Self-Indulgence II
In an earlier post I wrote: “How does one define self-indulgence in a photographer? Perhaps = “succumbs to the allure of a new lens”? That was me today.”
Well, it happened again, with another second hand lens. This time it is a wide angle zoom – the Canon EF 16-35 f/2.8 L USM. As you can see I have once again tested a “new” lens in the Chinese Cemetery.
More than a year ago I was given some money for photo gear, the idea at the time was I was going to buy a micro 4/3s camera for my pocket to have with me all the time. As it turned out the small film cameras I am using have fulfilled that need, so I finally spent the money on a lens which I have had my eye on for months.
This is my first zoom lens; I have been living with primes for the past three years (well actually, the past 40 years except for a point and shoot digital when I first abandoned film). This has not been a hardship by any means. However, when it came to my go-to wide angle prime, a 40 year old Nikkor 24mm/f2.8 lens, I was having chronic issues with its adapter. First among those was having to program the chip multiple times which was interfering with bracketing, and sometimes messing up exposures. It is a very nice lens and I will continue to use it for time-lapse and video and other applications which benefit from a manual lens. And it is a lot smaller too so sometimes it will come along just to reduce the load. This lens also overlaps with my Takumar 35mm/f3.5 which I really like and which is very small. It too will go on being used for video and the like, it is a lovely lens. Having this new lens which is faster and more modern in important ways is going to mean that how and when I use the older primes will become much more specialised.
So, when I got home with the lens, it was off to the Chinese cemetery which is a block away from the house and took a few shots. I had limited time this afternoon to test the lens, so this is just a first quick look at it. I like it, it is very hard to generate lens flair (which was another problem with the Nikkor and its old coating technology), while it is distorted at 16mm, and 24mm it is really not all that bad considering how wide it is. And I love the depth of field of wide angle lenses which allow everything to be in focus if you want. It is nice and sharp too. The lens was only used about 3 times by the previous owner. I know it is going to see a lot of use, and will be very useful in field work as well.
This was the most lens flare I could generate and I did try.
Love the sky.
.
.
To view the images below in larger sizes click on any thumbnail below to launch the gallery view, navigate with the arrows and escape to return to this page.
-
- The glacial striation, and the glacial erratic that might have made the groove.
-
- This is a large glacial erratic (2m across?) and I was just a couple of feet away when taking this shot.
-
- Owl Wings, according to the carver of this pumpkin. Cropped.
-
- Primary chairs
-
- I love the clarity of the foreground.
-
- Cemetery votive-offering chimneys
-
- Love the sky.
-
- I even “tracked down an empty”, a high end craft beer was consumed here recently.
-
- This was the most lens flare I could generate and I did try.
-
- Can’t believe how much I could get in this shot from right at the edge of the pool.
.
.
Canon EOS 5D MkII, see gallery for exif data.
burnt embers 
You see a different world through a really wide len. I assume it is 16mm on a full size sensor? I have an 11-16 Tokina wide zoom (on a DX camera so 11= 17) and I love the perspective through that lens. I’m sure you will love shooting with it.
LikeLike
Hi Andy. You assume correctly. It really is a different world. I really have enjoyed 24mm as a focal length but I think 16mm is going to be an awful lot of fun. Now all i need to do is carve out some time for photography.
LikeLike
Very well composed photos quite apart from the technical aspects, focal depth etc. The gleam on the chairs is well captured and draws the eye.
LikeLike
Thanks Val. These are all familiar subjects that have appeared here – practice makes perfect, etc.
LikeLike
You sound like a happy lens owner!
I rather covet those chairs.
LikeLike
Hi Yvonne,
I am happy! Those chairs are very nice, though the way the red one is cut down and straight-backed back does not look as comfortable as the blue one. These are a nice feature of this part of the waterfront. There are other places with them as well – some are memorials and others I think just placed there for a comfy place to sit by a nearby resident. There are more on Kitty Islet to the east, and I think I saw one in Trafalgar Park recently. They are spreading, and surprisingly they don’t get broken up or stolen, though a bit of carved graffiti is known to show up. Someone paints them quite regularly too.
Click on the Adirondack Chair tag at the top of the comments and you will find other pictures of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person