Thursday, April 12, 2012

Meyer-Optik 2.8/100mm Trioplan lens review


I was out testing my new to me "1959 Meyer-Optik" Gorlitz f2.8 /100 mm Trioplan Lens that is the lens with the red V and the 16 blade aperture .

Meyers-Optik made a few different visions of this lens, the only other Meyer 2.8/100mm that has good boken is the 15 blade lens all others will work fine but considering outstanding Bokeh is the only purpose for using this lens with it's Creamy Bokeh. If you go looking for a Meyer Optik 2.8/100mm trioplan you should make sure that its a M-42 mount which can be converted to most new digital camera mounts (manual operation only). The Praktina mount is very tough to convert but can be converted to a Nikon f mount with a little lens bashing. I would show how to do it later, but for now seem to have miss-placed the images that I took of the process.

You better do your homework or you might find that the lens your buying is not worth what you are paying for it, because some old mount types are very hard to convert if not imposible to convert . In which case you will have a nice but costly paperweight. Look for M-42 and M-39 mount lens or a lens that has an adapter for your make of camera, otherwise stay away, they are just not worth it. In fact some are impossible to convert without the services of a machinist with a lath and even then if he can do it you could end up doubling the price of the lens. Exakta mount lens are what i'm talking about here, they can be converted but if your not clever, creative and handy with tools I have to say you're not going to be happy.


The first image from todays test is just to give you an idea of how smooth the background bokeh
is from this lens. Note that the Bokeh is very smooth (creamy in fact) which is the big deal about the Meyer Optik 2.8/100mm Trioplan lens.

Next I have to say that I was very pleased and in fact surprised at how sharp this lens is. I did not have my hopes set very high in that department and was quite surprised with the sharpness edge to edge and in the corners. I count that as a bonus!!

In the end it comes down to how much money you are willing to spend on a tool that can help you create better images. I am glad to have this lens in my tool bag but I know that you can get the same results with other equipment, but for me, who always shoots manually this lens has some very useful qualities that I look forward to using in my quest to create different looking images.

Note: old lenses have a unique feeling.and image quality because for the most part they were hand assembled and that results in differences from lens to lens. About the images used in this post are all raw files converted to jpegs and cropped no photoshop processing. For those wondering what the flower is, it's Dutchman's Breeches a spring wildflower.

Hope you found this information helpful........................Peter

Copyright 2012 Peter Manship all rights reserved

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Maple sugarhouse photography

Spring is just around the corner here in Vermont, the mud is starting to get troublesome and Maple sugaring is beginning. You see people out checking their tap lines in the woods (sugarbush) , those still using buckets are tapping and hanging buckets out hopeful that the sap will start running soon. There are not many of the old sugarhouses left, replaced by modern structures which for me are just to straight and new looking. I hunt for the remains of the old sugar houses. There pretty hard to find anymore especially working ones.The photos in today's post are of a non-working one I found.  I was worked in post processing to create a old timey looking image of the sugarhouse. One's that has a vintage look. I using the same image in each example of this post.  This first image is nice but doesn't have the old timey look that I'm looking for.
For this second image I added a sepia tone to it and it's starting to look better But!! 
To me this last image really has a Old Time look to it as if printed from a old historic glass plate. Nailed it in my mind with this image and the truth is I created all these image last night March 12-12. It is amazing what can be created in Photoshop, a great tool for artist and photographers. 
This last image is me favorite of the group not that the others are bad , it's just that this one has the look I was trying to create.  The creative process is always open the change as my influences change along with my mood, vision and skills. If nothing else I have learn that as you improve your skills you get better at image capturing, editing your image and your vision may have changed along the way, so nothing is written in stone. There is personal growth in change.  Enjoy!!!

.................Peter
                                                                                                                      
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Copyright 2012 - Peter Manship - all rights reserved
Reproduction, printing, or distribution of these images  and copy is protected by US and International Copyright laws and is strictly prohibited.