Lens Test - Nikon 28-105mm 3.5-4.5D

 This is a bargain of a lens I purchased from KEH. 

The range this lens provided was fairly nice.  It is much lighter than the 35-70mm, plus it has a nice 1/2 Macro feature. 

I tested this out with my new Nikon to Sony E mount adapter, no electronics, so all manual focus. 

Camera - Sony A7Sii.  

Nikon 35mm f1.8 DX. ISO200, 1/13sec. Shot handheld.

This lens' focusing motor stopped working.  Kind of pissed.  Apparently a common issue. 

Back from a pause/gap...

Hmm, it's been over 9 years since my last post here. 

Don't know why, just have lost the interest in using a camera past few years.

I still take some pictures with my cameras, but I got to the point where I don't even upload them to the computer.  Most of the time, I just use my cell phone.  

In Summer of 2023, we took a trip to Taiwan, I didn't even bother bringing my camera on the trip, I documented the whole trip with my cell phone..

In late 2023, some random video on YouTube popped up with some adapted vintage lenses.  Knowing I had a collection of older Pentax M42 and Canon FD lenses, and Micro 4/3 adapters, I thought I would give them a shot again. 

This collection of test shots are made from Pansonic DMC-G3 and Canon FD 50mm.  Camera set to aperture priority. 

Fresh Thai Basil in Winter (yeah, I am still living in Florida).

ISO 800, 1/500 sec 

 

Olympus m.Zuiko 45mm

Received my gray market Olympus 45mm lens from Japan.  The estimated shipping time is 3 weeks, I received it within 1 week.  Not bad, and can't beat the price.  But I guess it wouldn't receive the same warranty treatment, if it develops any issues.

Fern

Nikon 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 D

Well, here it is, the lens I used to my recent macro adventures. Like I said in my previous post, this lens is rated at "bargain", hard to believe, because it is in very good shape to me.

Here is the macro/normal switch.  You can only switch to macro mode when it is >50mm.  The front part of the lens (narrower band) is for focusing, while the rear portion of the lens is for zooming.  The focus is very smooth, no problem for me.  Although my eyesight can use some help.  Larger viewfinder would help, :)   Check out Fred Miranda's site, under review, to see other people's opinion.  I have learned to read group opinion on this type of lens review, go with the consensus, rather than one person's opinion.  If you decide to get one, have fun!

Lens Test

Pentax screw mount 135mm, f3.5, all shots were set to f5.6. No filter.
Camera - Olympus E500.

Most of the shots were very flat, lacking contrast. But it was during mid day, a bit on the cloudy side. I had to adjust the contrast to bring out the pop.

Because of the "smaller" optical view finder, it is a little more difficult to shot with manual lens, say, compared with the Pentax DL.

With the current state of my eye sight, it's very difficult to play with manual focus lens, it doesn't help that the M42 adapter I have does not offer AF confirmation, which would help me out a great deal.

Two Shots

Get well flowers for my wife.


Picture 1 - shot at f5.6


Picture 2 - shot at f32.0

Been absent from posting, with more pressing issue to take care of at this time.

Extreme Close-up

I have read about using the reverse lens setup to get really nice macro captures. I finally broke down and bought a reverse ring from Ebay. The way it works is to attach a lens to your camera body, then attach this reverse ring to the lens, just like a filter, then attach the secondary lens to the ring, reversed, as it is front-element to front-element configuration. Of course, your lens thread must match, I am using 49mm to 49mm reverse ring. The second trick is that the outer lens must be wider than the lens mounted on the body, otherwise, you picture will end up with a tunnel effect. I am using two 50mm lenses.

Sample 1, uncropped. This little grasshopper is less than a centimeter long, so I am getting pretty good close-up on this thing.

Cropped - but from another image I took. Very shallow depth-of-field.

Here's what the setup looks like. I am still playing with this setup, so lots to learn.

DA 40mm pancake

Cool, it's here! My pancake lens. Well, it is a small lens. I am comparing it with the Canon G2. The G2 is not really a pocket digicam, but pretty nice to carry around. The DL with the 40mm is little bulkier than the G2. The prism/flash and the hand grip makes it much thicker.

Top view. Nope, it will have a hard time fitting in your pocket.

Here you can see the size. One thing I am going to be more cautious is the lens cap/hood. It is a screw on type, so if you are in a hurry, it can be frustrating to unscrew the cap - it is slow. I am using an after market lens cap. The lens will take 49mm filter and cap. I'll keep th original cap in a lens pouch, I feel I can easily lose the cap/hood. Heading out to Vegas this weekend, it will be a perfect walk around setup. Can't wait!

Small technical issue

Yellowing issue with the SMC 50mm, pictures come out, well, yellowish. See above.
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shot with 50mm - Pentax DL

Same location, shot with Canon G2.

Big difference with the output. I set both cameras to Auto white balance, program mode. Found some instruction on how to address this issue, http://pentax-manuals.com/repairs/yellow.htm, will give it a shot.

Here's a shot of the lens with against the white background. You can see the yellowing. I will put the prime only experiment on-hold for now, until I get my pancake lens in.

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