Fun with the SMC 85mm SOFT f2.8 lens

I finally got around to an experiment I have had in mind using this lens, i.e. selectively combining two apertures for an enhanced effect. Fo those who are not familiar with this lens it is extremely soft (but in focus) at f2.8 and gets progressively less soft as the aperture is closed down, until about f8.0 when it is more like a normal lens. So these combine two exposures of f2.8 and f5.6 in photoshop to enhance the focal points of each image:







Notice how this lens gives beautiful softness to out-of-focus areas as opposed to bokeh from conventional lenses, an effect I am rather fond of.

I like it.

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Peter



My Flickr page

Yes to the 2nd and 3rd. No to the 1st - I'm not keen on the glowing halo around each flower.

The softness is rather special, I can see why you're rather fond of it.

Steve

Thanks Steve, the halo is what happens when using backlight from the sun, it is also possible to control flare for effect when the sun is lower in the sky. The great thing about the lens is you can see exactly what is happening through the viewfinder as you rotate the aperture ring; some think the same effect can be done in photoshop but it isn’t quite the same as even at its softest the image is actually in focus if that makes sense, and doing most of the work in camera is a lot less faff than hours on the computer.

Still at it, first in flat light and then the sun came out....

Beautiful, dreamy. And a quite different feel to my recent attempt at soft cherry blossom with a conventional lens link.

Keep 'em coming!

Steve

The third of the first set gets my preference - I find the monochrome-ness suits the effect better than the (slightly) more contrasty colours of the others. Would love to get my hands on the 28mm soft (with which I think there would be some interesting experimenting to do), but have the feeling they are rather difficult to come by.

Am I dreaming?

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Regards,
Dan

https://www.flickr.com/photos/honourabletyr/

Here are more:






And with some at f13 so it loses the softness but adds depth: