Sinar Hy6/Leaf AFi and Sinar eMotion/Leaf Aptus series backs

[Carsten W]

Thanks, I wasn't aware of these.

[Carsten W]

Does anyone have head and shoulders portraits made with the 120 Macro wide open?

[Guillaumeperret]

Hi,
I have a new question.

I have a Schneider Xenotar AFD 80mm that I use a lot but the min. focus is 1m and I would love have a lens with 0.8m.
I have seen the the new Schneider AFD Apogon can have the min. focus 0.8m.

Do you know a solution to trade my Xenotar with the Apogon?

Thank you in advance.

[Carsten W]

The Apogon appears to be very rare, I can't find any at all. You could contact DHW, but I suspect that any trade-in offer would undervalue your existing lens, and you may be better off just selling and buying. Are you in France? Who is your dealer?

[JV]

On the Apogon lenses:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=83164.msg671615#msg671615

[dergiman]

The Zeiss Planar 80mm 2.8 PQS focusses a little closer than the Schneider 80mm lens. OTOH the 9mm extension tube should do the trick for you, it maintains AF, metering and aperture control. Should be about 100 Euros used.

Did anyone try the new 150mm AFD lens?

[Guillaumeperret]

I'm located in Switzerland. Near France, Italy and Germany!
I bought my Hy6 (with the 80mm Xenotar) here on the LL sale forum.

I just plug few minutes ago my Sinar 54LV on my Hy6 mod2 with the revolving adapter. I enjoy to test it.

Regards,

[Carsten W]

Ah, the revolving adapter, I need to get one of those myself. The price appears to be around 1600 Euro? Quite a bit, but it will be worth it, I suppose. For now I am rotating the back.

I was out this weekend, trying to find some phat light for the back, and experiencing moderate success, and a lot of misses. I mostly nailed the focus, or at least close enough, but it was hard work, and I am wondering if there are better screens that the split+microprism screen I have. I normally prefer a plain matte screen, but I don't know if I would get focus with it. Is there such a thing? Any experiences?

I found that the dynamic range was not overwhelming, something similar to my A7, maybe even less, but maybe I am doing something wrong. I find the histogram rather hard to read, and it doesn't always agree with the preview image. Recommendations? Once the image is within DR, the file is quite nice, if you don't have to shift things around too much. I think the sweet spot of this back needs working with very carefully. And walk-around (which isn't my thing anyway, I was just testing) isn't its element either. I did bring a tripod but decided to do handheld.

Phillipp, I found a bunch of your shots with the 120 Macro on Flickr, and I think I will get this lens, it looks awesome. I would love the newer Apogon, or at least a PQS lens, but realistically the PQ will do the trick for me, and the prices are a lot better...

If you put the 9mm extension on the 80, what are the near and far focusing limits? Is there a calculator somewhere online for this?

[OliverM]

Hi Carsten,

what difference do you find between the 75lv and the 54lv ?
I like the 54lv a lot, colours are rich and natural (Apart from WB you have to adapt). I wonder if the 75lv has the exact same character with some technical advantages (pixels, DR, iso) ?

I spent some time with other backs and cameras, but your thread pushed me to reload the batteries of the contax and sinar. My favourite lenses are 55, 80 and 120 mm. 55 is great for street work, the 80 has a great look wide open, the 120 is great but large. I only use the wvf on the contax : very clear and large, very light and small when folded, looks old fashioned, which creates a nice relation for making pictures.
I once tried the maxwell screen, but I didn't like it. Lighter but frames were to visible.

I also used the sinar 54 on an alpa TC / rodenstock 35 aaa ... Fantastic for landscapes. These LF lenses have something special. And the alpa is adictive.

KR
Marc

[Carsten W]

To be completely honest, I haven't yet found the sweet spot. I haven't had much free time between full-time work, taking care of my daughter, and my girlfriend taking a masters beside her 3-day job, and a couple of birthdays in there too

The e75 is meant to be a touch better than the e54 in resolution and ISO, and about the same in colour. I am not sure about DR. I think the physical back and the operation is identical. I find the colours a touch subdued so far, but I really have very little time invested. I also had some trouble with the e54 as you know, but every once in a while when the Contax didn't crash, it would spit out a fantastic image. I haven't had one yet like that with the e75, but I am hopeful that it is coming. I really just need one day with good light and time, and I will head to the nearest forest with some lenses and my tripod, and try to put it through its paces. I might also dig out my studio light (yes, singular) and see if I can make some nice product-type shots. I just need to see one fantastic image, so that I can home in on the sweet spot, but I am still searching around a bit. Phillipp Derganz has some really nice portraits on Flickr, so if I can match the quality of one of those, I will be happy, as a first step.

I also hope to get a tech camera one day, but one thing at a time. I think I will get the 120 Macro and stop there for now, and just spend time working the combo. I might pick up a chimney viewfinder, if I can find one for less than a bar of gold.

On the Contax, I loved the 35 and 120 to death. I never really got into the 80, not sure why. Slightly longer than normal might have had something to do with it. I have seen great work done with it. I did have the 110/2 Hasselblad, which might also have had something to do with it. That lens is just a little better, although with no AF or auto-aperture. I always wanted to try the 55, but the prices were high and they only came up rarely, so I never got the chance.

I am surprised to hear about the Maxwell screen, I think you are the first not to like them. What was wrong exactly? What do you mean with frames, did you have framelines etched on it?

[Gigi]

The macro info might be in the Rollei brochure on macro photography. I think Eric has it on his website (its a free download, but you have to "order" it).

Here's a little crib sheet I put together for the 60 Curtagon, 80 f.2.8, 150 telexenar, and 300 Apo:

 

[EricWHiss]

I've shot portraits with the 80/2.8 and a 9mm extension and it works nicely. But if I might make a recommendation, while the 180/2.8 and the 110/2 are the real portrait lenses,  the 150 tele-xenar is also a good choice for portraits and may even be cheaper than a 120 macro.   I think the 120 is a great lens, but it has a way of emphasizing the fine texture which is fantastic for macro work with flowers and stuff, but can make for a lot of retouching of skin because it will make every pore stand out.  It isn't that the Zeiss 120 is sharper, than the schneider because its not, it's just a different pronunciation - like an accent.   However this is a personal opinion and everyone may have their own preference.   You might just try the 80/2.8 with a 9mm extension first?    

Geoff is correct - I have the Rollei close up guide available for free download on my site.  It has tables for the the range of a number of lenses with different extension or combinations of extension tubes fitted. It's quite an interesting read as it also shows the wide range of macro accessories made for the cameras. Most of these will work with the Hy6 too!     http://rolleiflex.us/products/rollei-close-up-guide-to-macro-equipment

[dergiman]

Eric, it is true that the pores come out more but it also makes the eyes pop. I would love to test the Schneider and Zeiss 150mm in this regard.

Thanks Carsten for the kind words!

[dergiman]

Carsten, do you have the Rolleiflex High-D screen? That´s the standard screen for the Hy6. I like this screen the best. It works quite well for manual focus too. I also have a plain matte screen (don´t know what brand) that is awfully dark and a Brightscreen plain matte screen that is quite nice but it is not as bright as the High-D.

[Carsten W]

Thanks Geoff, that is very useful. I have to check if I have the 9mm ring, I think I just have the 17mm and a couple of larger ones, which I snapped up a while ago for a good price, but never really got around to using much.

Eric, what you write about the Schneider 150 makes sense when referring back to previous comments on contrast and micro-contrast differences between Schneider and Zeiss lenses. However, even if I do end up preferring the S150 to the Z120 for portraits, I might still get the macro lens for close-ups in forest and urbex photography.

Phillipp, I should have phrased the "as a first step" differently; on a second reading it may sound like I want to use your style as a first step to improve on. That isn't what I meant, and I would be happy just to get there. I meant as a first step to learning the e75. Btw, if you are ever in Berlin, let me know: I have both 150s at the moment if you would like to try them out.

I do not know how to tell which screen I have? It has a split ring with micro prisms and a grid.

[dergiman]

Thanks for the kind words was only meant as a reply to "Phillipp Derganz has some really nice portraits on Flickr". Didn´t want to express any sarcasm. 

[dergiman]

I do not know how to tell which screen I have? It has a split ring with micro prisms and a grid.

Page 17:
http://www.rolleiflexpages.com/pdf/systemcatalog_e.pdf

[Carsten W]

It appears that I have "Hell- Einstellscheibe mit zentralem Messraster und Messkeil". I wonder if the High-D is better? I will look for it.

[OliverM]

To be completely honest, I haven't yet found the sweet spot.
I haven't had much free time between full-time work, taking care of my daughter, and my girlfriend taking a masters beside her 3-day job, and a couple of birthdays in there too

Yes, this thing needs time and efforts. I haven't used the contax & sinar a lot these last 3 years : played with alpa and P65+, got a sony a7r to travel light. I haven't yet processed all sony pictures taken this summer : very good in many aspects, but no sonar-magic.
I saw my success rate growing significantly over time, so you should succeed soon !
On the contax, the 80 is great wide open with an very narrow DOF. But backgrounds then have a circular distorsion that is very special. The 120 is much more linear.

I am surprised to hear about the Maxwell screen, I think you are the first not to like them. What was wrong exactly? What do you mean with frames, did you have framelines etched on it?

Maybe because I used it with the waist viewfinder, but I found the split screen to mask the scene. The standard screen is not so bright but you can focus on the subject of the photo. With this split screen, I only saw the focusing thing. And focusing with the wvf was no issue as the image is huge.
Maybe it makes much more sense with the prism viewfinder. That I don't like as much due to its size, weight, usual reflex-like attitude instead of the old-fashioned one with the the wvf.

[Carsten W]

I am thinking of buying the High-D screen, but want to confirm first what it is that I am getting myself into. As far as I can see, it is just a matte screen, no split, no microprims, no grid, just a little central marking around AF and metering areas. Is that right?