The normal behaviour of live view with my K3 is that the brightness of the image on the rear screen depends on the exposure value - increase the aperture or exposure time and the screen gets brighter and vice versa. However, with the Laowa 25mm macro, that does not happen. Brightness varies with aperture (which is set on the lens, not the camera) but does not vary with exposure time. The lens is, of course, fully manual with no electronic connections for anything and no aperture lever. It seems reasonable that brightness varies with aperture because changing the aperture on the lens directly changes the amount of light reaching the sensor. But the exposure time has nothing to do with the lens and the camera has all the information it needs to vary brightness with exposure time - it just doesn't do it.

So my question is whether this behaviour is found with other lenses which have limited of no communication between lens and camera (I can't check because I don't have any others). Or is live view behaviour with the Laowa just weird? Or is there an obvious reason and my brain is rotting with age ??

Steve

This morning, I decided to see whether the high mag macro kit (using the Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x macro) could be set up in the spare bedroom that passes for my study/office/hideaway. There was just enough room on the desk among the computer, screen, hifi, electronic thingies etc.. For a test subject, a marjoram flower head was removed from the garden. Success - at last I could take high mag macros without having to take over the kitchen .

Mrs. L was out this afternoon so I thought I'd have a go at a stack. First thing was to check whether the flower head from the morning test still looked good enough. It looked OK through the Mark 1 eyeball. However, though the lens at x5 magnification, it was clear that the flower was dying (hardly surprising!). But hang on - why get a fresh flower when the dying flower was looking so weirdly interesting? And as luck would have it, there was just enough time to do the stack and have a cup of tea before Mrs L arrived home. So here is the dying marjoram flower. It's just over 2mm high.

K3 + Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x macro, f4 @ 5x magnification. Stack of 34 images, processed by Affinity Photo, focus step 1/24mm (42 microns). The stack had to stop at 34 because it was photobombed by a tiny creature with lots of legs....

Thoughts, comments etc. welcome as usual.




Steve

As I said, such depths of psychology and perception...

Steve

... which has made me look at both again - and notice what I should have spotted before. With the colour version, my eyes immediately go to the table and hat, then to the surrounding chairs and grass i.e. starting in the middle then moving outwards. But with the mono version, my eyes go first to the table and chairs then to the hat i.e. starting at the edge then moving to the middle. Such depths of psychology and perception from such a simple picture... .

Steve

I think I see the point that people are making about a B&W version, but it loses the contrast between the hat and the table top which, to me, is an important part of the original picture.

Steve

Thanks folks. It was lucky that the dragonfly chose one of the few spots in the garden where you can get a decent background from several angles. The bokeh (with or without TC attached) is one of the reasons why I like this lens. Irix must have thought about it, 11 rounded aperture blades and their website says 'Beautiful bokeh'. It would have been quite different with the Sigma 105mm, which the Irix has replaced for my garden photography.

Steve

A very hot, very bright day. Then this little fellow flew in (common darter, male, but please correct me if I'm wrong). There have been a number of dragonflies flying around recently, but this is the only one that has had the decency to land and pose for me when the camera was handy with a sensible lens attached (K3 + Irix 150mm macro + 1.4 TC). It did the usual dragonfly thing of posing for a while, flying round, posing again on the same stick, and so on. I tried to get several angles on it and to convey the light and heat. So here are the best from the modelling session. Best viewed big, of course.

Thought, comments welcome as usual.

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Steve

Really like the first one. Simple, elegant, effective . Not sure about the second, I'd to see a bit of a gap between glass and rim of hat.

Steve

Shade, blissful shade. It's never looked so good - or felt so welcome! A lovely set.

Steve

One has just sold for about £150 in the classified ads in this forum...

Steve