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First image from Voigtlander 12mm/DMC-L1 combo...


audidudi

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My current photo project is the parking garage at work and here's one of the images I shot this afternoon with the Voigtlander/L1 combo I wrote about earlier this week.

 

I like the perspective! 24mm v. 28mm may not seem like a big difference but it made all the difference in the world for this particular image. I stopped down to F11 to extend the DOF all the way to the rightmost edge of the cables but F8 is adequately sharp if DOF is not an issue. Nice color, nice contrast, and respectably sharp ... overall, I'm favorably impressed wiht it thus far! :)

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Guest stnami

That's not a bad result at all, technically pretty spot on, wonder how it will go with moving object, ie faster than sheep

.....ps it must be a new trend testing camera stuff in carparks, did you wear a hat or a hood

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wonder how it will go with moving object, ie faster than sheep

.....ps it must be a new trend testing camera stuff in carparks, did you wear a hat or a hood

For the most part, I avoid photographing anything with a pulse, as I'm pretty much hopeless at it! As for my headgear, I usually wear a baseball cap when photographing but in this case, went without it since I didn't want to mess up my hair while I was still at the office...

 

As for shooting in a carpark, I realize my choice of subject matter isn't to most people's taste but I enjoy the challenge of finding art in places where most people dare not venture or never bother to look for it.

 

In any event, I'm now very much looking forward to shooting with the 15mm Voigtlander as well ... should I triple-down and buy a 40mm too? Hmm...

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Here's a horizontal version ... I'm not positive, but I might like this one more.

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Jeffery, Thankyou for sharing these very fine VC/L1 images.

 

I did expect to see some really excellent shots from some good primes, and these show off what the L1 D3 can deliver.

 

Lets see some more. It's a shame the VC 12mm can only be used in Liveview mode.

 

How difficult was the manual focussing?

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How difficult was the manual focussing?

 

Focusing is easy! The lens is designed to scale-focus, so you basically set the aperture and then move the focus lever to the appropriate hyperfocal DOF marks and -- voila! -- you're done. To make this process even easier, the aperture marks are color-coded and the DOF marks have a click-stop so it really is very straightforward. Remember, this is a 12mm lens even if the FOV is that of a 24mm lens on an L1/D3, so it has considerable DOF ... in the photo above, the right most edge of the cables is maybe two feet from the lens and the post is waist-high, to give you a sense of the dimensions involved.

 

Composing, on the other hand, is a bit more problematic. While I was able to compose the above images at F11, the same aperture I used to shoot them, for others further inside the garage, I had to open up to F5.6 in order to see anything and there were others still that I wanted to shoot but couldn't because I couldn't see anything on the LCD to compose, even after turning up the LCD to full brightness. Mind you, in these circumstances, composing isn't easy with the faster 14-50 zoom, either -- we're talking shots with exposures in the two-second range at F5.6, so it's fairly dark -- but it's usually possible. (As an aside, the LC1/D2 works great with its F2 lens and I've been using it a lot for this project as a result.)

 

So, bottom-line, this lens isn't suitable for black bear-in-a-cave shots but since that's not a frequent subject of mine, I don't foresee this as a major problem. For street shooting, you should be able to simply scale-focus it once and then simply point-and-shoot as appropriate...

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Thankyou for the update.

 

So to attach this lens, one has to set the camera to LiveView first?.. to get the mirror locked away.

 

Only after doing that will the lens insert into the Body ? (because the mirror in it's usual position will block the lens insertion?)

 

Looking at the 15mm VC, I guess the long tube extension will also force you to use the lens the same way as the 12mm ?

 

The 40mm VC looks like it can be used as a normal manual "SLR focus" lens

 

I see Matsuiya store is still selling the lens..... I just don't know if I should buy the 12mm, given your warnings/advice so far. I wonder if there are any long term issues with the mirror-clash with the lens tube?

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So to attach this lens, one has to set the camera to LiveView first?.. to get the mirror locked away.

 

Only after doing that will the lens insert into the Body ? (because the mirror in it's usual position will block the lens insertion?)

Correct.

 

Looking at the 15mm VC, I guess the long tube extension will also force you to use the lens the same way as the 12mm ?
This is my understanding (although I should be able to verify it firsthand within the week).
The 40mm VC looks like it can be used as a normal manual SLR focusl lens
I can't see any reason mirror clearance will be an issue with this lens, although I can't verify it firsthand.
I wonder if there are any long term issues with the mirror-clash with the lens tube?
I'm sure it isn't good for the mirror to slap against the lens, even lightly, but I haven't seen it causing any harm, at least not yet. In my case, though, this is a non-issue, as the primary reason I bought this camera was to use the body as a digital back for my view camera, for which the viewfinder isn't needed, so limiting its usefulness by removing the mirror and/or mirror assembly isn't a big deal for me. That I can also use the camera handheld with the VC 12mm and 15mm lenses is merely a bonus as I'm otherwise content to use my LC1 for my occasional handheld photographic needs...
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I'm following this thread with interest as given the 2x factor there are so few non-zoom w/a lenses for the L1/D3. The main advantage of the ones described above seem to me to be size/weight and possibly the capability to pre-set for quick street use.

I remain concerned about the clash with the mirror which long-term can't be good.

I'm looking at Contax Zeiss primes currently, but for w/a I think I"ll bite the bullet and go ultimately for the 11-22 Oly.

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Guest stnami

Brian , having owned a 11-22, it is a great lens a bit big for the streets it was like sticking a canon in someone'e face great general purpose lens, infinity can be a problem. ........be brave and go the 12

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I'm following this thread with interest as given the 2x factor there are so few non-zoom w/a lenses for the L1/D3. The main advantage of the ones described above seem to me to be size/weight and possibly the capability to pre-set for quick street use.

I remain concerned about the clash with the mirror which long-term can't be good.

I'm looking at Contax Zeiss primes currently, but for w/a I think I"ll bite the bullet and go ultimately for the 11-22 Oly.

 

Brian....... I tool am considering similar options, but Why not the 7-14mm Oly ??

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a truly useable 12mm would be wonderful

Im just not convinced this is it

add to that, the dangers of MF lenses, particularly in poro mirror dSLRs

 

this is from a Rikenon 135mm/2.8 at2.8, "ugh did he say Rikenon !"

unfortunately i got caught out by the thin as an inch DoF, (what no bokeh on 4/3rds ?)

you can see the sphere of the face is OOF, while the region before the ears is in focus

so by thinking i had it focussed, but without being able to see properly, i stuffed it up

that said, this will be a fabulous lens when i get it sorted out

ie. the sharp bits are sharp

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stnami, Dugby - I think Jeffrey said it in the earlier thread with words to the effect that the 11-22 would be the more practical choice - especially given the dearth of F mount 12mms. Contax seems to go no lower than 15mm and Rokkor 17mm unless you want fish-eye, which I don't.

I"m not sure about the 7-14 - as, apart from the extra $1000 over the 11-22, I'm concerned about perspective distortion at the shorter focal lengths as my main use for the wider angles would be in architecture photography - I"m not really much of a "street photographer". The 11-22 can sometimes be got for a reasonable figure 2nd hand.

It's a pity that Panaleica couldn't produce something in between the 2 Olys (10-18?) with a decent aperture.

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something like 8-18mm, but next year

Brian, as to perspective distortion, very very little in 7-14, its rectilinear corrected

tends to stretch faces at the edges in crowd shots though

for purely architectural use, its a fabulous lens

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