The Learning Curve
Posted 11/06/2014 - 21:38
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Mike-P wrote:
You could have used your nice newly acquired K3 to make a video of the dismantling procedure and taken photo's at salient points of your progressdavidstorm wrote:
Dismantling and re-assembling the 28-80 was not a simple task, unless you are an expert in lens construction it can be a bit daunting and is 50/50 whether you end up with something that still works. Surprisingly, the FA28-80, which was to all intents and purposes a 'Kit lens' was very well constructed with mostly metal parts which required a fair amount of drilling to get some of the lens elements out. Luckily, I ended up with a completely empty tube with a working aperture!
I found it really simple to dismantle the lens, infact I had all the elements out with no drilling whatsoever. I also ended up with a empty tube and a separate working aperture but unfortunately I also ended up with a multitude of screws, bits of metal and plastic with no idea where they actually went. Dismantling and re-assembling the 28-80 was not a simple task, unless you are an expert in lens construction it can be a bit daunting and is 50/50 whether you end up with something that still works. Surprisingly, the FA28-80, which was to all intents and purposes a 'Kit lens' was very well constructed with mostly metal parts which required a fair amount of drilling to get some of the lens elements out. Luckily, I ended up with a completely empty tube with a working aperture!
for use as a reference to the rebuild.
Just an idle thought! lol...
C.O.L.B.A.S victim
(Compulsive Obsessive Lens Buying Addiction Syndrome)
What you need are lenses, more lenses, bigger lenses, better lenses, faster lenses, vintage lenses and when you have these, your pictures will be perfect!
(Compulsive Obsessive Lens Buying Addiction Syndrome)
What you need are lenses, more lenses, bigger lenses, better lenses, faster lenses, vintage lenses and when you have these, your pictures will be perfect!
Posted 11/06/2014 - 21:44
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Defragged wrote:
You could have used your nice newly acquired K3 to make a video of the dismantling procedure and taken photo's at salient points of your progress
for use as a reference to the rebuild.
Just an idle thought! lol...
That's an interesting one! How many of you would be prepared to sit and watch a 6 hour video on lens dismantling? That's at the very least how long it took me, spread over two days, to take it apart carefully and get it back together again with all the bits in the right place. It took about 7 or 8 re-assembling attempts before it was working correctly.You could have used your nice newly acquired K3 to make a video of the dismantling procedure and taken photo's at salient points of your progress
for use as a reference to the rebuild.
Just an idle thought! lol...
As an aside, if anyone fancies taking apart a Teleplus 2x teleconverter to remove the glass from it, that's a much easier task!
Cheers
David
Posted 11/06/2014 - 21:46
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Defragged wrote:
You could have used your nice newly acquired K3 to make a video of the dismantling procedure and taken photo's at salient points of your progress
for use as a reference to the rebuild.
Just an idle thought! lol...
You have to remember ... I have the attention span of a gnat.You could have used your nice newly acquired K3 to make a video of the dismantling procedure and taken photo's at salient points of your progress
for use as a reference to the rebuild.
Just an idle thought! lol...
Just the thought of videoing anything makes me sleepy.
Posted 11/06/2014 - 21:49
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davidstorm wrote:
As an aside, if anyone fancies taking apart a Teleplus 2x teleconverter to remove the glass from it, that's a much easier task!
It must be, even I managed that .. although I also tried dismantling a Kenko PK-A macro teleconverter (ideal extendible tube I thought) but you can guess where that ended up ... yup, the bin again.
As an aside, if anyone fancies taking apart a Teleplus 2x teleconverter to remove the glass from it, that's a much easier task!
Posted 11/06/2014 - 21:50
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it took me about 15 minutes with a tiny screwdriver, drill and a pair of long nosed pliers. Girlie fingers might have given me an advantage I suppose.
Posted 11/06/2014 - 21:54
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charlottef wrote:
it took me about 15 minutes with a tiny screwdriver, drill and a pair of long nosed pliers. Girlie fingers might have given me an advantage I suppose.
My wife also tells me girls can do more than one job at once whereas men stand no chance. it took me about 15 minutes with a tiny screwdriver, drill and a pair of long nosed pliers. Girlie fingers might have given me an advantage I suppose.
Sorry David, taking your thread off topic here .. I will shut up now.
Posted 11/06/2014 - 21:56
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charlottef wrote:
it took me about 15 minutes with a tiny screwdriver, drill and a pair of long nosed pliers. Girlie fingers might have given me an advantage I suppose.
You must have had a different lens to me Charlotte! Mine was a metal construction, with 4 separate sets of elements in front of the aperture, none of which would come out without drilling and prising, I couldn't see any other way of getting them out without smashing the lens! The rear element set was easy - this was out in 10 minutes. The hardest part was putting it all back together again and getting it to work as designed. The spring that closes the aperture became detached without me realising it and this caused several re-builds and dismantling sessions before I sussed it out! There was also a tiny ball bearing that I couldn't find a home for, until the last re-build.it took me about 15 minutes with a tiny screwdriver, drill and a pair of long nosed pliers. Girlie fingers might have given me an advantage I suppose.
All's well now, it's working perfectly!
Regards
David
Posted 12/06/2014 - 23:35
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Got my EL Nikkor 50mm F2.8 today and whacked it straight onto my butchered FA28-80 zoom, Duct Tape used liberally to hold it in place (haven't got my coupling rings yet)!
Had a few minutes in the garden this evening, in soft light to give it a try. First impressions are that it's sharper than the Pentax-A 50mm F1.7 and has very accurate colour reproduction. Here are a few of the first set of shots:
1.
2.
3.
Regards
David
Had a few minutes in the garden this evening, in soft light to give it a try. First impressions are that it's sharper than the Pentax-A 50mm F1.7 and has very accurate colour reproduction. Here are a few of the first set of shots:
1.
2.
3.
Regards
David
Posted 12/06/2014 - 23:40
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Enlarging lenses are a good choice for macro and micro photography, being computed for flat field and close distances. I'm not totally sure about your three new shots though as so much of them is out of focus.
Focus stacking is one impressive option, but in conventional photography there's no easy solution. Even the smallest apertures may not offer enough DOF.
Very interesting experiments.
Focus stacking is one impressive option, but in conventional photography there's no easy solution. Even the smallest apertures may not offer enough DOF.
Very interesting experiments.
Best regards, John
Posted 12/06/2014 - 23:49
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johnriley wrote:
Enlarging lenses are a good choice for macro and micro photography, being computed for flat field and close distances. I'm not totally sure about your three new shots though as so much of them is out of focus.
Focus stacking is one impressive option, but in conventional photography there's no easy solution. Even the smallest apertures may not offer enough DOF.
Very interesting experiments.
These are shot at F32 John, I can't go any smaller than that, so this is the most DOF that is possible with this setup. Focus stacking is not an option when shooting live insects in outdoor conditions, unless there is absolutely no wind, the camera is on a tripod and the insects are completely still, none of which applied here!Enlarging lenses are a good choice for macro and micro photography, being computed for flat field and close distances. I'm not totally sure about your three new shots though as so much of them is out of focus.
Focus stacking is one impressive option, but in conventional photography there's no easy solution. Even the smallest apertures may not offer enough DOF.
Very interesting experiments.
I mentioned before that I have no interest in taking photos of dead insects in laboratory conditions and taking hundreds of stacked shots, I want to do the best I can with live subjects in the wild.
Personally, I don't find the thin DOF an issue as long as the right bits are in focus and it can help to make a subject stand out as in the first second one above. I know these shots aren't for everyone, but this is something I enjoy and it is quite a difficult technique to master so I think it's helping me to improve my photography skills.
It's also good for making you think out of the box and for me is an opportunity to create some other bits of kit, like a home-made softbox to light the images more effectively.
Regards
David
Posted 12/06/2014 - 23:53
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All good David, anything that encourages us to try things out has to be good.
I have a feeling maybe even f/64 wouldn't be enough. On the other hand, as you say, having just one part sharp and the rest diffused can also look good.
I have a feeling maybe even f/64 wouldn't be enough. On the other hand, as you say, having just one part sharp and the rest diffused can also look good.
Best regards, John
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13627 posts
18 years
Hythe,
Hampshire UK
Dismantling and re-assembling the 28-80 was not a simple task, unless you are an expert in lens construction it can be a bit daunting and is 50/50 whether you end up with something that still works. Surprisingly, the FA28-80, which was to all intents and purposes a 'Kit lens' was very well constructed with mostly metal parts which required a fair amount of drilling to get some of the lens elements out. Luckily, I ended up with a completely empty tube with a working aperture!