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| The Timeless Rolleiflex 3.5 M-X Synch TLR |
News, Muse and Reviews for Aspiring Lensmen.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Rolleiflex 3.5 M-X Synch Twin-Lens Reflex
Monday, August 26, 2013
Review: AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G
This FX-format lens is my go-to lens for portrait and macro work in the DX format. It combines ultra-fast speed with incredible sharpness in an autofocus lens that is manual-focus friendly.
First Impressions: AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G
I was surprised to learn that the AF-S 50mm f/1.4 is not that much larger that the AF-S DX 35mm. It is however heavier, weighing in at 9.8 oz., minus caps and hood. The 35mm is a mere 7.0 oz. by comparison. The large, recessed objective lens gives the AF-S 50mm a serious, intimidating appearance.
Review: AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 G
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| AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1. |
On a DX, or APS-C sensor camera, 35mm translates to 52.5mm in the full-frame world of 35mm. This lens combines that “normal” perspective with an f/1.8 maximum aperture to create a “normal” lens for DX cameras with the performance users have come to expect in a standard 50mm f/1.8 lens.
This is the “normal” lens of today; everything you need, and nothing you don’t. Tack sharp down to the next to lowest aperture, and more than a full stop faster than the typical compact digital camera. The aperture ring and focus scale have been omitted, and the cost savings put into the excellent optics and autofocus system. It’s not designed to be a wide angle lens as its focal length suggests, but rather a solution for those seeking the traditional, fixed-focal length standard lens in the DX format.
That said, unlike most DX lenses, when used on an FX or 35mm film camera the image circle almost covers the full frame. Wide open, it provides a Holga 135BC-like “black corner” effect, which can be quite effective. So although it will not substitute for the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G, its use on an FX/35mm body remains a distinct possibility.
On an APS-C body, it does indeed provide the angle of view comparable to that of a normal lens. However, it’s close focus distance extends its macro capability. It would not be my first choice for use with extension tubes though, due to a short working distance.
What’s missing from this lens is a focus scale. However, this saves cost making this the sharpest, fastest lens for its price in the Nikon lineup. Along with this omission are a depth of field scale and infrared index, all features we have come to appreciate in “Normal” lenses.
What’s included is the usual storage pouch, and a reversible bayonet-mount circular hood. The reversibility of these hoods works particularly well in prime lenses, as they often block the zoom ring. And with autofocus, access to the focus ring is less essential.
Aperture Ring None. Aperture is controlled through the command dial on the camera body.
Auto Focus Built-in Silent-Wave motor makes this lens compatible with professional, semi-professional and entry-level cameras. Average focus speed and very accurate.
Bokeh As this is technically a wide-angle lens, the bokeh suffers and ranges from fair to poor.
What’s included is the usual storage pouch, and a reversible bayonet-mount circular hood. The reversibility of these hoods works particularly well in prime lenses, as they often block the zoom ring. And with autofocus, access to the focus ring is less essential.
Auto Focus Built-in Silent-Wave motor makes this lens compatible with professional, semi-professional and entry-level cameras. Average focus speed and very accurate.
Bokeh As this is technically a wide-angle lens, the bokeh suffers and ranges from fair to poor.
Close Focus 12". Short working distance when used with close-up filters and extension tubes.
Color Rendition Typical of most NIKKOR AF-S lenses.
Compatibility Works with Nikon Digital SLRs and AF film SLRs such as the F6, F100, F5, N80 and N75. On the N90s, N70 and F4 you won’t have VR, Aperture Priority or Manual exposure modes.
Construction 8 elements in 6 groups, including hybrid aspherical element. Rear focusing. Polycarbonate outer and inner barrel, metal mount, rear gasket.
Country of Origin China.
Coverage DX (APS-C).
Diaphragm 7 curved blades. Stops down to f/22
Distortion Considerable, but corrected in-camera for JPEGS, and can be corrected easily during post-processing.
FX Performance When used on an FX camera, the image circle does not quite make it to the corners, resulting in severe vignetting. However, this can create a pleasing “Holga Dark Corner” effect at larger apertures and when cropped square. At larger apertures, the frame can be cropped smaller resulting in the equivalent of a 40mm lens.
Extension Tubes Because of its faster aperture, this lens works well with extension tubes in autofocus mode.
Falloff Negligible. On FX cameras, creates a pleasing, Holga-like “Dark Corner” effect.
Filter Thread Plastic, 52mm. Does not rotate with focus ring, so it works well with polarizers.
Ghosts and Flares Very well controlled, making a lens hood largely unnecessary, except for protection or “coolness factor”.
Included Standard center-pinch front lens cap, LF-1 rear cap, HB-46 reversible circular plastic lens hood, CL-0913 pouch.
Lateral Color Fringes None when used with cameras that correct for this. Visible on the D40.
Macro The minimum focus of 12" is better than average, but not as good as others. Works well with closeup lenses and extension tubes. May be reversed with the use of the Nikon BR-2A Reversing Ring and Nikon BR-6 Auto Diaphragm Ring used with a cable release for stepless aperture adjustment.
Manual Focus No focus scale or hard stop at infinity, making this lens a poor candidate for manual focus photography. Manual override at all times in AF mode. Focus ring is smooth, but has a mechanical feel and slight play making it a challenge to rock back and forth for precise focusing. It is not fluid like a dedicated manual focus lens.
Maximum Reproduction Ratio 1:6.1 (0.16x)
RoHS Compliance 10 years.
Sharpness The edge sharpness of this lens is greatest at f/2.8, with the center peaking at f/4, and nearly identical at f/5.6. At f/1.8, the border sharpness drops off to only “good/very good” levels. So, you really can’t go wrong from wide open to f/5.6, but for the sharpest images, work from f/2.8 to f/5.6.
Spherochromatism Slight at f/1.8, with green fringing in the background and magenta in the foreground.
Sunstars Soft, 14-pointed, becoming sharper with underexposure.
Teleconverters Because of its faster aperture, this lens works well with teleconverters in autofocus mode.
Versatility Great for portrait and close-up, handheld night photography and light macro work with closeup lenses, extension tubes or reversing rings. Not the best choice for infrared due to the lack of a focus scale, but will autofocus with variable results.
Vibration Reduction None. Due to its fast aperture, VR is largely unnecessary.
The Bottom Line
Shooting with the AF-S 35mm is an exercise in nostalgia. It takes me back to my SLR roots, yet brings them up-to-date. It exposes new photographers to tradition and best practices, making every camera a lightweight, low-light performer.
The surprise is how well it performs on full-frame body in FX mode. With minor cropping, it can produce images equivalent to a “very normal” 43mm lens, and with square cropping simulate a Holga image with its signature “dark corner” characteristic. I highly recommend this lens for any photographer using an APS-C or full-frame Nikon.
Originally published on 8/26/2013, this is an update to a previous review.
Color Rendition Typical of most NIKKOR AF-S lenses.
Compatibility Works with Nikon Digital SLRs and AF film SLRs such as the F6, F100, F5, N80 and N75. On the N90s, N70 and F4 you won’t have VR, Aperture Priority or Manual exposure modes.
Construction 8 elements in 6 groups, including hybrid aspherical element. Rear focusing. Polycarbonate outer and inner barrel, metal mount, rear gasket.
Country of Origin China.
Coverage DX (APS-C).
Diaphragm 7 curved blades. Stops down to f/22
Distortion Considerable, but corrected in-camera for JPEGS, and can be corrected easily during post-processing.
FX Performance When used on an FX camera, the image circle does not quite make it to the corners, resulting in severe vignetting. However, this can create a pleasing “Holga Dark Corner” effect at larger apertures and when cropped square. At larger apertures, the frame can be cropped smaller resulting in the equivalent of a 40mm lens.
Extension Tubes Because of its faster aperture, this lens works well with extension tubes in autofocus mode.
Falloff Negligible. On FX cameras, creates a pleasing, Holga-like “Dark Corner” effect.
Filter Thread Plastic, 52mm. Does not rotate with focus ring, so it works well with polarizers.
Ghosts and Flares Very well controlled, making a lens hood largely unnecessary, except for protection or “coolness factor”.
Included Standard center-pinch front lens cap, LF-1 rear cap, HB-46 reversible circular plastic lens hood, CL-0913 pouch.
Lateral Color Fringes None when used with cameras that correct for this. Visible on the D40.
Macro The minimum focus of 12" is better than average, but not as good as others. Works well with closeup lenses and extension tubes. May be reversed with the use of the Nikon BR-2A Reversing Ring and Nikon BR-6 Auto Diaphragm Ring used with a cable release for stepless aperture adjustment.
Manual Focus No focus scale or hard stop at infinity, making this lens a poor candidate for manual focus photography. Manual override at all times in AF mode. Focus ring is smooth, but has a mechanical feel and slight play making it a challenge to rock back and forth for precise focusing. It is not fluid like a dedicated manual focus lens.
Maximum Reproduction Ratio 1:6.1 (0.16x)
RoHS Compliance 10 years.
Sharpness The edge sharpness of this lens is greatest at f/2.8, with the center peaking at f/4, and nearly identical at f/5.6. At f/1.8, the border sharpness drops off to only “good/very good” levels. So, you really can’t go wrong from wide open to f/5.6, but for the sharpest images, work from f/2.8 to f/5.6.
Spherochromatism Slight at f/1.8, with green fringing in the background and magenta in the foreground.
Sunstars Soft, 14-pointed, becoming sharper with underexposure.
Teleconverters Because of its faster aperture, this lens works well with teleconverters in autofocus mode.
Versatility Great for portrait and close-up, handheld night photography and light macro work with closeup lenses, extension tubes or reversing rings. Not the best choice for infrared due to the lack of a focus scale, but will autofocus with variable results.
Vibration Reduction None. Due to its fast aperture, VR is largely unnecessary.
Vignetting No vignetting problems even with one or more thick filters. When used with a polarizer, use of the Hoya Screw-In Rubber Zoom Lens Hood does not cause vignetting.
Build Quality ★★★★
Optical Quality ★★★★★
Value ★★★★★The Bottom Line
Shooting with the AF-S 35mm is an exercise in nostalgia. It takes me back to my SLR roots, yet brings them up-to-date. It exposes new photographers to tradition and best practices, making every camera a lightweight, low-light performer.
The surprise is how well it performs on full-frame body in FX mode. With minor cropping, it can produce images equivalent to a “very normal” 43mm lens, and with square cropping simulate a Holga image with its signature “dark corner” characteristic. I highly recommend this lens for any photographer using an APS-C or full-frame Nikon.
Originally published on 8/26/2013, this is an update to a previous review.
Review: AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G
I poo-pooed this lens until my partner got hers, bundled with her new D3100. Since then I’ve been kicking myself for not buying my D-90 body with its kit lens.
It’s quirky, it’s chintzy it’s…really sharp. It’s fun to put a lens on your camera that performs well and is so compact and inexpensive. At 9.4 oz (266g) it’s about the same weight as my Nikkor 20mm f/2.8, yet zooms up to 82.5mm (equivalent) and has VR and a built-in motor. How’d they do that for under two bills?
Plastic mount, that’s how. The dreaded plastic mount. To be fair though, it’s a hard phenolic plastic that’s sure to wear well, especially if a little lubrication is applied from time to time. These plastics tend to be brittle though, so don’t bump the lens in sub-zero weather, and you should be fine.
I wouldn’t shoot a wedding with it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to put in in my camera bag for long trips. It’s a great backup lens you can feel good about having with you at all times.
It’s quirky, it’s chintzy it’s…really sharp. It’s fun to put a lens on your camera that performs well and is so compact and inexpensive. At 9.4 oz (266g) it’s about the same weight as my Nikkor 20mm f/2.8, yet zooms up to 82.5mm (equivalent) and has VR and a built-in motor. How’d they do that for under two bills?
Plastic mount, that’s how. The dreaded plastic mount. To be fair though, it’s a hard phenolic plastic that’s sure to wear well, especially if a little lubrication is applied from time to time. These plastics tend to be brittle though, so don’t bump the lens in sub-zero weather, and you should be fine.
I wouldn’t shoot a wedding with it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to put in in my camera bag for long trips. It’s a great backup lens you can feel good about having with you at all times.
Build Quality ★★★
With a plastic mount, there’s no question this is budget lens. But the fit and finish are on a par with Nikon’s pros-sumer line. Considering the price and performance, there are no complains here.
Focus ★★★
As AF-S NIKKORs go, this is the least manual focus-friendly lens. The plastic focus ring is attached to the rotating front barrel of the lens, requiring you to reach forward to focus. With only about an eighth of a turn lock-to-lock, fine adjustment is challenging. However, auto focus is silent, accurate, and a joy to use. The ability to focus closely at maximum zoom is a welcome surprise, giving this lens’ quasi-macro capability.
Optical Quality ★★★★★
Really quite impressive for its cost and feature set. Center resolution is excellent across the board, peaking at f/5.6, while edge resolution tapers off from very good to fair/good levels at f/3.5. Above 35mm, resolution drops somewhat, but center and edge are neck and neck from f/8 upwards. Shoot at f/5.6-11 and you’ll always be pleased with the results.
Value ★★★★★
Low price and high performance equate to an excellent value.
Versatility ★★★★★
A great walk-around lens if you don’t need low-light capability. Close (.9 ft.) focus capability across the zoom range make it very macro-friendly.
Diaphragm
7 curved blades.
Filters
Accepts 52mm filters with a plastic thread. The threads rotate with the front barrel during focusing, making working with a polarizer or Cokin filters more challenging.
Hood
Optional HB-45 Clip-on Hood available, but not included. The Hoya 52mm Screw-In Rubber Zoom Lens Hood also works well. Fully retracted this hood does not vignette at 18mm (28mm); at 24mm (36mm) the middle extension can be used, and from 35mm on (52.5mm) the hood can be used in its fully extended position.
Included Accessories
Standard front pinch cap and “budget” translucent rear cap.
Specifications
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Untermeyer Gardens, Yonkers
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| View from the south entrance. |
Review: Tiffen Low Light Polarizer (rotating)
It may seem overkill to write a review on a filter, but the bottom line is, there doesn’t seem to be much valuable information out there concerning these rather expensive accessories. So, today I am reviewing the Tiffen Low Light Polarizer.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Review: Kodak Ektar 100 Film
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| Kodak Professional Ektar 100 Film |
Friday, August 23, 2013
The Realities of Black and White Photography
Photography got its start in the Black and White domain, and it continues today as an important movement in the art. It is often highly regarded, commanding a greater deal of respect than color photography.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Review: Nikon F3
As I have chosen Nikon as my primary camera “platform”, it only makes sense to have some film bodies to use with my growing collection of F-Mount lenses. While my N80 is a great film body, it doesn’t meter with non-chipped, manual focus lenses. And shooting with it is more like shooting with a full-frame digital than with a traditional manual-focus film body. So when a pre-owned F3HP came my way, I welcomed the opportunity to add it to my trove of working collectibles.
Shooting with the F3 feels like shooting film. Its size, weight and form factor contribute greatly to this, but its high-eye point viewfinder with split-image/microprism focusing screen provides an experience unlike that of today’s digital autofocus bodies. While you can add aftermarket manual focusing screens to many current cameras, nothing does honor to manual focus like a classic manual-focus body.
The F3 puts you more in touch with your film roots. This is mostly due to how if feels in the hand, and the solidness of the controls. New to this generation of SLRs is the provision of an integral “grip” which greatly helps you to deal with the heft of the camera, but does not feel like the motor-drive like grips of the DSLRs.
Every camera has something it does particularly well, and in the case of the F3, it’s long exposure. The metering system has a wide range, and the electronic shutter a “T” mode in addition to the traditional “B” (Bulb) mode. This allows you to trip the shutter, and keep it open without consuming battery power, until the shutter speed dial is moved to a different position. Manually, the shutter speed can be set up to 8 seconds, but in Aperture Priority Auto, the F3 will calculate an exposure out to about 30 seconds, comparable with today’s DSLRs.
Overall Design
Except for the grip the F3 has a fairly classic SLR form factor, at least for Nikons, which are characteristically asymmetrical. The grip or “take-up” side of Nikons tends to be a little longer than the left side. This has trickled down to their DSLRs as well, and is now a characteristic shared by most digital cameras in general.
However, this is the first generation of Nikons to be designed by Giorgetto Guigaro, and so has a few new styling cues making a departure from some of those of the past.
The first of these is the classic red stripe, which survives today in the Cosina-built FM10. The stripe is part of the grip, which has become the norm in this new generation of cameras. It appears as a slight protrusion to the right side of the body, that helps to ease the pressure of one’s grip when supporting the substantial heft of the camera.
The next is the elimination of that classic lever on the front of the body to the right of the lens. Traditionally, this lever has been used for the self-timer, depth of field preview and/or mirror lockup (in the case of the original Canon F-1, all three!) But in an electronic-shutter camera such as the F3, it’s no longer necessary. In its place, closer to the lens, is a button/lever combo serving as the AE/Lock and mechanical shutter release backup. The latter is a significant feature, because in this new age of electronic shutters, reliability was questioned, so a mechanical backup was a necessary competitive feature. As it turned out, the efficiency and wide availability of batteries for the F3 assured its success. The self-timer switch has been moved to the top deck of the camera, concentric with the shutter speed dial, and the shutter release, rewind lever and power switch have been combined into a single assembly. The elegantly simple depth of preview/mirror lock up lever from the F2 is retained.
Otherwise, the F3 is very much a traditional manual-focus SLR, albeit a transitional one. The next, the F4, will be very different. A ground-breaking Auto-focus camera with a greatly different form factor that would become the paradigm of the modern DSLR.
Operation
The operation of the F3 is silky smooth, yet solid. It has a most gratifying shutter click and mirror slap, but the film advance really sets it apart. All those ball bearings make it hard to make out that there’s actually film in the camera. Setting the aperture with your left hand and the shutter speed with your right index finger is quite easy easy. Adjusting the exposure compensation a little tricky with the left hand only, but certainly easy enough with both. But what is very difficult is turning the camera on and off with the shutter-release concentric power switch. It’s extremely tight, and although fairly easy to turn off, very difficult to turn on. Fortunately, you can leave it on indefinitely, as power is not drawn until the shutter release is pressed halfway to activate the meter. This is my only real complaint about the camera. The self-timer switch is equally difficult, but used much less often and so less significant.
The F3 has an interesting little quirk. At first, it may seem to have an intermittent problem with metering. When you first load it with film, or just after the camera back has been opened, the -+ sign does not appear in the finder’s LCD in manual mode, and auto exposure doesn’t work in Aperture mode. Until you fire off three shots and move the film advance lever for the third time, metering does not become available. This is to prevent you from shooting on the leader and possibly encountering flares from light leaks. It’s one of the first signs of camera automation logic!
The viewfinder is amongst the best I’ve ever used. The ground-breaking use of an LCD for shutter speed and over/under exposure readout instead of LEDs extends battery life significantly (although I’ll take a good ol’ match-needle finder any day). In conjunction with the optical ADR (aperture direct readout, which consumes no power and adds no mechanics) it provides a full-information finder display.
My two chipped, manual focus Voigtländers work great with the F3. My two non-chipped Samyangs are also quite usable. The Samyang/ProOptic 8mm f/3.5 fisheye meters perfectly, although it’s designed for the APS-C format, and therefore its built-in, non-removeable shade crops the frame a little smaller. The Samyang/Phoenix 500mm f/8.0 also meters properly.
Necessories
Like many professional cameras with swappable finders, the F3 has no flash shoe. Instead, there’s a proprietary flash connector built into the rewind crank/iso/exposure compensation dial. This requires one of the following adapters:
AS-4 is the standard adapter that provides a non-TTL hot shoe. Any flash that can function in “Auto Aperture” mode can be used with this setup. The adapter must be removed to access the rewind crank.
AS-17 is a TTL adapter, which allows you to use the Through-the-Lens metering capability of the F3.
And if you have a dedicated F3 flash, the AS-6 is what you need to convert it for use with a standard hot shoe.
Off camera flash
Of course, it’s always possible to use non-TTL off-camera flash using a PC cord and a flash bracket. For TTL off-camera flash, you could use the AS-17 in conjunction with the SC-28 or SC-29 flash cord.
Eyepiece
My F3 came with a 0.5 diopter eyepiece, which I cannot use. If yours is missing, you can order The Nikon DK-17, which is a 22mm, rubber-covered ring with a multicoated neutral optic. You can then add the DK-19 eyecup to this if you need to. These parts are still current and available through B&H Photo/Video.
A Little History
At the time this camera was produced, the 1971 Canon F-1 was the current professional model; a manual, match-needle camera with an add-on finder (Servo EE Finder) which provided shutter-priority auto exposure. Two years prior to the F3, Canon introduced the A-1, a semi-professional model quite comparable to the F3, but without swappable finders and a fabric curtain shutter with a one-stop slower maximum speed. However, it was an industry first with all four shooting modes, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual. The year after the introduction of the F3, Canon introduced the New F1, an updated version of the 1971 version, still manual exposure, with an available AE Finder FN which would provide Aperture-Priority AE. It wouldn’t be until 1983 that Nikon would introduce a camera fully comparable to the 1978 Canon A-1, but which improves upon it with a much more user friendly interface compared to the confusing A-1.
There were six distinct variants of the F3; the original F3; the popular F3HP with its high-eyepoint viewfinder; The F3/T, a natural-finish titanium version of the F3HP; The F3H, a high-speed pellicle-mirror model capable of up to 13fp; The F3P, with additional weather sealing for press applications; and finally the F3AF, Nikon’s first autofocus SLR.
In 1991, the F3 was the basis of the world’s first 1.3MP digital SLR, produced by Kodak as the DCS 100.
Shooting with the F3 feels like shooting film. Its size, weight and form factor contribute greatly to this, but its high-eye point viewfinder with split-image/microprism focusing screen provides an experience unlike that of today’s digital autofocus bodies. While you can add aftermarket manual focusing screens to many current cameras, nothing does honor to manual focus like a classic manual-focus body.
The F3 puts you more in touch with your film roots. This is mostly due to how if feels in the hand, and the solidness of the controls. New to this generation of SLRs is the provision of an integral “grip” which greatly helps you to deal with the heft of the camera, but does not feel like the motor-drive like grips of the DSLRs.
Every camera has something it does particularly well, and in the case of the F3, it’s long exposure. The metering system has a wide range, and the electronic shutter a “T” mode in addition to the traditional “B” (Bulb) mode. This allows you to trip the shutter, and keep it open without consuming battery power, until the shutter speed dial is moved to a different position. Manually, the shutter speed can be set up to 8 seconds, but in Aperture Priority Auto, the F3 will calculate an exposure out to about 30 seconds, comparable with today’s DSLRs.
Overall Design
Except for the grip the F3 has a fairly classic SLR form factor, at least for Nikons, which are characteristically asymmetrical. The grip or “take-up” side of Nikons tends to be a little longer than the left side. This has trickled down to their DSLRs as well, and is now a characteristic shared by most digital cameras in general.
However, this is the first generation of Nikons to be designed by Giorgetto Guigaro, and so has a few new styling cues making a departure from some of those of the past.
The first of these is the classic red stripe, which survives today in the Cosina-built FM10. The stripe is part of the grip, which has become the norm in this new generation of cameras. It appears as a slight protrusion to the right side of the body, that helps to ease the pressure of one’s grip when supporting the substantial heft of the camera.
The next is the elimination of that classic lever on the front of the body to the right of the lens. Traditionally, this lever has been used for the self-timer, depth of field preview and/or mirror lockup (in the case of the original Canon F-1, all three!) But in an electronic-shutter camera such as the F3, it’s no longer necessary. In its place, closer to the lens, is a button/lever combo serving as the AE/Lock and mechanical shutter release backup. The latter is a significant feature, because in this new age of electronic shutters, reliability was questioned, so a mechanical backup was a necessary competitive feature. As it turned out, the efficiency and wide availability of batteries for the F3 assured its success. The self-timer switch has been moved to the top deck of the camera, concentric with the shutter speed dial, and the shutter release, rewind lever and power switch have been combined into a single assembly. The elegantly simple depth of preview/mirror lock up lever from the F2 is retained.
Otherwise, the F3 is very much a traditional manual-focus SLR, albeit a transitional one. The next, the F4, will be very different. A ground-breaking Auto-focus camera with a greatly different form factor that would become the paradigm of the modern DSLR.
Operation
The operation of the F3 is silky smooth, yet solid. It has a most gratifying shutter click and mirror slap, but the film advance really sets it apart. All those ball bearings make it hard to make out that there’s actually film in the camera. Setting the aperture with your left hand and the shutter speed with your right index finger is quite easy easy. Adjusting the exposure compensation a little tricky with the left hand only, but certainly easy enough with both. But what is very difficult is turning the camera on and off with the shutter-release concentric power switch. It’s extremely tight, and although fairly easy to turn off, very difficult to turn on. Fortunately, you can leave it on indefinitely, as power is not drawn until the shutter release is pressed halfway to activate the meter. This is my only real complaint about the camera. The self-timer switch is equally difficult, but used much less often and so less significant.
The F3 has an interesting little quirk. At first, it may seem to have an intermittent problem with metering. When you first load it with film, or just after the camera back has been opened, the -+ sign does not appear in the finder’s LCD in manual mode, and auto exposure doesn’t work in Aperture mode. Until you fire off three shots and move the film advance lever for the third time, metering does not become available. This is to prevent you from shooting on the leader and possibly encountering flares from light leaks. It’s one of the first signs of camera automation logic!
The viewfinder is amongst the best I’ve ever used. The ground-breaking use of an LCD for shutter speed and over/under exposure readout instead of LEDs extends battery life significantly (although I’ll take a good ol’ match-needle finder any day). In conjunction with the optical ADR (aperture direct readout, which consumes no power and adds no mechanics) it provides a full-information finder display.
My two chipped, manual focus Voigtländers work great with the F3. My two non-chipped Samyangs are also quite usable. The Samyang/ProOptic 8mm f/3.5 fisheye meters perfectly, although it’s designed for the APS-C format, and therefore its built-in, non-removeable shade crops the frame a little smaller. The Samyang/Phoenix 500mm f/8.0 also meters properly.
Necessories
Like many professional cameras with swappable finders, the F3 has no flash shoe. Instead, there’s a proprietary flash connector built into the rewind crank/iso/exposure compensation dial. This requires one of the following adapters:
AS-4 is the standard adapter that provides a non-TTL hot shoe. Any flash that can function in “Auto Aperture” mode can be used with this setup. The adapter must be removed to access the rewind crank.
AS-17 is a TTL adapter, which allows you to use the Through-the-Lens metering capability of the F3.
And if you have a dedicated F3 flash, the AS-6 is what you need to convert it for use with a standard hot shoe.
Off camera flash
Of course, it’s always possible to use non-TTL off-camera flash using a PC cord and a flash bracket. For TTL off-camera flash, you could use the AS-17 in conjunction with the SC-28 or SC-29 flash cord.
Eyepiece
My F3 came with a 0.5 diopter eyepiece, which I cannot use. If yours is missing, you can order The Nikon DK-17, which is a 22mm, rubber-covered ring with a multicoated neutral optic. You can then add the DK-19 eyecup to this if you need to. These parts are still current and available through B&H Photo/Video.
A Little History
At the time this camera was produced, the 1971 Canon F-1 was the current professional model; a manual, match-needle camera with an add-on finder (Servo EE Finder) which provided shutter-priority auto exposure. Two years prior to the F3, Canon introduced the A-1, a semi-professional model quite comparable to the F3, but without swappable finders and a fabric curtain shutter with a one-stop slower maximum speed. However, it was an industry first with all four shooting modes, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual. The year after the introduction of the F3, Canon introduced the New F1, an updated version of the 1971 version, still manual exposure, with an available AE Finder FN which would provide Aperture-Priority AE. It wouldn’t be until 1983 that Nikon would introduce a camera fully comparable to the 1978 Canon A-1, but which improves upon it with a much more user friendly interface compared to the confusing A-1.
There were six distinct variants of the F3; the original F3; the popular F3HP with its high-eyepoint viewfinder; The F3/T, a natural-finish titanium version of the F3HP; The F3H, a high-speed pellicle-mirror model capable of up to 13fp; The F3P, with additional weather sealing for press applications; and finally the F3AF, Nikon’s first autofocus SLR.
In 1991, the F3 was the basis of the world’s first 1.3MP digital SLR, produced by Kodak as the DCS 100.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Dodging and Burning
This is a traditional darkroom technique used to selectively lighten and darken areas of a photograph during the enlarging process. A mask in the shape of the area to be lightened is attached to a thin wire and held in position just above the photo paper in the enlarger, so that it shadow prevents exposure. Slight movement softens the edge and prevents the wire from adversely affecting the expsoure. This is known as “dodging”. Burning is the opposite effect, in which the area to be darkened is cut out of a larger paper mask to prevent exposure to other areas.
In digital retouching we use this effect on a daily basis to control local contrast so as to extend the apparent dynamic range of the photo. It’s a relatively simple process of selecting part of the image and applying an adjustment to alter its luminosity value. However for finer control, we can create adjustment layers that we can use to “brush in” the effect.
The many adjustment tools and blend modes in Photoshop can be used in many combinations to achieve advanced effects. For this tutorial however, we are going to concentrate on three techniques using The Overlay, Multiply and Screen modes.
Creating a Dodge & Burn Layer
For subtle adjustments, nondestructive dodging and burning can be performed in a single layer. For a more pronounced effect and to gain more control over color, we can use a separate layer each for dodging and burning as explained below.
1. From the menu bar, select Layer > New > Layer… or press Command + Shift + N.
2. In New Layer dialog, select Overlay from the mode menu and check the “Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray)” box. Rename this layer “Dodge & Burn” if desired. Click OK.
3. Press D to set the background colors to their default black and white.
4. Press B to switch to the Brush tool.
5. In the Brush Options bar, set the opacity and flow to a low value, such as 10%.
6. Select an appropriate brush size and hardness.
7. Begin brushing in the document window to darken areas which are too light using black. To lighten dark areas, press X to exchange foreground and background colors in order to use white.
How it works
When the Overlay mode is applied to a layer, values in that layer that are lighter than 50% gray lighten the pixels of the layers beneath, while values which are darker than 50% gray darken them. This is also true of the Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light and Hard Mix modes, which can also be used to achieve varying effects.
Creating a Burn Layer
When a stronger effect needs to be applied, and/or more control over color is desired, a separate burn layer can be created using the Multiply Mode.
1. From the menu bar, select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation…
2. In the New Layer dialog, select Multiply from the Mode menu; rename the layer “Burn” if desired.
3. With the layer still selected, fill the layer mask with black by selecting Edit > Fill… from the menu bar and select Black from the Use menu.
4. Press D to set the background colors to their default black and white.
5. Press B to switch to the Brush tool.
6. In the Brush Options bar, set the opacity and flow to a low value, such as 10%.
7. Select an appropriate brush size and hardness.
8. Begin brushing in the document window to darken areas which are too light using white. White is painted into the layer mask, revealing the effect of the Multiply blend mode.
9. To undo the effect, press X to switch to the background color (black) which then hides the effect of the Multiply mode.
10. To vary the overall intensity of the effect, adjust the layer’s Opacity slider
10. To vary the overall hue and saturation of the effect, adjust the respective sliders in the Hue/Saturation panel.
11. To darken the effect starting from the highlights, drag the Lightness slider to the left.
12. To lighten the effect starting from the shadows, drag the Lightness slider to the right.
How it Works
When the Multiply mode is applied to a layer, values in that layer darken those in the layers beneath, with the effect becoming progressively stronger as the tones become darker. This has the effect of darkening the image while adding contrast. Applying this mode to a non-modified adjustment layer is the same as duplicating the pixel layer itself, but takes up far less disk space. By using a Hue/Saturation layer, we have subtle control over the hue, saturation, shadows and highlights of the effect.
Creating a Dodge Layer
When a stronger effect needs to be applied, and/or more control over color is desired, a separate dodge layer can be created using the Screen Mode.
1. From the menu bar, select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation…
2. In the New Layer dialog, select Screen from the Mode menu; rename the layer “Dodge” if desired.
3. With the layer still selected, fill the layer mask with black by selecting Edit > Fill… from the menu bar and select Black from the Use menu.
4. Press D to set the background colors to their default black and white.
5. Press B to switch to the Brush tool.
6. In the Brush Options bar, set the opacity and flow to a low value, such as 10%.
7. Select an appropriate brush size and hardness.
8. Begin brushing in the document window to lighten areas which are too dark using white. White is painted into the layer mask, revealing the effect of the Screen blend mode.
9. To undo the effect, press X to switch to the background color (black) which then hides the effect of the Screen mode.
10. To vary the overall intensity of the effect, adjust the layer’s Opacity slider
10. To vary the overall hue and saturation of the effect, adjust the respective sliders in the Hue/Saturation panel.
11. To darken the effect starting from the highlights, drag the Lightness slider to the left.
12. To lighten the effect starting from the shadows, drag the Lightness slider to the right.
How it Works
When the Screen mode is applied to a layer, values in that layer lighten those in the layers beneath, with the effect becoming progressively stronger as the tones become darker. This has the effect of lightening the image while reducing contrast. Applying this mode to a non-modified adjustment layer is the same as duplicating the pixel layer itself, but takes up far less disk space. By using a Hue/Saturation layer, we have subtle control over the hue, saturation, shadows and highlights of the effect.
In digital retouching we use this effect on a daily basis to control local contrast so as to extend the apparent dynamic range of the photo. It’s a relatively simple process of selecting part of the image and applying an adjustment to alter its luminosity value. However for finer control, we can create adjustment layers that we can use to “brush in” the effect.
The many adjustment tools and blend modes in Photoshop can be used in many combinations to achieve advanced effects. For this tutorial however, we are going to concentrate on three techniques using The Overlay, Multiply and Screen modes.
Creating a Dodge & Burn Layer
For subtle adjustments, nondestructive dodging and burning can be performed in a single layer. For a more pronounced effect and to gain more control over color, we can use a separate layer each for dodging and burning as explained below.
1. From the menu bar, select Layer > New > Layer… or press Command + Shift + N.
2. In New Layer dialog, select Overlay from the mode menu and check the “Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray)” box. Rename this layer “Dodge & Burn” if desired. Click OK.
3. Press D to set the background colors to their default black and white.
4. Press B to switch to the Brush tool.
5. In the Brush Options bar, set the opacity and flow to a low value, such as 10%.
6. Select an appropriate brush size and hardness.
7. Begin brushing in the document window to darken areas which are too light using black. To lighten dark areas, press X to exchange foreground and background colors in order to use white.
How it works
When the Overlay mode is applied to a layer, values in that layer that are lighter than 50% gray lighten the pixels of the layers beneath, while values which are darker than 50% gray darken them. This is also true of the Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light and Hard Mix modes, which can also be used to achieve varying effects.
Creating a Burn Layer
When a stronger effect needs to be applied, and/or more control over color is desired, a separate burn layer can be created using the Multiply Mode.
1. From the menu bar, select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation…
2. In the New Layer dialog, select Multiply from the Mode menu; rename the layer “Burn” if desired.
3. With the layer still selected, fill the layer mask with black by selecting Edit > Fill… from the menu bar and select Black from the Use menu.
4. Press D to set the background colors to their default black and white.
5. Press B to switch to the Brush tool.
6. In the Brush Options bar, set the opacity and flow to a low value, such as 10%.
7. Select an appropriate brush size and hardness.
8. Begin brushing in the document window to darken areas which are too light using white. White is painted into the layer mask, revealing the effect of the Multiply blend mode.
9. To undo the effect, press X to switch to the background color (black) which then hides the effect of the Multiply mode.
10. To vary the overall intensity of the effect, adjust the layer’s Opacity slider
10. To vary the overall hue and saturation of the effect, adjust the respective sliders in the Hue/Saturation panel.
11. To darken the effect starting from the highlights, drag the Lightness slider to the left.
12. To lighten the effect starting from the shadows, drag the Lightness slider to the right.
How it Works
When the Multiply mode is applied to a layer, values in that layer darken those in the layers beneath, with the effect becoming progressively stronger as the tones become darker. This has the effect of darkening the image while adding contrast. Applying this mode to a non-modified adjustment layer is the same as duplicating the pixel layer itself, but takes up far less disk space. By using a Hue/Saturation layer, we have subtle control over the hue, saturation, shadows and highlights of the effect.
Creating a Dodge Layer
When a stronger effect needs to be applied, and/or more control over color is desired, a separate dodge layer can be created using the Screen Mode.
1. From the menu bar, select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation…
2. In the New Layer dialog, select Screen from the Mode menu; rename the layer “Dodge” if desired.
3. With the layer still selected, fill the layer mask with black by selecting Edit > Fill… from the menu bar and select Black from the Use menu.
4. Press D to set the background colors to their default black and white.
5. Press B to switch to the Brush tool.
6. In the Brush Options bar, set the opacity and flow to a low value, such as 10%.
7. Select an appropriate brush size and hardness.
8. Begin brushing in the document window to lighten areas which are too dark using white. White is painted into the layer mask, revealing the effect of the Screen blend mode.
9. To undo the effect, press X to switch to the background color (black) which then hides the effect of the Screen mode.
10. To vary the overall intensity of the effect, adjust the layer’s Opacity slider
10. To vary the overall hue and saturation of the effect, adjust the respective sliders in the Hue/Saturation panel.
11. To darken the effect starting from the highlights, drag the Lightness slider to the left.
12. To lighten the effect starting from the shadows, drag the Lightness slider to the right.
How it Works
When the Screen mode is applied to a layer, values in that layer lighten those in the layers beneath, with the effect becoming progressively stronger as the tones become darker. This has the effect of lightening the image while reducing contrast. Applying this mode to a non-modified adjustment layer is the same as duplicating the pixel layer itself, but takes up far less disk space. By using a Hue/Saturation layer, we have subtle control over the hue, saturation, shadows and highlights of the effect.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
In Search of the Perfect Curve
Once again I am revisiting post-pro lomography. I will stop using film when they pry it from my cold dead hands. But the reality is, it’s only going to be harder to come by. So even more reason to perfect the ability to achieve similar results in the digital domain.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Rollin’ Some Redscale...
I’m going through another film phase it seems. It was probably spawned by the recent news that Kodak will be emerging from bankruptcy protection in September as only a fraction of its former self, sans its film and paper division. So, get your Kodak film that’s actually made by Kodak while supplies last.
Speaking of film, I found two rolls of very expired Kodak Gold 400, which is perfect for making redscale film. So, I decided to respool them using my favorite technique.
Speaking of film, I found two rolls of very expired Kodak Gold 400, which is perfect for making redscale film. So, I decided to respool them using my favorite technique.
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