The 2016 Day Prime Training aka Outtakes thread - Event Date: 01 January 2016 - 31 December 2016

This is the training centre aka Outtakes thread of Day Prime 2016.
Maybe there are more people like me who want to get the feel of a lens (again) and experiment a bit.

Day Prime is a great challenge imo but it's only one day for each FL. You have to be there on that day, or wait another year ...

This thread lets you post on other days too. And lets you post shots that you don't want to post in the main photo thread. And maybe talk about your lens(es) of choice?

Fisheye macro (Day 8 redux)

In a previous Day Prime I had tried to use extension tubes to make a 'macro' out of the 8mm fisheye, but even the shortest extension tube didn't focus, I'm assuming it moved the focal plane inside the front element.

Today I freelensed, I removed the lens then jammed it back up against the lens mount, so it was only a few mm, which puts the focal plane up to the lens hood.

Certainly not 1:1, but surprisingly close for an 8mm lens! Samyang E 8/2.8 @f8 (I think)

1 Well-heeled digital photographer

hood pressed against the screen; notice the focal plane is not at all planar (unsurprisingly)

2 fisheye macro environmental portrait


3 diguise the fish

gotta watch the hood when freelensing! I haven't previously encountered blue Chromatic Aberration - the CA sliders in DxO are maxed with the 'purple fringing' box checked and it barely reduced it - anybody know what optical or digital sensor bug this is?

I had the Amount Samyang 8/3.5 fish and sold it when I got the Emount Samyang 8/2.8 fish. Objectively the Amount has 'better' image quality, but the Emount is only a little bigger than a body cap, and the nex3 is only a little bigger than a lens rear cap, so it's a backup body that's ready for fun! It fits in the empty space of a full camera bag and weighs almost nothing. It's on my list of 'favorite' kit, and if I can figure out 'fisheye macro environmental portrait' ....

>cross-posted with 2016 thread

Outtakes day 16. The first needed cropping to square as it was taken at F2.8 by mistake and the corners were horrible (this fish-eye needs f11 for corners and starts to diffract beyond that). The second one I found a little awkward.

The Old Town Hall

Camera Model: ILCE-7
Lens: MC Zenitar 2.8/16 Fish-eye
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 1.6
ISO: 100

Circular cloud

Camera Model: ILCE-7
Lens: MC Zenitar 2.8/16 Fish-eye
Aperture: f/11
Exposure Time: 15
ISO: 50
With ND10

Leo (darosa) suggested a 16:9 crop of my day 24 skyline image. I am a bit autistic on this I'm afraid, the sensor is 2:3 so my images are 2:3. I even prefer them in landscape mode (otherwise the camera manufacturer would have placed the sensor in portrait mode). I rarely crop to 1:1 (some images just beg for it) that is about it. But I am rather pleased with how this came out. It even shows that placing the horizon dead center is not by definition a bad thing.


Camera Model: SLT-A99V
Lens: Minolta 24/2.8 RS
Aperture: f/13.0
Exposure Time: 0.8
ISO: 100


Edited by Snegren - 26 January 2016 at 10:28

Here's my Day 26 gear:


photo made with: a7s + Dallmeyer Popular Enlarging Anastigmat 0,75 inch F4.5

The Kodak Anastigmat 26/2.0 is a very special lens. It was used on a F.65 Radar camera at the end of WW2; this camera wasn't used for air reconnaissance photos of the ground. This was a very specialised camera taking close-up images of the crt of the H2X Ground-Mapping Radar (aka "Mickey set", AN/APS-15).
H2X radar was an American development of the British H2S radar, the first ground mapping radar to be used in combat. It was used by the USAAF during World War II as a navigation system for daylight overcast and nighttime operations. The first H2X-equipped B-17s arrived in England in early February 1944, and were first used in combat later that month. Those missions where bombing was done by H2X were called "Pathfinder missions" and the crews were called "Pathfinder crews".

The lens was mounted at the rear of a Kodak No 1 Supermatic shutter, set at about infinity but with a heavy glass filter in the front of the shutter to exclude dust; and this was probably replaced by a close up lens of choice for recording (my copy of the lens has the heavy glass filter); the camera was swung into line with the screen on a pivot.

I don't have the camera unfortunately. Here's a photo of it:

Kodak Anastigmat 26mm f2 by Yu-Lin Chan
(lensbubbles, Yu-Lin Chan has more photos of the camera and photos taken with the lens).

The camera is a modification of the Kodak 35.

I had no idea about the amazing history of this lens when I bought it (for Day 26 of course)!

Macca wrote: Lensbubbles is a fantastic little website also, put me onto diax lenses and has good ideas about inexpensive ways to use or convert/mod old lenses. I`ve recently hacked one from a dead fixed lens RF 1950`s Neoca through trying out some of his brave surgery and it works! May get to use it on day 45.

Thanks Chris, I didn't know he had a blog; I know him from Flickr. Great stuff!

Macca, forgive me but I rather enjoyed following your Day 40 (41!?) Dyxum mini-drama over the last few minutes.    Still, a very good pair of night shots. You must be very pleased with them!