The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Do you miss your fast lenses?

A

Alexander DeVoe

Guest
So this is for anyone who has converted from 35mm to MFD.

When making the switch to a MF system, do you often find yourself missing the fast (f/1.2 - f/2.0) lenses of 35mm? Do you find yourself shooting less in available light?

I recognize the big difference in high ISO performance between 35mm world and MFD, but I rarely shoot high ISO anyway. I don't think the ISO issue would bother me. But thinking about it, I am noticing that I might be avoiding shooting at those high ISO's by shooting at extremely fast apertures (with my 35mm gear). On average my lens line up would be losing at least a full stop (sometimes 2 or more) in speed assuming a switch to MFD... not to mention the faster shutter speeds needed due to higher resolution.

What do you pros and non-pros alike find yourselves doing? Do you miss those super fast lenses?

Also, how are MFD lenses wide open? Coming from 35mm I know that most lenses are a bit soft WO, but how about MF? I know this can't be generalized, but what about the more common lenses from Hasse and Phase/Schneider?

Thanks
-Alex
 

JimCollum

Member
I use a 110/2 and 80/1.9 all the time.. and find no shortage of shallow DOF with them :)

at portrait distance, and wide open you typically just get the surface of the eye in focus.. with everything in front of and behind blurry
 

thomas

New member
As to DOF I agree with Mark.

But if you want to use MFD in "available light" (in the sense of little light) you are most likely on the wrong track…
The newer backs are quite usable at higher ISO, especially the H4D40 seems to be really good up to ISO800.
Still, low light is DSLR territory.

lenses...
The wide-open-king is most likely the new Leica S2 70mm lens.
Though the S2 is obviously not the high ISO king…

The Rollei lenses are known to be very sharp wide open.
Discontinued system...

The Contax has the fastes lens lineup (3.4/35, 2.8/45, 2.0/80, 2.8/140).
For certain purposes they are usable wide open, especially on DBs with a larger pixel pitch. But in general they have to be stopped down to be really sharp.
Discontinued, too…

Others will comment on Hassy and Phase lenses...
 

Audii-Dudii

Active member
Although I haven't yet taken any photographs with my recently acquired Contax / P30+ outfit, I took it with me on my outing last Friday to see how difficult it will be to use for my nighttime photography (examples of which you can see at http://audiidudii.aminus3.com/) as compared to my m4/3 gear and collection of Olympus F2 zooms. Mind you, I don't actually shoot any of them at F2, just compose and focus, but the extra speed has made this quite a bit easier.

My tentative conclusion? It's going to be more difficult, thanks to the one-stop (or more!) slower lenses as well as the fact that the viewfinder doesn't gain-up the way that an LCD does. Several scenes where I was able to compose and focus an image using just the ambient light with my Olympus E-PL1/14-35 combo required me to use a flashlight with the Contax 35/f3.5, which has given me pause for concern.

I'm also concerned about having less DoF to work with, as my exposures are already fairly long at ISO100 and f5.6 and stopping down further will make them even longer, but my number-crunching tells me I should be okay at F8 most of the time, so we'll see.

So, to answer your question, Yes, I'm going to miss my fast lenses, but for a different reason than most people will cite.
 
Last edited:

fotografz

Well-known member
My most used MFD lens is the HC 100/2.2.

I've shot this lens side-by-side with a 75/1.4 on a M9 ... and the look and feel is remarkably similar.

-Marc
 

thomas

New member
It's going to be more difficult, thanks to the one-stop (or more!) slower lenses as well as the fact that the viewfinder doesn't gain-up the way that an LCD does.
You have to get 2 items for your Contax:
- a Hilux screen from Bill Maxwell
- a waist level finder

these will improve the finder experience massively...
 

Audii-Dudii

Active member
You have to get 2 items for your Contax:
- a Hilux screen from Bill Maxwell
- a waist level finder

these will improve the finder experience massively...
Bill is preparing a screen for me as I write this. In addition to the MF-1 viewfinder, I also tried focusing with a Hoodman LCD finder held in place of the viewfinder (surprisingly, it covers the finder opening almost perfectly and works quite well) and with my 3.6x Toyo loupe directly on the screen.

Based upon my results, I'm not sure I'm going to pay through the nose for a waist-level finder but instead have S.K. Grimes adapt my 3x Mamiya loupe to mount on the body instead. Not only will it work better, it will cost me less than half the going rate for a used waist-level finder.

At least that's my plan...
 

David K

Workshop Member
This crop shot (taken from about 4') should give you an idea how shallow the DOF is in MF land. Taken with the Hassy 110/2 wide open on the Leica S2. I may have over-sharpened it a tad in post but I think it's still informative. First time I've nailed it with this lens wide open :)
 
A

Alexander DeVoe

Guest
I know I wouldn't be able to shoot an f/1.4 on a MFDB, but was just wondering if the required stopping down in MF was something that low-light shooters found to be too much of a hassle. But then again, there probably aren't many MF low light shooters. Issues and situations like the ones that Audii-Dudii ran into are more what I was thinking of.

Most of what I shoot would have plenty of light available or added, but I was just curious as to how these lenses performed/looked or if they were even usable wide open. Just another thought as I research MF...

Think I am going to test drive the H3DII-31 and the H4D-40 within a few weeks, so in coming times maybe I will be more able to tell if MF will be at all a fit for me... I think hands on is necessary. It helped a ton going into Large Format for sure.

-Alex
 
A

Alexander DeVoe

Guest
This crop shot (taken from about 4') should give you an idea how shallow the DOF is in MF land. Taken with the Hassy 110/2 wide open on the Leica S2. I may have over-sharpened it a tad in post but I think it's still informative. First time I've nailed it with this lens wide open :)
Thanks for the example David. That is exactly the kind of info I need. Awesome shot, by the way!
 

thomas

New member
FWIW... here's the Contax 2.0/80 on a P45 at f2.0

without sharpening and with 2 different approaches to sharpen the image.
finally a version with some grain added.
still would require some work to get rid of the sharpening artifacts but it shows something.
things get better at f2.8...

scene:


without sharpening


sharpening 1:


sharpening 2:


sharpening 2, grain added:
 
This crop shot (taken from about 4') should give you an idea how shallow the DOF is in MF land. Taken with the Hassy 110/2 wide open on the Leica S2. I may have over-sharpened it a tad in post but I think it's still informative. First time I've nailed it with this lens wide open :)
That is a very good demonstration of the shallow DOF. Plus, the pun (nailed it) was a bonus.:)
 

David K

Workshop Member
David - how did you use a hasselblad lens on an S2?
I was wondering if anybody was going to ask. There's an adapter (not cheap) which allows this and I was anxious to see how well it worked. David F has two of them but only one of the two locked securely on the lens. Once it's on the camera it's the same stop down metering story, i.e. shooting in manual mode and turning the shutter speed dial until you have proper exposure. Shooting in bright Florida sunlight I was able to accurately focus with the lens stopped down to 5.6. Obviously easier to focus wide open but really not a problem either way... and my eyesight is not what it was before I started staring at computer screens for hours a day. I left my Hassy 350 SA with David for testing... maybe he'll post some shots when he gets around to them.
 

dfarkas

Workshop Member
I was wondering if anybody was going to ask. There's an adapter (not cheap) which allows this and I was anxious to see how well it worked. David F has two of them but only one of the two locked securely on the lens. Once it's on the camera it's the same stop down metering story, i.e. shooting in manual mode and turning the shutter speed dial until you have proper exposure. Shooting in bright Florida sunlight I was able to accurately focus with the lens stopped down to 5.6. Obviously easier to focus wide open but really not a problem either way... and my eyesight is not what it was before I started staring at computer screens for hours a day. I left my Hassy 350 SA with David for testing... maybe he'll post some shots when he gets around to them.
For visual reference....
 

PeterA

Well-known member
Thanks David and David ( btw David F ) you really should check your emsils -:)

This adaptor is very interesting...

There are then - a lot more 'lenses' available than 'just' Leica...
 
Top