@david-farkas
active 1 year agoForum Replies Created
Atanabe;79 wrote: Cool!
Took a look at a Sinar P3 this weekend, my they are proud of their price, $8000! I bought my first Sinar P 4×5 for $750
Al,
An Arca Swiss 6×9 F-Classic like this one can be had for around $1800 used. And the form factor of 6×9 (2×3 in) is much smaller than 4×5 (in). Something to consider for field use.
David
David Farkas
Red Dot Forum
Leica Store MiamiAtanabe;74 wrote: I guess part of the problem in deciding on what lens to get is not being able to see one.
We've had all four lenses for quite some time and even offer them for remote Test Drive for this very reason.
Leica S2 Professional Rental | Dale Photo & Digital
Tell you what, Al…. buy me a ticket to Seattle and I'll bring everything out to you in person at no charge. It's the least I could do. 😀
David Farkas
Red Dot Forum
Leica Store MiamiAtanabe;71 wrote: Okay David, you know better, the Hassey lenses are f4 max aperture. That aside, I shot at max aperture for all lenses and yes the Leica wins but not by much.
Yes, the 120 is a killer lens but so is the 70 and it shoots reasonably close so it will be my macro for now.
There's no doubt that the 40 FLE and 120 CF Makro are both very, very good lenses. I was just pointing out that the S equivalents offer 1.5 stops faster max aperture. In fact, if you are shooting static objects for macro, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the Hasselblad version. Much of macro work is done using manual focus anyway. This is where alternative lenses can really help fill in the gaps where you don't need an S lens.
I agree with you on the 70mm. It offers really good close-focus ability, and is a great all around and flexible performer. It is my most used lens, by far.
David
David Farkas
Red Dot Forum
Leica Store MiamiAtanabe;69 wrote: Today, I found unobtanium, 35 Summilux Asph vII, 35 Summarit S, 120 Summarit S. A trifecta! Of course, none were for sale but at least I got to handle and shoot with them so nowthe true lust begins. What I found interesting was the performance of the 35 Summarit vs 40 CF FLE Zeiss. The Summarit was sharper but only when pixel peeped. It did firm up my decision to get the 180 and skip the 120. The 70 is a great lens and shoots close so I will skip over the 120 in favor of the 180. The 35, is a great lens, no doubt, but I will wait to see if there are any announcements about new offerings like the 30-90 zoom.
Hey Al,
First, welcome to Red Dot.
How did the 40mm CF or 120mm CF Makro do at f/2.5? 😉 If you primarily use your lenses stopped down for maximum DOF there won't be as much difference than if you tend to shoot more wide-open. I think this is an obvious advantage for the S lenses. Wide-open, the 120 S is especially killer. And, the 35 S is no slouch, either.
Keep in mind with the 30-90 that in order to keep its proportions portable, Leica opted to make it a variable aperture lens. It will most likely be f/3.5-5.6. So, about 1 stop slower on the wide end than the 35 S.
Glad you decided to get the 180, though. The 180 probably offers the most “perfect” imaging performance with almost no change from f/3.5 to f/8.
David
David Farkas
Red Dot Forum
Leica Store MiamiHi Guys,
I find the AF on the S2 to be very accurate and repeatable, much more so than a Nikon or Canon pro body. I think the biggest stumbling block is understanding how the AF system on the S2 works. Once that is understood, life becomes much easier. For instance, the AF isn't a single point in the crosshairs, it is more an average of what is in the central circle. So, if a high-contrast object is in the circle, but outside of where you want focus to fall, you will be disappointed. Also, because the DOF is so narrow on the larger sensor, you will find that it is better to err on the side of focusing to the front of an object/subject rather than just behind it. DOF will fall behind, but will be non-existent going forward.
Once you figure out how the system works, it is very easy to work with it. At first, it required conscious thought, but now I just use the system without thinking about it. And almost 100% of my shots are properly focused. This rate was admittedly much lower when I first started using the S2. The camera hasn't changed much (apart from firmware tweaks to the AF system), just my use of it. I hope this makes sense.
Incidentally, because the subject is so much larger given the narrower field of view, AF accuracy (or at least ease) on the 180 is actually better than that of the 35. I can't recall ever missing focus on the 180, even in the beginning.
David
David Farkas
Red Dot Forum
Leica Store MiamiMark Gowin;34 wrote: How well does this work? A little bit of tilt could solve some of the foreground to main subject depth of field problems I have been having. Granted I wouldn't want to tote that rig around all the time.
It actually works very well. Note that the lens mounted here is a Scheider APO Macro 120mm. Because of the increased register distance (both from the adapter board depth as well as the depth of the mirror box) vs a digital back or sheet film, wide angle lenses don't achieve infinity focus. We are looking into a recessed lensboard and/or a shorter adapter tube to be able to use wider lenses.
And, this Arca Swiss has a folding rail and disassembles/reassembles pretty easily. Taken apart, it is actually pretty portable. And the lenses are tiny.
David
David Farkas
Red Dot Forum
Leica Store MiamiThanks, Mark. Looks like the formatting is working pretty well.
And…. yes, the 180mm is that good!! 😎
David Farkas
Red Dot Forum
Leica Store Miami
