Wallace Koopmans Artlog

Introduction

The HD PENTAX-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR gives a 5.5 times telephoto zoom range.  Most of the lenses, for what ever camera I have had, have been shorter focal lengths but I wanted to have an economical telephoto  for my DSLR and this seemed like it could be a good option.  It contains 12 elements in 8 groups two of which are ED (Extra Low Dispersion) glass which is primarily used to control chromatic aberrations.  So with this in mind I made an effort to see how well the lens performed for me in regard to limiting chromatic aberration and fringing as well as general feel and performance.

I should point out now that this is not a technical review where I provide how many lines per millimeter of resolving power this lens has and the like. Nor is this a comparison against other lenses including the previous version of it, this is more what can this lens do and what can it not.

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I received a Polaroid 430 Land camera as a kind gift and was surprised to find it still contained a few unexposed film frames.  My Expectations of any of it still working were very low so I was surprised when I could discern an image with the first exposure.  The next one didn’t work out as well as the chemicals werent distributed by the rollers.  What you see here is the final frame, the colour has completely changed with age, but any picture is better than no picture I always say (right now for the first time).

Here is a digital image I’ve edited (as best as I could) to look like a Polacolor.  Yah I didn’t think so either.

It’s only becoming clear now in the year 2013 that Nikon had a plan to turn people against APS-c, in order to sell digital “full frame” cameras, all the way back in 1998 why else would they have created this photographic abomination. I tend to be forgiving of many cameras some with operational quirks and some with questionable design but on the scale of aesthetics this rates a 7  (the scale I just made up goes to 100). It does take pictures and has many controls so for that reason I like it.

If I haven’t said it before I will say it now, the Olympus Stylus Epic is the best small 35mm camera that is readily available.  They can be found in all kinds of different places because Olympus sold them by the millions.  It’s the perfect carry anywhere camera because of its size and that you can turn it on without looking at it or fumbling for a button, just slide the clamshell open and you are good to go.  It also has a great little 35mm f2.8 lens.  You don’t have to take my word for it, A quick browse through a Flickr Stylus Epic group will show the versatility of this little pocket wonder.  A search of my blog turns up many more examples from this camera Stylus Epic

Mamiya is best known for their medium format cameras but they also produced 35mm rangefinders and SLR’s although they stopped manufacturing those nearly 40 years ago. I wrote briefly about this camera a couple of years ago Mamiya Ruby Rangefinder and thought that it would be a good time to pull it off the shelf and give it another go. It’s an enjoyable camera to use because of its great build. The lens is made from a very simple three element design but has little distortion or vingetting even in the extreme corners.

Some ideas are better in theory than in practice. For instance despite the seeming awesomeness of mounting a lens and shutter on a camera that already has a shutter it proved to be less awesome than anticipated. The problem is if I use the camera’s shutter then I have to set the other shutter to bulb and keep it open and if I want to use the lenses shutter then I need to put the camera on bulb and trip the shutter on the lens. It’s all too much trouble and the fact that to get the focus right I would need to do some fine tuning of the lens to sensor distance I’ve decided to quit while I’m only slightly behind.

Q: Are the images sharp? 

A: Like a razor left in the rain for two years

Q: Are they free of camera shake? 

A: No I drink a lot of coffee

Q. Is the lens distortion free?

A: Like a Salvidor Dali painting

Q: Why do you use it then?

A: Because it was there, it’s a beautiful camera, it requires thought to use and I like the look of the results.

A significant difference with this camera is that the shutter release is operated with your left hand. That may sound awkward if your right-handed like me but it’s so good where it is that it’s hard to imagine it on the other, more common, side.

I’ve written about this camera on occasion so a search of my blog will provide some more examples and writings  Voigtlander Bessa 46

This pretty much describes a rainy winter day in the Lower Mainland.  Everything floats although I’m not sure why there is a pillow in the pool.

This is also the final image from my Polaroid 330 it’s taken me an entire year to shoot this pack of film.

I shot quite a bit of film during 2013 and so I did a quick accounting to see how it broke down.

35mm Film                   70 Rolls

APS Film                       8 Rolls

Medium Format Film 3 Rolls

I also wanted to see if there was a type of camera that I had favoured over the course of the year.

Point and Shoots         28

SLR                                27

Rangefinder                 15

TLR/Zone/Misc          11

The one surprise for me was that I had used SLR’s as much as I did, but it was mostly my Pentax Z1p a very good and consistent camera so that does make sense to me.

I have every expectation that 2014 will find me using my film cameras every bit as much but maybe with even more experimentation.  I look forward to it.

The Olympus Trip AF mini is the third Amigo amoung my Leica Mini and the Minolta Freedom Escort. As I outlined before the three cameras share a lot of internal components Fraternal Twins. In fact when you look at the three with there backs open they are nearly idestinguishable. The Olympus and the Minolta appear to share the same 34mm lens while the Leica has a 35mm lens that has a different coating (Leica fairy dust)

Now more specifically this camera, the Olympus Trip AF mini has a 34mm f3.5 lens. I found it to produce vignetting on the order of one stop limited to the extreme corners. The lens is quite sharp though and without much distortion. The camera is incredibly light weight but easy to hold with its molded grip area. It has the same flash override as the others and suffers from the same slow startup where the lens extends out in a noisy slow motion mating display. Like the others though it produces results that are much beyond what their plastic shells would have you think.