Im going to Photokina! Well.... Kind of

[RGoldman]

I found out last night that one of my images is being used by Lensbabies for their new trade show booth. It will be displayed for the first time at Photokina next month. It will be roughly enlarged to 8'x5.5' That will be the largest print yet from my P30+ and I'm looking forward to seeing it up close when it's done. Hopefully it will look good at that size! Here is the image they are using. Shot handheld last Fall with the Mamiya 645AFDII/P30+ and a lensbaby 3G, f/4 aperture disc, 1/20sec. This is Multnomah falls in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon.

Ron

 

[PSon]

Congratulation Ron!
Best Regards,
-Son

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Congrats Ron , hopefully they will compensate you for there use.

Been wanting to get one of these myself.

 

[RGoldman]

Thanks Son and Guy. The great people at Lensbabies have been very generous. I did try to get a trip to the show out of it, but I don't think that is going to happen. Oh well, I had to ask!

 

[woodyspedden]

Neat image Ron. Shows the folks at lensbabies have good taste in their choice of artists.

Woody Spedden

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Okay this begs the question . Can you get real tilt/shift work done with one of these for maximum DOF and such. I feel my pocket being tugged on here.

 

[RGoldman]

Thanks Woody. They are in Portland, Oregon and I have been in there many times to talk with them. Just great people to work with and their customer service is amazing.

Guy, I have done some tests with the lens at every aperture and what I have found is that once you get past f/8 or so, it behaves very much like a "normal" 50 or 80mm(depending on the format) with just more edge fall off than a standard lens. I personally prefer the look at the larger apertures and rarely find myself shooting above f/5.6 with it. With the 3G, you do have the option of locking the lens down and focusing without an aperture disc in. It is nearly impossible to focus when you have the smaller discs (f/11, f/16, f/22) in place.
I shot food images with it and a Canon 90mm t/s lens and there is a big difference in the look from each. The Canon being much sharper edge to edge obviously and the look that you can acheive with that and tilting is hard to match with the Lensbaby. Really two different tools for two different looks.
I do miss my 90mm t/s and am looking forward to finding something similar for the Mamiya. Hopefully soon as I have a ton of food work back logged for this Fall and Winter and would really like to just shoot all of it with the Mamiya/P30+.

Ron

 

[RGoldman]

To give you an idea of the effect that stopping the lens down gives, here are a few images of the same subject. I set the camera on a tripod and focused with it wide open. I then took one shot with each of the aperture discs. I never changed the focus while shooting. I won't post them all but here is wide open (no disc), f/4, f/8, and f/22.

 

[Jack]

Okay this begs the question . Can you get real tilt/shift work done with one of these for maximum DOF and such. I feel my pocket being tugged on here.

I found one used Guy and have played around with it a bit. Bottom line is it NEVER gets critically sharp beyond about 2/3rds out from center at any aperture, so IMO it isn't really viable as a tilt lens replacement... And for whatever reason, the disks for my Mamiya version are marked off in very odd apertures, something like 6.8, 8.5, 13.4, 17 etcetera...

EDIT: I see Ron posted too -- I need to start doing page refreshes before I post

BTW, congrats on the image use Ron, that is really cool!

Cheers,

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Thanks Ron that illustration helps a great deal. Thanks Jack you know where i was going with that question. I guess that 45 T/S coming out maybe the real answer. Need to go out and buy another ski mask again. LOL

 

[RGoldman]

Thanks Jack. And yes, the Mamiya aperture discs are numbered differently. They are: f/3.4(2.0 or wide open), f/4.8(2.8), f/6.8(4), f/9.5(5.6), f/13(8), f/19(11), f/26(16), f/39(22). I held them up to the 35mm format discs and the above numbers correspond to the ones I used above. I didn't want to make it any more confusing so I just used the numbers everyone is used to.

I would love to see the 120mm macro made into a t/s lens! It would be close to the FOV of the Canon 90mm and every bit as sharp if not more so. I used the 90 a lot more than the 45 for the work I do. Maybe if the new 45 is a success, they will work on some other focal lengths.