A Night at the (Chinese) Opera with the Canon 35mm 1.8 LTM and Sony A7

[Merelyok]

Interesting one this. I like how small and compact it is.

Contrast, as expected for a lens for this vintage, is lower than usual (Boosted in post processing)

Flares when shot directly into light source (but i do like the effect)

Quite sharp wide open (almost all shots at 1.8)

 

[Lss]

How's the corner performance with this lens?

 

[Takkun]

Really interesting shots. The second stuck with me for a while.

I've got this lens and the 1.4, which it seems have nearly identical performance. I've used it for concert and live performance shots, and it's a bit of a challenge with flare. The nice thing about it being low-contrast is that it really helps with the high-contrast lighting. I find that I don't have highlights on faces blowing out as badly. And of course, it's a really unique look among this type of work.
Thanks for sharing!

Re: corner performance--not too bad at all. The 1.4 is a little worse wide open, but in these type of shots, its not an issue at all.

 

[Merelyok]

Hi Lss, unfortunately i didnt get the chance to stop the lens down so i can't really tell how good it is when stopped down. Wide open it is ok but as Takkun has mentioned, it doesn't really matter (to me at least) for the type of shots that i do.

Hi Takkun, thanks! Glad you like the shots. The low contrast really, really helps. I was shooting in similar lighting with a modern piece of glass (can't remb which) and i was getting blown highlights on faces. Not too cool for B&W but for color it is good enough for me.

The pastel tones are a plus too.

 

[YYV_146]

I also like the second shot. Didn't notice on the first pass, but after looking a bit closer it does have charm. I think I also have the exact same shirt as the old man 😀

Great work.

 

[Merelyok]

I also like the second shot. Didn't notice on the first pass, but after looking a bit closer it does have charm. I think I also have the exact same shirt as the old man 😀

Great work.

ha! The shirt is pretty cool. 😉

I think i kinda like the 2nd shot best out of all the shots as well.

Thanks!

 

[Takkun]

I initially skipped over that photo pretty quickly, but I decided to open it in a separate window to scrutinize it further. It really shines on its own, and I figure the brighter photos cause one to focus less on it. (I do a lot of essay-style photo series, so I think a lot about presentation in these sort of situations) Definitely worth printing.

The 4th one also stands out to me. My first instinct would be to crop out some of the left part of the frame since it's mostly dark, but at the same time I really enjoy the compositional balance. Is there much than can be pulled out of the shadows?
On the topic of lens contrast: I don't think I fully understood the concept of 'micro contrast' until I started shooting concerts heavily; before I paid more attention to film/sensor contrast. Generally I shot with a D3 and the 85mm Nikkors, but I always got faces in proper exposure but pretty flat, so to speak. Nowadays I'm shooting with this lensand an M8, so I have to be a little more careful in exposure. But its so subtle how faces are rendered, and that makes all the difference.

Side note: at first glance, none of these photos scream 'vintage lens'. But they have a certain look about them that stands out. I also like the creative use of flare--is that something visible through the A7 finder?

 

[Merelyok]

I initially skipped over that photo pretty quickly, but I decided to open it in a separate window to scrutinize it further. It really shines on its own, and I figure the brighter photos cause one to focus less on it. (I do a lot of essay-style photo series, so I think a lot about presentation in these sort of situations) Definitely worth printing.

The 4th one also stands out to me. My first instinct would be to crop out some of the left part of the frame since it's mostly dark, but at the same time I really enjoy the compositional balance. Is there much than can be pulled out of the shadows?
On the topic of lens contrast: I don't think I fully understood the concept of 'micro contrast' until I started shooting concerts heavily; before I paid more attention to film/sensor contrast. Generally I shot with a D3 and the 85mm Nikkors, but I always got faces in proper exposure but pretty flat, so to speak. Nowadays I'm shooting with this lensand an M8, so I have to be a little more careful in exposure. But its so subtle how faces are rendered, and that makes all the difference.

Side note: at first glance, none of these photos scream 'vintage lens'. But they have a certain look about them that stands out. I also like the creative use of flare--is that something visible through the A7 finder?

Have to take note on the presentation thingy, probably best to run over my photos before posting them in any order! Thanks for the printing suggestion, i'll most probably get it printed and framed (no fancy frames mind you, a cheapo Ikea one will do nicely)

For the 4th shot, you would be surprised at how much more detail can be pulled from the shadows, perfectly usable but i chose to keep the shot this way as i didn't think the added detail would do anything for the shot. * as a side note, the A7 is making me question my lust for a new M240. It has excelled with all lenses that i can thrown on it and the shots that i get are always consistent. The only reason that i can think of getting the M240 is pure gear lust (and the fact that it is a Leica rangefinder....)

I don't get any flaring in the EVF (which is a joy to use). I don't quite mind the flaring though!