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BIFs and stuff with the Zuiko 300/4.5 Auto-T

T

turbines

New member
I continue to be amazed at your ability to accurately focus long lenses on BIF. Those are some amazingly sharp images.
 
pellicle

pellicle

New member
great shots

err .. what is BIF?

I had the OM 300 for a while, if I didn't have the FD 300 f4 (and was still using my EOS) I'd have kept it
 
pellicle

pellicle

New member
well I don't know that species of Kingfisher, but if they're anything like the ones over here they move fast.

Manual focus of birds is not impossible, nor is changing gears and handling a clutch in a car ... but those brought up on "auto" seem to think its something special where as the older generation just had to do it.

All the same, nice work there T

Thought I'd toss in a Canon FD 300 ... I've posted it here before.


kuusiTintti by obakesan, on Flickr

quite small and man they don't sit still long either (especially when its cold)
 
T

turbines

New member
Nice shot Chris

Yes the Tesselator shows it is possible. I shot manual everything for over 40 years but even with the enhanced EVF I find it a real challenge to nail BIF as consistently as Tesselator and some others do. I miss the split image focusing screens of the past.
 
Tesselator

Tesselator

New member
It's actually much more difficult on a split prism. You need smooth ground glass with maybe an optional grid of thirds. The EVF in the GH1 is actually superior to ground glass too. It does this aliasing thing right when the sharpest focus is achieved.

It's not just "possible", it's downright fun! It changes photography from a pastime into a sport. One that doesn't require athletics thankfully! Kinda like skeet shooting but you can do it anywhere. And the flatter the lens the easier it is - as opposed to split-prism OVFs where it's just the opposite. LCDs are useless for MF unless of course you're shooting stabilized in low-light - like desk-top photomacrography, microscopy, and photomicrography, or even some kinds of studio portraiture I guess too.

Probably some of that is perception based but I dig it anyway... I'm having great fun with these MF lenses... much more than I ever had with the D2x or the other AF systems I've owned.
 
Tesselator

Tesselator

New member
pellicle, yup, the ones here are really fast too. They dart. :) Definitely high-energy creatures! I dunno of an AF system that could catch them.

Cool pic BTW! Very wintery. :) Santa fisher? :D
 
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pellicle

pellicle

New member
Hi

just noticed I forgot to say thanks for clearing up BIF for me.

turbines said:
I shot manual everything for over 40 years but even with the enhanced EVF I find it a real challenge to nail BIF as consistently as Tesselator and some others do. I miss the split image focusing screens of the past.
Click to expand...
actually I don't like split image so much for this sort of work. I find that working in impression is better. You become intimate with which way to turn the lens to bring it closer or further (a reason I don't like to mix lenses with differing thread direction) and by being past on and too close I can get in tight. I was practicing on swifts when I got my FD300 for my G1 and wasn't doing bad (boring shots however as they were just against a blue sky).

Also, birds are quite repeatable and often go back to exactly the same points ... so it can work in your favour.

:)
 
T

turbines

New member
Tesselator said:
It's actually much more difficult on a split prism. You need smooth ground glass with maybe an optional grid of thirds. The EVF in the GH1 is actually superior to ground glass too. It does this aliasing thing right when the sharpest focus is achieved.

It's not just "possible", it's downright fun! It changes photography from a pastime into a sport. One that doesn't require athletics thankfully! Kinda like skeet shooting but you can do it anywhere. And the flatter the lens the easier it is - as opposed to split-prism OVFs where it's just the opposite. LCDs are useless for MF unless of course you're shooting stabilized in low-light - like desk-top photomacrography, microscopy, and photomicrography, or even some kinds of studio portraiture I guess too.

Probably some of that is perception based but I dig it anyway... I'm having great fun with these MF lenses... much more than I ever had with the D2x or the other AF systems I've owned.
Click to expand...
I would never have thought that. I guess I just need a lot of practice with the GF-1. I think a lot of my frustration comes from my poor experiences with the E-620 LCD and manual focus lenses.
 
Tesselator

Tesselator

New member
Oh, well if you have an EVF for your GF1 I suggest trying MF that has a rep for being awesome and uber-cheap. That way you'll know what it's like at almost no cost. I think the Takumars fall into this category. Both the 55/1.8 and the 135/3.5 typically sell for under $50 with good to excellent quality elements and slightly scuffed up barrels, The M42 adapters are the very cheapest too - like $12. Be sure to get the flangeless kind for those particular lenses.

I bet you could get all three parts there for $75 or under. Also Takumars are buttery smooth to focus... Maybe the best of all lenses ever made.

Anyway, then you'll know what it's like on the GF1. From what I understand there's no beating the GH1/G1's EVF tho... not even the GH2 - when it comes to MF lenses.
 
pellicle

pellicle

New member
turbines said:
I would never have thought that. I guess I just need a lot of practice with the GF-1. I think a lot of my frustration comes from my poor experiences with the E-620 LCD and manual focus lenses.
Click to expand...
now there is your problem ... GF-1 and manual focus with a 620 ... screen is too small to really see. Once upon a time I (and many others) demanded cameras with different focusing screens. My film EOS 630 has survived this long (like since 1990) because it has such a large focusing screen. I laughed the first time I used a 4/3 camera ... its such an iddy biddy screen.

the G1 has almost as good an area to look at as my EOS 630 ... pick up a G1 (or G2) and have a go with it.
 
T

turbines

New member
pellicle said:
now there is your problem ... GF-1 and manual focus with a 620 ... screen is too small to really see. Once upon a time I (and many others) demanded cameras with different focusing screens. My film EOS 630 has survived this long (like since 1990) because it has such a large focusing screen. I laughed the first time I used a 4/3 camera ... its such an iddy biddy screen.

the G1 has almost as good an area to look at as my EOS 630 ... pick up a G1 (or G2) and have a go with it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. I just picked up a new G1 body and I'll give that a try.
 
D

DonTom

Guest
Love the pics Tesselator, and have been impressed as well by your ability with MF. I'm using an E-PL1 with the VF2, and have a Vivitar Series 1 200mm F3 lens as my only telephoto at present. Getting there with it.....but a long way from being there!

Any broad hints? I want to handhold if possible, but open to a monopod/ tripod eventually. Mostly wanting to photograph/ video wildlife, and occasional stadium games (tennis & football).

This is the best I've got so far:

 
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