Black Pen FT with 40/1.4, Ilford HP5+

[flyingpalm]

Got this Ilford from a lot and didn't know if it still working, load with a bulk loader and tried in FT.

40/1.4 lens seems not sharp enough (even for F8) maybe 38/1.8 will be better?

 

[tapesonthefloor]

Enh. I know others speak in reverent tones, but I've never found Zuiko glass (Pen or OM) to be particularly sharp.

Also keep in mind that a half-frame shot will simply never be as clear as a full 35mm frame.

This is about as sharp as I'm able to manage with the 38mm f/1.8. Sorry it's my own face:



Perfectly reasonable! But most of my shots aren't quite this clear. The stars have to align just right—and so do the grains of silver—to obtain results like this.

 

[mfogiel]

This is quite sharp - done with the 60/1.5, you need to use finer grained film and high shutter speed.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

How much sharper do you need it to be? Tiny little piece of film, really.

 

[flyingpalm]

I guess a fine grained film will be better.
tapesonthefloor: handsome..........🙂
Morek:thanks, I'll try 60/1.5 when it arrives.

 

[flip]

Regarding shutter speed - I think it's easy to forget the crop factor when shooting half frame - and the fact that the inverse focal length shutter speed rule-of-thumb isn't appropriate. And with a little, light body there is less mass to absorb vibration than with an M.

The charts indicate that these lenses are best at f/5.6-8. Hard not to get the feeling that the designer was intending this to be a system for daylight 1/500 shooting.