Paris - R-D1 and 21mm Skopar (images)

[Johnmcd]

One day in Paris and so much to see. All taken with 21mm Skopar, mostly at F8-F11.

Some colour shots to follow.

Comments welcome.

Cheers,

John

 

[szekiat]

the indoor shots look remarkably grainless. Care to share your chosen ISO and post processing methods?

 

[lZr]

Gorgeous shots. I liked the last one with the ghosts

 

[semrich]

I like the one with the two guys almost identical looks and positions running on the platform at the station. A nice bit of action within the geometric lines of the station.

 

[Johnmcd]

the indoor shots look remarkably grainless. Care to share your chosen ISO and post processing methods?

Sure -the underground Metro shots are both 800 iso, shot with +1/3 EV. Shot in raw and processed with Epson Raw then opened in Photoshop. Adjusted the levels slightly and resized. No noise reduction. I believe that 800 iso is the sweet spot for lowlight and the R-D1. I'd rather hand hold at 1/11th (interior of train) than go to 1600 iso.

800 iso also prints beautifully with no noise reduction.

Cheers - John

 

[Johnmcd]

I like the one with the two guys almost identical looks and positions running on the platform at the station. A nice bit of action within the geometric lines of the station.

These teenagers were very typical with their close cropped hair. It is just like the hair style of the police and military that are roaming around Paris and I suspect they may be the heroes for these young guys.

Cheers - John

 

[__hh]

What a machine in capable hands... I love them John... again, proof that worries over noise are over-rated.

 

[Johnmcd]

What a machine in capable hands... I love them John... again, proof that worries over noise are over-rated.

I'm glad you liked them. 800 iso really is very good.

My French friend's beautiful daughter during a late dinner at a pizza cafe. This time with the 40mm Nokton at 800 iso.

 

[bellyface]

john... amazing stuff! Gotta say I'm a fan of your stuff... makes me want to head downtown and record some stuff on my epson 😉

 

[Johnmcd]

makes me want to head downtown and record some stuff on my epson 😉

Thanks for the kind words mate.

I only had one day in one of the most photographically interesting cities in the world and there was only one choice for me - the Epson! 🙂

For lowlight portraits it is just 'special'.

To say thank you to my French hosts (who would allow me to spend no money at all), I had printed five 20x30 enlargements of their daughter from the series above. I was amazed at the print quality at 800 iso.

Cheers - John

 

[cam]

John,

great shots! thank you for doing my homework for me -- i'm anxious to get back to Paris (next week) with my new used R-D1. the metro has always been a favourite!

where did you get your work printed there? i've yet to find a place i was happy with though i know they exist.

thank you in advance!

cam

 

[kshapero]

John,
This is a good as it gets. I see that the R-d1 holds up with the best of the best. And that CV 21mm is too slouch, either. bravo.

 

[jahnpack]

Hi,
I have 35mm nokton 1.4, excellent lens but sometimes it's too narrow for me.
i am thinking of buying a 21mm skopar, and wonder how accurate is it without an external viewfinder. is it close to 28mm framelines.

thanks
can

 

[yanidel]

Hi
I have 35mm nokton 1.4, excellent lens but sometimes it's too narrow for me.
i am thinking of buying a 21mm skopar, and wonder how accurate is it without an external viewfinder. is it close to 28mm framelines.

thanks
can

I use it without the external viewfinder and the whole RF area is an approximation. I am still thinking about acquiring one as in situation where quickness is needed, I don't have time to frame by rolling my eyes to the extremes of the RF to make sure I compose correctly😀

 

[Johnmcd]

John,

great shots! thank you for doing my homework for me -- i'm anxious to get back to Paris (next week) with my new used R-D1. the metro has always been a favourite!

where did you get your work printed there? i've yet to find a place i was happy with though i know they exist.

thank you in advance!

cam

Cam,

I guess I was pretty lucky. I had an hour to myself in a local mall in the outer suburbs of Paris and took a usb memory stick with me with the images after some PP on my laptop. They were all done using the 'sepia' setting in Epson Raw.

I just looked for the the first photo place I could find as I didn't have much time. They were a little expensive (by Australian prices anyway) but printed up nicely on a gloss paper.

Good luck next week. - John

 

[Johnmcd]

Hi,
I have 35mm nokton 1.4, excellent lens but sometimes it's too narrow for me.
i am thinking of buying a 21mm skopar, and wonder how accurate is it without an external viewfinder. is it close to 28mm framelines.

thanks
can

I use it with the Ricoh GRD 21/28 external viewfinder - using the 28mm frame lines which are pretty close. The 28mm R-D1 frame lines would actually be showing 42mm rather than the 32mm needed. Perhaps as Yanidel suggested, using the whole frame might work better.

At first I thought the external viewfinder would be a PITA but you soon get used to it. At F8-11 scale focus and just use the external.

Cheers - John

 

[mobilexile]

John: Thank you for sharing. You returned home with a host of beautiful imagery.

 

[morgan]

Very nice shots. I've been on the fence about getting the 21, but I think your shots pushed me over the edge.

 

[bellyface]

John, so whats the verdict? How do you like the 21? I think it might be my next lens, I had a 15 heliar and was unimpressed. My lineup is a bit weird.. 40 1.4, 50 1.5, 90 elmarit, and 2 old russian 50's that i can't get rid of... I kicked around the idea of selling off my 40 to get a 35 1.2, but after todays' bout of boredom and yardwork, i think the 40 just can't leave me....

more bars are better

independence

 

[Johnmcd]

John, so whats the verdict? How do you like the 21? I think it might be my next lens, I had a 15 heliar and was unimpressed. My lineup is a bit weird.. 40 1.4, 50 1.5, 90 elmarit, and 2 old russian 50's that i can't get rid of... I kicked around the idea of selling off my 40 to get a 35 1.2, but after todays' bout of boredom and yardwork, i think the 40 just can't leave me....

Ivan,

Nice capture - sometimes the mundane has a special beauty. Good to see the young fella helping out 🙂

I don't think I could do without my 40mm. It's my low light portrait lens and the sharpest lens I own by far. It also doesn't seem like '60mm'. I suppose I use it like a traditional 50mm.

I think the 21mm is the perfect 'tourist' lens. I wanted to capture the feeling of the new cities I was visiting and the 32mm view was just right. It is not as sharp as the 40mm (though that could be my copy) but does sharpen up very nicely in PP. And I doubt whether it would be noticeable in a print. Coupled with a 28mm or 35mm VF, it's fast and fun.

I wanted it to compliment my 40, 50 and 80, and I think it does the trick. What lens next for me? 28 Ultron?

Some images of Copenhagen to follow soon to really help you make up your mind.

Cheers,

John