Happy Tax Day! I hope you’ve all happily paid your share to (theoretically) run the country!*
Petzval Week
episode 2: the carpark in the dark.
Insofar as I shot these at f/2.2 before dawn, these shots are not any any way meant to be a test of sharpness or focus, but look at that color!
Most of these got no post work beyond the Lightroom’s default NEF conversion.
This lens really is a joy to use: with the d7000, set the focus point where you want to focus and gently twist the focus knob till the little green arrows become a little green dot, then gently squeeze the trigger.
Given the design of the lens, you’re unlikely to ever get tack-sharpness across the frame. Given my experience with Zomb-E and other reversed lenses, this is no problem for me, but it bothers some other commentators, and if MTF charts and pixel-level sharpness is your thing, 1) you’ll want to visit a proper review, and 2) you don’t want this lens, so go look at one of the pro models from Nikon or Canon: the 85mms are supposed to be brilliant wide-open, and wicked-sharp at f/4.
This is not what the Petzval is for.
The Petzval is an Art lens. It says so on the box, the websites, and the lens itself…
Oh well. Other people get to spend money however they like, I suppose (and I suspect many reviewers got review copies on loan from Lomo or something).
Anyway: judge for yourselves.
Note the flare in one of the images. Note also that the best results come when a subject is relatively isolated in the center of the frame, with a fair amount of distance between it and anything in the background.
Again: the Petzval is a joy to use. The focus is smooth as butter and the color and bokeh are both brilliant.
Stay tuned.
D7000. Lomography X Zenit Art Lenses Petzval 85mm f/2.2. ISO400, AP mode, f/2.2.
*Actually, much of your share went to child-killing and wedding-party-crashing drones, with the rest going for social programs that would be much more well-funded if the banksters and our corporate masters could be made to pay their fair share, and those that our beloved politicians seem hell-bent on destroying. May Allah guide them (and us).
