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Author Topic: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up  (Read 5012 times)

Michael Erlewine

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The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« on: August 28, 2017, 06:07:36 pm »

Nikon D810, Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4
« Last Edit: August 28, 2017, 07:07:29 pm by Michael Erlewine »
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framah

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2017, 02:11:47 pm »

Try stack focussing and get the whole flower in focus. I love the flower but the fact that the whole back half of it is out of focus is annoying.
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Michael Erlewine

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2017, 02:16:27 pm »

Try stack focussing and get the whole flower in focus. I love the flower but the fact that the whole back half of it is out of focus is annoying.

Sorry, that's a feature, not a problem.
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Leszek Piotrowski

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2017, 08:24:09 pm »

DOF ,..for me is perfect.

My eye goes to two spots,... the flower is of course the what my eye settles on.
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Bob_B

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2017, 09:27:55 am »

DOF ,..for me is perfect.

I completely agree.
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Chairman Bill

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2017, 09:43:07 am »

The OOF petal is what helps the stamen pop in the image. It's what makes it work. Get the whole thing in focus & it's just a sharp picture if a flower.

EricV

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2017, 01:53:34 pm »

So going a step further, run a blurring filter over the closer in-focus petals?
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framah

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2017, 03:31:50 pm »

Not only isn't being out of focus a "feature", the bright green spot in the back ground is disturbing as well.

If the out of focus part of the flower were maybe not sharply in focus but at least closer to the focus of the front part, it wouldn't be such an annoying flaw in an otherwise beautiful flower.
There is nothing wrong with a nice crisp photo of a beautiful flower.

ALSO... the ghost of color behind the bud is another example of not really looking at the image and doing some minor composition before shooting. All of these things together make it a less than successful image.  There is just too much going on in the background.

It is basically just another image that COULD have been really great but it merely ok.

Try to move to the left, get rid of the bud and make the petals more consistent with each other and have the center stem be the focal point. The whole thing doesn't need to be "centered" in the frame but it does need to be less cluttered and disturbing to the eye.
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Garry Sarre

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #8 on: September 23, 2017, 09:47:57 pm »

You are behaving like a bit of a know-it-all Framah. I like it for all the reasons you don't. The shallow depth of field is clearly better. The blob in the background takes it away from being just boring mono-tone and the bud on the left adds an element of surprise. This is all just my opinion of course, as is yours, yours.

Not only isn't being out of focus a "feature", the bright green spot in the back ground is disturbing as well.

If the out of focus part of the flower were maybe not sharply in focus but at least closer to the focus of the front part, it wouldn't be such an annoying flaw in an otherwise beautiful flower.
There is nothing wrong with a nice crisp photo of a beautiful flower.

ALSO... the ghost of color behind the bud is another example of not really looking at the image and doing some minor composition before shooting. All of these things together make it a less than successful image.  There is just too much going on in the background.

It is basically just another image that COULD have been really great but it merely ok.

Try to move to the left, get rid of the bud and make the petals more consistent with each other and have the center stem be the focal point. The whole thing doesn't need to be "centered" in the frame but it does need to be less cluttered and disturbing to the eye.
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maddogmurph

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2017, 03:30:56 am »

Meh, I tend to agree with Frameh. If the OP is boasting about the resolve power and sharpness of the lens - I agree. That lens looks like a seriously powerful tool.

I curate a group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/2821446@N20/

Some of the guys that post there are very good with Macro.

You know I struggle with this image honestly - I guess for me the reason it doesn't work is I just don't know what I'd ever use it for. If it was focus stacked I'd find it more powerful in terms of complexity, depth, and clarity.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2017, 03:35:06 am by maddogmurph »
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NancyP

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2017, 01:31:23 pm »

We are now firmly in the world of individual aesthetic preferences.
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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #11 on: September 24, 2017, 01:32:33 pm »

We are now firmly in the world of individual aesthetic preferences.

We are. And mine is for shallow depth of field and no background blob. So there.  ;)

Jeremy
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Laminarman

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #12 on: October 28, 2017, 04:43:21 pm »

If I look at another perfectly in focus flower I might heave.  Nice image, I do think it works.  The pop of the stamen is palpable. 
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Rob C

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2017, 04:58:12 pm »

The colours are luscious.

Shallow DOF is a very good technique often used in all sorts of situations and for many different purposes...

However, posting pictures is ever a problem if they are open to critique; that's why I started the Without Prejudice thread some years ago. It's really rather tiresome having second-guessers expound on their guesses.

In fact, it is one of the features of Internet life that has increasingly stopped me enjoying online pictures in sites such as ours, here. I find that I get more enjoyment in looking at collections of images via Google than in specialized spots. The thing that draws me back to LuLa, time after time, is no longer much of the photography - with notable exceptions - but the chat that some posters are capable of putting back and forth. It's the humanity, then, that's got the pull. If those people go, I'm gone.

Rob

patjoja

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2017, 02:24:38 am »

Try stack focussing and get the whole flower in focus. I love the flower but the fact that the whole back half of it is out of focus is annoying.

There's a lot more in the image than the one flower and its stamen.  At first I didn't notice it, but then the bud on the opposite side of the frame popped out.  It's also in sharp focus.  That bud is like an island of beauty floating in the scene, and it wouldn't be very interesting if the background wasn't radically defocused.  Great job Michael.  Very interesting image!

Patrick
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Rajan Parrikar

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2017, 03:49:27 am »

However, posting pictures is ever a problem if they are open to critique; that's why I started the Without Prejudice thread some years ago. It's really rather tiresome having second-guessers expound on their guesses.

I'm ambivalent about this. Once you release your work into the wilds, you have to be prepared for all manner of criticism. So long as it is not actuated by malice, I have no issues with a negative assessment. My own reaction is guided by the default assumption that the creator of the image has consciously made his/her aesthetic and technical choices. If they appeal to me, I may put digit to keyboard. If not, I hold my peace and move along.

Michael Erlewine

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #16 on: November 18, 2017, 04:04:36 am »

We are all different. Thank goodness for that! If I really like someone's photo, I say so, If I don't, I just acknowledge it in my head. I like to see what others are doing. It never occurs to me to tell them how they should modify their photo, putting this over here and doing that over there. And I never get anything out of when others offer those kind of comments. If I had wanted it the way they suggest, it would be there. What you get is my impression; consider that and like it or not. But telling me how I should compose a photo is wasted breath IMO. It also shows you did not see it as I showed it to you, for what it's worth, etc. In other words, try to see it my way and show me one of your photos (your way), but don't show me my photo your way. My two cents.

 
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BradSmith

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #17 on: November 18, 2017, 02:40:40 pm »

Since Michael posted equipment info in the title of this thread, here's a different approach to his post - the equipment.   I know that Michael has put a lot of time and effort into finding the "best" lenses and bodies for close up/macro photography.  I seem to remember his previous posts about any number of lenses he has tested.  I can understand (while not agreeing with the need) when you're focus stacking and want most everything very, very sharp.   In this case......the stamen covers only a couple percent of the image area.   Zeiss Otus 85 1.4 = $4,500.  Nikon 810 = $2,500.  Total $7,000. 

What did this combo add to the final image that a $1500 combo in Michael's hands couldn't have done?   I guess my premise is that his masterful skill as a macro photographer is far, far, far more important than using the latest, greatest (most expensive) equipment.
Brad
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Michael Erlewine

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Re: The Zeiss Otus 85mm Close-Up
« Reply #18 on: November 18, 2017, 02:49:54 pm »

Ha! You forget one thing. Great equipment inspires me, especially the ability to see, which is why I do everything in LiveView. I never use the OVF.
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