Fun with the Digital Pen-F

etrigan63 · Sep 7, 2016

Universal Lagoon by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Lightroom panorama composed of 5 33s live composites.

teeraash · Dec 9, 2016

My F is bigger than yours!

[/url]_DSF4489.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

raist3d · Dec 10, 2016

teeraash said:
My F is bigger than yours!

[/url]_DSF4489.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

Final Fantasy

- Ricardo

teeraash · Dec 12, 2016

My casual comparison: Pen-F with Penf 38/1.8 VS Sony A7RM2 with Summilux-M 75/1.4

About a year ago, I went to a camera store and took pictures to test the lux 75/1.4 on my Sony A7RM2. I like the lens so much but sadly to mention that I was one step too late to get that lens selling at a very attractive price.

Last weekend I went to that camera store again and took pictures of the same person, the store owner. This time I used Pen-F with original Penf film lens, the 38mm f1.8 which was designed in 1960s, around 20 years before Mandler gave birth to the lux 75mm. Below are some sample of pictures that I took of this kind heart person who permit me to post his pictures in the internet. The outcomes from M43 and FF are pretty close in this particular environment. Both systems also render color similarly. Would love to hear insightful comments from this knowledgeable group of gear head enthusiasts. And sorry for my writing as English is not my main language.

First, Sony A7RM2 with Lux 75

[/url]_DSC2277.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

Pen-F with original Penf film, 38/1.8

[/url]_C100054.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Screenshot 2016-12-12 19.22.10.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG];

pegelli · Dec 12, 2016

I like his glasses from this year and his hairstyle from a year ago best

Both seem excellent lenses, main difference is the bokeh. The PEN lens seems slightly more busy maybe caused by the lens design or maybe just an attribute of the slightly smaller maximum aperture as well as the inherent larger dof of the 4/3 sensor size.

But these differences are quite small, both are fine portraits!

teeraash · Dec 12, 2016

pegelli said:
I like his glasses from this year and his hairstyle from a year ago best

Both seem excellent lenses, main difference is the bokeh. The PEN lens seems slightly more busy maybe caused by the lens design or maybe just an attribute of the slightly smaller maximum aperture as well as the inherent larger dof of the 4/3 sensor size.

But these differences are quite small, both are fine portraits!

To me the main difference is 90usd VS 4000usd

pegelli · Dec 12, 2016

teeraash said:
To me the main difference is 90usd VS 4000usd

Another great example that value doesn't equal price :toocool:
And the hand (eye) of the photographer also plays a crucial role

teeraash · Dec 12, 2016

Thanks Pegelli for the comments and compliments. I will experiment this lens with backgrounds that have more highlight to see how busy they're rendered. But I quite like the background rendering of the 38mm's image above probably due to its rather low contrast and not distracting the main subject.

By the way the sideburns, ears and hair of the Lux's image are out of focus. Do you prefer this than the penf's image?

Jorgen Udvang · Dec 12, 2016

I have to admit I prefer the rendering of the Lux, but there are really too many differences to make an objective choice. As for Khun Mana being kind... he'd better be after all the monies I've left at his shop through the years :scry:
Oh well... there are many good reasons why we keep coming back there. His gentle kindness is one

pegelli · Dec 12, 2016

teeraash said:
Thanks Pegelli for the comments and compliments. I will experiment this lens with backgrounds that have more highlight to see how busy they're rendered. But I quite like the background rendering of the 38mm's image above probably due to its rather low contrast and not distracting the main subject.

By the way the sideburns, ears and hair of the Lux's image are out of focus. Do you prefer this than the penf's image?

Teera, I think the lower dof (and therefore unsharp sideburns, ears and hair) leads to a different atmosphere vs. the larger dof of the second picture. The first is more dreamy, the second more reportage/formal portrait. It's not so much what is "better", but what the photographer, or the person being portrayed, is looking for. But you can always close the aperture of the Lux if so desired, but there is no way to further open and reduce dof for the PenF lens. The thing I notice most when comparing the pictures are however the brighter/broader light rings around the oof highlights of the PenF. But bokeh is very much a matter of taste, some people want smooth, others can't get enough of swirls and bubbles. So my input would be that they are different, but very hard to qualify one as objectively better. Subjective you can get a broad array of opinions, all valid but very personal.

teeraash · Dec 12, 2016

Jorgen,to me he is the most expensive model.

Pegelli, you put it very well. I was thinking of selling my 75 lux once it comes back from Wetzlar but it would be more wise to play with it for a couple of months to see what I can do with Mandler's favorite.

dhsimmonds · Dec 19, 2016

My casual comparison: Pen-F with Penf 38/1.8 VS Sony A7RM2 with Summilux-M 75/1.4

About a year ago, I went to a camera store and took pictures to test the lux 75/1.4 on my Sony A7RM2. I like the lens so much but sadly to mention that I was one step too late to get that lens selling at a very attractive price. Last weekend I went to that camera store again and took pictures of the same person, the store owner. This time I used Pen-F with original Penf film lens, the 38mm f1.8 which was designed in 1960s, around 20 years before Mandler gave birth to the lux 75mm. Below are some sample of pictures that I took of this kind heart person who permit me to post his pictures in the internet. The outcomes from M43 and FF are pretty close in this particular environment. Both systems also render color similarly. Would love to hear insightful comments from this knowledgeable group of gear head enthusiasts. And sorry for my writing as English is not my main language.

My half penneth worth? I much prefer the image taken with the Pen F and Pen lens, but then I was schooled on the strict premise that the eyes or nearest eye in side profile should be in focus and sharp. The Lux image of his eyes show a very slight softening? Probably not the lens at all but the camera's focusing if it was AF? Oly's AF with the correct focusing point set usually nails it time after time in reasonable light. Just realised that the Lux is a manual focus lens! Whoops....no excuse then!

teeraash · Dec 19, 2016

dhsimmonds said:
My casual comparison: Pen-F with Penf 38/1.8 VS Sony A7RM2 with Summilux-M 75/1.4

....The Lux image of his eyes show a very slight softening? Probably not the lens at all but the camera's focusing if it was AF? Oly's AF with the correct focusing point set usually nails it time after time in reasonable light. Just realised that the Lux is a manual focus lens! Whoops....no excuse then!

I used Techart Pro adaptor which makes the 75 'lux af on my Sony a7rm2. Probably the focus point was on his left eyeglasses frame instead of on the eye? I always use one area af point with this adaptor/camera combination.

Jorgen Udvang · Dec 19, 2016

Here's an alternative view:
I did the same exercise yesterday while picking up my Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8, shooting at 35mm and f/2.8. Although a very large aperture lens gives a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing DOF, I prefer using a smaller aperture in cases like this. That way, not only his face is visible, but it's possible to see that there are cameras in the background and to some degrees what kind of cameras. Then, it's not just a portrait of a man in Bangkok, but a portrait of a man in Bangkok selling cameras, and those who know something about cameras will also see that he collects and/or sells old cameras and that there are Leica cameras there too.

For him to stand out from the background even when a smaller aperture is used, the quality of the lens is important. Here, I think the Panasonic lens, which is not a Leica branded one but probably inspired by Leica lens technology anyway, does a good job, and this is exactly what I hoped for when I bought it.

teeraash · Jan 1, 2017

I and my daughter went to the Bangkok Railway Station (Hua Lum Pong) a day before the New Year's Eve as many people would travel all over the country on that day. I used Pen-F with 'lux 25/1.4 and Lumix 42.5/1.7 while my daughter used Leica Q. We had lot of fun there that evening. Images below were taken with Pen-f and these two lenses except the last three images which my daughter took with the Q included here so that you can compare images from these two excellence cameras. Happy New Year to you all M43 users and wish you all to produce ton of beautiful images in 2017.

[/url]_C300018.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

_C300096.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr

[/url]_C300082.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]_C300070.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]_C300136.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]L1000320.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]L1000303.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]L1000298.jpg by Teera Ashakul, on Flickr[/IMG]