Cheap gift for my K10D ...

... An Olympus PEN-F right angle viewfinder, bought for a few euros in a street market. The optical portion was fine, but the metal mask was (badly) adapted to a Contax camera viewfinder.

Now, after a little "dremelling", it perfectly fits the viewfinder of my K10D.



The ring on the body of the viewfinder allows to adjust the focus on the focusing screen (used some dust particles on the focusing screen as "target").

The cons: the image in the viewfinder is inversed, so is the viewfinder display (i.e. need to learn to read Leonardo Da Vinci writing) ...

The pro: i spent 20 euros in total, which is less than the cheapest angle finders on the "auctions site".

Now, i'm waiting to test it in "street level" photography ...

Night walk with a Flektogon ...

... 50mm f/4, originally for a Pentacon Six, and now for my K10D, and Novalpha, on the Garonne edge in Toulouse ...

The Pont Neuf, with its colored spots:




The Pont Neuf and the Chateau D'eau on the right:




On the walls of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Toulouse:




Both shot at f/11, with a tripod, of course. The images are straight from the raw files, no need to push the contrast with such a lens, just sharpening + 1.

More views to come ...

Pentacon Six Zeiss Biometar 80 f/2.8 on Pentax ...

Having a Zeiss Biometar 80/2.8 available, i decided to try my Pentacon Six to Pentax-K adapter.



Here's the lens attached to the adapter:



Focusing is quite easy, since the barrel rotates of almost 360°, the counterpart is that it is quite slow. And, also, i would have preferred a preset diaphragm mechanism, easier to use on a DSLR. Nevertheless, the results, mostly taken between f/5.6 and f/8, seem to be quite promising. The pictures are straight from the raw images without PP, i just compensated a bit the exposure and set the sharpness to +1.





If interested in seeing more, the whole set is on my Flickr photostream.

More samples to be added, since i really like its color rendering and sharpness ...

New lens on the block: Phoenix 100mm f/3.5 Macro

High quality lenses are usually expensive, and macro lenses make no exception to the rule: whether you look for a Pentax, Canon, Nikon, or whatever your brand is, a good macro lens costs several hundreds (no matter if you count in dollars or euros). This rule applies to third-party macro lenses, too, which are surely cheaper than the branded ones, but still cost a lot ...

In the whole offering, there are, nevertheless, some atypical macro lenses, even cheaper than their "normal" counterpart. The lens i'm talking about here is manufactured by Cosina, and it is available under various brand names, such as Phoenix, ProMaster, Vivitar (and probably Cosina, too) ...
In particular, mine is branded Phoenix, 100mm f/3.5 Macro.


A front view ...


... and compared to an FA-43 Limited

I bought it from a user of a nice forum where you can discuss mostly about Pentax gear for 60US$, which was about 40 euros since i bought it when the exchange rate was really favorable to EU countries (well, at least favorable for buyers, sellers may have a different advice ...). It came with both caps and the original pouch, but without the additional diopter to reach the 1:1 ratio.

My first impression was not really great, since i found that the lens had a plastic barrel when i first opened the parcel (99% of my lenses have a full metal barrel). Moreover, because of lack of free time (and sunny days), i wasn't unable to make a thorough test immediately ...
Nevertheless, i started looking for more informations about the brand, and found some good news and sample images.

A few days ago, finally the spring (and the sun) was back, so i decided to perform a quick "ground test" of the lens with my K10D in some of the public gardens of Toulouse.

My first set of pictures (directly from the SD card to the bin) was a bit disappointing: although i have been able to take pictures at 1/4" hands free with a 50mm, the Pentax SR really showed its limits with a focal length of 100mm and close focusing at less than 1/30" ...
The second set of pictures, with a bit more sun and faster shutter speeds, was a big surprise: the sharpness and the color saturation were there:







The real quality of the lens has indeed revealed with the third set of pictures, where i had the possibility to choice the f/stop i wanted to use without caring about the shutter speed:







Definitively, a good color saturation and sharpness, and a good contrast, not at the same level than my Tamron SP90/2.5, but at a much lower price. Now, i'm looking for a model to test it for portraits ...

The good news is that the lens is available brand new for about 100US$, which is a real bargain, IMHO ...

Now, since i discovered that the additional diopter is available through ProMaster for 20US$ (thanks to hin_man for noticing this) and that it works like a charm on other 49mm threaded lenses (idem), i'm seriusly thinking about a mail order ...

If you want to see more, the whole set of pictures is available on my Flickr photostream.

As a side note, all the pictures are jpegs straight from the raw files, without post-processing, only +1 on contrast and sharpness (i.e. the same settings you can get with a K10D body).

Cleaning from fungus: Zeiss Biometar 80 f/2.8 ...

Having a spare P6-to-Pentax-K adapter, i decided to give a try to this lens, but, when ready to go shooting, i noticed the evil traces on the front element (the picture on Flickr has a note showing where the filaments are):



So, time for the rescue team to act again ...
To access the front element, at first the name ring must be removed. The classic sink cap helps a lot ...






Name ring removed, now time for the front element retaining ring.




Note that there are more rings inside the lens, only the inner one needs to be removed ...




The retaining ring of the front element is unscrewed.




Be careful: the front lens is loose now, although it may be necessary to reverse the lens and shake it a bit to let it drop in your hand.




Now, the cold cream comes to play. I used Avene's one simply because it is widely available in France: you can use the Pond's one, or whatever you find in the beauty case of your wife/sister/mother (better to ask first, in such a case) ...




Using the fingers, the cream is spread across the whole lens, and set to dry for about an hour ...




After about an hour, use some q-tips with a few drops of Zippo fluid to remove the cream ...




... and repeat the last two steps on the outer side of the lens, to remove the eventual cleaning marks ...






Last, use some optical fluid on a micro-fiber cloth to clean again the lens.




Now, store somewhere the front element, and start the cleaning process on the inner element. It easily unscrews from the lens body using the now classic cap ...






The inner element may be easily remooved from the support by simply unscrewing the rear part. Here are the two lenses of the second element glued together ...




... and after the cold cream application ...




After an hour, repeat the cleaning steps with the Zippo fluid first and the optical liquid after, and reassemble the lens. As you can see, the evil fungus is no longer here ...




Now, the Biometar is ready for its next mission ;-) ...

Fixing infinity focus on Takumar lenses ...

Hi all,

No pictures post this time, but just an update ...

In my old post Fixing infinite focus on Super Takumar i shown how to fix the infinity focus on my old Super Takumar 24/3.5. Almost a year after, i have feedback from some kind readers of my blog and some forums threads.

So, up to now, the technique shown in my post has worked for the following lenses:

• Super Takumar 24/3.5
• Super Takumar 28/3.5
• Super Takumar 35/3.5
• Super Takumar 50/1.4
• SMC Takumar 50/1.4
• SMC Takumar 55/1.8
  

Any other lens to add to the list ?

Cleaning fungus traces ... (1)

After beeing away for a while because of professional reasons, now back willing to share the last hint ...

As most of you know, the worst enemy of a lens is not dust or sand (or the Nutella on your fingertips), but the spores that fix on the elements of the lens and grow, especially in an humid environment, leading to some specks on the lenses, almost impossible to clean with "normal" liquids ...

Having fed my LBA with a Boyer Saphir B 135/4.5 for a few euros, i was quite disappointed by discovering that, once cleaned from dust, the lens showed some fungus traces on its front element (shame on me, i neglected to take a picture of the lens before cleaning ...). I was aware, from some forums discussions, that a good method for cleaning fungus traces from lenses was a cure of Cold Cream, but i was ... disappointed ... by the fact that every people was talking about Pond's Cold Cream, which is not commonly available in France ...
But, a few days ago, my friend told me that the cold cream is the oldest available cosmetic in the world, and that it is sold by almost all the major brands, with the same basic composition ... So, i went to the pharmacy and bought a tube of Avène Cold Cream, telling to myself that, in the worst case, i could have used it for my hands ...
And last night i decided to give it a try ... I started by cleaning the lens with some Zippo fluid (almost 100% pure kerosene, one of the best lens cleaning fluids around), then i applied some cold cream, and waited almost an hour ... Then i cleaned the lens again, and checked the fungus traces: they were still there, but the mold specks were lighter :-) ... So i decided for another try: another application of cold cream, and another cleanout after almost two hours ...

And the results are:


No more mold on the lens :-))) ...

I'm aware that this is only a little win, i still have to test it with my Meyer Orestor 135/2.8, with a nice fungus spot on its inner element (i promise, this time i will not forget to take a picture of the beast before trying to clean it), but the results i got with this lens seems quite promising to me ...

The whole set of pictures is in this Flickr set.

My Boyer Saphir B 135/4.5 wishes to thanks the Zippo fluid, the Avène Cold Cream, the basin cap and the microfibers cloth ...


... And of course my FA-43 Limited for taking the pictures ...

My first Limited lens ...

... A Pentax FA-43/1.9, in black finish (not my choice, i just took what was available).

Picture taken with a Pentax-K 85/1.8 stopped down to f/11 with a Vivitar auto extension tube of 12mm in cloudy daylight.


In the tradition of the Pentax Limited lenses, this one is very well built with a full metal barrel and front cap, and comes with a soft leather pouch (not shown here). Its focal length of 43mm makes it a "normal" lens for a 35mm film, but it becomes a very short tele (about 65mm) on an Pentax DSLR. Its compactness makes it quite discreet, especially in the black finish.
Despite its short rotation of about 120° from infinity to the shorted focusing distance, this lens is quite easy to use in manual focus mode because of the excellent contrast. And it is perfectly usable even wide open (see my previous post for an unprocessed sample at f/1.9).
Moreover, the front element doesn't rotate, thus allowing the use of a polarizing filter without hassle.

Here is another sample picture taken with this lens, a white Phalaenopsis orchid shot in artificial light on a black background.

Here, too, the image has not been processed, i just fixed the white balance and adjusted a bit the levels (the black background was far enough behind the flowers to avoid light reflections).

If only Pentax made this an f/1.4 ...

More to come ...

Happy new year ...

Happy new 2009 to everyone.



Pentax FA-43 Limited wide open, in unfixed halogen light. Image straight from the raw file without PP.

Have a nice shot.

Christmas Sins ...

... Among my preferred ;-) ...

Magia Nera (Black Spell): dark chocolate filled with a Strega flavored cream.


Cuneesi al rum: dark chocolate filled with a rum flavored cream.


The whole (and growing) sins set is available here.

Best wishes for an happy new year.

Playing with light ... (8)

... As usual, with my Metz 45 CL-4 and the Cactus radio controller ...

Green glass nuggets on a white opaque acrylic sheet, to diffuse light, backlighted by the flash in manual mode triggered by the Cactus radio controller. A black paper cylinder has been used to accentuate the black borders of the nuggets. Shot with my new preferred lens, the FA-43 Limited ;-) ...



More to come ...

Airbus A330-200 TAM Airlines ...

... My first shot with my first Limited lens, a wonderful FA-43 f/1.9 ...



... An Airbus A330-200 TAM Airlines shot at the Toulouse Blagnac (LFBO) airport, landing after a touch-and-go ...

More to come ...

Printemps de Septembre 2008 ...

"Là où je vais, je suis déjà" ...

Personally, i don't really like the main theme for this year of the modern art festival in Toulouse, quite negative and pessimistic, IMHO ... Nevertheless, i couldn't resist to the temptation of testing my "new" SMC Takumar 50/1.4 ...



... and, of course, my preferred 35mm, an SMC Takumar 35/2 ...



The whole (quite small) set of pictures is available on my Flickr photostream here.

More to come ...

Horses ... power ;-) ...

After some hot HP, time for some "real" horses ...
From a journey in a local horses club, near where i live ...

Enjoy Cariñoso ...


... and Galan ...


The whole set of full res pictures is available on my Flickr photostream clicking here. Be careful: the set is not yet complete, still other pictures to come ...

Fee-Rarissime 2008 ...

Fee-Rarissime is a show promoted by the Rotary Club Toulouse Sud to aid hospitalized childs. More than 50 superb Ferrari were exposed, and some of them available for "first run" ...



You can read more about the show on the Fee-Rarissime official site.

The whole set of full-res 10Mp pictures is available on my Flickr photostream.

C u.

Brittany Holidays ... (5)

Some shots from the city of Concarneau: the Ville Close and the Musee de la Peche.

The entry to the Ville Close by night:


A coelacanth from the Musse de la Peche:


The whole set will be online in the next few days.

C u.

Brittany Holidays ... (4)

This time, some shots from two afternoons spent in Quimper, the ancient capital of the Cornouailles bishop, on the Odet river.

A partial view of the Saint Corentin's Cathedral:


Some flower arrangements you can find almost everywhere here, but especially on the river's banks:


The other pictures of the set are available by browsing my Flickr photostream here.

More to come ...

Brittany Holidays ... (3)

This time, some pictures from the Festival of Gorse Flowers, in Pont Aven (the oldest, the most authentic, the most prestigious Breton cultural feast).

For the curious, the gorse flowers are the yellow ones in the picture below.


The feast gives the occasion to look at the wonderful embroideries of the traditional Breton suits, as proudly show the two little fans of the feast below, dressing the Pont Aven suits.



If you want to see the other pictures in the set, feel free to browse here, but be warned: i have about 800 pictures, and not yet the time to choose what to put online. Nevertheless, most of them will be available during the next few days.

The official festival site is here.

More to come (from both the feast and the other Brittany places visited) ...

Brittany Holidays ... (2)

Some shots from the visit at the Chateau de Trevarez.
Unluckily, there were a really harsh light, and the only portion of the castle open to the public was the store and ... an empty room!
Luckily, the garden of the castle is really worth the price of the ticket!



To access the whole set of picture, click here.

All pictures shot with an SMC Takumar 35 f/2.

More to come ...

Brittany Holidays ... (1)

Back from holidays in Brittany (exactly, in the Finistere, near Quimper).
Some shots from one of the most beautiful regions of France. Just click on the image below and follow the photostream on Flickr.



This is only the beginning, more to come on next days (i have to choose between 3200 pictures ...)

Have a nice look.

Trip to Rome ... (2)

Some shots from the expo Rosso Pompeiano at Museo Nazionale Romano di Palazzo Massimo alle Terme.



If you want to see the other pictures, feel free to click here.
All pictures taken with an SMC Takumar 35 f/2, stopped down between f/2 and f/4 according to ambient light (no flash allowed).

More to come ...

14 July 2008 celebrations ...

... with an SMC Takumar 35 f/2 (going to be my preferred M42 35mm), an SMC Pentax-A 50 f/1.7 (my preferred "almost" pancake lens), and ... my Pentax K10D ;-) ...



All the pictures are available clicking here. This is the whole set: the first 18 pictures have been shot with the SMC Takumar 35, the others with the Pentax-A 50mm. All are jpegs straight from the raw images, unprocessed and uncropped (at least for now. Maybe if i get some more spare time ...).

More shots to come before holidays ...

Neofutur 2008 ...

After a shooting session for a knitting work, a quick tour of the Neofutur expo at Musee des Abattoirs.



If you want to see more pics, go to this Flickr set.

If you want to know more about the expo, go to the Neofutur official site.

C u.

Playing with light ... (7)

This time, with an orchid phalaenopsis as model ...



This time i used the Maglite without its front lens, to have a more diffused light source ... 30 sec. at f/22, +0.5EV, color temperature fixed.

More to come ...

Trip to Rome ... (1)

... A few shots from my last trip to Rome, to say hello to the last born of the family (sorry, no pictures of him here) ...
First part of the series: the Vatican Museum (well, a little portion of the museum, just the pinacoteca and the Egyptian Pavilion) ... A really harsh light, but some great places to visit ...



If interested in more pictures of the trip, just follow this link, and feel free to leave comments about the pictures.
Most of the indoor shots taken with an SMC Takumar 35 f/2 wide open.

More to come ...

Playing with light ... (6)

After some time spent discussing on various forums, i ended up trying something really simple i never thought about ... Using a mini Maglite as light source. Would have liked to say that this is my idea, but in fact i have been really inspired by the wonderful pictures shown in this forum.



Shot using a mini Maglite for lightning, a black t-shirt to hide the eventual reflections from the pot, a Tamron SP90 f/2.5 stopped down to f/16, and, of course, my K10D ...

Hopefully, more to come ...

Comparing 35mm lenses ...

Hoping to be useful to someone, last week i did some test shots with some vintage 35mm lenses, some well known, others not ...
The competitors are:

Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35 f/2.8 (alu finish)
Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon MC 35 f/2.4 (black finish)
Isco Göttingen Westron 35 f/2.8
Nikkor-O 35 f/2
Super Paragon 35 f/2.8

I have tried to do my best to perform the test, but keep in mind that:

the exposure metering has been done with a Gossen Sixtomat, but light adjusting has been required since the afternoon daylight was not really constant;

there are small differences in focal length between the lenses - i got different fields of view at the same distance;

the minimum focusing distance is not the same between all the lenses; the Flektogon 2.4 focuses at about 19cm, while the Super Paragon focuses far than others - and i noticed this too late for taking all the shots again :-( ...

the aperture is not the same between the lenses, but the difference is almost half a stop on the lower side (f/2, f/2.4, f/2.8), and one stop on the ... dark ;-) side (f/16,f/22);

the shots have been taken at full stops increments, i have intentionally avoided half stops increments because of the build tolerance of the diaphragms;

the subject and the composition are not really great, but i was testing for sharpness and some bokeh.

Of course, all the pictures have been taken with a Pentax K10D, with its default settings, on a tripod and with a remote control. All the pictures are full size, unprocessed JPGs straight from the RAW files from the camera, processed by Pentax Photo Laboratory adjusting only brightness, as i said before.

Despite what is done elsewhere, here there will be no crops nor verdict on the fight: just take a look at the pictures and judge by yourself. Feel free to download the pictures from my Flickr photostream and do all the crops you want, since they are available in full res. I have done my choice about the winner, but this is a matter of (personal) taste ...

Now, enough words, pictures are better, so, if you are interested, take a tour here and feel free to leave commments ...

More pictures to come ...

P.S.: Before you ask: some of these lenses are mine, others are borrowed from friends, none is for sale (well, at least until i will be able to afford a Distagon 35) ...

Cleaning a Flektogon 35mm (chrome barrel) ... (3/3)

Now, time for the big cleaning. I tried at first with the optical lens cleaning fluid, then i had to go on with the Zippo fuel. Using the "cotton fiocs" first, and the micro fiber cloth after, it has been quite easy to wipe out the haze from the inner element of the front cell ...

21. After cleaning all the lenses, i just reassembled them, starting from the rear element of the cell, and then the front one. Then, it was really easy to screw in again the front cell on the barrel, and the name ring ... The Flektogon was starting to live again ...


Since the intervention seem to succeed, the whole surgical team decided to pose for my Pentax 85mm ...


... and for the Flektogon itself, in convalescence ...


As you can see, the horrible haze has totally disappeared ... Surgery successful :-)))


... And some outdoor testing at f/8:


... and at f/4:


... and the last one at f/5.6:


The Flektogon wishes to say thanks to Rick Oleson for his advices, to Castorama (French supply store) for their cheap "lens opening tools" ;-), to the Dream Team for servicing, my Pentax-K 85 for the pictures ... and to my friend who allowed me to use her kitchen table as surgical bench ...

Note that i have put some notes on the pictures, you can see them by browsing my Flickr photostream by clicking here.

May your lenses be with you ...

In Kimi and Felipe we trust.

Cleaning a Flektogon 35mm (chrome barrel) ... (2/3)

... Continued from previous post.

7. I focused on infinite the lens, fully opened the diaphragm (don't know if required, but, just in case of ...), and started to unscrew the outer ring ... For safety reasons, instead of fixing the lens and turning the compass, i hold the compass strongly, and turned the lens on its rear cap, to be sure i didn't scratch the front element ...


8. The lens open-hearth near its front cell ...


9. The front cell, where the sick lens is, side view ...


10. Just in case, since it was accessible, i checked the diaphragm blades, wide open ...


11. ... and fully stopped down: no oil traces - maybe the lens was really quite in "mint conditions" ?


12. Believing that the element to be cleaned was at the bottom of the front cell, i started cleaning at first with an optical lens cleaning fluid and a micro-fiber cloth ...


13. ... then i ended up with the big gun, Zippo fluid ...


After that, i realized that the haze was somewhere inside the front cell, so i managed to disassemble it ... I noticed a screw thread at the bottom of the front cell, so:

14. I unscrewed the rear ring of the front cell, to extract the rear group ...


15. The rear ring removed, notice that the rear group is not glued on the ring, but it is still in the bottom of the front cell ...


16. I turned upside down the front cell, and the rear group felt in my hand. Here it lies in the rear ring on the right ...


17. I noticed that the front cell contained the front element, but also a middle one (where, according to the Murphy's law, the haze was, aaaaaaaaagh!) ...


18. ... so i had to remove the front element, too. Again, with the "spanner wrench", i unscrewed the retaining ring - remember, there where two rings on the front cell ... and be REALLY CAREFUL HERE! It's easy to scratch the front lens ...


19. The front cell, with the lens front element and its retaining ring ... The dirty element was the one still in the front cell, so i cleaned it with the Zippo fluid first, and the lens cleaner liquid after, using some "Cotton fiocs" (sorry, don't know the english name) you can see on the right and the micro fiber cloth after ...


20. The front cell, almost totally disassembled - no need to remove the middle element from the cell, it's easily accessed for cleaning on both sides ...


To be continued ...

Cleaning a Flektogon 35mm (chrome barrel) ... (1/3)

... Be careful: not for the fainted of heart ...

At first, apologies for the multi-part post, but i have to cope with the 6K characters Blogger limitations ...

A few months ago, i got a Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35 f/2.8 (the chromed one) in "mint condition" from an eBay seller. As soon as it arrived, in its original box, i inspected it visually and noticed nothing, no fungus/haze, or oily diaphragm blades. Being busy professionally (i just finished the training for my new job), i decided to try it on the camera later ... Useless to say, i was really disappointed when i took my first shots, seeing a yellowish haze on the pictures i was taking during a "Flektogon vs. Flektogon" match (yes, i have both the 35 f/2.4 and the f/2.8 chrome) ...

An orchid phalaenopsis shot by the MC Flektogon 35 f/2.4 (the black one) stopped down to f/16, in halogen light:


The same flower, shot a few minutes later, under the same lightning conditions, with the Flektogon 35 f/2.8, the chrome one, stopped down to f/16 too:


It's easy to detect the brown-yellowish haze and the lack of details ... Sure, the chrome is older than the black one, but i wasn't expecting such a difference and, before complaining with the seller, who already sold me other good lenses, i decided to inspect better the lens using a spot light (be careful to your eyes if you decide to try this), and noticed a kind of irregular haze inside (sorry, don't have a lens to picture this, but it looked as an irregular film of grease or dust).

So, after spending some of my free time searching for repair tips, i asked on a forum for help. Unluckily, i received almost no replies, except one with a link (http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-81.html) to some handmade sketches of Zeiss lenses (still, no luck, just Biotar and Tessar, indeed a very very helpful sketches, as i will realize later ...).
After a month of no replies (and no further information found), i decided to try to fix it myself, since it would have been too expensive to use the services of a professional repairman (after all, i had the lens for a few euros, these Flektogons are much cheaper than their black f/2.4 counterparts, which sell for +100 euros).

Taking advantage of the last long weekend (five days in France, from 8 to 12 may), feeling comfortable after fixing my Takumar 24, i decided that it was time to give a chance (the last one ?) to my Flektogon chrome.

Little disclaimer before going on: I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOUR LENS BECOMES USELESS AFTER THIS INTERVENTION.
I have tried to do my best in documenting how to open the lens, but i don't know if i did it the right way. Keep in mind that there are some (a lot of ?) professionals out there that can service these lenses far better than me ...

If you decide to go on anyway, here is the whole story ...

At first, the required tools:
- A pick tool, to clean the filter screw mount
- A lens ring tool, to remove the front name ring
- A spanner wrench
- A micro-fiber cloth
- An optical lens cleaning fluid
- Zippo fuel
- Some WD40 (or the like) to lubricate the filter thread (if required)
- A plastic box for parts
- A clean surface

With all this gear ready, you can go on.

1. The picture of the patient, a mint Flektogon 35 f/2.8 with its caps and original box:


2. Front view, just in case a RIP tombstone would have been necessary after the surgery ... (don't blame me, it's the post-surgical stress falling down ;-) ...)


Be sure the filter thread is clean, check by screwing in a 49mm filter. If required, clean the thread with the pick tool, or a cheaper tooth picker ...

3. Remember the sketches from Rick Oleson (link above)? By looking at them i understood i had to start from the front side, so i prepared the tool for the name ring removal, the (now) classic multi-sized basin cap ...


4. Starting to unscrew the name ring (i had some WD40 ready just in case, but it has not been necessary ...)


5. Name ring removed ... First scary vision: two rings with marks for a spanner wrench ... Which one to unscrew? Again, remember the sketches from Rick Oleson (link above)? I went for the outer one ... and did the right choice!


6. Spanner wrenches are really hard to find in France and expensive (i know Micro-tools, maybe i will buy one later, i'm not a pro ...), so, in the same "more-for-less" spirit of the basin cap, i bought the "poor man spanner wrench" ... a stainless steel compass, for 8 euros ...


End of part one ...

The biggest one ...

Airbus A380, powered by four Engine Alliance engines, shot with a Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro zoom, while landing at the Toulouse Blagnac airport.



More to come ...

Fixing the infinite focus on a Super Takumar 24mm ...

A few months ago i bought a Super Takumar 24 f/3.5 in minty conditions for a few bucks. The lens was really clean and i noticed no faults, but, since i hadn't my camera with me, i didn't test it immediately ... Little mistake, because, although it performed really well on close focus subjects, i noticed a lack of infinity focus on landscapes. So, after logging on one of my preferred forums, i asked for some help on fixing this, and got two replies really interesting from glasbak and Just1moreDave, i decided to try my second lens surgery (the first one was on a Carl Zeiss Tessar 50 f/2.8) ...

The intervention succeeded, so, just in case someone other would have a Takumar with the same symptoms, here are the detailed instructions.
But, be warned before you start:

I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOUR LENS BECOMES USELESS AFTER THAT

The surgical team: a basin cap (possibly brand new), a pair of tweezers, a precision flat screwdriver, some adhesive tape, a clean workbench and ... a camera for testing.

At first, the front name ring must be removed. I used a brand new basin cap, much more cheaper that the dedicated rubber tool. Be sure that the filter thread is clean before proceeding (eventually, you can use a toothpick and/or a droplet of WD40) ...


Applying the tool to unscrew the name ring ...


Name ring removed, time to remove the filter ring unscrewing the three screws inside (not shown, i would have needed a ring flash) ...


Putting a mark using adhesive tape, just in case it would be needed later ...


Filter ring removed, now starts the fun ...


Note the focus position, the lens MUST BE focused on infinite ...


After unscrewing a little (no need to remove) the three screws that bind the focusing barrel to the lens, the barrel becomes loosen, so i slightly turned clockwise - Be careful: my lens needed this, but your may need turning counter-clockwise ... Now the focus mark is on the "3" index - but this is not a rule of thumb: the amount of shift may be different, since this when you do "try-and-adjust-again" ...


Now, the real fun: just screw in only one of the three screws, mount the lens on a camera, take some pictures, and check crops for infinite focus. If you don't get it, just unscrew a little the screw you fixed, turn the barrel again, and do another check ...

After 3 hours spent on finding the right turn angle to get infinite focus, the filter ring is screwed in back ... Note that the marks no longer match: it's normal, since the barrel has been turned ...


Surgery finished, rings mounted back, lens as new ...


And the final result:


More shots with this great lens coming soon ...

All pictures taken with my K10D with kit 18-55 lens and a Metz 45 CL-4 Digital for lightning.

Note added the 12 October 2008: As kindly reported in the comments to this post, this technique works also with the Super Takumar 50/1.4. Moreover, i have been able to fix an SMC Takumar 50/1.4 this way, and another user from a manual lenses forum did the same with its Takumar 35/3.5.

The longest one ...

... Is not the A380, as you could believe, but the A340-600 (by about 3 meters).



This one, shot during landing after a test flight, is powered by four Rolls-Royce engines (if in doubt, click on the picture, get the bigger size, and look at the logo on the engine cases ...).

More to come ...

Beluga ...

Sorry for the sea lovers, but this is not a fish (at least, not only ...)
Superb specimen of an Airbus Beluga landing at Toulouse Blagnac airport, shot with a Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro.



More to come ...

Toulouse by Takumar ...

... In such a case, a Super Takumar 24mm f/3.5, in M42 mount ...
The picture of Ecole des Beaux Arts has been shot by Pont Neuf, and PP by Pentax Photo Laboratory and PhotoME.



More to come ...

Playing with light ... (5)

... with a green glass apple and my Metz 45 CL-4 Digital, really a great flash for the money ...



The support is a white pexiglas sheet, back lighted by the flash with a green filter on the main strobe, the lens is an SMC Pentax-M 85mm f/1.8 stopped down to f/22 (lack of an ND filter, for now ...)

More to come ...

Happy Birthday ...

Shooting with a Pentax K10D reaches its first year of life ... Thanks to all the people who spent their time looking at my pictures, leaving comments, simply watching the pictures or contacting me by mail ... This is really paying for the time spent shooting more than 12000 pictures with my K10D in a year (13000, soon) ...
I would like to take this opportunity for a message:



RUNNING OUT OF AFTER SHAVEEEEEEEEE ........

More to come ...

Playing with light ... (4)

Rainy sunday, indoor shooting (snif ...).
This is my first attempt at using the multiple exposure mode of my K10D. The first shot has been used for the candle light, and the second one for the flashed portion (i am starting to find the colored filters set of my flash really funny ;-) ...).
Picture taken with my SMC 85mm f/1.8 stopped down to f/22, back light with a Metz 45 CL-4 Digital.



More to come ...

Isco Westron samples ...

... Here you go. Orchid Phalaenopsis, shot in sunny afternoon daylight. Crop from the unprocessed raw file.



For the whole image, and other Isco Westron samples, click on the picture or go to my Flickr photostream and select the Isco Westron set.

More to come ...

Playing with vintage Germans ...

... A minty sample of Isco Göttingen Westron 35 f/2.8, coming from the usual source ;-) ...
For the history fans, Isco Göttingen is a lens manufacturer since 1936, when it started producing lenses for the Exacta and Praktica cameras (informations collected from Internet, if someone could enlighten me ... thanks). Most of the lenses produced for these cameras had a metal barrel, in the classic chrome, zebra and black finish. Between its best performers, there are the Tele-Iscaron 180mm f/2.8, with a rotating tripod collar, the Westrocolor 50mm f/1.9, the Westrogon 24mm f/4, and a quite unusual lens, the 50mm f/2.8 Iscorama. This lens, very rare to find, permits horizontal or vertical picture shrinkage during the shooting session: using two buttons to rotate the front element, nice effects can be obtained (cannot say more, don't have this one ...).
The Westron 35 belongs to the late Isco production, when some metallic elements where replaced by more cheap plastic parts. This gives the Westron a look of toy, which certainly harmed its reputation: on the second hand market, the Westron 35 is much cheaper than the (over-evaluated, imho) Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35, in both 2.4 and 2.8 versions, costing about 4 times less ... Nevertheless, its images are really sharp, and the color rendering really neutral, without dominants, at least in my sample. The lens is subject to flare, so a shade is recommended. The diaphragm spans from f/2.8 to f/16, and is composed by 8 blades (giving a nice bokeh), controlled by a stepless preset ring: there is a button to preset the smallest aperture, then it can be focused wide open, and stopped down to the preset aperture very quickly. Useless to say, when f/16 is preset, the lens can be stopped down from f/2.8 to f/16 continuously. The filter thread is 49mm, like most of the lenses of that epoch, and it is surrounded by a collar, not threaded, which could be (possibly) used for a kind of shade ...
For the fans of history, Isco Göttingen has stopped its production of camera lenses, focusing on cinema taking and projection lenses.

Here is a picture of the "toy", taken with a Tamron SP 90 f/2.5 Macro, in late afternoon daylight.



A lot of sample images coming ...

Playing with light ... (3)

... always with the Metz 45 CL-4 and the Cactus ...
This time, a bowl of glass nuggets, on a opaque white acrylic support (to diffuse light), backlighted with the flash in manual mode, and my old CZJ Flektogon 35 f/2.4, stopped down to f/5.6 ...



More to come ...

Playing with light ... (2)

... with direct sunlight. Orchid Phalaenopsis shot with a Pentax-M 85 f/1.8, in direct daylight, overexposed by 3 f/stops.



Don't know why, but this picture makes me thinking about Japan ...

More to come ...

Playing with light ...

... with the new toy on the block ;-) ... A Metz 45 CL-4 Digital with a Pentax dedicated SCA adapter, and a Cactus radio control (from another great eBay auction) ...



Picture shot with a vintage Tamron SP 90 f/2.5 Macro, stopped down to f/8. Hands-free camera, flash with Cactus on tripod, a blue filter on the main strobe head and secondary strobe on.

Tap water offered by my kitchen, wooden cutting board used as backgroung.

Even more to come ...

Orchid Phalaenopsis

Playing with one of my preferred models, a superb specimen of Phalaenopsis.



Shot with a Pentax-M 85mm f/1.8 SMC lens, stopped down to f/4, in daylight (end afternoon).

More coming ...

Melted snow ...

After a really warm february, after the beginning of spring, the winter seems to be back again ...



Shot with a Pentax-M 85mm f/1.8 stopped down to f/4 in cloudy daylight.

C u.

Flektogon: The Beginnings ...

Hello, just a few shots of the new toy, a minty Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon, born about in 1951, which decided to join my vintage lenses collection.



Shot by the eternal Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, in direct cloudy (snif!) daylight.

Coming soon, a close combat between the Flektogon 35 f/2.8 (the father) and the Flektogon 35 f/2.4 (the son).

Now, going to enjoy a coffee ...

C u

Some night shots ...

After looking at some night shots from the blog of my friend Novalpha, i decided to try, so here are the results.

The fountain in Place Wilson:


Portion of Rue D'Alsace Lorraine, behind the city hall:


Place du Capitole, detail of the city hall:


All shot with a Pentax-A 50 f/1.7 at 1/4 sec. without tripod/monopod (believe it or not) and shake reduction on (thanks Pentax).

More to come ...

New orchid ... on the block ;-)

Phaleanopsis shot with a vintage Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35 f/2.4 stopped down to f/8, in cloudy (snif!) daylight ... and my K10D.



More to come ...

Nikkor tests ...

... With the new adapter.



Shot with a Micro Nikkor 55 f/3.5 stopped down to f/8 and my K10D in halogen light (color temperature corrected).

C u

Nikkors on Pentax ...

Hi all.

Having found a great thread on a forum about mounting vintage Nikkor lenses on Pentax, i managed to get a Micro Nikkor 55 f/3.5 for about 35$. Exactly as shown in the forum, the lenses mounted quite well on my K10D (you can see in a previous post the picture of a ring shot with this lens). It is really sharp and i got infinity focus, thanks to the greater depth of camera body required by Nikkor lenses.
Nevertheless, it didn't lock in, hence the need for an adapter, to allow going out "safely" - i.e. without loosing the lens while focusing or stoping down.
Snooping on eBay, i found a Nikkor to M42 adapter from a well known asian seller (i must confess he is my first source of M42 to Pentax adapters, either flanged or not), and, since it was really cheaper than other branded adapters, i decided to give it a try. So, i bought one from Roxsen, the only eBay seller offering them.
The adapter, shown in the picture below, comes in a plastic bag, without instruction, but they were not really required. The Nikkor lens locks in as on a Nikon body, and the adapter perfectly fits my M42 to Pentax adapter, so that now i can go out doing some macro shots with this lens.



The bad news: i have lost infinity focus, since the Nikkor adapter moves the lens too far from the focal plane, but, who knows, maybe the next generation will be thinner (i think 1mm will be good enough) ...

Now going to find a way to replace the Nikkor mount on the lens with a flanged Pentax K adapter ...

C u

P.S.: For the chronicle, the picture has been taken with a CZJ Flektogon 35 and the camera flash.

The Pentax 85 strikes back ...

... Bright lens (f/1.8), fully usable even wide open (see below) ...
This lens is definitively joining the circle-of-preferred-lenses ...



More to come ...