Brew's Picture a Day Thread...

[SMB2]

The k20d is an old inexpensive digital camera by todays standards..it was released in 2008..so over 7 years old now. It still takes decent to great pictures but does tend to handle low light rather poorly.

Al, the results speak for themselves. I was trying to get a gauge as to the light requirements for the lens. These all seemed to have been in nice soft light, but I was curious as to when you started seeing noise creep into the background.

[dagray]

Very nice shots Al.

[brewmaster15]

Been a while, this time of the year is incredibly busy for us here.I haven't had as much time as I would have liked to take pictures, but I did take a few shots this past fathers day of our first Daylily flower. It was a rainy gray morning but lots of dew on the leaves and flowers... and everything is just so lush and rich green here. My favorite time of year, late spring/early summer.

These pictures were taken with my old pentax K20D and a new lens I have. I say new, but its really not at all. I used to have this lens 20 years ago, and really liked it. My copy broke and I have been watching intently for a replacement for years. I finally came across it.The lens is a 3rd party mfg of lens, Tokina. They make lenses for various camera makers. Some have been great lenses, others, so-so or garbage. Its a manual zoom lens covering 35- 105mm ,pentax mount. F1:3.5-F4.3. Its not a terribly fast lens, but its rock solid heavy metal construction and has a real nice close focus function. The price I paid was a whopping $25 . For me a total steal, but really thats about how much these older manual lens can sell for.


By now you probably realize that I like old camera gear....like old lens. Probably from my old film days but also because I am practical and stubborn. I'm a Hobby photographer on a low budget and I recognize the usefulness of things that are old, yet still work as intended and sometimes even better than intended. I would love to have the newest and bestest gear were I able to afford it, but I would still enjoy trying to make a good picture from decades old equipment...The challenge is part of the hobby for me. You really don't need the newest gear to make good Pictures or even great pictures...You can make do with far less than the best and still have pictures that are pleasing to look at and fun to take.


So heres the lens....


20150623_124356.jpg


20150623_124335.jpg


Really nothing special to look at..just an old manual lens.

al

[brewmaster15]

And the pictures, handheld camera, close up function various Iso's..























The subject is the same flower, just different perspectives.. Old lens, new Images.


al

[Second Hand Pat]

Wow Al, the colors are so vibrant. I can't seem to get the whole flower in focus even when stepping down the fstop. Perhaps that is a function of the lens I'm using?

[brewmaster15]

Hi Pat,

Best I can explain is...Theres a trade off with a true Macro like yours... The Depth of field is generally very narrow... It makes an excellent "Macro photo.".. for instance you could do a sensational job on the anthers and stamens in the center of the flower or an insects head..but the larger the subject the harder it will be to capture it all in crisp detail.. The day lily flower I took pictures of is more of a "close up" picture, not so much a macro...so a lens designed to take "close ups" works well. It allows me to get "close" and focus.

Also, theres an element of perspective. In my day lily pictures the petals and anthers (the black structures that carry the Pollen, male portion of flower) line up in a plane and fall in the focus range. Theres another part that extends out of the flower center that called the stigma( the female portion of the flower) The stigma extends out of the focal range and is blurry. So part of the images depth of field is related to the shape of the flower parts..

Its one reason why photographers have multiple lens... some lens just do a better job at some things. I fell in love with this particular tokina decades ago as I felt it resolved colors amazingly... and it does a decent job at nature pictures within 10-15 feet. Its not very good at distance shots,

al

[Second Hand Pat]

Food for thought Al back later.
Pat

[brewmaster15]

Not sure if this will help Pat, but visualize this...

The daylily flower is almost 5 inches across and the stamens extend 1" and curl up which helps keep them in focus in the plane... the stigma extends out close to 3"(so out of focus).. The focal plane of the this particular shot image /distance is about 2".


_IGP0346_test2.JPG

[Second Hand Pat]

That is perfect Al. Appreciate the assist Went out to play and the SD card was full

[brewmaster15]

That is perfect Al. Appreciate the assist Went out to play and the SD card was full

lol.. have fun.

al