On 7/7/2020 5:30 AM, Wayne Shumaker wrote:
When bad bokeh is good bokeh or "artistic", and vintage lens formulas.
Looking through m43 lens offerings, or Sony 3rd party lenses, I came across
various vintage style lenses coming back.
First, a concrete recommendation. If you want bubbly, swirly bokeh, skip all the old Red lenses and the expensive new
recreations of them.
Go on the 'Bay and buy a no name CCTV lens, 25mm, f1.4. The "brand" on mine is "TV LENS". Put it on a "C" mount to µ4/3
adapter. <http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=22271>
And. <http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=22271>
Now, the specific that illustrates the generic. Here's the gear I used to take those shots.
<http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=22269>
All those cobbled together filter thread adapters? That's to get an ND filter on the lens. I've since bought one in 30
mm size. Outdoors, in Az sunshine, it's a must have for this kind of effects.
So here's the generality.
1. ALL these lenses have interesting/crappy/ artistic bokeh effects ONLY at or
near wide open.
And it's corollary:
2. It's impossible to combine the special bokeh with more than very shallow DoF
with them.
If you want an even general softness, over a considerable subject depth, none of these lenses will do that. A smaller
aperture with appropriate soft filter is the only way. FF, F8, with Nikkor Soft 1.
<http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=22818>
µ4/3, F5.6, Nikkor Soft 2 <http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=23192>
The Nikkor Softs are the best, by a wide margin.
Another general rule:
3. The further lenses get from Sharp, clear, etc., the more they differ from
each other.
One single element, 100 mm lens.
<http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=23198>
Another single element, 100 mm lens.
<http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=23200>
But, you say, one is @ F2 and the other F4, no fair! But in weirdness, there is no fairness. The f4 doesn't get any
wider (no diaphragm at all!) If I want the stronger effect, only one lens will do it.
The next shot to the right is with a pretty decent lens that happens to be a bit
"off" wide open.
As further indication of how complex it is, Here are an ancient ~1960 vintage Canon 58/1.2 lens design, made as
optically good as possible a the time and a recent, intentionally soft lens, LensBaby Velvet 56/1.6, with and without
Nikon Soft filters.
A confusing array of different choices in "look". (Where did I find the patience?) Notice how the LB is so much softer,
with "bubble bokeh" wide open, but sharper than the Canon @ f8 and f11.
I have a large menagerie of Alt.Lenses, from ancient , pre-computer, T-Mount through contemporary, intentionally
"crappy" lenses. They are all different, ranging from single element through a complex variable softness lens. I can't
say I know all that much about some of them.
They are certainly interesting, and capable of striking effects ordinary, "good" lenses can't do.
<http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=20810>
And <http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=20641>
All my Alt. lenses but the CCTV lens were designed for FF, and show their best/worst on that format, so I shoot them
with the A7. they are also generally of FLs that work better with FF.
Going further abstract, some of the LensBabies work well on µ4/3. The last 13 photos on this page were all taken with a
LensBaby Optic Swap System 50/2, Double Glass lens in Spark flexible mount on µ4/3.
AG is partly right about LensBaby. They are generally special purpose, but most of the recent ones, with built-in
diaphragms, rather than the Waterhouse stops, quickly become normal as they are stopped down. They straddle both worlds.
Alt Dot Moose
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What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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