Mr. Woo: Still you must be using that Konica Autoreflex T3 (the one held together by rubber bands) very often. Wouldn't it be more convenient to use a Nikkormat , a Minolta SRT, or a Pentax instead?
I think it is incredible that Fuji have been able to make this 500mm so compact and Light weight for the 33x44mm sensor Cameras. So now I wonder if Fuji will make all their Lenses more compact and Light weight, because some are a bit big and heavy !
I have done Photography for 45 years both as a Professional and as a Hobby Photographer, I have always liked the focal Length 135mm and I have wondered why there are so few using this focal Length !? I had fx the Canon EF 135mm 2.0 L USM which is very good, now I have the outstanding Sony 135mm 1.8 GM, but it is a bit heavy and big. Last year I went through many of my best photo images taken with the Canon 135mm 2.0 and the Sony 135mm 1.8, most of the photos was taken with aperture 2.5 to 5,6, some with aperture 8.0, but only rarely larger than aperture 2.5 and smaller than 8.0, so today I would have (and might buy) bought the Zeiss Batis Apo Sonnar 135mm 2.8 T* which is much more Light weight, for now I use most my Voigtländer Macro APO-lanthar 110mm 2.5 which is sharper at 2.5 and 2.8 than the Sony 135mm 1.8 GM lens !!! But I will say that a 85mm Lens is much more overall versatile !
I made my own "Encyclopedia of Photography" with many books, photo copies, hundreds of brochures of Cameras, Lenses and all kind of photographic gear, I had hundreds of photo magazines in different languages, if I could not find the information I searched for, then I called photographic friend, photo dealers, photo importers or factories, so at the end I almost found what I searched for. My favorite books are fx by Ansel Adams, 3 set of books, The Camera, The Nagative, The Print. Also by Jon Hedgecoe, The Art of Colour Photography, and the The Photographer’s Handbook. I also like the book by Ulf Sjöstedt, Photocomposition. I have also Hasselblad: Dedicated to Victor Hasselblad by Evald Karlsten, LeicaThe first 70 yeras by Gianni Rogliatti (there re also later versions !), Leica Lens Practice Choosing and using Leica Lenses by Dennis Laney, Lens Work The Canon Guide to Interchangeable Lenses and Single Lens Reflex Photography by Canon. I can also recommend the OM System Hand Book. Yes, it is good to be prepared ☺📷
The first handheld Light Meter I bought was the Sekonic L-448 Studio-Auto II, I did not like it and is was 1.5 EV off the correct metering, so I got a Weston Master V which was really good, except in very low Light, but Weston Master Light Meters are very fragile, even a slightly bump and the needle can jump off, so it has to be repaired, after two repairs I gave up. Then I got a Quantum Calcu Light Meter which is excellent, very precise, but get the later version, the first version could have problems with the buttons ! Later I got an even better Light Meter, the Gossen Variosix F2 which I still have an it works perfect though it is more than 30 years old ! I also have a 5 degree Spot meter to attach to the Gossen Variosix F2. I always used the Light Meters with incident metering.
I grew up with Konica. My parents bought a Konica about 1961-ish. It might have been the FS SLR, but more likely it was the S rangefinder because they never used a light meter, and the S had one built in, while the FS did not. They always shot Agfa slide film. So I remember those Agfa colors, with the high contrast and striking reds that would pop, and the slide evenings every time there were visitors. In rural areas, before TV broadcasting came to our region, slide nights were considered to be very special entertainment. The Konica was considered exotic, and would be handed around so everyone could admire it. It was a very different time to today.
Quite the setup John, I think I hear Diana sneaking up behind you to steal it away, you may never see it again. Congrats and have a lot of fun with it. - Jeff
It would be interesting to hear Mr. Woo about the "war" in the late 80s with autofocus, also about Nikon's reluctance to use fluorite (Canon smash them with their FD Fluorite super telephotos, and then with a fast and effective autofocus system; reporters migrated en masse to Canon during the 90s precisely for that) The funny thing is that Nikon only got on the fluorite bandwagon in 2016, with the 800 f5.6 (and told us for decades that those crystals weren't that good lol)
I am not so well versed as Herbert Keppler or Erwin Puts in optical design. What I do know is the lens makers did their best to bring the 3 primary wavelengths to focus together to achieve the best results. When all three wavelengths are focussed together there are no color shifts resulting in accurate colors and sharpness. Before the advent of apochromatic lenses the best were the acchromats. 2 of the three wavelengths focussed. The terms spi chromatic, fluorite, extra low dispersion glass refers to the same attempts to correct color distortion due to the unfocussed wavelengths. Fluorite is a crystal grown in the lab that have such characteristic. Apo chromatic glass were produced by special formulation.
I had the 70-210mm for my OM2-SP back in the day, I initially bought the Vivitar Series-1 70-210 but it wasn’t as good, the zoom barrel would stiffen up as you turned it if recall, so I took it back and exchanged it for the Tamron which was much lighter too.
Tamron are underappreciated, they have lenses just as good as the primary manafacturers, and of course I do like Sony and Sigma, great companies to work with too! Our reps for both are great, recently they let borrow sonys 90mm macro!
I have a question, You can only vote for the Presidency of the United States? No State Politicians Correct? Cheers! Doing the Rewind. (Catching Up on RU-vid Subs)
@@Photojouralist123 I am hearing stories especially in Texas if you are not in the state for at least 6 months you cannot vote. Texas tracks you especially when buying a house outside of the state or in another county, You are either to vote at one place. If You vote in both places then it is thrown out. Funny to me that if living in multiple places and only selecting local politicians and land tax votes you should be able to vote. I agree voting for a National or State Representative should only be done once. Apparently Some Texans have voted for the same individual twice. Hmm!
I will not say which is my favourite lens, rather which I liked. As I was in photo retail for many years I got to try nearly all of them. I did own the sp90/2 5, sp 70&210/3.5 & sp 17/3.5 before. Well it is like the scapels on the operating table, they all have their use. Your favorite will be the ones you need most for the moment the sp series were all good yet some non sp ones were quite unique.
This maybe the problem I am having Autofocus because the metering could be off. That is why I go to manual focusing. But then I review the image it may be dark. Don't trust the LCD screen on the camera because there are some lousy ones that are attached. I dealt with the Z6III today and on the video camera exposure was correct but when I switched it to Photo it was dark. This User Error Fellow should of known to check this first and not find out afterward in Post. I had a little time with the two cameras but was impressed. Cheers!
Of the adaptal 2 series lenses I have two and with the code chart you can tell which lens company made it for Tamron and their specifications. Very well-made lenses.
I have the Adaptall 90mm f2.5. Terrific lens. The adaptall type system would be really beneficial in respect of mirrorless cameras. A question for Mr Woo is why doesn’t anyone create such a system? Is it because the electronics in the lens - and not just the electronic contacts and wiring between the lens and the camera - need to be specific to the camera mount? Or is it because most mounts (Canon, Leica-L mount) are proprietary and currently restrict the access to the mount such that it isn’t commercially worthwhile? One exception is probably the Sigma APS-c lenses which are made for Canon-M, Sony E, Nikon Z, MFT, Fuji X etc. Or is it because a different software (with any updates) would need to be used each time you change lenses? Looking over my list of reasons why it doesn’t exist for mirrorless, I see there are good reasons why it wouldn’t work, at least for AF lenses!
yes, as you have mentioned making interchangeable lens mounts that could accomodate electronic as well as mechanical linkages was challenging, adding af functions makes it even more challenging , and getting all the licensing from the camera brand was not always feasible.
There was a company in the past , Spiratone, that made inexpensive lenses and other rather gimiky and eccentric photo equipment. It was geared to the budget minded amateur shooters. Thanks Mr. Woo and John.
I and probably others as well would be very interested in Mr Woo's take on camera repair books/literature or his advice on how to get into camera repair. It's a niche subject with currently low demand, but we have to transfer the knowledge of the older repairmen while they are still around.... many/most of them are gone already, unfortunately.
I have never seen a Vivitar like this. I have two 75-205/ 3,5-4,5 one for P/K and the other is for Nikon AIs. I shall check them after I come back home.
I own a mint 70-210mm F3.5 Series 1 Vivitar macro which produces superb images and it cost me next to nothing. I also own a Soligor 350 mm F5.6 lens with a Nikon F mount which also takes extremely good pictures. I bought it at a flea market for $20...its a joke considering the quality it produces. Both of these lenses are all metal and built like tanks unlike the plastic junk offerings of some modern lenses, I actually use the Vivitar on a regular basis for macro work.
Seems like its similar to guitars. Everyone likes the vintage stuff.. Why dont they just keep making the good products everyone wants instead of trying to sell everyone on the newest models? Isnt that a no brainer or am I crazy?
