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In both posts the bottom image was taken with the Leica lens. RVB…the RAWs look dramatically different and I did my best to make them match. Maybe with a profile and lens correction in LR it could be done better. Keep in mind this is a zoom vs prime comparison as much as it is a Contax/Zeiss vs Leica comparison. A fairer comparison might be zoom to zoom. But for my purposes this zoom does the trick…for about 15% of the cost of the Leica zoom (not counting the adapter).
Boy those buildings are tack sharp. That 120 is a great lens…I love it. Not sure what's going on in the water and sky in the far distance. Looks like you had plenty of light so I'm guessing it's not noise. But I do like the shot. You seem to have a knack for getting up high and shooting down 🙂
Mark, after processing I don't see much of a difference in the files at full resolution. I sent the original two images to our mutual friend Andre and he picked the Leica image correctly. When I asked him what he was looking at he pointed to the portion of the image which I've attached below. Keep in mind he only had web sized images to work with. It's quite possible he sees something that I don't…but to me they are close enough to be indistinguishable from an IQ perspective. I'll keep you posted as I use this lens more.
I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer your question on whether the adapter and a long lens would be a good choice. I've shot with all the super telephotos from both Nikon and Canon and think they are superb. And the AF on both those systems is light years better than a Contax lens on the S2 would be. Add in the limiting ISO on the S2 system…well, you get my point. Over the years I've seen several photographers try to move to MF for wildlife and none of them succeeded. But with a sturdy tripod, good technique and a non-moving subject…you might pull it off.
Great shots Jack. It's a treat to see the stadium and the crowd from those vantage points
I like it Jack. We have a lot of clouds here in Florida and they often transform into formations that look like all kinds of things. I used to play a game with the kids when they were younger and we were all driving in the car. Anybody see the poodle…the elephant, etc. I see an alien face in your image..anybody else 🙂
One more…
Jack guessed right…two hot lights, one up very high camera behind and to the right of the model, backlighting the water, one at about 8′ high, left and behind camera and a strobe as main, metered for f/8. The water is from a garden hose held by an assistant on a ladder camera left…pointed up towards the ceiling. It's kind of a production to set up a shoot like this with tarps and a pump that ejects the water out of the studio. But you can get some pretty cool stuff with it.
Marc,
I hope that hint was aimed at me. Would love to do some shooting together and I can arrange for some pretty young models if that appeals to you 🙂 I'm in the Jupiter area near Roger…about 15mins north of the West Palm Beach airport.
BTW, I took Jack's advice and picked up a soft sided but waterproof cooler at Costco.
David
Nicely done Scott. You using lights with that kit?
I really like that last shot Jack. To my eye B&W is the way to go here. Great subject matter and one that I've often thought of shooting. There's a criss cross of overpasses near David F's store in Hollywood…close to the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. I actually pulled over on the shoulder once to shoot it but didn't have the right lens. Looking forward to more from this series.
Here ya go Mark…glad someone enjoys these shots 🙂 First is the uncropped version of the Noct shot, the others are with the S2 and 70mm.
Mark, she does have beautiful eyes. Here's a heavy crop of a shot taken with the M9 and the .095 Noct at f/1.2. I rarely use this combination when shooting models but when I do I really like the results.
I intended to shoot all of these wide open…but inadvertently stopped down to f/3.4 on the first one. The others were at f/2.5. Shutter speed was 1/500th for all shots which were hand held using AF. My 70mm is the new CS version. For whatever reason I have a feeling that my new 70mm is sharper than my old one and focuses better. Not basing this on any scientific analysis…simply a gut feeling coupled with a much higher percentage of in focus shots. Here's a crop of a wide open shot to give you a better idea of sharpness and focus.
@ Jack…I'm shooting with a loaner from David while my S2 is on it's way to Germany. Don't want to abuse his hospitality by getting saltwater on his gear. But I did get splashed a bit on the shower shots 🙂
@ Jim…not only does she not pay me, I don't even get a percentage of her what she makes on all the paying jobs I get her!! But I do get a lot of personal satisfaction when the results are this good.
That is disappointing. This was an adapter that I was considering myself. Let's hope the replacement will work well.
