Strobism

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been following strobist.blogspot.com and getting a feel for flash. I’m still working out my flash strategy, and it will likely be based on the Strobist concept. So far, I’m fully in sync with David Hobby’s preachings. Travel light, and work with what you’ve got. So I’m approaching flash cautiously, since again I need to purchase all new equipment. Well, almost

Eventually I’ll be needing two or three light stands, and I’m happy to find that in my original stash I have a nine-foot Smith-Victor stand, and two Manfrotto umbrella adapters with hot-shoe adapters. So, I’ve got a little bit of a head start.

With ten sheets of black coraplast in hand, I’ll be building a few grids, snoots and flags.

Then there’s the flash purchases themselves. I’m pretty much set on the Nikon SB900, since it will work not only as an excellent iTTL flash, but also as an off-camera flash. The very affordable SB600 would be my second flash, due to its compatibility with a wide range of Nikon cameras, including the N80. It has both i-TTL and D-TTL, plus TTL Auto and manual.) For a second backup/third flash I’m considering the Vivitar 285HV, and for Macro work the Sigma-EM 140 DG Macro Ring Flash.

For times when I absolutely, positively have to use flash on-camera, the Custom Brackets CB Junior rotating bracket wins hands down.

First Impressions: Samyang 500mm f/8 Mirror Lens

Samyang/Phoenix 500mm f/8 Reflex (Catadioptric “Mirror”) Telephoto Lens

Those who may think this is a poor quality product are sadly mistaken. The truth is, this lens is manufactured to high-quality standards with a fit and finish comparable to any high quality lens.

There are many misconceptions about mirror lenses that prevent people from buying them. If you understand what their purpose is, and how to get the most out of them, they can achieve things that no other lens can, at a ridiculously low cost.

Ignorance is Bliss

In 1976, when I purchased my first SLR, the Canon AE-1, I pined after the Canon Reflex 500mm f/8. I was intrigued by the donut-shaped bokeh that it produced, seeing it as a unique advantage that no other telephoto lens had. Since then, I’ve always had an affinity for the aesthetic of reflex lenses.

Ironically, while some complain about the quality of the reflex len’s bokeh, others seek to produce creatively shaped bokeh using custom aperture disks. Lensbaby even offers a creative aperture kit for their Optic Swap series of lenses.

I passed up several opportunities to purchase the reflex lens for my Canon AE-1, which of course would have been unusable with my present Nikon Bodies.

Newer, Cheaper, Better

Fast-forward to 2010. By comparison to the reflex lenses of old, the Samyang/Phoenix version is smaller, lighter, has a shorter minimum focus distance, and is quite inexpensive. Here are some specs for comparison:

Canon Reflex 500mm f/8

Lens construction: 3 groups, 6 elements (including mirrors)

Coating: Multicoated-S.S.C (super spectra coating)

Minimum Aperture: f/8

Angle of View: 5°

Minimum Focus Distance: 13.12 ft. (4M)

Filter Type: Rear section filter holder, drop-in type (with 34mm exclusive filter. Regular 1X)


Length: 5.84 in. (146mm)

Diameter: 3.54 in. (90mm)

Weight: 25.04 oz. (710g)

Reflex-NIKKOR C 500mm f/8

Lens construction: 6 groups, 6 elements (including mirrors)

Coating: Multicoated-Nikon Integrated Coating (NIC)

Minimum Aperture: f/8

Angle of View: 5°

Minimum Focus Distance: 5 ft. (1.5M)

Filter Type: Threaded, 39mm (rear), 82mm (front)

Length: 4.57 in. (116mm)

Diameter: 3.5 in. (89mm)

Weight: 29.6 oz. (840g)

Samyang/Phoenix 500mm f/8 MC Mirror

Lens construction: 6 groups, 7 elements (including mirrors)

Minimum Aperture: f/8

Angle of View: 5°

Minimum Focus Distance: 5.6 ft. (1.7M)

Filter Type: Threaded, 31.5mm (rear), 72mm (front)

Length: 3.4 in. (86.5mm)

Diameter: 3.0 in. (76mm)

Weight: 12.7 oz. (360g)

Samyang’s series of mirror lenses are inexpensive by design, not by manufacture. By folding the optical path three times, less material and less glass are employed, and the simplification produces far less chromatic aberration.

These lenses takes on a whole new life with digital photography. Their subdued contrast and saturation can easily be enhanced in post-processing, and if captured in Camera Raw, images that are underexposed to reduce motion blur can be opened up. On higher end cameras with higher ISO capability, they become even more usable. And, they’re so compact and light, you can walk around with them all day to explore far out-of-reach subjects.

Read the review »

New Arrivals: Holga .5x Wide Angle Adapter

Wow, a two-element plastic wide angle lens for my Holga 120FN. Now I can comfortably shoot 35mm film with the 35mm film adapter (mask and back), or as panoramic sprocket-hole with the modified 6x6cm mask.

It slides right over the existing lens covering the distance scale, which is OK, since it’s meant to focus at infinity anyway. It even comes with its own storage pouch, and front and rear caps.

New Arrivals: Samyang 8mm f/3.5 & 500mm f/8

I just unpacked my Samyang long and wide duo. The long is the Phoenix 500mm f/8 Catadioptric (“Mirror”) lens, and the wide is the ProOptic 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye lens. Both are manufactured in Korea by the Samyang company, and are marketed under many other brand names as well.

When it comes to equipment I’m very picky about quality, and the build on these lenses is outstanding. Both are manual focus, unchipped lenses, so they won’t even allow me to use any of the auto exposure modes on my Nikon D90. But this is just fine for the type of work I’ll be using them for. Besides, what’s better than a digital camera with a color histogram?

Full Moon Tonight

Handheld shot of the moon, AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IF-ED.

Taken just moments ago. It seems to be a good test of any telephoto lens to attempt this. This was taken with the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED at 1/400s, f/8, ISO 200, handheld. At the long end, it’s 450mm on the D90. Thank goodness for VR, not that shooting at 1/400 sec. is that challenging. The moon is so bright that you can shoot this fast with a low ISO and relatively small aperture to capture all the detail.

Here’s a tight crop...

Full Moon taken with Nikon D90 with Nikon 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom
1/400s, f/8, ISO 200, 450mm

I didn’t think it fair to post this as the actual image. It’s been cropped, resampled to the original pixel dimensions, and sharpened. It doesn’t make a bad photo.

This is a true test of the sensor’s resolving capability. There would be more detail if this were captured on film, but the focal length would have been 300mm, instead of 450mm, so it might be a wash. If I captured this with an FX camera, say the D700, the reduced focal length might also have killed the sensor resolution, which is the same as the D90 in DX format.

Here’s a photo of an almost full moon taken back in December 2009 with My Nikon Coolpix P5100 and Opteka 3.3x teleconverter, and enlarged and sharpened by the same amount:

Almost Full Moon Taken with Nikon Coolpix P5100 with Opteka 3.3x Teleconverter
1/100s, f/5.3, ISO 64, 406mm

Obviously the D90 image is superior, but I’m pretty impressed by the P5100, especially considering its tiny sensor (by comparison to the D90) and reduced focal length.

Since both of these images were not taken under the same circumstances, if it’s clear tonight I think I’ll attempt to take another photo with the P5100 at ISO 200.

Macro on the Cheap, Part II

Reversing a wide-angle lens with a reverse mount adapter is a pretty neat and inexpensive way of creating a manual focus, manual exposure macro setup without buying more lenses. The flip side to that is creating an auto-focus, auto exposure macro setup which is more convenient, albeit at the expense of speed.

Typically this is done by reversing a 50mm lens and attaching it to an existing auto exposure and/or auto focus lens. As with mounting the lens directly to the camera body in reverse, the wider the angle, the greater the magnification. However, this technique is prone to vignetting which may increase as the angle gets wider.

What we need to do this is known as a reverse coupler, a simple device with two male filter threads which allows you to attach two lenses front to front. The reversed lens behaves just like a closeup lens that screws onto your filter threads. A multi-element, multi-coated, high-diopter, closeup lens.

It works like this; if you add a magnifying (convex) lens in front of your main lens, it shortens the minimum focusing distance so that in order to achieve focus, you need to move closer to the subject. When you do, the subject is magnified in the process. Since a normal lens gathers light from the scene and reduces it to fit onto the camera’s film frame (or sensor) flipping it around has the opposite effect…it becomes a magnifier!

To figure out the diopter value, divide 1000 by the lens’ focal length. So, a 50mm lens would have a diopter of 20. Compare that to a stack of three typical closeup lenses which would give you a total diopter of 8, and degrade image quality with significant chromatic and spherical aberration.

Since this technique often produces vignetting effects, you might want to test your intended “diopter” lens first by “freelensing”; hold the reversed lens up to your main lens with the aperture wide open to see if the image circle is reduced significantly. Setting the “diopter” lens to its shortest focus distance will enlarge the image circle, but reduce the working distance. Also, make sure all filters are removed from the facing filter threads to reduce the lens-to-lens distance as much as possible.

The Nikon BR-6 Auto Diaphragm Ring helps here as well. Even though you won’t be using the aperture of the “diopter” lens, you can use the BR-6 to set it to its widest position, and add a filter to protect the rear element.

Holga, The Lomography “System” Camera

Here’s my growing Holga outfit so far...

Clockwise from center: Holga 120FN, 6x4.5cm mask, 6x6cm mask, 35mm mask,
35mm back, filter adapter, cable release adapter, 46-52mm step-up ring

Being the camera geek that I am, I couldn’t resist putting together a system for the Holga, just as I did for the Nikon Coolpix P5100. With this setup, I can shoot two different formats of 120 film, and two different formats of 35mm film.

Not pictured here is the additional 6x6cm mask that I plan on modifying to create a 35mm panoramic sprocket hole adapter. I figure, if I’m going to load this thing with 35mm film, it should be to achieve a unique effect. Otherwise, I could just use my newly acquired Lavec LT-002.

The 46-52mm step-up ring is a handy way to add filters to the Holga. Although there are no filter threads per se on the Holga, the rim around the periphery of the lens is just the right size to allow a 46mm filter to be threaded on. You simply line up the filter as evenly as possible, apply a little pressure, and rotate about one-eighth of a turn. The filter will be firmly attached. Don’t try to thread it on all the way however, as this will likely break the rim off the lens. Over time, the rim will wear and you’ll be able to thread it on a little deeper, so the connection will just get better and better.

Taking this one step further, the 46-52mm step-up ring will allow me to use all my existing 52mm and 67mm filters, not to mention my Cokin filters.

One solid reason for the ability to use filters with the Holga is to employ neutral density filters. This way, you can load the camera with fast film for low-light situations, and use the neutral density filter to control exposure under brighter conditions.

The Holga filter adapter is a handy way to not only use the available Holga filters, but to make your own, which is one of the things that originally drew me to the Cokin filter system. Find some clear film from product packaging, trim it to a rectangle 1-15/16" x 2-1/4", and voilà! Instant filter base. Scratch it, sand it, mask out the center, color it with marker, anything you want.

I’m also considering the Holga .5x wide-angle converter lens. Although 60mm is nice and wide for 120 film, and should work well with the 35mm panoramic format, it’s a bit long for the straight 35mm adapter. I don’t know though; it’s going to set me back a whole $14.95.

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You can learn more about modifying your Holga at Holgamods.