Lenses

[Cinegain]

I had the Pentax-M SMC 50mm f/1.4, but it was the non-Takumar Asahi version (hey, if they can make beer goggles, they can probably make some funky lenses xD). Was my favorite for quite a while. (^^,)

[kye]

9 hours ago, leslie said:

after the soviet challenge we may as well progress straight to the takumar challenge  ?

I can get behind that..   I have several in my "to sell when I can be bothered" pile ???

[leslie]

8 minutes ago, kye said:

I can get behind that..   I have several in my "to sell when I can be bothered" pile ???

you don't have a 20mm tak for sale ?  that would just about round out my collection i think ?

the 15 and 17mm are just a bit pricey for me.

4 hours ago, Cinegain said:

I had the Pentax-M SMC 50mm f/1.4, but it was the non-Takumar Asahi version (hey, if they can make beer goggles, they can probably make some funky lenses xD). Was my favorite for quite a while. (^^,)

i kept everything m42 for simplicity.

[kye]

3 hours ago, leslie said:

you don't have a 20mm tak for sale ?  that would just about round out my collection i think ?

the 15 and 17mm are just a bit pricey for me.

i kept everything m42 for simplicity.

No, I was focusing on the longer focal lengths when I bought them.  IIRC I have a 35, 50, and something longer.

I also kept everything m42 for simplicity.  Well, all the Pentax and Russian lenses anyway.

[noone]

The problem for M42 lenses for me is they unscrew so easily (when focusing them and I do not want to).   I have a couple but that is one of the main reasons I do not use them (mine are also not as good as other similar lenses I have).  The ones I have currently are off brand though i did have a 17 blade Biotar 58 f2 and a 55mm f2 Takumar I liked a bit.

[leslie]

21 minutes ago, noone said:

The problem for M42 lenses for me is they unscrew so easily (when focusing them and I do not want to).   I have a couple but that is one of the main reasons I do not use them (mine are also not as good as other similar lenses I have).  The ones I have currently are off brand though i did have a 17 blade Biotar 58 f2 and a 55mm f2 Takumar I liked a bit.

i can't say i have had that experience at all. But i think i probably unconsciously give it an extra strong twist at the end, just to be sure

[kye]

1 hour ago, noone said:

The problem for M42 lenses for me is they unscrew so easily (when focusing them and I do not want to).   I have a couple but that is one of the main reasons I do not use them (mine are also not as good as other similar lenses I have).  The ones I have currently are off brand though i did have a 17 blade Biotar 58 f2 and a 55mm f2 Takumar I liked a bit.

I think I do the same as @leslie and that fixes it.  One of mine has a pretty stiff focus ring so that makes it a bit more treacherous but even then I haven't had issues.

Maybe your adapter isn't quite so grabby when done up?

[noone]

Even with a extra twist they can still be loose for me...I have a pet Pentax Spotmatic film camera with a 28mm 2.8 M42 lens on it and even it can twist off if I am not careful.

[kye]

28 minutes ago, noone said:

Even with a extra twist they can still be loose for me...I have a pet Pentax Spotmatic film camera with a 28mm 2.8 M42 lens on it and even it can twist off if I am not careful.

If the lenses can focus a little past infinity at their hard-stop then there's a bit of room for something in the mount, so maybe a small amount of something grippy like a very thin rubber gasket?  ie, cut from a very thin rubber sheet perhaps?

[noone]

5 hours ago, kye said:

If the lenses can focus a little past infinity at their hard-stop then there's a bit of room for something in the mount, so maybe a small amount of something grippy like a very thin rubber gasket?  ie, cut from a very thin rubber sheet perhaps?

I would try something but the ones I have are not really worth doing all that much.    I guess having used some for decades, it is just easier going elsewhere for me.    They do have some nice lenses though.

 

[leslie]

 

7 hours ago, noone said:

Even with a extra twist they can still be loose for me...I have a pet Pentax Spotmatic film camera with a 28mm 2.8 M42 lens on it and even it can twist off if I am not careful.

you must have a grip like ironman ?

i have been considering getting a cheap dumb adapter for each m42. that would make for quicker lens changes on the p4k.

digressing slightly, i'm half way through building a table and backboard for shooting some of my own lens tests. What are your thought on  xrite colour checkers. I assume their the bees knees, but their close to three times the price of other competitors. I'm finding it a bit hard to justify that amount of cash.

[noone]

5 hours ago, leslie said:

 

you must have a grip like ironman ?

i have been considering getting a cheap dumb adapter for each m42. that would make for quicker lens changes on the p4k.

digressing slightly, i'm half way through building a table and backboard for shooting some of my own lens tests. What are your thought on  xrite colour checkers. I assume their the bees knees, but their close to three times the price of other competitors. I'm finding it a bit hard to justify that amount of cash.

     I look at my photos and video on several different screens and they all look different.    Usually, I prefer the colour i get from my cheap little tablet.      I have been thinking about colour checking lately though for my NEXT computer....so that would be nice to learn about going forward.

[leslie]

2 hours ago, noone said:

     I look at my photos and video on several different screens and they all look different.    Usually, I prefer the colour i get from my cheap little tablet.      I have been thinking about colour checking lately though for my NEXT computer....so that would be nice to learn about going forward.

i actually meant to throw my question open to the whole forum, it was kinda late when i wrote that, i didn't mean to direct that at you specifically, sorry about that ?

I also am looking at a new computer, my desktop died several months ago. For now i get by with dell i5 laptop, it runs resolve ok.... albeit slowly perhaps, i could probably throw some more ram at it one day. but i keep buying camera bits and pieces. ?

 

[noone]

47 minutes ago, leslie said:

i actually meant to throw my question open to the whole forum, it was kinda late when i wrote that, i didn't mean to direct that at you specifically, sorry about that ?

I also am looking at a new computer, my desktop died several months ago. For now i get by with dell i5 laptop, it runs resolve ok.... albeit slowly perhaps, i could probably throw some more ram at it one day. but i keep buying camera bits and pieces. ?

 

I thought you did...I changed my post because of that.....I am glad you asked though because I want to know too.

[kye]

@leslie @noone are you guys talking about colour charts to use to calibrate the video out of your cameras, or monitor calibration to get colour accuracy of your monitors, or both?

Not sure if this helps, but the advice I'm hearing from the professional colourists is to calibrate your monitors, and then to just process the footage to look good ("if it looks good it is good" as they say).  However, these guys are colourists, so they're pretty good at making the image look however they want, so have less need of a colour chart to do the work for them.

If I was looking to buy a colour checker to auto-correct my footage then I'd consider buying the one that Resolve uses to auto-magic the shots in the colour tab, but that's probably the one that's much more expensive! 

[BTM_Pix]

The X-Rite checkers are one of those things that are expensive for what they are but cheap for what they enable you to do.

In lens news, does anyone use these Meike cine primes?

There are obviously some discussions about how closely they, erm, "resemble" the now defunct Veydra's products but at under £350 a piece and with the 12,16,25mm set due to be rounded out this month by 35,50 and 85mm they are very interesting.

 

[leslie]

8 hours ago, kye said:

@leslie @noone are you guys talking about colour charts to use to calibrate the video out of your cameras, or monitor calibration to get colour accuracy of your monitors, or both?

Not sure if this helps, but the advice I'm hearing from the professional colourists is to calibrate your monitors, and then to just process the footage to look good ("if it looks good it is good" as they say).  However, these guys are colourists, so they're pretty good at making the image look however they want, so have less need of a colour chart to do the work for them.

If I was looking to buy a colour checker to auto-correct my footage then I'd consider buying the one that Resolve uses to auto-magic the shots in the colour tab, but that's probably the one that's much more expensive! 

er i'm discussing colour test chart as you can see the prices vary considerably

 

[kye]

Speaking of Meike lenses.....

 

49 minutes ago, leslie said:

er i'm discussing colour test chart as you can see the prices vary considerably

 

Think of it like buying a grey card and a LUT that balances out all your footage, including matching cameras, forever (when combined with the auto-adjust function in Resolve, not sure if other NLEs have a similar function).

Using that (and the NLE auto feature) to get a neutral image that you can then put a grade on top of (be it a fully manual grade, LUT, or preset) would be a pretty good colour workflow if you weren't into grading..  $189 wouldn't even get you a professional colourist for a few hours on a single short film, so that's the territory you're in.

[noone]

18 hours ago, kye said:

@leslie @noone are you guys talking about colour charts to use to calibrate the video out of your cameras, or monitor calibration to get colour accuracy of your monitors, or both?

Not sure if this helps, but the advice I'm hearing from the professional colourists is to calibrate your monitors, and then to just process the footage to look good ("if it looks good it is good" as they say).  However, these guys are colourists, so they're pretty good at making the image look however they want, so have less need of a colour chart to do the work for them.

If I was looking to buy a colour checker to auto-correct my footage then I'd consider buying the one that Resolve uses to auto-magic the shots in the colour tab, but that's probably the one that's much more expensive! 

I am just along for the ride....learning about both would be fine by me.

[billdoubleu]

12 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

The X-Rite checkers are one of those things that are expensive for what they are but cheap for what they enable you to do.

In lens news, does anyone use these Meike cine primes?

There are obviously some discussions about how closely they, erm, "resemble" the now defunct Veydra's products but at under £350 a piece and with the 12,16,25mm set due to be rounded out this month by 35,50 and 85mm they are very interesting.

 

I own the 16 & 25mm Meike lenses. I really like them for my purpose, which is family videos. They're used on my GX85 & G85. They offer a nice sharp image through the aperture range. Though they may be a bit too clinical for some people's taste. I don't really look for a vintage image because I like digital images and I firmly believe in due time my images will look as vintage as they need to. I also like the weight they add to these smaller cameras.

I was a very early adopter of these lenses, so the 25mm version I have is the unabashed clone of the Veydra lens.The focus ring is a chore to turn by hand. I've read that the Veydras are heavily dampened.The 16mm version, which is the current design, has a far less dampened focus ring. I definitely prefer the 16mm focus ring as I don't use a follow focus, and assume the that a heavily dampened ring would be better suited for such a setup. I've never used a professional cine lens, so I'm truly talking out of my ass here. The focus throw is nice and long at around 300 degrees. As a side note I'm super pissed they changed the design, as my OCD strongly prefers they be a matching set.

I've never tested the markings on the lenses, but I wouldn't trust them for anything important. I would doubt the T stops are accurate from lens to lens. I would also doubt coatings match well lens to lens. I'm sure no one suspects the QC for these lenses is a very stringent process.

As far as I've read, in addition to the 12,16, and 25mm, they plan on releasing an 8, 35, 50, 70, and 85mm. Meike announced on Instagram this weekend the release of the 35mm in mid November. Their delivery dates change often though. I'm looking forward to the 35mm as it's my favorite focal length on MFT.

A bit disappointing though that the price from the 12mm and on will be $399 each in the US. For me that's enough of a jump to start looking at the SLR Magic Microprimes which come in faster flavors than the T2.2 of the Meike lenses.

Overall these lenses are fun for a guy like me to play in the world of cine lens make believe. MFT lenses are getting so fun now with the DZO zooms and the Vazen anamorphic lenses. It almost makes me not want to get a Sigma FP...but not really!