I can't get out of the habit of changing SDHC cards in the shade

I like it, very shiny and looks like new.

It reminds me of a couple making love on a train

Stop! posting dirty pictures!!

I don't do any processing now days although I still have a Kaiser 6x6 enlarger plus a US Omega 6x7 enlarger and about 12 lenses. I also still have a Bronica S2A and 4 lenses and a Koni-Omega 6x7 (very sharp lens).

Anyone interested in film would be foolish not to buy a Canon even F1's were going cheaply last time I looked and the FD lenses are superb and cost buttons.

A Canon F-1n in exc cond sold here for £103 Handsome beast isn't it? That's the equivalent to Nikons top camera at the time (F3?) Although looking at ebay I think people are catching on to how cheap FD stuff was going for.

I did buy a Canon AE1 plus 50mm f/1.8, 28mm f/2.8 and 100-200mm zoom around 1978. It felt like a Tonka toy to use and why all the Canon users preferred shutter priority over aperture priority remains a mystery to this day?

The lenses knocked me out. The weather was dull and I'd been struggling to get decent contrast with a Pentax K2 pushed development and used a higher grade of paper and just about made it. The Canon lenses, normal development, normal paper and perfect punchy prints off every negative without having to do anything. I still used and preferred the Pentax K2 and MX when the weather was bright and someone made me a good offer for the Canon outfit so I sold it and bought an Oly OM2 and lenses which didn't offer anything that the K2 didn't have. I couldn't live with the viewfinder image being right on top of my eye, so I sold the body and kept the lenses and moved more into 6x6 and Pentax for slides.

Here's one from last January that's a bit unfair on the Kit-Lens Mk2 it was at 28mm f/5.6 (wide open) and the two 28mm f/2.8 lenses were at f/8.

The Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8 came out best but from other tests the Kit Lens is as good if not better.

28mm's Kit lens at f/5.6 - Image by Vivitar A at f/8 - Pentax A f/2.8 at f/8





Test Distance 700mm

This is only the centre John and at this level of detail any OOF can be clearly seen. In fact the edges of the f/1.4 were still in focus.

I actually started this test to check my 300mm lenses at 20x = 6m
It still seemed OK with the 50mm's at 1.25M (25x) which this is. I want to test some 2X converters, but will have to do it outside to get back 12M

Normal accepted distance for resolution testing is 40x, but I haven't got a room big enough for the 300m at 40x (12M)

Most lenses will behave differently at about 30M anyway so any tests are really just a snapshot at the test distance.

Regarding George's question Macro lenses are sharper up to about f/8 f/11 when it becomes difficult to see any difference. Most lenses at f/8 look about the same.

The F 1.7 was sharper than the f/1.4 up to f/8
The A 1.7 was almost identical to the F 1.7 apart from at f/5.6 where it was sharper.

The A 1.4 was almost equal to the F 1.7 and the M 1.7 was only just behind them.

Nigelxk, tests on lettering don't really stretch the lens and results vary depending on colour balance, lens coatings, angle etc.

I find it better to use a bank note. The UK £10 on the Charles Darwin side is ideal.

I use available light (daylight) and put 2 pieces of Blu-Tak on the wall 500mm apart (overall) I put the note in the centre and move the camera back until the Blu-Tak blobs are just within the frame. The camera should be on a tripod square and level with the centre of the note. You can put another note in the corner as well.

Take a minimum of 4 shots at each aperture re-focus for each one and chose the best. Farstone free viewer lets you compare 4 at once. You can also do MF and AF 4 shots each to see which is the best.

At f/8 only 2 shots should do because of DOF.

This is one I did sometime ago between the 2 Pentax AF 50mm's wide open. 100% Crops.




The rigging on the ship is about the best indicator of sharpness also (not seen here) Darwins portrait with the engraving lines.

Sorry the 135mm's are called Jupiters 11A and 37A (f/3.5 and f/4). There were some mass produced re-badged f/2.8's called Helios, but I've never heard anyone rave over them.

Algi

http://www.pentax-hack.info/

Algi

This is a good site for samples of lenses with nice bokeh

Algi

Helios lenses do vary and you should keep any good ones. There's a site somewhere that compares one to the Contax CZ 50mm and the Helios looks better. The Pentax 50mm should be sharper than the Helios at around f/8. A proper resolution test would show the Helios continuing to improve at f/11 and f/16 and not reaching any form of peak around f/8 as most modern computer designs do. The strong point of the Helios lenses is the bokeh.

Look out for the Helios 135mm's excellent lenses, but hard to believe that they were still making pre-sets at the time of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 I've got one with the Olympic logo engraved on it.

Algi