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postatomic

(1,771 posts)
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 04:57 AM Nov 2013

I picked up an Experimental Lens Kit for my Oly ELP2

If tack sharp images with perfect exposures is your thing then you should definitely pass on this. If you like experimenting and creating images 'in camera' then this is a great little kit. For about $80 you get 3 lens, colored filters, and the lenses have some unique features that allow you to create interesting photos.

So for I've only played with the fish-eye lens. The main thing I tested was the 'zone focusing', which is sorta' kinda' just estimating the distance from your subject and the camera.

Now that I've gotten used to working the lenses I can take them all out for a day trip. Anxious to see what the light will show me.

















Thanks for looking.

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Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
1. Zone focusing was the poor man's autofocus back in the day
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 05:05 AM
Nov 2013

In fact it pre-dates autofocus. Cheap cameras had fixed focus lenses and even when autofocus first started to appear in 35mm it was cost prohibitive to most, so zone focusing was used by just about everyone. I still use the technique today as it has lots of applications.

alfredo

(60,065 posts)
2. I use hyperfocus when doing landscapes. I set my F8 when doing
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 11:29 AM
Nov 2013

Street photos. I only us zone when working with manual lenses.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
3. There are situations where zone focusing is actually far more effective than autofocus
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 11:48 AM
Nov 2013

For certain lenses I much prefer manual focus to autofocus lenses. The reason is because manual focus lenses are designed to focus manually (duh) which you might not think about, but you give up a few things on autofocus lenses when it comes to handling in manual focus operation. Autofocus lenses tend to have a short throw between the minimum focusing distance and infinity which makes precise manual focusing harder. They also don't have the same feel because you have the autofocus drive to contend with. You also usually don't get a DoF scale on the lens itself. With certain lenses I am almost never in autofocus mode, so to get a feature I never or rarely use, I've given up a lot in the handling department. Ultrawide and macro lenses are two examples I would never buy an autofocus lens for, unless other characteristics far outweigh what I'm losing.

alfredo

(60,065 posts)
7. I have AF with manual override. I'm manual with macro. I use the
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 01:56 PM
Nov 2013

focus rails for fine tuning focus. I use my Yashinon DX with a reverse ring and extension tubes.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
8. It does work
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 02:00 PM
Nov 2013

But if you compare a really good manual focus macro lens to an autofocus one, there is no comparison in the handling. The feel is completely different. There are a few autofocus lenses that have a decent manual focus feel to them. My Nikon 135/2 is one such exception, but for the most part it just isn't the same.

alfredo

(60,065 posts)
10. I love my little Industar 50-2 for Macro, but it's only really useful in good light.
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 02:07 PM
Nov 2013

From Google images:



Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
12. That's true for just about all macro
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 02:15 PM
Nov 2013

You are generally shooting stopped down to the maximum extent possible until you reach a point of diminishing returns with optical aberrations. As such it's hard to get enough light, particularly when the working distances are so short. That's why ring lights are popular on macro setups used for utilitarian purposes.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
15. Absolutely
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 08:18 PM
Nov 2013

Macro photography doesn't change any of the principles of lighting, however it does make things more challenging at least if you try to approach it as you might other types of photography.

For one thing, the working distances tend to get very close. So the camera equipment often gets in the way if your lights are mounted to the camera. Arms are quite useful so long as they can extend your speedlight out far enough so the lens doesn't interfere.

For stationary subjects one of the best ways to experiment with macro is to build a light tent or light box. It's quite easy and cheap to do. I took a cardboard box, cut big square holes in each side, and lined those holes with translucent material I picked up at the hobby store (make one side removable so you can use either hard or soft light). Then I lined the inside of the box with cut out pieces of white and black poster board. Assuming you can trigger a speedlight remotely using a sync cable or wireless, put it outside the box on the other side of the translucent material. Your subject goes inside the box. Start with a relatively small box, maybe 12" square and deep. The bigger the box, the more powerful your light has to be.

For moving subjects the challenges get a bit bigger. If you want to go there, I suggest you read the book, Closeups in Nature, which has a ton of great information. It predates digital and describes the use of manual flash operations (as opposed to TTL and thyristor) which actually works far better for this application.

alfredo

(60,065 posts)
16. I made a short center stack for my tripod so I can get
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 09:42 PM
Nov 2013

Closer to the ground. I thought about reflectors, but I'm resistance to carrying a lot of crap. A small LED flashlight has served me well in some situations.

I had a light box, but dismantled it.

Stevenmarc

(4,483 posts)
4. Ask Leica M users if zone focus
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 11:56 AM
Nov 2013

Is a poor mans autofocus, lol.

I suppose for a blip in the photographic timeline autofocus was an emerging technology that was applied to the top of the line SLR's but it quickly found its way through the whole spectrum of their lines.

People tend to forget when all lenses had that charming little feature of a distance guide on the barrel but as autofocus became popular that disappeared well except for Leica shooters, we tend to still use it.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
6. It didn't disappear from all Nikon lenses, just most of them
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 12:09 PM
Nov 2013

Which tends to piss me off because it would cost them virtually nothing to include it.

alfredo

(60,065 posts)
9. You can still find great manual focus lenses made for all mounts. I use M42 lenses
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 02:01 PM
Nov 2013

on my Olympus camera.

Stevenmarc

(4,483 posts)
11. I use a lot of old glass
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 02:12 PM
Nov 2013

And the new Sony a7/a7R is turning out to be a really viable option for the manual focus crowd, I'm going to play with one next week.

alfredo

(60,065 posts)
13. I see Blunty and DigitalRev have reviews.
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 03:18 PM
Nov 2013

The Sigma Merrill prices have dropped. If I get into landscape, the Merrills might be an option.

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