Are film-era premium lenses good enough for today's high-resolution sensors?
Oct 8, 2017 19:05:26 #
mcveed wrote:
Again it depends on how you are doing your test. Are you comparing prints? or digital renditions? Did you try projecting the digital image on a digital projector onto a screen the same size as an old slide projector? I have no horse in this race, but you are kidding yourself if your tests are biased.
My original test was projected slide compared to scan viewed on computer, which I could zoom into to give same magnification. Every detail I could see on slide I could also see on scan.
Oct 8, 2017 19:38:59 #
Oct 8, 2017 20:21:46 #
James Slick wrote:
And if you stick with the whole car analogy, The v... (show quote)
yes, this may be true but both cars have a windshield that you can see perfectly through. that's what your analogy should lead to!
Oct 8, 2017 21:04:02 #
we have a d7000 and a d810 and use almost exclusively older fx lenses. They are cheap to purchase and have great glass with no plastic parts. I purchased a sigma 170_500 mm for $350 like new for $350, it takes great photos. I also purchased a 70-300mm for $82. It is like new and just used it at the Albuquerque balloon
festival along with my 25 year old 35-70mm lens. Great focus and color. They work very well with high sensors. Just sharing from lots of photo experience not from what someone has read it heard.
festival along with my 25 year old 35-70mm lens. Great focus and color. They work very well with high sensors. Just sharing from lots of photo experience not from what someone has read it heard.
Oct 8, 2017 23:25:08 #
cactuspic
Loc: Dallas, TX
I have a number of quality vintage macro lenses (Zeiss, Kiron, Olympus, Canon, Nikon, and Vivitar)that work very well on my 50mp Canon 5DSr. They are fun to use and yield good results. However, when compared to my modern macros, they don't perform as well. They have greater chromatic aberrations, less color saturation, less contrast, and are not quite as sharp. They are particularly enjoyable lenses to stack with because they are so solid, well built, and some have a long focus throw that makes stacking easier. Optically, however, they are not as good. As I often print large, I usually use my modern macros, even when shooting manually.
Edit: They are very usable, with good results, but not top tier.
Edit: They are very usable, with good results, but not top tier.
Oct 8, 2017 23:41:07 #
We find ourselves in a transition from the film era to the digital era in photography. By most all accounts, digital means of photography have surpassed film means. Yet the film era founded modern photography as we know it. So digital photography rests on the shoulders of the advances photographers made in the film era. Digital photography incorporates these advances and carries them forward to the future.
Oct 9, 2017 00:14:55 #
Davethehiker wrote:
I miss the old split image that I had on my old fi... (show quote)
Nice shots, Dave, and it seems the ol' Minolta glass had no trouble on your a99ii, except for a bit of purple fringing on the second one. That's exactly the fringing I get on my Minolta 75-300mm "New" I told you about.
Oct 9, 2017 00:23:13 #
Soul Dr. wrote:
Olympus has this too on most of their M4/3 cameras. And I think they had it before Sony did.
Cool. I didn't know that, but it doesn't surprise me. Oly was the leading innovator in film days.
Oct 9, 2017 01:20:23 #
I use Canon FD and Nikon Ai lenses on my Sony a7 with outstanding results..., I do lean toward the Nikons...
Oct 9, 2017 02:12:30 #
Photo_Buff
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
Bought a new Nikon 80-200mm ED Zoom for the 8008 film camera way back. Unable to use this lens with the Nikon D800e. Had to pick up the newer 70-200 ED VR Zoom lens. This one works with the D800e.
Oct 9, 2017 04:17:41 #
splatbass wrote:
Exactly. I don't need methodology, I have eyes. I shot Kodachrome 35mm for years and never got the resolution even my 12MP D300 has.
Mmmhh, I love my 23mp 5D M III and it does takes some nice pics, but I can not get the image quality with it, that I can get, when I shoot 35mm film!! (and yes, I have eyes too)!
Oct 9, 2017 05:06:40 #
speters wrote:
Mmmhh, I love my 23mp 5D M III and it does takes some nice pics, but I can not get the image quality with it, that I can get, when I shoot 35mm film!! (and yes, I have eyes too)!
Perhaps you just like the look of film better.
Oct 9, 2017 07:15:21 #
barefootdesigns
Loc: Storrs Mansfield, Connecticut
I have several new Pentax DSLRs and some fine new lenses, but, honestly, I LOVE my old glass. Some of my favorite lenses are over 50 years old and they are built like tanks--never fail. They have, ummm, character I guess you'd call it. They're tack sharp, with great color and the price is right. No problems with my new camera sensors. The biggest difference, I guess, is that new lenses are usually mostly plastic. Nevertheless, they're quite expensive. I have my doubts that they will hold up like the old lenses though. That old saying--they don't make them like that any more--is mostly right. Of course when you carry a lens made of metal, it will be heavier. I actually like that solid feel and the performance. I save my light weight lenses for travel and such but use the old glass for art photos mostly. Whatever camera you get, don't ignore the old, superb Pentax primes. They're about the best lenses out there unless you crave Leica quality for BIG BUCKS.
Oct 9, 2017 11:54:01 #
This is my test between ISO 100 slide film in an F100 Nikon (scanned with a dedicated Nikon Cool Scan film scanner) and a 6MP Fuji digital camera in 2003. I never shot anymore slides after this test. Film grain is much harder to deal with than noise.
I have heard that 6MP is all you need to beat film but lately I have been thinking that 20MP is the sweet spot especially if you want to do a little cropping.
If old lenses were falling behind, how come that hasn't affected the old Leica lens used market?
I have heard that 6MP is all you need to beat film but lately I have been thinking that 20MP is the sweet spot especially if you want to do a little cropping.
If old lenses were falling behind, how come that hasn't affected the old Leica lens used market?
barefootdesigns wrote:
I have several new Pentax DSLRs and some fine new ... (show quote)
Oct 9, 2017 11:58:12 #
Photo_Buff wrote:
Why can't you use this lens - camera combination? I keep hearing that Nikon has maintained compatibility.Bought a new Nikon 80-200mm ED Zoom for the 8008 film camera way back. Unable to use this lens with the Nikon D800e. Had to pick up the newer 70-200 ED VR Zoom lens. This one works with the D800e.
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