like about it?
The weight - with three lenses, tripod (when I can be bothered), filters, spare batteries, cards, blah blah blah . . . (though it's an improvement on the set-up before I went digital, in which I carried two bodies, five lenses, tripod and one biiiiiiig flash)
The ease with which I lose lens caps. Up to #4 on the 10-22mm.

4) (update) at TasAdam's request - what gear do you carry?
Canon 30D
EF-S 10-22mm
EF-S 60mm Macro
EF 24-85
Lowepro Nova 2 AW - strap slung over head and shoulders so it's supported by the backpack harness and the camera bag sits in front at about waist level. (except in the really muddy bits when it goes in the pack inside a dry bag)
Manfrotto 190D with balljoint head.
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Re: Camera Shootout

Postby the_camera_poser » Sun 17 May, 2009 9:57 pm

It's a nice camera, the 30D, hey? I keep thinking of upgrading, but other than auto sensor cleaning, I'm not sure anything on offer within a reasonable price range is worth it.
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