Dallmeyer Super Six lens--ultimate bokeh
Feb 17, 2017 12:14:02 #
Lance Pearson wrote:
It was made before the significant tech on coatings existed it sounds like. A good hood would help with the flares. Today for the most part a hood can be more minimal I've found with modern lenses.
Sorry--I included a photo in the last post, but apparently it doesn't work to upload directly from a phone, even though it looked like it was attached when I sent the post. Here is the rig. I'm also including two more photos I did today with the lens.
Feb 17, 2017 13:47:17 #
kymarto wrote:
Sorry--I included a photo in the last post, but apparently it doesn't work to upload directly from a phone, even though it looked like it was attached when I sent the post. Here is the rig. I'm also including two more photos I did today with the lens.
Wow!
Feb 17, 2017 18:40:36 #
Feb 17, 2017 18:53:36 #
Lance Pearson
Loc: Viriginia
i downloaded and blew up the last image of the flowers and the in focus portion held up well until I had blown it up 400%~ That's pretty darned good.
Feb 17, 2017 21:39:01 #
The lens is pretty respectable on terms of sharpness, but I do also sharpen. It resolves well but the microcontrast isn't great, and highlights halo. But I think that is partly the price to have that unique bokeh.
Feb 17, 2017 21:49:14 #
Lance Pearson
Loc: Viriginia
when you step back from excellent but limited work way back when like that lens it gives you some real appreciation for those who made them and at the same time for the terrific advances made today at the top end to do some very special things which may or may not be as special in one area but are so amazingly good over all that today's top stuff is excellent too. An analogy would be the car engines in the 1960s for various reasons. 200 hp was big and fast, 300 almost unheard of and 400 exceptional. Today, v6's get 300 naturally aspirated, 400 is not unusual and 600 and up is easily possible...tech is just better, machine tools are just better, materials are just better...tolerances are better. Similar for lenses for overall use I think.
Feb 18, 2017 03:48:31 #
Lance Pearson wrote:
when you step back from excellent but limited work... (show quote)
Playing with vintage lenses has given me a healthy respect for the advances that have been made over the last 30 years or so. The old guys could not model their lenses on computers, and everything was done with slide rules and elbow grease. I would never use these lenses in place of my modern lenses for general work, and today's coatings are truly amazing in terms of how much better contrast and flare control are. That being said, something is also lost. It is the very aberrations that today's lenses lack in abundance that create the unique and beautiful bokeh of many old lenses. It's horses for courses...
You can love the smoothness of modern fuel-injected, computer-controlled engines, but there is something to be said for the roar of the twin SU carbs in a Jag XJ150 ;)
Feb 18, 2017 05:08:48 #
For a very different take on the last picture of cherry blossoms on a branch, here is a shot done at the same time using a huge old Zeiss Projar 140mm f1.9 projection lens (which cost a whopping $70). It's a completely different thing IMO. This is what makes these lenses so much fun. You have to follow the glass more than the glass will follow you--they are quirky and limited, and working within those limitations makes for a very interesting dance.
Feb 18, 2017 07:39:31 #
Lance Pearson
Loc: Viriginia
I own three corvettes..one a small block tuned 1976 that is gorgeous, another a 1991 zr-1 with the lt5 dohc all aluminum v8 designed by Lotus for gm that is as fast as the modern engines today. Hard for me to like the whine of a turbo but it does seem likely to be in our futures...I like the modern overall use of the lenses myself but appreciate the craftmanship of the older ones too as niches.
Feb 18, 2017 07:53:34 #
kymarto wrote:
So after months of rumination, I decided to spend ... (show quote)
I'm not sure if I like it or not, quite torn!
Feb 18, 2017 07:56:20 #
Lance Pearson
Loc: Viriginia
if it were me on the last image I'd crop the living heck out of it leaving the focused flowers in lower right but cropping 75% or more of the bokeh on the left away. It adds nothing and the bokeh behind the flower in a reduced size will be more than enough to show the bokeh. It's out of balance the way it is in my view.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.