The Official Head-Case Photography Thread.

[blessingx]

Continuing the theme… 

 

[n_maher]

I decided that it was time for a proper camera to capture the kids.  My iPhone appears to have over-processed the shit out of this photo of the photo-taking tool.

 

[blessingx]

6 hours ago, n_maher said:

I decided that it was time for a proper camera to capture the kids. 

Congrats! 

[blessingx]

Let's see how deep we can go into Chinese lens recreations. After success with several Light Lens Lab models, and reading/watching too many reviews on this, just ordered the even cheaper Mandler (named after Walter Mandler, the Leica and IMAX lens designer) 35mm F2 “7 elements” based on the Leica Summicron 35mm Type IV (KOB). We'll see. 

 

[Torpedo]

 

[n_maher]

^^ Because it's a goddamn brilliant camera.  I got to shoot with a D4S at work for a bit but have too much Sony stuff at this point to ever practically think about another system.

Speaking of Sony, the A7V's 30fps is goddamn bonkers.  Sounds like a Gatling gun but allows for capturing some pretty great shots even in mediocre hands.

 

Edit - yes, that's Andrew with the glasses running the 800m today.

[dsavitsk]

Ghosts, nudes and lesbian pageant queens: highlights from NYC’s Photography Show – in pictures

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/apr/22/aipad-photography-show-new-york

[blessingx]

With the Hormuz shipping situation, thought I’d mention Richard Misrach’s Cargo oversized photo book arrived recently and I swear it is one of the best printed books I own. Stunning. Online? Less so. Check it out or as the prints tour. 

https://fraenkelgallery.com/portfolios/richard-misrach-cargo 

https://museemagazine.com/culture/2025/1/15/nbsprichard-misrach-cargo-ships-pace-gallery 

 

[jose]

Whenever I visit London, I always end up taking photos of these three places. The colors really catch my eye: blue, red... I'm posting some of the many photos I took, although I haven't looked at them all yet. In my defense, it's hard to concentrate while chasing after your pre-teen son... although I did manage to sneak a nod to Wings.

[Craig Sawyers]

Great photos. Is that St Pancras station?

 

[jose]

Yes, it´s St Pancras 

[Craig Sawyers]

It closed as a hotel in the 1930's, and was essentially derelict. It came perilously close to being demolished, but after a massive campaign in the 60's it was saved. Alhough it was only in the early 2000's it was restored to the tune of £800m.

The station behind it is the Eurostar London Terminus. It is quite an experience getting on a train at St Pancras and getting off at Gare du Nord in Paris.

The superb front of Euston station even after massive protest - demolished and now a bland and functional frontage and appearance.

Euston demolition https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/nov/07/euston-arch-rail-london-demolished-1961

What it looks like now 

 

[blessingx]

 

[jose]

I'm thinking of buying one of these two so I can take it to Ale's waterpolo matches (last year he started playing in the national league). I'm drawn to the F4 because it's small/light because I'm a little tired of carrying around the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L

 

[n_maher]

On the Sony side of life focussing is quite a bit worse on the F4 version of their 70-200 so I'd want to make sure you aren't losing performance there as the 1 stop loss isn't too big a sacrifice but if you can't lock onto the subject reliably the rest won't really matter.

[jose]

In the end, I decided on the F2.8... In recent months, I've used the 24-105 F4L much more than the 24-70 2.8L because of that extra telephoto reach, and I have to say it works very well except at sunset and indoors, where I struggled to take good photos without too much grain.

At those times, I missed the 24-70 F2.8L. That's why I ruled out the 70-200 F4 and broke the piggy bank to buy the F2.8. 🙂

Some more photos with the 24-105mm F4L

 

[Craig Sawyers]

The glorious Natural History Museum in London. And like all museums in the UK, totally free entry.

[crappyjones123]

Nice @n_maher! The 30 fps is glorious. How do you like it thus far? 

 

Drove up to NYC to help Julie move out as she finished her 3rd year rotations for medical school. Exceptionally difficult light in the parking under the building. The A7 did quite well here, I think. Taken with a Batis 85/1.8.

 

Stopped by in Virginia to visit with my sister and tried playing with the Batis 135/2.8. Failed miserably but got a somewhat cool extremely close crop. 

 

In color. 

 

[n_maher]

@crappyjones123 - it's way more camera than I deserve but it's been great shooting with it so far. I've been using it primarily to shoot kids' sports stuff and in that respect, 30fps is both a life-saver and taker.  It's enabled some really cool shots to be captured that I otherwise likely would have missed but requires tedious culling when I get home.  So I learned quick to be judicious and only implement it (vs. 10fps mech) when I absolutely need it. 

[crappyjones123]

I had to turn down precapture to a shorter time. With a full second and 30 fps, it was getting a bit cumbersome but I agree, I was able to get some shots of my niece in motion that I wouldn't have been able to get otherwise. 

 

One from an early morning walk with the Batis 135/2.8. 

Shooting plants even in the slightest wind is so freaking hard with this lens but it's a fun challenge. 

 

[n_maher]

I will likely never graduate to primes, it's just too much to carry around and switching in the field drives me insane.  So the current bag has: A7V, 12-24 F2.8, 24-70 F2.8, 70-200 F2.8, and 2x doubler (only works with the 70-200).  That kit has sufficiently murdered my wallet over the last several years and shopping used very carefully.  

[Knuckledragger]

Shooting with primes will make you a better photographer, but they won't make you take better photos.  Modern (as in the last 20 years) zooms are so good that primes are vestigial beasts best left to eccentrics.  There are exceptions to this rule of course, mostly super-teles that operate in a range outside of any zoom.  Personally, I muck about with primes because I find them interesting.  To me cameras are fiddly devices that get between me and the photo I want to take.  Lenses are tools to make art.  While I use modern (or "modern") autofocus lenses all the time, for me the real joy is ancient manual focus ones.  Also, I haven't posted any of my own photos here in like six months.

Two of my favorite bits of vintage glass are Asahi Super-Takumars:  A 35mm F/3.5 and 50mm F/1.4.  It's a tossup which one is more crackheaded.  The 35mm, in spite of its woefully slow aperture for its focal length, has a really fat ass and will not fit properly in Nikon or Canon DSLR bodies.  It will fit in a Canon cropped sensor body, and presumably most mirrorless ones.  I've posted shots with it in this thread many times over the years.  I liken the images it produces to a horror movie.  The 50mm does the same thing, but much more so.  My particular copy is a third iteration (IIRC) and it's notable for being radioactive.

Glamour shot taken with my 100mm F/2.8 Macro.  The 50 has a permanent warming filter (that gets more warm over time).  It's useless for anything serious, but endless fun for goofing around.

For me this is definitive example of "Takumar horror."  The color temperature, weird rendering of OOF highlights and slight vignetting are all produced by the lens.  I did only minor tweaks in Photoshop.

 

The same view, taken with the 35mm mounted to a 7D Mk II.  Not really horror at all.  First and foremost, I stopped down and used infinity focus.  Also the 35 is not radioactive.  I have a long term goal of buying a full frame body so I can mount the 35 to it and see how bad the corners are.  Yes, buying a $3K body to mount a $75 lens.  Makes perfect sense.

I mentioned in the snow thread that we got absolute decimated here in February.  I promised to post photos and never did.

The AF system on my 5D IV was not impressed with the condensation on the outside of our windows.

One nice thing about old primes is that most of them have a hard infinity stop.  Modern glass often lets the user focus beyond infinity (calm down, Buzz Lightyear) meaning they're a PITA to use in low light and other difficult circumstances.  This shot is in focus, but still quite blurry because of the water on the window.

Looking out my front door.  No giants doing cartwheels or a statue wearing high heels.  Quite the whiteout, however.  Taken with the TTArtisan 100mm F/2.8 "Bubble Bokeh," which is a Trioplan copy, more or less.  I have mostly used it as an actual 100mm and ignored its abilities with OOF highlights.

 

Our poor, battered thermometer.  Back to the OG Canon 50mm F/1.8.  My ca. 1988 copy is one of my most prized lenses.

 

Back to the 35mm Takumar and 7D II.  Not exactly horror movie, but exhibiting how the 35 is entire exactly sharp.  The images it produces have a slight uncanny quality in more or less all circumstances.

 

One of the casualties of the nor'easter, which had some very powerful winds.  As of this writing, the boat is still there.

 

The mighty Canon 135mm F/2L.  Designed as a portrait lens, it's good at photographing more or less anything, provided the photographer is up to making use of its FoV and DoF. 

 

Oh, hey.  Actually using the TTArtisan 100mm for its intended purpose. The late afternoon sun reflecting on the pond and some early spring buds.