As I recall, focus was from less than a foot to infinity.

The Zeiss 15mm f/2.8 for Nikon and Canon is definitely not a fish-eye lens. I could only rent it because it costs an arm and a leg! According to reviewers, it is possibly the finest wide-angle lens ever manufactured. Distortion is amazingly small, and even vignetting is minimal.

I'm always fascinated with images that take advantage of both the distortions and odd perspectives that can be made with wide-angle lenses. In the days of Kodachrome, I felt free to take my Canon FD 20mm f/2.8 and stop it down to f/22. Chromatic aberrations were not a problem. Now, with digital cameras, we have different concerns than we did in the days of film. Here, my "Happy Isles Log" image was shot on Kodachrome 64 with my Canon AE-1. The "Valley View Log" image with El Capitan was shot with a Nikon D800e with a Zeiss 15mm f/2.8. Both images were stopped down to F/22. I'm looking for feedback as to better approaches to these types of images or for other lens possibilities.

Happy Isles Log

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Radio Shack sells a nice little set of six small screwdrivers, three each with standard and Phillips heads.

Both Nikon and Sony/Minolta have made decent quality catadioptric lenses or "cats," but they were much more expensive than the Opteka. The Sony/Minolta is the only "cat" in lens manufacturing history with an automatic focus. It is in constant demand on Ebay. As with all long telephoto lenses, depth of field is very shallow. Furthermore, with "cat" lenses, they are usually f/8 or slower, but a few are f/5.6. Making images of birds in flight at infinity, decent images can be created and some will be very satisfying. The donut-shaped bokeh is caused by the secondary mirror in the middle of the primary lens. Your chances of getting good images with cheap lenses are congruent with the money you spend.

The 645z is not in my purchase budget, but I plan to rent one this spring. There are trade-offs, based upon the images that I've seen. The 28-45 has better overall performance than the 25mm, but the latter is lighter and easier to handle. The 25mm has some chromatic aberration issues in certain situations. I think that's why it was taken out of production. If I get/find the money, I have my eye on the "basic" kit of the camera plus the 28-45mm, the 55mm, and the 90mm macro, in a custom case, all for $16k. I don't think I would use the 150-300mm enough to justify the cost, though it is cheaper than the 25mm was.

Although the 25mm for the 645z is no longer manufactured, you can rent one from Lensrentals.com. Its full-frame equivalent is 19mm -- a truly marvelous prime. Used 25mm lenses are out there....

The Canon lens is a good choice. Another possibility is the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. Although it is about $500 new, there are used lenses available for about the same price as the Canon.

You make a good point, Billnikon. Zeiss got out of the camera business and stayed with optics because cameras amounted to such a small percentage of their sales. Further: Zeiss makes the optical testing equipment most camera makers use. Zeiss is ramping up its manufacturing of lenses for Sony E and FE mounts because that's where the growing/leading edge is right now.

The leading edge of photography innovation gets passed around from company to company. When my Dad bought one of the first single-lens reflexes, the Zeiss Contaflex, it was the leading edge of photography. The Canon AE-1 was the first camera of its kind, an affordable electronic single-lens reflex, putting Canon on the leading edge, and the competition took several years to catch up. The Contax 645 offered automatic focus in a medium-format single-lens reflex, and for a while, it was on the leading edge for medium-format shooters. Getting to the present: Sony decided on eliminating the pentaprism entirely. For several years, it has been on the leading edge of mirrorless cameras, with performance now beginning to match that of DSLRs. In the meantime, Leica still produces +rangefinder+ cameras for a niche market of those who can afford the luxury, and Phase One is on the leading edge of medium format, but maybe not for long: Fuji and Pentax are catching up, and Hasselblad is starting to innovate again. Maybe other companies will be on the leading edge next year or the year following.... Meanwhile, let's not bemoan the non-continuation of past innovations.

I have used a variety of tripods since the mid-1950s and a variety of brands. A good rule of thumb is, "Buy as sturdy a tripod as you can that meets your needs within your budget, plus a little more if you can risk it." I'm retired, so my budget is more limited than it used to be. My current tripod is an AmazonBasics 52-Inch Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod with Bag, which I purchased for just under $100 US. It's not perfect, but it meets my needs, and it is cost-effective. After getting it, I discovered that it had a couple of useful features that I had not looked for. It's a keeper - for now.

I've been to both the North Rim and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The South Rim is where 90% of tourists go, and it's pretty decent. If it is to be your one and only visit to the big ditch, I MUST recommend that you go to the North Rim. I'm not saying to go there instead of the South Rim, but the North Rim is very different. The South Rim is strictly a desert environment. On the North Rim, you're a thousand feet higher, and you're surrounded by forest as you look across the desert across from you and below you. Morning and evening shadows can be deeper, and the colors can appear richer - not washed out by the blazing sun from the south. If you decide to stay at the North Rim, make your reservations as soon as you can, because it's only open roughly May through September. May your travels be truly blessed!

I agree about not necessarily needing a nodal head. This last week I created a hand-held stitched panorama of the forest next to my apartment using a Sony HX100V. The bracketing was set for +/- 1 stop. I'm rather pleased with the result. After using Photomatix Pro to merge each 3-image set, they were processed to enhance details and merged using Microsoft's Image Composite Editor (ICE). I overlapped the images about 30%.

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In the last couple of years, I have begun making stitched panoramic landscape images. Each of the separate images I make is bracketed +/- two stops. I take one image set, determine the best Photomatix setting for the overall landscape, and then I process each of those bracketed sets using the same Photomatix settings. Once each set has been merged, I then stitch the sets together using Microsoft's ICE (Image Composite Editor). On my last travel junket, I used a 35mm lens to shoot in vertical/portrait position each of the bracketed sets. Also, I was using a Sony RX-1Rii, shooting manually with auto-iso. I'm always looking for ways to improve my techniques. I'm including a stitched image with this posting.

I'd like feedback from other UHH folks as to their techniques, and the advantages and disadvantages of their techniques. So far, I've only attempted stitching a single row of images, but if any of you have stitched multiple rows of images, I'd like to hear your feedback. If I stitch two rows, would I be better off using a lens in the 50-90mm full-frame range?

In my next travel junket, I plan on shooting some stitched landscape astro-photography images without star trails. Have any of you attempted bracketing of your night photography?

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I offer a cautionary tale. Last spring I rented a Sony RX1rii and shot manual with auto iso the whole time. Not being familiar with Sony's menu system, I did not realize that the camera has a DEFAULT maximum iso in auto mode. As a result, I thought something had gone wrong with the camera when I tried to make some landscape astrophotography images. I thought something had gone wrong with the camera because I knew the camera capable of useful iso over 25000. It turns out, the problem was that default maximum, of which I was unfamiliar. It turns out, it is easy to up the maximum to over 100k if desired. I admit that the fault was mine, and my lack of knowledge of Sony's menu system. I'll know next time.