Even more German

This time around it's a Contax Zeiss 50mm f/1.8, complete with T* coating. It came with a Contax 137Q body whose leatherette has seen better days.

Initial impressions weren't that good. The lens does produce sharp photos, but they're not as bitingly sharp as the Zeiss Ultron. Contrast was also lower than I would expect from a Zeiss lens. Shining an LED flashlight through the lens illuminated the culprit: haze inside the lens. I disassembled the 50mm, and discovered the fogging is between the fourth and fifth elements that are glued together (is this the "balsamic separation" that I see on some eBay listings)? Not much I can do at this point except live with it.

It's still a good lens though. OOF isn't as nervous as the Ultron. The colors have a certain richness to them that's not present with other lenses. Flare is still an issue, but not too bad. I'm sure I'd be more impressed with a clean, haze-free copy.

Manual focus for sports

Make that for one sport. I snagged a trio of Nikon E lenses a few months ago (the collection is growing), and finally had time to give one of them a try. With the 100mm f/2.8E in hand (along with the 35mm f/1.8G ED), I did my usual tour of the city.

The lens is tiny, as are most MF lenses compared to their AF counterparts. It's a bit unbalanced on the D3, and would make a better fit on a DSLR without a vertical grip. Using the aperture ring on the lens to set the aperture brings back fond memories of the old days with my EM and Fujica film bodies. The focus action is smooth, although not up to the level of a Nikkor lens. The E lenses were Nikon's attempt at challenging the proliferation of third party lenses, and so don't have the same build quality and optical performance of their regular lens line.

Nikon 105mm f/2 DC and 100mm f/2.8E with HB-31 hood

As I wandered through the city, I decided to zigzag around Chinatown to look for some corners that I hadn't photographed before. I ran across several volleyball games going on at the Willie "Woo Woo" Wong Playground, and thought I'd try to take a few shots.

The only time I tried MF for sports was a painful 30 minutes trying to capture surfing with the V1 and Sigma 500mm. Painful because that combination results in very, very tight framing, and is unwieldy when you're trying to MF.

I did a lot better this time. Yes, I missed focus quite a lot, shooting at f/5.6 through the fence. Timing of course is an issue, but I never said I was a pro. Some of the shots have the player's hand right on the ball, making it look more like a basketball game than volleyball. It took me some time to remember that I was shooting action and switch to manual exposure to keep the shutter speed up.

But I did snag some keepers, leaving me pretty happy. 

More images can be found here.

Hit rate: 27/732, or 4%

First outing with the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G ED FX

After over a month of waiting, the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G ED FX lens finally arrived. I had already sold my 35mm f/2 AF, and have been making do with the DX version. Oddly enough, I hesitated on buying the lens when the sale started in February, and by the time I did buy it, the lens was out of stock. Snooze you lose.

So it's off to the How Weird Street Faire (my first time) with the challenge of using a 35mm lens instead of the usual 70-200mm. It's difficult for me to get that close to a subject when taking a photo as I don't like to be in your face, but it's good to push yourself every now and then.

The results weren't bad. There were a few times when I was too far for my taste, and I had to crop the images to get the result I liked. The lens didn't disappoint though, with nice sharpness, acceptable OOF, and spot on AF. I like the results better than the AF version.

Next step is to try it out on the V1.

In the meanwhile, here are some choice shots from the event.

DX on FX

I'm still waiting for my 35mm f/1.8G FX lens (yes Nikon, have a sale without adequate stock, that's a great idea). In the meanwhile, I decided to give the 35mm DX a try on the D3. I have used this combination some time ago, but more as a test. This time around it will be out in the field taking actual photos.

The results aren't that bad. Yes, there's a lot of light falloff in the corners, and visible barrel distortion. ACR does a good job correcting those problems, at the usual expense of cropped images. I can live with the results, as long as I don't apply an overly critical eye.

If you don't fix these issues, you're left with an image that can resemble one of those old-time photos with vignetted corners and the subject right in the center of the photo. I can see using this effect on some images, but not so much for casual shooting. It is something to add to the bag of tricks.

So while I'm still waiting for my lens, here are some shots from last weekend's Chinese New Year parade with the DX lens.

More images can be found here.

Quick take on the D5200

I took the D5200 out for a try, and I must say that I enjoyed the camera more than I did the D3200. The camera is more responsive, and the articulated screen was helpful when I wanted to be a little discreet. Having all that resolution is nice, and turned out useful when I had to crop one photo by quite a bit (it's the first photo posted below). The 35mm DX and 50mm f/1.8G did a good job, though I prefer the images from the 50mm.

A top shutter speed of 1/4000 makes shooting at f/1.8 in bright daylight difficult (polarizer to the rescue). Not having a 100% viewfinder leads to surprises, but all that resolution makes it a non-issue. I'd have to shell out a pretty penny to get my FX-equivalent 35mm lens, which isn't in the cards right now.

I've been using Nikon DSLR's for over 14 years, starting with the D1. Out of that lineup, I've loved the colors from the D2H the most (the drawbacks are another story). Most of the other Nikon bodies have a recognizable quality that, for lack of a better description, I call the Sony-ness of their sensors. I've seen this on the D100, D200, D3200, and now the D5200.

Not that it's a bad thing, but it is something that stands out when I process images from these cameras. They don't quite have that pop that I see from the D2H and D3. The V1 doesn't have that pop either, but it also doesn't have that Sony-ness.

On a side note, putting a camera that smells of cigarette smoke in a plastic bag with some activated charcoal does the trick to remove the odor.

Overall I give the D5200 a thumbs up. Makes me want to hang on to it (too bad the D3200 has gone to a new home). Hmmm, can I find another cheap one out there?

More images can be found here

The D3 at ISO6400

I've had my D3 for a little over 7 years now, and I'm still amazed by its high ISO capabilities. I usually limit the auto ISO setting to ISO3200, which is easily processed by the noise reduction software that I use. Of course I'm still trying to sell it as it's just too big and heavy now (getting older is tough).

Shooting the Dia de los Muertos parade in San Francisco is a challenge as it's city streets at night. I went to my first one two years ago, and I decided to let the ISO go up to 6400 as I needed high shutter speeds to get sharp pictures with the 50mm f/1.8G. I still got some blurry shots (damn all that caffeine as a child!), but I am surprised at how workable the photos are for posting on the web. The colors are a little washed out, and there is noise, but not that bad. The lighting is a challenge, with the white balance dropping down as far as it would go.

I should have processed these images before attending the 2014 event, as I limited the ISO to 3200 last year. There's something to be said about being prompt in your processing (or at least chronological).

 More images can be found here

Hit rate: 28/130, or 22%

Cars under the bright sun

I only made it to one Jimmy's Old Car Picnic, and it happened to be the last one. No, I didn't kill the event. Sad to see it gone as there were a lot of sweet cars parked in Hellman Hollow. Some were in concours condition, some had more than a few rust spots.

It's the latter cars that are more interesting, because you can tell that they've been used hard, and yet are still loved.

I had the 35mm f/1.8DX mounted on the V1 when I started taking photos. This was my first outing with the lens, and it's not the ideal length for car shots on a CX body as it's a bit long. It helped that this was an outdoor event with some space, but it make for tough framing. You do get that nice fade to OOF with this lens.

Outdoor car shows are brutal because of all the polished chrome, shiny panels, and other reflective surfaces. It didn't help that the sun was pretty high up in the sky and shining brightly. Dark colors and highlights are a challenge for the V1 as the sensor's dynamic range isn't as good as a DX or FX body.

The flare on this Buick Riviera is interesting because of the inverted points. So far this is the worst case I've seen, and a reminder not to shoot into the sun with this lens. I do like the little touch of the picnic table in the background, gives the shot that '60's feeling.

Chromatic aberration is a bit of a problem with specular highlights and the 35mm DX. Proper NEF processing will reduce it a bit, but there's still a lot more than with the native CX lenses.

The V1 and 35mm DX combination did a lot better at Bayline 2014, aided by the overcast skies. The two did a stellar job when I used them at Super Hero Festival. The 35mm DX is my poor man's 32mm f/1.2, at least until I can afford the 32mm.

I eventually switched to the 10mm f/2.8 to be able to frame a whole car in the viewfinder. Who says you can't get subject isolation at 10mm on CX? And yes that's me reflected in the radiator, yet another problem of shooting closeups with cars.

More images can be found here

Hit rate: 191/328, or 58%

Ecstasy and agony

While attending this year's SuperHero Street Fair, the neck strap on the V1 managed to slip free of the buckle, causing the camera to drop a foot or so to the sidewalk. The hood on the 30-110mm has several scratches and nicks. The left corner of the V1 also has some chips. Not a good day.

The event was more populated with costume revelers this year, making it a constant shoot fest. I used all the lenses in my small bag (35mm, 50mm, 30-110mm, and 10-30mm), with the 50mm getting the least use as it was a bit  too long. I do love how the V1 kit can be so small yet have such breadth and depth. I do wish that F-mount AF lenses were able to use AF points other than the center as focus-and-recompose is a pain for events.

I haven't gone through all the images as 2013 is still calling. In the meanwhile, here are some that jumped out and demanded to be edited.