A common theme in the various photography forums is brighter lenses and full-frame sensors (or film) equate to better bokeh. This is not necessarily true. All this guarantees you is a narrower depth of field, but the quality of the bokeh is not related. Consider the following photograph. This photograph was taken with the Olympus Zuiko 50mm F1.4 lens at F1.4. Camera used was the Olympus OM-4T with Fujifilm 200 color film.

Going to Seed, Olympus OM-4T, Zuiko 50mm F1.4, Fujifilm 200

This photograph illustrates two particular flaws of this lens when shot wide open and near or at the closest focus distance: Vignetting and rough bokeh.

As a variation of the classic Double-Gauss lens design, the 50mm F1.4 has a tendency to produce harshness in out-of-focus areas unless stopped way down. When used for an effect, such as in the "Bokeh Guitar" photograph on this site, it is fine, but if pleasing bokeh is desired, other lens designs will yield superior images.

Gate at Dusk, Olympus OM-2S, Zuiko 50 F1.4 Lens, Fujifilm 800 NPZ

This picture was taken last evening on a walk around a park here in town. As this was right as the sun was setting the trees in the distance were partially lit and the rest of the scene was in shadow. Aperture was set to F2 and the OM-2S was in aperture-priority auto mode. I would typically smooth the grain out with a noise-reduction software, but kept it in for artistic purposes.

Ken

June 30, 2010

It isn't very often that a camera system comes along that supercedes technical specifications. In this age of "melted blobs" all looking the same with the name-tag being the only significant difference, a classic-shape camera will stand out among the rest. But the question is whether being different is enough or will other design flaws cause it to be nothing more than a foot-note in photographic equipment history. Click on "Read More" to see the full article.

Panasonic DMC-L1 with the Leica 14-50 Zoom Lens - Front View

What does the Apple iPad, Olympus Studio, an E-1 and a laptop have to do with each other? The answer is a remote controlled camera for photographing birds. Click on "Read More" to see the rest of the article.

Downy Woodpecker, Olympus E-1, Leica 14-50, iPad controlled

Last night we had a sensational display of clouds aftr a line of severe thunderstorms rolled through the area. Just as the sun started setting, the sky openned up with an array of mammatus clouds. Here are a selection of pictures from this event. Other than contrast adjustment, these are straight from the camera showing the true colors of the scene. No WB or saturation adjustments except as noted. Click on "Read More" to see all of the pictures.

Mammatus Clouds, Panasonic L1, Leica 14-50 Lens

Here is Zone-10's first installment of recommended iPad applications.

As of this writing, Apple has sold over 2,000,000 iPads in just the first two months that it has been on the market. By any measure, this product is a sales and marketing hit of incredible proportions. I recently acquired a 16GB WiFi version of the iPad and have been finding out how to adapt it into my workflow and communications needs. The iPad is likely a game-changing device which will completely redefine personal computing. But is this redefinition a good thing?

Spaghetti Dinner App on the Apple iPad

A criticism was made that the pictures I'm showing that were taken with the Zuiko 50mm F1.4 lens are all exploiting the narrow DoF characteristics but not showing the lens in other applications. On Saturday I had a few minutes so I went down to the old Spaulding Factory and did some experimenting with the L1, 50mm lens and B&W color filters. Here are four pictures from that outing.

Faded Signs and Door, Panasonic L1, Zuiko 50mm F1.4, Orange Filter

Empty Glass, Panasonic L1 with Zuiko 50mm F1.4 Lens.

ISO 1600, handheld, converted to B&W in-camera and using in-camera 16:9 crop. Focus point was set on the straw with live-view for precise focusing and framing. Lens was set to F1.4 and shutter-speed was set automatically.

Abandoned Gas Station along the Lincoln Highway, Panasonic L1, Leica 14-50

Click on the title to this article to see the rest of this photo essay.