Greetings from the Netherlands

[Babylonia]

Hello,

As a new member of L-mount community, I shall introduce myself. Living in the south of the Netherlands.
Using a „nickname“ - as for „now“ (learned from decades of online history).

Decades of photography history to (my age is 70+).
From young age as a basic have technical schooling, (afterwards some years design an art)
& started “at that time” as a industry & advertising photographer, grew up with analogue techniques.

Using film formats between 35mm roll film to 8x10 inch sheet film.
(Nikon SLR - Mamiya 6x7 - Sinar P2 4x5” & 8x10” sheet film - Broncolor Studio flash).
Starting experience digital using “Leaf DCB” digital back (behind a Hasselblad camera) around early years 1990.

By personal life, photography often also was more at the background. (What we call in the Netherlands “twelve crafts - thirteen accidents”).
By health, three inguinal hernias from carrying heavy equipment, & e.g. had a "stroke" (losing the mind, but luckily I found it again ) etc.

Still, at an older age and retired, I try to “survive” in a sweet "low" speed of live & possibilities,
(without today's stress), and enjoy dabbling in photography.

After about 50 years using Nikon (as for 35mm camera) a few years ago I switched to L-mount / Lumix S1R system.
What a wonderful camera and system. Never have regrets and still love it.
Specially chosen the S1R by the high resolution EVF & brightness. The best there is IMO. (My eyes are getting older).

The L-mount forum is a community with relatively few members. (The L-mount system is underestimated IMO).
But at least I have found 'important' pioneers who know what they are talking about. That's why I signed up.
I think that in a number of cases I can also contribute to this community through my long photographic experience in general
and exchange of knowledge. (Specially also by my technical backgrounds / knowledge).

So in a nutshell my (photographic) life.

 

[xaviergut]

Hello,

As a new member of L-mount community, I shall introduce myself. Living in the south of the Netherlands.
Using a „nickname“ - as for „now“ (learned from decades of online history).

Decades of photography history to (my age is 70+).
From young age as a basic have technical schooling, (afterwards some years design an art)
& started “at that time” as a industry & advertising photographer, grew up with analogue techniques.

Using film formats between 35mm roll film to 8x10 inch sheet film.
(Nikon SLR - Mamiya 6x7 - Sinar P2 4x5” & 8x10” sheet film - Broncolor Studio flash).
Starting experience digital using “Leaf DCB” digital back (behind a Hasselblad camera) around early years 1990.

By personal life, photography often also was more at the background. (What we call in the Netherlands “twelve crafts - thirteen accidents”).
By health, three inguinal hernias from carrying heavy equipment, & e.g. had a "stroke" (losing the mind, but luckily I found it again ) etc.

Still, at an older age and retired, I try to “survive” in a sweet "low" speed of live & possibilities,
(without today's stress), and enjoy dabbling in photography.

After about 50 years using Nikon (as for 35mm camera) a few years ago I switched to L-mount / Lumix S1R system.
What a wonderful camera and system. Never have regrets and still love it.
Specially chosen the S1R by the high resolution EVF & brightness. The best there is IMO. (My eyes are getting older).

The L-mount forum is a community with relatively few members. (The L-mount system is underestimated IMO).
But at least I have found 'important' pioneers who know what they are talking about. That's why I signed up.
I think that in a number of cases I can also contribute to this community through my long photographic experience in general
and exchange of knowledge. (Specially also by my technical backgrounds / knowledge).

So in a nutshell my (photographic) life.

Very interesting, your photographic life.
I'm curious which lens was your favorite on the Nikon F System. I still have the Nikon Df, which is my favorite camera (DSLR), and a couple of lenses.

Did you try the Nikon Z System?

 

[Pete_W]

As a new member of L-mount community, I shall introduce myself. Living in the south of the Netherlands.
Using a „nickname“ - as for „now“ (learned from decades of online history).

Welcome to the community!

After about 50 years using Nikon (as for 35mm camera) a few years ago I switched to L-mount / Lumix S1R system.
What a wonderful camera and system. Never have regrets and still love it.
Specially chosen the S1R by the high resolution EVF & brightness. The best there is IMO. (My eyes are getting older).

I agree, the L-mount system is great. I used a Nikon SLR back in the film days, an F90X. Great camera. When digital came, I started with a number of point & shoot models and found Panasonic's the best. From there I moved up to the LX5 then to M4/3 and now S-series. Panasonic makes great gear.

 

[Babylonia]

D ifficut to descrpe

I'm curious which lens was your favorite on the Nikon F System....

Difficult to describe which lens was “favorite on the Nikon F System” .
As it reach a time period of about 50 years: 35mm film - to APS-C digital - to full frame digital again.

Within those “film” era, lenses absolutely where designed for other goals and results than today high resolution “digital” demanding.
(My last Nikon camera was a digital SLR - D700).
Favourite lenses in one time is overhauled later by other lenses. (But also I made the other way back).
I used focal lengths between 10mm (APS-C digital) and maximum ~200mm at the long end.
Manual focus lenses, as well auto focus “later”. But mostly liked the manual focus lenses better.

Usually I bought lenses for a certain type of photography in mind.
So as a favorite in old 35mm film era I mention the PC NIKKOR 28mm F3.5 shift lens (See YouTube).
In that time a choice specially made by me in doing architecture photography for a building company.

More easy and gave me far better options to climb into strange camera positions into buildings, roofs, etc.
than lugging around with heavy cased technical camera, lenses and heavy tripod.
(An extra photo assistance is needed also to carry around heavy equipment). Only as ”perspective control” was a requirement.
A “balance” made as for costs, and photography time spending that the company has to pay. Choose to do it on 35mm film.

To get the needed image quality, I used Kodachrome film.
(The best solution as it comes to detail and fine grain for 35mm film format).
Only at a few places in Europe Kodak could develop these films by its complex processing.
I didn’t send films to the lab, but collected the films of all projects during a time period and drove to Kodak "Brussels" lab,
where I could pick up results a few hours later.

Later on, “Kodachrome” was used less and less in general. And more Kodak labs where closed.
I made an appointment than for “Kodak Paris” once. (And a weekend trip to visit Paris).
They where amazed that a photographer from “Holland” specially came to Paris, only for developing films.

I was received with all due respect you can imagine and got a complete tour of the factory (film foundry).
An old building having granite floors. For proper clean conditions, the floor was polished daily with a scrubbing machine.
By the daily “same” pattern and movements of the machine, the high glossy floor was worn out over the years,
in the same “wavy” back and forth pattern. I never had seen this kind of “personalised” floors.

I was also “warned” to watch out for “Tommy”.
A nickname for an automated cart that made the rounds with stocks of film cassettes etc.
via a magnetic track across the floor (a leading guide to see how the cart would move around).

A special experience, I never forgot.

Cosina / Voigtländer “SL” lenses:
Special mentioning within my Nikon time. Differently in rendering and character:
Ultron 40mm / F2.0 pancake lens ----- Nokton 58mm / F1.4 (however to soft / “hazy” at F 1.4 for my taste)
Apo Lanthar 90mm / F 3.5 ------------ Apo Lanthar 180mm / F 4.0

“Still used” lenses from time to time in combination with the Panasonic S1R camera. If some characteristics is needed.
Specially the Lanthar 180mm is a very nice “close-up” / macro lens. (Adding extra extension tube).
That can still hold up by image quality for 3D picture imaging. (NO traces of LoCA at all - a real "Apo" design).

Industar - 50 - 2 (50mm / F 3.5): About 50 years old Russian lens.
A “gadget” lens for playing around. The M42 adapter weight is more than the lens itself. (Lens 68 gram).

Enlarger lenses:
As a kind of "collecting" hobby in past, I have a bunch of enlarger lenses, that can be adapted to a Nikon bellows PB-4.
Between 50mm and 300mm (Nikon and Rodenstock). The Nikon bellows combination can be adapted to Panasonic S1R camera to.

• NIKON CORPORATION - NIKON D700
• 180.0 mm
• ƒ/16
• 1/80 sec
• Pattern
• Manual exposure
• -0.3

• NIKON CORPORATION - NIKON D700
• 70.0 mm
• ƒ/11
• 1/200 sec
• Pattern
• Manual exposure

Not to mention other lenses used as for the other format cameras, what was more my main usage (4x5 inch).

 

[Babylonia]

When digital came, I started with a number of point & shoot models and found Panasonic's the best.
From there I moved up to the LX5 then to M4/3 and now S-series. Panasonic makes great gear.

My first experience using digital capturing by camera. Was beginning of the “nineties”.
Where a studio asked me as a photographer, as for having some insight in digital techniques. (I got a nickname,
“Professor curve”, as by playing around with “curves” within the capturing software to get the best image result).

A “black & white” sensor 2000x2000 pixels “Leaf DCB 1” (I suppose DCB = Digital Camera Back).

To get a colour image (only possible for “still life” photography), there was an automated system, to take three images after each other,
by passing trough three separate filters RGB, and switching the filters around by a motorised colour wheel in front of the camera lens.

Each capture took about 5-6 minutes from exposure to finished image for “investigating” the image.
If you have to change settings, exposure, it took another 5-6 minutes.

In spite of these very “pioneer” based digital approach. By the very high quality colourised dichroic RGB filters in front of the lens.
Far better than the later (early) used “vapour-deposited” colour filters “to pixels” of an image sensor.
The colour range of this basic model digital back was far superior to several years digital backs coming afterwards.

Also as no RGB “Bayer pattern” filter is used in front of the sensor. In spite of only 4 MP sensor (three times used to catch every RGB colour).
Also the quality of the images was quite good for let say “retail” printed images for pre-press usage. No moire or any other colour artifacts.



Much pictures are made with that digital back for e.g. fancy coloured sports (ski) glasses,
with pastels & difficult colours for capturing. Still very natural. This basic digital back could do it.
That more “follow up” digital backs (using Bayer pattern RGB filtering) afterwards could not reach.
(Other product pictures “in that time” done for e.g. Dutch made baby strollers).

For the price of such an “investment” you could buy a “big luxury car” or two smaller cars.
(Without “Apple” computer, and expensive Monitors in that time, Hasselblad camera and lenses itself + Studio flash equipment).

"Hand hold" digital cameras:
Me myself started digital by a “Nikon based” - Fuji Finepix S1 Pro APS-C sensor camera.
By severe colour cast shift into one side / corner of the image, it was not usable.
A handicap that many of this early digital camera model exhibits - also other brands and digital backs.
(The final blow for Kodak as a pioneer in the field of digital cameras and backs).

By many back & forth contact by Fuji Support, they took it back, and could buy another camera.
Waited maybe for half a year, and got my second digital camera - a Nikon D1X (APS-C sensor).
Very expensive and still not the real “basic” to start more seriously for digital imaging.

The much, much more cheap Nikon D80 afterwards, was a good step forward.
Replaced later by the full frame Nikon D700 This was my last Nikon camera.
As by personal health (got a stroke), several years photography was “out” / at the background more or less.

Later on, went for the L-Mount system, specially for the Panasonic S1R model, as it is the only camera brand
having a simple and good functionality to get high resolution mode processed in camera itself.
(Other brands coming "afterwards", still you have to process high-res afterwards using computer software).

Wanted this High-Res mode for more convenient digitising my analogue film based archive.
(roll film - 4x5” - 8x10” ). But started again "normal" photography first.

Greetings.

 

[Pete_W]

You certainly have used a wide range of gear, especially the early days of digital!

I found the price of DSLRs quite high in the early days so hung onto my F90X for quite some time, and it was still easy to get film processed. When I decided to go digital, I found the price of DSLRs too high which is why I went with point-&-shoots. Through this process I completely skipped DSLRs.

All the best!

 

[xaviergut]

Cosina / Voigtländer “SL” lenses:
Special mentioning within my Nikon time. Differently in rendering and character:
Ultron 40mm / F2.0 pancake lens ----- Nokton 58mm / F1.4 (however to soft / “hazy” at F 1.4 for my taste)
Apo Lanthar 90mm / F 3.5 ------------ Apo Lanthar 180mm / F 4.0

“Still used” lenses from time to time in combination with the Panasonic S1R camera. If some characteristics is needed.
Specially the Lanthar 180mm is a very nice “close-up” / macro lens. (Adding extra extension tube).
That can still hold up by image quality for 3D picture imaging. (NO traces of LoCA at all - a real "Apo" design).

Great!
I use the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SLII-S with my Nikon Df, but now I am trying it out with the S1R. Its EVF is a joy tu use, and makes very easy to focus the manual lenses with the focus peaking. I like the Voigtländer line. The lenses deliver a very strong character. A bit like a "film look". I did put a couple of pictures in the legacy lenses thread.
Greetings!

 

[Babylonia]

For manual focus lenses, and using the "peaking" help. I customized the upper front Fn1 button (beside the lens mount) of the camera.
For changing the intensity / sensitivity of the peaking "glittering" related to the kind of subject. Just by a "finger tip".
For most precise focusing. (Is by having "glittering" to low level, so only at right focus spot the glittering is showing).

Voigtländer lenses: I like the Voigtländer lenses to.
But keep in mind, that not every lens is suited for using on a “Panasonic” camera body.
In spite mostly all lenses with one or the other lens mount (e.g. SL and VM mount) can be adapted.
Due to optical design of lenses and limitations related to characteristics of sensor-stack thickness (sensor cover glass),
maximum possible angle of light rays hitting the sensor at borders / corners.

You shall not have “that” much problems in using “SL” mount lenses, as these lenses already have a “retro-focus” design
to overcome the bigger flange distance to sensor plane by the “mirror” house dimensions of a DSLR camera.
A lens adapter relatively is “deep” to overcome the SLR flange distance.

But using e.g. Voigtländer VM mount lenses, the “Leica M-mount” flange distance is much more short. (Using a small adapter thickness).
So the most behind lens part, is relative close to the sensor, when using a short focal length.

Using digital Leica M camera’s, the sensor-stack thickness is optimised for it.
But using a “Panasonic” camera body, image quality can rapidly decline to borders / corners.

Two months ago I bought a new 35mm lens, and compared two lenses by test images (within the camera shop itself).
- Voigtländer 35mm F1.5 Notkon - (As for comparison see examples found at YouTube - to Leica Summilux 35mm FLE)
- Sigma 35mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary

I only tried wide open aperture settings closing down to F 2.8 maximum. (I want to use these primes specially for their fast openings).
So for Voigtländer 1.5 - 2.0 - 2.8
Aperture setting Sigma 2.0 - 2.8

And tried different focus areas. Focusing in centre, and focusing “mid frame” area. To rule out any field curvature issues.

Unfortunately, the Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f1.5 can “not be used” in combination with a „Panasonic S1R” camera.
Only centre area is acceptable.
Going to mid frame and borders, the image is declining rapidly. ( F1.5 can not be used at all ).
Even when the Sigma is used wide open F 2.0, and the Voigtländer closed to F 2.8 (so ~two stops down).
The image quality of the Sigma outperform the Voigtländer by miles to borders and corners.

So I ended up, buying the Sigma lens. Very pity, as these kind of Voigtländer lenses I like very much.
(And a charm as for build mechanical quality, shape and dimensions and fitting as a combination to the Panasonic camera).
But could be expected. Otherwise every lens brand should build much more tiny lenses.
-

 

[CharlesH]

For manual focus lenses, and using the "peaking" help. I customized the upper front Fn1 button (beside the lens mount) of the camera.
For changing the intensity / sensitivity of the peaking "glittering" related to the kind of subject. Just by a "finger tip".
For most precise focusing. (Is by having "glittering" to low level, so only at right focus spot the glittering is showing).

That's a good tip! Thanks.

 

[Babylonia]

Another handy customized setting I have set to the "down" front Fn2 button (beside the lens mount) of the S1R camera,
is "crop mode".

Although less suitable when having a 24 Megapixel S1 or S5 (II) camera.
But more when using the 47 Megapixel S1R camera, (and upcoming next 60 MP generation camera's)
and you have more "spare" in cropping images. So smaller used image area to be used.
In conditions having not the right tele-lens attached to your camera, or to less focal length at all.

That is the [ Picture Size ] setting: for "Medium resolution" [ M ] and "Small resolution" [ S ]
Together "in the background" (not customized) an enlarged EVF image setting [ Ext Tele Conv. ]

You can find the specific "pure" settings menu (no customizing) within the < PDF manual > page 122
The upper (blue) setting "1" function menu ----> this I have set to front Fn2 button.
The down (blue) setting "2" just set by menu.

By these two settings the "cropped" area is showed entirely (so enlarged) to the EVF (or back screen).
So e.g. if a 100mm lens is attached, and cropping 1.4x mode is used.
The EVF / back screen it "looks" if you are using a ~140mm focal length lens is attached.
(Oft used comparison when using APS-C sensor camera in relation to "full frame").

So you have a more wide practical use of composing an image already at "taking picture level" within the viewfinder or back-screen.
When using resolution crop modes. Just by a "finger tip".

Keep in mind however. For RAW data, this crop isn't used, you see the entire full resolution picture area.
Crop is done directly to JPG files only.

Greetings.

 

[Nevyn72]

Welkom Babylonia vanuit het noorden van NL ;-)
(Welcome Babylonia from the north of the Netherlands).

 

[robin0112358]

But using e.g. Voigtländer VM mount lenses, the “Leica M-mount” flange distance is much more short. (Using a small adapter thickness).
So the most behind lens part, is relative close to the sensor, when using a short focal length.

Using digital Leica M camera’s, the sensor-stack thickness is optimised for it.
But using a “Panasonic” camera body, image quality can rapidly decline to borders / corners.

Indeed, this knowledge seems definitive. The only people who haven't complained about it are those who do not care for sharpness anywhere except the centre. This is fine for one style of photography only.

Thankfully there are many other lens systems that adapt well to Lumix S. I have M42, Pentax K, and Zeiss C/Y. The build and quality of these lenses have yet to be seen in Panasonic land.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[CharlesH]

Although less suitable when having a 24 Megapixel S1 or S5 (II) camera.
But more when using the 47 Megapixel S1R camera, (and upcoming next 60 MP generation camera's)
and you have more "spare" in cropping images. So smaller used image area to be used.
In conditions having not the right tele-lens attached to your camera, or to less focal length at all.

I use this approach with my A1, which is a higher resolution camera. I have a button that switches to aps-c mode if I know I'm going to crop anyway. This is very handy with wildlife telephoto photography, and it makes it easier to compose the shot.

 

[RuleOfThirds]

Welkom @Babylonia vanuit de mooie provincie Overijssel !
(Welcome @Babylonia from the beautiful province of Overijssel)