Last week, I mentioned that I did some a/b shooting with the JCH Street Pan, loaded in the Lomo LC-A (32mm) and the Ricoh 35 ZF (40mm), and promised a followup…
Before I get into it, remember that the LC-A underexposed everything by a couple of stops for some unknown reason (possibly old batteries) and the 35 ZF is sporting a 1.5v battery, but was designed for 1.3v, so it’s probably overexposing a bit, so ignore the exposure (as much as possible) and check the field of view. Notice also the relative sharpness and all.
Everything was shot at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens on a Friday during the staycation back in August, and it was the first time my darling, adorable wife and I got the eye from one of the other visitors. I blame the current political climate: just look at my wife! Is she not darling and adorable? What, precisely, is so frightening/shocking/unusual/out of place about her?
I’ve ranted enough about stuff like that for awhile, and I’m sure I’ll revisit it, but for now, let’s talk lenses and focal lengths.
I, for one, am shocked at just how much wider 32mm is vs 40mm, especially at relatively close distances. The LC-A has it’s characteristic vignette, but both lenses are sharp enough and the Street Pan flatters my darling wife.
I’ll mention as a side note here that I’ve completed a full read through of A.D. Coleman‘s dissection of the Robert Capa D-Day emulsion melt story, but still… “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” isn’t just for macro. Given that I’m a bit fearful of shooting people, the 40 wins in this case, but I need to get a handle on the overexposure. Especially with the Street Pan, you can’t just pull it back in post, really.
Well, maybe you can… A little before/after here, after a very quick curves adjustment that could be done much better… a bit of dodge/burn would probably help too
Really, the Street Pan has great midtones, it just need some love in post, and maybe a bit more than some others, or maybe not… I haven’t really played much with black & white film in post, not much beyond flipping the curve and making it a bit curvy, getting the exposure close, playing with the levels a bit, and pushing the structure slider in Capture One.
Anyway. This is (ostensibly) about lenses…
Here’s where the LC-A wins, I think, and not just because I missed the focus with the 35 ZF, or maybe precisely because I missed the focus. That slightly wider angle gives a slightly deeper plane of acceptable focus, and the contrast coming off of the Mintar lens works.
A ditto here, though I would’ve benefited from getting a bit closure with the LC-A: the framing on the 35 ZF is better, but the LC-A gave the better exposure, despite my darling adorable wife butting in briefly.
So, 32mm vs. 40mm. Which do you prefer?
I think it’s horses for courses, for me… The LC-A wins for pocketability, the 35 ZF for control, and the JCH Street Pan, well, it just wins.
