Benoist Berthiot 100mm f2.2 Cinestar N2 Projection Lens

When I saw a beautiful portrait taken by Jérôme B. on Flickr with the Benoist Berthiot 150mm f3.3 cine lens, I was intrigued.  I have always loved French lens.  When I got a bunch of projection lenses from the camera show last time, and it included not one, but two French lenses, I was really happy.  One of the lenses was a Benoist Berthiot 100mm f2.2 Cinestar N2.

Benoist Berthiot 100mm f2.2 Cinestar N2.  My second lens project with the lathe, which turned out much better than the last one.

I assume that this lens was probably derived from a cine lens, since it has a name like Cinestar.  The lens covers full frame, even at infinity.  But the lens was really made for 16mm projectors, so even when there is no vignetting, the edges are mushy.  But this is not a landscape lens, edge sharpness is not important at all.  For the kind of pictures that are normally taken with a lens like this, rendering character is far more a consideration.

I put this lens on the lathe last night and turned it enough just to remove the grooves on the lens, and slip on a 37-52mm step-up ring, and it goes on a modified Vivitar 2X macro teleconverted helicoid.  The lathe job is much much better than my last attempt.  I used a 4-jaw chuck, and with the aid of a dial indicator, I was able to get the lens to turn pretty round, hence the much smoother finish.

Sitting at the dock of the lake - Benoist Berthiot 100mm f2.2 Cinestar N2 & Sony A7.

The lens hood I used was slightly too long, and it created some vignette at longer focus distance.  That's completely OK by me.  As expected, the center sharpness is very impressive.  The rendering style is very much like the 150mm f3.3 lens Jérôme B used, so maybe they share similar optical designs.

This lens can create some interesting portraits, like the 150mm version does. I think I will explore more with this interesting gem.

Swirly Bokeh - Benoist Berthiot 100mm f2.2 Cinestar N2 & Sony A7

Man & his best friend - Benoist Berthiot 100mm f2.2 Cinestar N2 & Sony A7

My First [Simple] Lathe Project

Yesterday I finally found some space to setup the lathe.  Unfortunately I have no metal rounds to practice with, so I used a projection lens I bought from the camera show couple weeks ago as the practice piece and first project.  Yes, I know.  I am trying to walk before I learn how to crawl, but hey, I have many hours of YouTube experience under my belt.  That's got to be good enough to get started, right?

Immediately, I found many problems. The carriage had quite a bit of play.  A quick consultation with the Taig Micro Lathe guide fixed it by adjusting the gib screws. Then the 3-Jaw chuck is grossly out of true.  It's so bad you can see the wobble and it would be impossible to turn anything like this until I find a way to true it. The 3-Jaw chuck is supposed to be self centring, as all the jaws move at the same time when you tighten/loosen it, but it's not doing a good job at it. Luckily, there is the 4-Jaw chuck that was included with the lathe, but that brought up another problem.  The 4-Jaw chuck's jaws are independent.  You can tighten each of the 4 jaws individually.  But, in order to make the work piece perfectly centred, one needs a dial gauge, which I have, but I don't have the base to set it.  So in the end, I just did many trial and error tightening and retightening until it was visually running true. This is a laborious and imprecise process without the dial gauge.

Finished - I will not show you the 100% crop of the turned area.  It just looks disgusting.

I removed the lens elements from the lens; they came off easily by unscrewing the front and rear groups.  This is part of the reason I wanted to use this lens.  The lens barrel was then mounted on the 4-Jaw chuck with as true as I could visually tell, and started turning.  I just wanted to remove the grooves on the lens so that it would have a smooth surface, and it would also provide a stop for the step-up ring that I would use to mount it to the focus helicoid.  This turned out really bad ugly.  For one thing, the tool bits were all dull, and I think the speed I was using was a bit too slow.  I am not sure what kind of metal the lens barrel was made of, but it was not aluminium or brass. In the end, I removed the large, smooth grooves on the lens, but left behind tiny and sharp grooves.  It looks nothing like the smooth finish I see on YouTube!

Angenieux 70mm f1.5 Projection Lens on the helicoid

Next I wanted to bore the hole larger on the 30-52mm step-up ring, just large enough to slip on the lens barrel.  This part was done relatively painlessly.  The aluminium of the step-up ring was much easier to work with.

So, in a way, it was a success, only because I was able to use the lens and I didn't have to go nuts trying to find a ring that fits the lens barrel and trying to glue it so that it's parallel to the mount.

What did I learn from the first lesson in using a metal lathe?  It's kind of fun, but what overwhelmed me was the sheer amount of metal shavings from such a small and simple project.  A Shopvac is a must.  To make the lathe run smoothly and efficiently, it needs to be optimally conditioned: true chucks, sharp bits, right kind of bits, right accessories and most of all, the skills to make it sing.  I will keep doing simple projects until I am comfortable to convert a real lens.

Daisies - Angenieux 70mm f1.5 Projection Lens & Sony A7

2014 - A Year in Review - Part I

2014 has been a year of gear shuffle.  For the last few years, I shot mirrorless cameras alongside the Canon DSLRs. The ratio tipped to the mirrorless as the years went by, and in 2014, I have pretty much stopped using Canon cameras and sold my 5D Mark II, which I thought I would use quite often, but I didn't.  Instead, I bought an Olympus E-M5 to replace my aging Panasonic G1 to cover the M4/3 and the Sony A7 to replace the full frame 5D Mark II.  I still have my Canon 1D III, for now.  My plan was to have a camera to cover a specific sensor size: M4/3, APS-C, and full frame. This plan is working out quite nicely.

Photography -- I am happy to say that I did take a lot of pictures this year; more than I thought I would, and there were few pictures that I quite like too.  The Sony A7 clocked about 18,000 pictures since May of this year; 5D Mark II, less than 700 in 2014 and about 8,000 between 2013 and 2014;
Olympus E-M5, about 6,000 shots in 2014; for NEX-6, it was roughly 3,000 (essentially the first 4 months of 2014); Canon 1D Mark III, about 1,000; Canon 20D IR, 1,500. There were almost 30,000 pictures taken this year with various cameras, averaging 80 pictures a day.  Of course, only a very small percentage of them were usable.  As it has always been, most of these pictures were taken on my way to work, or coming home, and around my workplace or my neighbourhood.

Surprisingly, I find myself stopped lusting over faster lenses. My focus has shifted to more non-standard lenses.  I scouted the camera shows and antique markets for the slower, invariably German made, but much more interesting lenses from folder cameras, non-interchangeable lens cameras, rangefinders, large format lenses, etc.  All these lenses require some work to mount them on some sort of focus helicoid, but the effort is worthwhile.  I really enjoy the rendering from most of these lenses. There are challenges, of course, in mounting and using some of these lenses.
One of the challenges is the use of very long lenses. For example, the Dallmeyer Dallon is 12 inches (around 300mm). Finding tubes that long to fit the lens has been difficult.  I was using lens barrels like that from the Vivitar 200mm 3.5, 135mm f2.8, etc, with glasses removed from the lenses, but the problem is that the openings at the rear is too small and restricts the mount of light going through, therefore the lens would vignette very badly.

I have found a solution by using extension tubes. There are very cheap 3-section extension tubes with NEX-mount for around $8 each.  The length of one set is about 50mm.  I bought 4 sets of these, but unfortunately the mount is of very low quality.  Too much play when mounted.  I converted them to use a much better mount and they are now excellent tools, which can be combined and be long enough for lenses up to around 300mm or even longer, when focus helicoid is added to the length of the tubes. I have already used it on the Schneider-Kreuznach Symmar 210mm f5.6, Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 210mm f4.5, and even the Dallmeyer Dallon 12 inch (300mm).  All seem to have worked well.  I look forward to using these lenses when the warmer weathers roll around.

To be continued...

Withrow Park - Sony A7 & Kodak Ektagraphic 76mm f3.5 Projection Lens

High Shutter Speed Anomalies in Sony A7 and NEX-6 with Manual Focus Lenses

Update: As Mike pointed out, this phenomenon is caused by the first curtain sync being enabled. Thanks Mike!

The first time I took a picture with the NEX-6 and Soligor 80-200mm lens that  resulted in a picture with one side darker than the other, I didn't pay much attention.  In fact, I thought it was the lens.  Over time, this happened infrequently and I didn't really want to investigate more.  But when this happened with the Sony A7, I thought this must have something to do with the camera.

Essentially, when pictures taken at high shutter speed, starting at 1/3200s, you can see that one side of the picture is darker than the other.  As the shutter speed goes up, the severity of the darkness gets worse.  This is more apparent on vertical shots and shots with a lot of white content.  What is happening is similar to using the flash with a shutter speed faster than its rated sync speed; the curtain does not close fast enough and thus leave a portion screen darker than the rest.

Curiously, this does not seem to happen with auto focus lenses from Sony, at least not noticeable.  With the Zeiss 35mm f2.8ZA at 1/6400s, there is very little difference across the frame, and with the Sony 50mm f1.8 on the A7 at 1/8000s in crop-mode, there is also no apparent differences.  So, this seems to be an issue with just manual focus lenses.  It's disappointing, but nothing much you can do.

Sample picture; note dark left side. Taken with Leitz Hektor 120mm f2.5 Projection lens at 1/8000s.

S.F.O.M 100mm f3.2 Projection Lens Samples

The S.F.O.M 100mm f3.2 projection lens is one of the three that David sent me from France. Last time I tried the Isco-Gottingen 85mm f2.8 projection lens, and it was quite good, though not as sharp as other projection lenses I have used, but definitely produces some interesting pictures. Today I tried the S.F.O.M 100mm f3.2, and it's a surprise. The lens is very sharp at the working aperture, but the best part is the very nice bokeh it produces. The pictures below were taken in the late evening, and you can see some noise in the pictures. The only thing I find distracting is that even with a very long lens hood, there is some "white out" effect, but some post processing eliminates most of it. In all, a very enjoyable lens to take pictures. Can't wait to try it in better light.

Bokeh - NEX-6 & S.F.O.M 100mm f3.2

Bokeh #2 - NEX-6 & S.F.O.M 100mm f3.2

Rose - NEX-6 & S.F.O.M 100mm f3.2

Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 109mm f1.6 Shoots Tommy Thompson Park

It took me a while, but I finally got the Visionar 109mm f1.6 mounted on the Yeenon Helicoid. This is one big lens with a non-standard filter thread around 77mm, but not quite 77mm.  The same is true for the rear mount; it's not quite 62mm, more like 63mm. I had to file the inside of the 62mm to 52mm step-down ring, and then use JB Kwik to welded it together, just like the 92mm f1.6 lens.

This lens has uneven illumination. One side is slightly darker than the other. This is more apparent when doing post exposure compensation. Although image circle covers the APS-C sensor (and maybe even 35mm full frame), the edge is very soft. This lens is suitable for certain subjects but not others.

I decided to ride my bike to Tommy Thompson Park (sometimes called Leslie Spit) and shoot with this lens but got up too late and by the time I went there, it was already 9:30. Too much light for a fixed aperture f1.6 lens. Consequently, most of the photos were over exposed. Good thing I shot RAW and was able to recover from the over exposure.

This is the bird migratory season and there are thousands, maybe tens of thousands of birds of all kinds there. In fact, Tommy Thompson Park is one of the largest migratory ground for some of the birds. Talked to a birder and he told me few species of birds that were almost endangered have come back in good quantities, and he even saw egrets this year. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to go near the bird nesting ground, but if you have a very long lens, you can still get some good shots. If you have never been to Tommy Thompson Park, you should pay a visit, and go early in the morning. It's open only on weekends and holidays, though people go on weekdays too.

Sailboat - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 109mm f1.6. Click for larger.

Bird Island - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 109mm f1.6. Click for larger.

Reflections - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 109mm f1.6. Click for larger.

Bird Paradise - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 109mm f1.6. Click for larger.

Guarding the nest - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 109mm f1.6.

Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 92mm f1.6 Projection Lens

This lens, and the Visionar 109mm f1.6, are special. They came all the way from Cuba and was a gift from friend Ramon. These two lenses are very large and heavy, especially the 109mm f1.6, mostly due to the very large maximum aperture of f1.6. After so many years, they are still in pristine condition. I was able to quickly mount the lens to my Yeenon focus helicoid and they fit well together.

Visionar 92mm f1.6 on NEX-6. Note the large size, and how clean it is. Click for larger.

On Monday I shot some pictures in the afternoon, but it was sunny and very bright, and the lens has a fixed aperture of f1.6, thus most of the pictures were over exposed. No, I didn't have any ND filters. Yesterday, it rained, and was dark, perfect condition to use this lens. So I spent an hour in the rain, under the umbrella, and enjoyed myself with this beautiful lens.

Like most projection lenses, this one is very sharp at the working aperture of f1.6. Unfortunately, quite strong color fringing/CA is visible with contrasty/back lit scenes, as most projection lens exhibit this trait. Not as bad as others, though. So far, I haven't found any projection lens that produces very pleasing  bokeh. It was simply not a design criteria for a projection lens. This one, I would say is average. Not ugly or unpleasant, but not as nice as many dedicated picture taking lenses.

The hardest part of using this lens is finding critical focus. The extremely thin depth of field makes focusing really difficult. Nonetheless, I had a great time taking pictures with this wonderful optic.

Daffodil  - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 92mm f1.6. Click for larger.

Bokeh - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 92mm f1.6. Click for larger.

Braving the rain - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 92mm f1.6. Click for larger.

Walking in the rain - NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Visionar 92mm f1.6. 

From Cuba, with Love

OK, not the kind of love you are thinking of; love of photography and love for another human being.

Ramon, a reader and a film maker from Cuba, emailed and offered me a couple of projection lenses back in December of 2012. I was very touched by his generosity. I am sure photographic equipment is not easy to come by in Cuba, and yet, Ramon selfishlessly offered me the lenses, to an unknown person in another continent.

Today, Ramon's friend Frank the Professor, and I met up. He brought and gave to me Ramon's projection lenses, Carl Zeiss Jena DDR 92mm f1.6 and 109mm f1.6. They are simply gorgeous and in mint condition. Very obvious that Ramon has been taking good care of them. In return, to lessen my guilt, I gave Ramon a Jupiter-9 85mm f2 LTM, since I have two of them. I just hope that I won't disappoint both the lenses and Ramon. Stay tuned for pictures, as soon as I can get the lenses to mount on my camera.

Visionar 92mm f1.6 & 109mm f1.6 Projection lenses. Beautify, yes?

Ernostar 110mm f1.9 Projection Lens - Photo Set

It's been a little while since I used a projection lens to make pictures. Though many people don't share my love for them, I find them fascinating. I do admit, without aperture control, sometimes I find it a bit frustrating as I don't always want to have paper thin depth of field and a sharper image is desirable. Complains aside, these projection lenses are very cheap and the quality is excellent, especially in low lights.

Tree Trunks - NEX-6 & Ernostar 110mm f1.9. Click for larger

Sparrow on fence - NEX-6 & Ernostar 110mm f1.9. Click for larger

Pay Phones - NEX-6 & Ernostar 110mm f1.9. Click for larger

Kodak Ektanon 3 Inch f2 Projection Lens - More Sample Pictures

Here are some more samples from the Kodak Ektanon 3 inch f2 lens and the NEX-5N.  If only it has aperture control, it would be fantastic.  Even as the way it is, it's a great lens and I really enjoy using it.

Kodak Ektanon 3 Inch f2 Projection Lens

This is the last of the few projection lenses that I will look at for a while.  I have always liked loved old Kodak glass, especially the cine lenses, but their earlier projection lenses, before those plastic ones on later models, are equally awesome.  I covered the 50mm f1.2 projection lens here, briefly.  This 3 inch (75mm) f2 is a bit longer, but with a smaller maximum aperture.  Due to its very slender and long design, it was difficult to make it fit in the focusing helicoid, until I found a lens mount from an unknown lens I dismantled.  Now you know why I keep so much junk around, because you never know when the parts could come in handy one day.  Below you will see how I mount the lens to the focusing helicoid, made from the Vivitar 2X teleconverter with macro focusing.

The original lens was longer. I cut the end so that it wont' hit the sensor. Click for larger.

With the lens mount. Lens mount has a 58-55mm step down ring, which will screw onto the helicoid. When the finished, I wrapped electrical tapes on the end part to prevent reflections hitting the sensor. Click for larger.

The whole 9 yards -  with Helicoid and lens hood. Note how many step-up/step-down rings were used. Butt ugly but works.

How does it perform?

Marvelous!  Optically, it reminds me of the Astro-Kino 65mm f1.5 projection lens, but sharper.  It also does not exhibit as much back ground swirl as the Astro, but is still noticeable. The Ektanon 3 inch f2 is the sharpest projection lens I have used.  It's insanely sharp at f2.  The color fringing is also very well controlled. Very happy with what it can do, but like the Astro-Kino 65mm f1.5, it covers only 16mm projection film.  In terms of image coverage, it actually has very little vignetting, but the corners are blurry, especially at infinity focus.  As bad as this sounds, it's also one of its unique signatures: slightly swirling backgrounds, blurry corners with extremely sharp center.  Below are some examples.

Tree Trunks - NEX-5N & Kodak Projection Ektanon 3 inch f2. Click for larger.

Tail Lights - NEX-5N & Kodak Projection Ektanon 3 inch f2. Click for larger.

Bokeh - NEX-5N & Kodak Projection Ektanon 3 inch f2. 

Kowa 102mm f1.9 Super Prominar Projection Lens Samples

This is the third Kowa projection lens I have.  The others are 50mm f1.2, and 76mm f1.9.  Though not a big player in 35mm photography arena, Kowa did make some 35mm cameras with interchangeable lenses.  I still have one of them sitting in a box somewhere.  It also made/makes spotting scopes, medium and large format lenses, movie camera lenses, and of course, projection lenses.   All the Kowa lenses I have, I like them, especially the 50mm f1.2 projection lens.  It is one of my most used projection lenses.  Generally, the Kowa projection lenses are very sharp, including this 102mm f1.9.  But, like most projection lenses, the bokeh is not at all desirable, though not really objectionable either.  But, for $10, who would complain?

Bokeh -- NEX-5N & Kowa Super Prominar 102mm f1.9. Click for larger.

Rose -- NEX-5N & Kowa Super Prominar 102mm f1.9. Click for larger.

Eatery at the edge -- NEX-5N & Kowa Super Prominar 102mm f1.9.

Helicoid with Aperture Setting

Blossoms -- Schneider-Kreuznach Procolar 60mm Projection Lens

I have a Pentax-M 50mm f2 lens which has defective optics.  I mean it was probably repaired and got the glasses in the wrong order and it produced some weird looking images.  So, it's as good as useless.  I decided to make it into a helicoid by removing the glass elements from the lens.

It was quite easy to remove the elements, but the mount turned out to be much harder.  For some reason, the screws are really tight and I couldn't unscrew any of them without stripping the head.  My original plan was to replaced the Pentax K mount with a Sony E-Mount by using a 52mm reversing ring (E-Mount).  For the time being, it will have to be a K-Mount until I can get those screws off.

There are at least two projection lenses that can benefit from this helicoid: the Schneider-Kreuznach Procolar 60mm and the Leitz Hektor 120mm f2.5.  Tried them both and the results are fantastic, especially the Hektor; it's much sharper stopped down a bit.  Will post some pictures of the helicoid once I get the Sony E-Mount on it.