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rdelbar

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  1. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from Gatopardo in Metal lens hoods   
    Over the last 3 years I went all-out on alternative kens hoods for my XF glass collection:
     

     
                                                   
     
    More details and recommentations at All about that Hood
  2. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from nar53 in Metal lens hoods   
    Over the last 3 years I went all-out on alternative kens hoods for my XF glass collection:
     

     
                                                   
     
    More details and recommentations at All about that Hood
  3. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from Tikcus in Using the XF 1.4X TC with adapted legacy lenses   
    What can you expect when combining a recent camera, an older lens and some accessories that were never intended to be used together?
     

     
    Actually, the results are surprisingly good!
     
    I tested a number of Nikon F-mount lenses combined with a Metabones adapter and the new XF 1.4x TC on my X-cameras. The extra flange distance provided by the mount adapter solves the issue with the protruding front element of the TC.
     

     
     
    The image quality results from the tested lens+TC combos turned out to be more than acceptable. A few pairs of 100% center crops to illustrate:
     

     
     

     
     

     
     

     
     
    Combining the 1,4x TC with older primes may help fill some of the remaining holes in the X-mount lens line-up. 
    Definitely worth the try, and a lot of fun as well!
     
    For an extensive discussion, see this article.
  4. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from jankap in Mitakon, Metabones, Roxsen, Camdiox, focal reducers, share your experiences.   
    I have done extensive testing with the (original) Metabones Speed Booster and a series of Nikon F (and compatible) lenses. There's lots to read at fujixtras.blogspot.com. 
     
    Part of the 'improvement' in image quality (or, at least, the reduction of original imperfections from the adapted lens) is due to the reduction of the imaging circle: most optical abberrations get reduced through the same process. When using a top quality focal reducer, that largely compensates for the imperfections from the additional lens elements.
     
    Having an adapter/focal reducer with electrical contacts at the body mount side does not bring any advances unless there's an equivalent provision at the lens mount side AND the adpted lens has electrical contacts/control AND the adapter offers is an appropriate translation between the respective control protocols. That's a lot to ask for. To my best knowledge, the only working case is with high-end Canon EF-S to Sony E-mount adapters.
  5. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from Dis in Metabones updates aperture control mechanism on Nikon F adapters   
    Almost two years after starting my reviews of Nikon F to Fuji X lens adapters, I just added an update on the Metabones Speed Booster Ultra and improved aperture control ring.
     

    Enjoy!
  6. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from plasmolbio in Metal lens hoods   
    Over the last 3 years I went all-out on alternative kens hoods for my XF glass collection:
     

     
                                                   
     
    More details and recommentations at All about that Hood
  7. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from Bobitybob in All about that Hood   
    How I spent a little money and a lot of time exploring alternative lens hoods for XF lenses: new blog post.
     
  8. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from CRAusmus in Kipon tilt adapter, would you please show some of your images?   
    I am the guy that has (almost) all Kipon adapters for the Nikon F to Fuji X combination.
     
    Your observations on the Kipon tilt (only) adapter are correct. For precise or repeatable work, this adapter lacks any form of scale for the tilt angle, not even a way to (re)set it to the 'zero' position.
    The ring operated by the two pointy protrusions has a clamping effect: you can loosen the ball socket to a more or lesser degree. But the operation is not necessarily smooth, somewhat degrades over time (lubricant?) and unstable especially with somewhat larger/heavier lenses.
     
    For those reasons, I almost always move over to the tilt&shift adapter.
     
    When I do use the tilt only adapter, I set it fairly loose and move the lens around while I compose and focus, a bit like you would do with freelensing. I use focus peaking to have some indication of  where the sharp zone ends up. As you have experience with studio cameras, you will know that both tilt angle and focus distance directly affect the position of the plane-of-focus. 
     
    I hardly shoot portraits, so I don't have any meaningful sample images around. Besides, I am not fully clear on exactly which type of effect you are looking for.
     
    If you are willing to do some playing around with math, to see the differences resulting from varying focal length and aperture, I can point you to two resources:
    there's an excellent article on using tilt shift lenses to control depth of field at cambridgeincolour.com. It includes (near the end) an interactive Depth of Field Calculator; make sure to select the advanced mode; if you have an iOS phone of tablet, there's a brilliant Tilt Calculator app from snapi that will show you a lot of data related to a specific setting.
     
    I am rather busy with some other projects at this time, but I do have 20/24/35/50/85/100mm Nikon lenses at hand. If you could more precisely describe a test setup, I would at least look into whether I could be of assistance.
     
    Good luck!
     
  9. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from guidobartoli80 in Metabones updates aperture control mechanism on Nikon F adapters   
    Almost two years after starting my reviews of Nikon F to Fuji X lens adapters, I just added an update on the Metabones Speed Booster Ultra and improved aperture control ring.
     

    Enjoy!
  10. Like
    rdelbar got a reaction from Patrick FR in Replacement lens hoods?   
    I love vented lens hoods, like this one. I* use models with the appropriate diameters on my 18, 23 and 35mm lenses.
     
    Beware : there is (too much) vignetting with this type of hood with the 16mm - better use a wide angle model.
  11. Like
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