The Official Head-Case Photography Thread.

[Iron_Dreamer]

Just take some shots at or near infinity focus, at both ends of the lens, wide open, and compare the left and right edges. If there is a major difference in sharpness, you've got a decentered element. Other than that, just check for AF accuracy, close and far, wide open, preferably with the camera in a static position to take movement out of the equation. If no issues in either regard, I'd say you're good to go. I've only ever had one lens with a decentered element (a Tamron), and one with AF that was quite inaccurate (a Sigma), so they're fairly unlikely issues.

[padam]

 

MF is challenging but worth the effort (still need the EVF though, LCD composing sucks)

[greyexpectations]

Just getting a groove on.

 

[Jon L]

Did something change on Head-Case?  I can no longer post photos from Flickr using BB code? I get the message: You are not allowed to use that image extension on this community.

*Edit*

Hmm, now we have to push the top left button for "BB code mode" before pasting BB codes, I guess. FYI.

Edited December 17, 2012 by Jon L

[Jon L]

Lost In Translation

EOSD1285 by drjlo1, on Flickr

Edited December 17, 2012 by Jon L

[Torpedo]

What does she know we don't?

[Knuckledragger]

 

There's a fair amount of useful info in the voiceover bits, and Kai being his usual self the rest of the time.

[The Expanding Man]

I just ran my first roll of film through a $20 ebay Holga:

 

 

 

It's quite a fun experience.

 

Holga: makes the suburbs look interesting.

[Jon L]

Storm Colors

EOSD1418 by drjlo1, on Flickr

Edited December 19, 2012 by Jon L

[nikongod]

Christmas In Rockefeller Center by Lord Nikon 12, on Flickr

[crappyjones123]

you guys know of any m mount film bodies that aren't expensive and don't use those obsolete mercury batteries? 

 

i am thinking of taking a photography course in my downtime next semester and already have a nice m mount lens. the class requires use of a film body exclusively with a 50mm lens (which i have) with BW film probably because of its ease of development. 

 

suggestions?

[bhjazz]

I just ran my first roll of film through a $20 ebay Holga:

 

 

 

 

It's quite a fun experience.

 

Holga: makes the suburbs look interesting.

GO HOLGA!!!

I love my Holga.  I don't post much from it.  Getting the film processed and scanned can be a pain sometimes, but I recently found a new processing place that can do both (pretty rare any more) so hopefully I can get some posted here some day.  The beauty of using a Holga is it's simplicity: no metering, no digital help, no nothing.  Just pure composition.  Love it.  Enjoy!

[agile_one]

you guys know of any m mount film bodies that aren't expensive and don't use those obsolete mercury batteries? 

 

i am thinking of taking a photography course in my downtime next semester and already have a nice m mount lens. the class requires use of a film body exclusively with a 50mm lens (which i have) with BW film probably because of its ease of development. 

 

suggestions?

cj ... there is precious little that won't set you back at least $400-500, if not 2-3x that..  Minolta CLE, Konica Hexar, and the Voigtlander/Cosina Bessa series come to mind, but all are spendy because they can use the M lenses.  Of course, you could bite the bullet, pick one up (or even a Leics M3), then sell for what you paid after the class.  Alternatively, you could check fleabay for a M to Nikon F adapter, then pickup a Nikon slr body (FM, FE, FG) for cheap.

[nikongod]

M-lens on a Nikon will not focus to infinity.

Voigtlander makes a few M-mount cameras that wont set you back more than a few hundred dollars - the Bessa R2 is cheap as dirt if you can find one. B&H has a used R2a (with aperture priority) for $400. If your comfy with full manual I'd wait for an older and cheaper R2 to come around. Voigtlander has a SERIOUS advantage over Leica in that the flash sink is 1/125 or better. Leica seriously sucks with 1/50sec. That extra stop can be nice if you want to play with fill flash in daylight.

On that note The bessa does not feel like a Leica in the hand so just get an M6, keep it pristine (or buy a beater and just deal with it) and flip it at the end of the class.

An M2 or M4 would also be on the list, with a handheld light meter. The shoe-mount-meters (voigtlander, Sekonic, Gossen) are quite easy to use once you get the hang of it. I like that you can meter with the handheld with your camera in the bag (or dangling around your neck which is almost equally stealth), set the camera without lifting it to your eye which is very stealth, pull it out and snap in about 3 seconds.

If you are comfy with an external meter (will your class require to do this anyways? I find using the external meter forces me to pay more attention to the light, which is always good too - just a weird psychological thing I guess) you could also go REALLY old school with one of the 1960-70's era Japanese fixed lens rangefinders. These cameras have really nice lenses ignoring the $10-50 they usually cost. Considering the $10-50 they cost this is an extremely solid option. As an added bonus a lot of these cameras use leaf-shutters which sink at any shutter speed (even 1/500 sec!) so they open LOTS of options for flash in daylight.

My facebook album "Wandering NYC 4/14-4/15" was shot entirely with a Minolta Himatic 7 that I bought for $15.

I LaLaLove my M3, but the 50mm frames can be kind of hard to see with my glasses on. The lack of reasonable 35mm options is kind of a killer for me because 35mm is my normal.

Edited December 21, 2012 by nikongod

[Salt Peanuts]

...you could also go REALLY old school with one of the 1960-70's era Japanese fixed lens rangefinders. These cameras have really nice lenses ignoring the $10-50 they usually cost. Considering the $10-50 they cost this is an extremely solid option. As an added bonus a lot of these cameras use leaf-shutters which sink at any shutter speed (even 1/500 sec!) so they open LOTS of options for flash in daylight.My facebook album "Wandering NYC 4/14-4/15" was shot entirely with a Minolta Himatic 7 that I bought for $15.

Ari, any models in particular you recommend? Closer to 35mm, the better, and cheaper, as usual, the better.

[nikongod]

Ari, any models in particular you recommend? Closer to 35mm, the better, and cheaper, as usual, the better.

My searches all turn up stuff in the 40-50mm range. I "picked" my camera by seeing it on CL and saying "ooh, $15 and will work without the un-obtainable mercury battery."

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Camerapedia

Is awesome for specs and stuff.

If you want to borrow mine let me know.

[Salt Peanuts]

^ Thanks for the link, I'll be checking out the site and will be on lookout on CL here.

On an unrelated note, I recently bought a lens off eBay and it doesn't work. No idea what's wrong with it, but its not being recognized by my camera body. I've requested for a full refund but the damn seller is "away" until 1/2/13, according to eBay. Anyone know how long I have to file with eBay/Paypal for a problem transaction?

[Jon L]

With the tiny Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM lens.

EOSD1451 by drjlo1, on Flickr

[The Expanding Man]

I'm in the market for a wide angle lens for my D7000.

 

My research is pointing me to the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8.  I can get the first model for a pretty good price. The newer model comes with internal auto-focus motors (which I don't need) and a new type of coating (which sounds interesting but probably not worth the extra $150).

 

Anybody own one of these lenses and have any experiences to share?

 

Anybody found a better option?

[Iron_Dreamer]

If you need aperture speed, the Tokina is king of the hill for DX.  If you don't, the Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6 is a great bang for the buck lens, and the one that I used for a few years whilst a DX owner.  Also the Sigma 8-16 f/4.5-5.6 is probably the sharpest DX UWA lens, but no filters.  Those are the ones I'd consider

[oogabooga]

I had the Tokina 12/24 f4 for a couple of years with my D300.  The lens I had was the 'motor drive' version (does the D7000 have a motor or is it only SWM?).  It was a great lens, built like a friggin tank, and the colour, focus, etc., were all up to muster.  The only reason I sold it was because I didn't know (and still don't know) how to properly shoot wide angle...

[crappyjones123]

My copy of the tokina 11-16 was utter rubbish. Might have been a bad copy. It also had a fidgety way of switching to manual focus which I didn't like.

Edited December 30, 2012 by crappyjones123

[Cankin]

When I had my D7000, I used Tokina 12-24 f/4 (first rev with no motor). It is an amazing lens, very sharp, built quality is miles above most Nikon DX lenses but it has a bit more CA than I like. I shoot RAW only so it is easy to correct in post processing.

[nikongod]

Although he needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, have you read the Ken Rockwell "how to use ultra-wide lenses" guide? I found it quite helpful considering how little information I could find on these lenses elsewhere.

Ooh, KR's article showcases a perfect example of something that looks better with a normal 37mm lens than with 14mm in the truck 2/3 of the way through - there is that pinch of salt.... Sometimes wider is just not the answer.

[nikongod]

This car is usually parked in the same spot when I take my same walk through NYC. So I usually take the same photo of it. This time it came out a bit better than the others.

Ferrari by Lord Nikon 12, on Flickr