Hi George:
From: Re: [OM] Was Digital vs Film, is now Fawlty Towers and OM addiction.
> As for the waterfall, don't you have a Zuiko at your disposal you could
> get that shot with <G>!
Sure, your "new" 350mm f/2.8 Zuiko. Only problem - the waterfall is dry this
time of the year!! But it pulled in the hanging seep next to it (presently
wet) with more resolution and contrast than with a Canon FD 300mm f/5.6
However, matched 2X teleconverters on both (stopped down at least 2 stops)
yielded about equal details. Also, a 300 mm f/5.6 is next to impossible to
focus with precision. It is a wild guess with a 2X. Focusing with the 350
f/2.8 is a cake walk. You even hear a "woosh" as the air is forced out of the
lens barrel.
Interesting to note is that the Canon doesn't have a tripod mounting ring. It
was necessary to hang a cement block from the tripod to get stability. The
Zuiko was balanced well and didn't need a brick, although I could tell the
shot where the wind gusts shook the lens.
How about this: shooting the 350mm focal length at 0.6 miles away and 0.2
miles up, I could make out the railing pattern and the people sitting IN the
resturant at the top of the Stratosphere tower! It took a microscope to
detect them, but they are there amidst the grain of a Fuji Sensia II 100
slide. With Tech Pan, I likely could have determine those wearing glasses.
(I have some T-Max 100 shots, but they aren't developed yet). In full length
portraits, individual strands of hair are distinct. In a word:
"hairsplitting."
Downsides: Heavy as all get out, too long for my typical way of seeing, scary
to handle such an expensive collection of glass, scary to travel with (re:
security), impossible to get out of its aluminum case fast enough for grab
shots of wildlife.
I was photographing a duck with it at the Desert National Range. The close
focus distance proved to be limiting and I was soon yelling at the duck to get
him/her to back off. It was obviously in love with the big purple ED element
staring at it! Oh, and it was well after dusk. I was shooting with a flash
and low and behold the focus accuracy was pretty close, thanks to f/2.8
viewing.
For those lusting after a 350mm f/2.8 Zuiko, you might just drive yourself
crazy TRYING to find enough shots to justify it. I had the wild idea of
telephoto compressing the Fremont Street Experience (4 blocks long). Forget
it, I took a rotten 35 mm f/2.0 view instead. It worked great at a kids horse
show, giving full frame hourse across the arena. I tried on two successive
weekends to find desert bighorn (mountain) sheep to photograph. I blew out
tires both weekends and never saw any sheep, although it was a great spotting
scope. The second time it happened, I caught a ride back to the city from a
couple who had just photographed one on the shores of Lake Mead. Their camera
and lens? A disposable with Kodak Max film! But, they wished they had a
better camera. So I gave them a business card.
Gary Reese
Las Vegas, NV
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