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Visoflex question please.....


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The '280' I'm currently considering is (by its serial number - 1993XXX) is,I think, a Version 2, cosmetically it's in good shape but opinions as to the IQ of this model do vary quite a bit.

 

I think I may have to take it on a sale-or-return basis. Mmmmmm?

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Rheingold, I use the 280mm (V2) quite a lot for wildfowl photography. Much of this carried out in the winter to capture overwintering birds such as tufted ducks from the Baltic or Iceland; this means focussing in poor light much of the time. A typical exposure is 1/500s at f/5.6 under these conditions. This is working close to limits with this focal length and the failure rate is quite high. It often seems difficult to focus the lens particularly with black feathered birds. I always try to focus on the yellow iris of tufted ducks. The depth of field is very narrow and even slow moving birds can move out of the zone of focus in the time it takes to stop down and fire the shutter to release the mirror of the Visoflex. I find a monopod is essential to obtain sharp pictures. Under better conditions in spring the lens is much easier to use. As others have remarked elsewhere on the forum, the old rule of 1/(focal length) seconds for the minimum exposure time for a sharp picture is much less applicable to digital photography than to film photography and I find 1/500 second to be a more realistic minimum for this lens. Under these conditions the lens performs well, Mandler was ahead of his time 55 years ago when he designed the lens. I append an example obviously taken in spring. Beware, fluffy goslings look sweet but are impossible to focus on; fortunately mother goose has well defined feathers.

As for using it on the Visoflex III + bellows, I would strongly discourage you from this. First the depth of field is exceptionally small, second you will not be able to obtain infinity focus as the lens will be too far away from the sensor/film for this to be possible. Third, and most important, the V2 although lighter than the V1's 1.35kg is still too heavy to hang at this increased distance from the front of the camera without risking damage to the body.

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Two from my two 280s

first one V2 (home scan from print... taken with my old M4....the print is much better)

second V3 on M8 + Televit (with the Televit, you have a very wide range of focus, being it made for the 400/560, so with a long throw)

 

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The R version :

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Third, and most important, the V2 although lighter than the V1's 1.35kg is still too heavy to hang at this increased distance from the front of the camera without risking damage to the body.

Reason one should use the dedicated strap, which screws into the tripod bushes of both the camera and lens. Additionally it is designed as a diagonal strap to allow you to put the camera to your eye from hanging by your side in one move.

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