I've got a Metz 50MZ5 (GN of 70 @ 105mm) which is still portable, and kicks out a painful amount of light (It's looking for a new home )

If you want to retain any room 'ambience', then personally I'd look at other methods rather than trying to get a portable 'sun'

But ISO800 shouldn't involve much post production work... I now regularly use ISO3200 on the K-5 and it's no bother at all when working in RAW with Lightroom 3

Matt

Wowzer!

That's definitely some list of lenses!
And I thought my LBA was bad!!!! John - I think your case must be terminal (at least for the wallet)!

Matt

Oh, most definitely! Absolute killer combination and both weather sealed too!

It's interesting about comparing the DA17-70 with the DA*16-50... I'm not 100% sure about the differences - perhaps it's the extra stop of light through the viewfinder, or the damped focus ring, or the extra construction. The DA17-70 is still an utterly brilliant lens (with incredible sharpness, contrast, and lovely bokeh). Hopefully I can do some more scientific "real world" tests later

Only minor niggle is that my camera bag arrangements need revising since the DA*16-50 is a bigger beast, especially with the hood on. The DA17-70 certainly scores for compactness

EDIT: The DA*16-50 seems to focus faster overall. The DA17-70 can move the focus ring quicker, but often overshoots and has to hunt. The 16-50 hardly hunts at all Quick comparison shows very little difference in rendering at f/4, but the 16-50 is subtly smoother (the 17-70 seems to catch shadows more readily in the OOF area showing them as darker areas. But it's slight). The extra 1mm is surprisingly significant, and I'm missing the extra 20mm less than I'd feared.

I'm still cautious over the purple fringing on the 16-50 - I have a couple of shots that will definitely need PP. Noteworthy is the fact the shots were JPG - and I haven't yet recreated it in RAW (but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence!) It's not your usual CA, but a definite 'bloom' of purple - looks like when the out-of-focus area catches a high contrast area in bright light (maybe UV related?). Not disastrous by any means, but something I'd like to pin down a bit more

Matt

Thought I'd put up my initial comments on the DA*16-50. It seems to have received a lot of 'bad press', well, 'bad Internet' (which isn't difficult for any subject or object :roll

Build quality is exactly what you'd expect from the DA* series - superb. It's has a lovely balance and feel, with nicely damped focus ring that allows manual focus (even though the focus throw is merely about 1/4 turn).

Optically - first impression is stunning!

To test, I used Live view and focussed at f/2.8 and the result was superb! But (big but), using normal focus it was massively out. Actually, to be more precise, my K-5 was out and so was the lens. So, I tweaked about (with some other techniques that I may document sometime!) and got the DA*16-50 focussing correctly Had I not gone through that process I would be hugely disappointed

Second optical observation is that under some situations it's a purple fringing monster in JPG! I was shooting JPG for snapshots of the family...
...but all the DNG files were stonkingly good. Lightroom 3 with the profiles does an excellent job of removing the CA, distortion, and any vignetting.

So, I've learned a couple of good lessons - test the focus of a new bit of kit, and use RAW always


There definitely is "something" about the rendering of this lens. The bokeh was infinitely better than I'd read about on the Internet (another lesson reaffirmed ), and because it focusses closer than the 50/1.4 I may find I'm using this beast more and more for shallow DoF. Even at 16mm f/2.8 the DoF is very shallow! Perhaps it's some kind of emotional response (like handling a Limited 31mm ), but there's something magical about it...


...will keep you posted with some real shots soon (have a very exciting commission request coming up that will see this lens getting some serious use! )

For now here's a sample shot processed in LR3 (taken in JPG through a window).

Matt

Just to add, this works by using a modified microlens array in front of the sensor.

The thesis PDF shows them hacking an MF digital camera. The 'raw' output is decidedly odd, but the software analyses the sensor data to reconstitute a 'proper' image given your required focus point and range.

The interesting thing is they have packaged not just the capture technology but the web technology to allow you to email images and for other people to selectively choose the focus from your image! Presumably when you look at the gallery images you are using the delivery technology they plan on using...

Matt

Sorry Peter, it doesn't work like that... it's much, much more than firmware!
Light field photography works by a special lens element that produces an odd distribution of the light onto the sensor. IIRC, you ended up with 1/4 (or 1/16?) of the total resolution available for the image. So, a 16Mp sensor with the light field 'enabler' in front would give you 4Mp image - but with the ability to adjust focus in software, after the event

You don't get something for nothing, alas!

I read the papers some time back when this was first introduced. Nice to see that it's perhaps going to be something 'real' that you can buy and see.

Matt

The OP wasn't making that point

They are using a regular portable DVD player that has an AUX video input as a battery powered monitor for in-the-field use - moving what would be displayed on the back panel LCD to a larger screen

Matt

LOL! I'm sure you can afford a 5% pay rise...

...wait... that's 5% of nothing!
Doh!
Just send me some Pentax glass instead
(Or a decent single malt! LOL!)

Matt

Yup, the DA17-70 is a fine lens indeed... just got my hands on a DA*16-50 and there is a marked difference in construction (more solid), focusing is quieter still and easier to manual focus (the focus throw is the same, but the 17-70 is very loose in comparison with no damping), resolution is astounding even at f/2.8 (but focus is super critical of course).
Already I can see I should have bought one much, much sooner

Just need to do some AF testing on the K-5, and will try and keep you posted with more concrete comparisons

Matt

Beautiful DA*16-50 arrived today
Top marks to Will for the transaction
Matt