A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

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alfake
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A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by alfake »

Hello! I shot this picture of Pelegrina’s Castle the day before yesterday. I filled my backpack for the first time with an A100 and my old Mamiya 645 lenses (together with a Mirex adapter). Any comments would be welcome (especially about colour and contrast: I am never sure of getting them right). (The image has been shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom.)

A100 + Mamiya 300mm
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David Kilpatrick
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

I would love to see a detail of this at 100%, using the medium format tele on the A100 might be very good - or not so. The picture is excellent with great control of the exposure (clearly not just auto and hope for the best!) and if the quality is good from the Mamiya lens it would be worth knowing.

David
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by Javelin »

That looks like a a mytical place from stories. i'd love to see a bigger version of it too
alfake
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by alfake »

David and Javelin, thanks for the comments. I would also like to know whether I am losing too much by using the Mamiya 300mm or not. (I have no other 300mm. Would either the Tamron 70-300mm or the Sony 70-300mm G be significantly better at 300mm f11?)

Centre (1:1 crop)
Image


Corner (1:1 crop)
Image
Last edited by alfake on Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dr. Harout
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

Very beautiful and the adapter interested me.
A99 + a7rII + Sony, Zeiss, Minolta, Rokinon and M42 lenses

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David Kilpatrick
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

alfake wrote:David and Javelin, thanks for the comments. I would also like to know whether I am losing too much by using the Mamiya 300mm or not. (I have no other 300mm. Would either the Tamron 70-300mm or the Sony 70-300mm G be significantly better at 300mm f11?)
Your images shows very even coverage, no visible CA, but a slight softness. I'd say they were acceptable, probably better in terms of a consistent corner to corner image than the Tamron, but definitely softer than the 70-300mm SSM. The SSM lens is sharper than the 100-300mm APO D, and here is an Alpha 100 sample from that lens at 300mm and f7.1 - it was clipped from an overall view to show the effects of shooting in summer, with heat haze disrupting the detail of the shot. But you can see the level of detail the A100 is capable of, and the lens, from the fine lines, brickwork and other shapes in this clip:

Image

and to see the whole picture (not at 100 per cent), go to http://upload.pbase.com/davidkilpatrick/image/97544811 (this gallery contains a large number of Alpha 100 image samples).

Actually, this reminds me again that the Alpha 100 is sharper than any of the later models - 700, 200, 300, 350 none have exactly the same fine detail recording ability at 100%, though the 700 and 350 both capture more detail in the end by having larger file size.

David
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by bossel »

David,

this doesn't really look like Scotland? It reminds me rather of provence or tuscany or one of these southern places 8)

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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

It's the lavender fields of Sault seem from the village - Provence. Sadly, the lavender is not being grown as much now and the field are untidy in many places, but it's a lovely place to visit. We sat on the edge of the town square which forms a sort of parapet overlooking the fields - it was breezy and I remember Shirley couldn't light a cigarette, but really hot at the same time - down in below the town there was no wind. That sort of condition produces the heat haze effects, or maybe the breeze is caused by the rising air.\

But - more to the point - where is Pelegrina's Castle, alfake? It looks like an exceptional landmark.

David
alfake
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by alfake »

David, thanks for your comments about the telephoto lenses. (I expected the Sony 70-300mm G to beat the Mamiya 300mm in terms of resolution, and your photo seems to prove it.)
David Kilpatrick wrote:where is Pelegrina's Castle? It looks like an exceptional landmark.
Pelegrina lies about 130 km to the north-east of Madrid (and 7 km away from Sigüenza, where I live). I don’t know whether its castle is considered a landmark or not (probably not), but I am sure it’s not exceptional. This is the old Castilla. Medieval castles (‘castillos’) are here a very common view. Most of them lie in ruins. (The castle of Pelegrina was set on fire by the retreating Napoleonic troops, and never reconstructed. The picture above partially hides the state of ruin. It shows a relatively unfamiliar view of the castle, simply because you’ll have to walk twenty minutes from the nearest road to find this point of view.)
Dr. Harout wrote:Very beautiful and the adapter interested me.
The Mirex Tilt-Shift adapter is very well made (and priced accordingly). It has brought back to life my Mamiya 645 lenses (I have six), which were collecting dust since my film days came to an end (three years ago). And as a bonus it has added movements to all of them! (I must now admit I had nearly forgotten the pleasure of using those heavy, slow, full-metal manual focus lenses…)
Alfonso
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by Chris Malcolm »

David Kilpatrick wrote: Actually, this reminds me again that the Alpha 100 is sharper than any of the later models - 700, 200, 300, 350 none have exactly the same fine detail recording ability at 100%, though the 700 and 350 both capture more detail in the end by having larger file size.

David
If all those models were to use the same lens for a sharpness test, and the lens had sharp detail resolution just in excess of the A100 sensor, but not quite up to the others, then I would expect the A100 to show sharper images at 100% than the others as a simple consequence of lens resolution and sensors. Have I got that right?

When you say the A100 is sharper, are you referring to this effect, or some extra difference?
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

At 100%, yes, assuming the focus is correct the Alpha 100 remains the sharpest of the Alphas to date (including KM 7D and 5D). It appears to have a weak low-pass filter (AA) and minimal noise reduction, especially in the raw file. This attracted so much criticism for the resulting noise levels that the 200/300 though using the same sensor either have a slightly more powerful AA filter or some extra NR - they definitely produce about 1/2 to one stop less noise, in practice you can shoot at 800 where 400 would have been advisable with the A100. They still take sharp pictures, of course, but there is a definite edge present in the Alpha 100 - it is also capable of producing moiré patterns from fine detail, a sure sign of a weak AA filter.

For that reason, although we have sold one Alpha 100 kit, we are keeping one. Some of my best shots have been from the 100. It is not a better all-round camera, but it's a great camera for landscapes at ISO 100, because it handles grass and trees (etc) better than the later cameras - and better than Pentax or Canon too.

See:

http://www.pbase.com/davidkilpatrick/image/75640714

(view the original, full size A100 file)

http://www.pbase.com/davidkilpatrick/image/75640715

(K10D image - same sensor, but with a stronger AA filter)

Study the grass and fine details below the trees on the field, especially. Both shots were taken using 28-75mm KM/Tamron lenses at 50mm, which I trust for good resolution.

David

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alfake
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by alfake »

David has recently written on several threads about vignetting and distortions suffered by the 70-300mm SSM when used on the A900. (For example: “After trying the 70-300mm SSM on the A900, I realise it is intended mainly for the A700 (better illumination and geometry on the smaller format, by far).”) I think this news can change a bit the above Mamiya 300mm vs. 70-300mm SSM debate. Probably the Mamiya 300mm still won’t suffer of vignetting or distortions on digital 35mm full frame bodies (its image circle being so much bigger than the sensors). And also the (usually) larger pixel pitch of full frame sensors (in relation to APS sensors) will perhaps make full frame sensors more forgiving to the (relative) lack of resolution of medium format lenses.
So would it be reasonable to expect medium format lenses to improve their performance on the A900? I would be grateful for any help on this point (because, if so, I would definitely discard the 70-300mm SSM and start saving for the A900 or, more realistically, for a future affordable full frame body.)
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

I have used the Mamiya ZD 22 megapixel camera with its own lenses, and far from being lower in resolution, the 80mm, 55-110mm zoom and 35mm ultrawide lens we used appeared to be immaculately sharp - free from all aberrations, perfect geometry, great sharpness. But 22 megapixels on this sensor size is more like the density of a 6 megapixel APS-C DSLR - and despite that, you won't believe how poor the noise performance is compared to an Alpha 900. But this camera was not fitted with the AA filter, and that makes all lenses far sharper, and image noise more visible.

Examples:
cockerellawn-ZD.jpg
cockerellawn-ZD.jpg (54.07 KiB) Viewed 7112 times
Nice autumn (December, we don't really lose the green in our garden in Scotland much until February) shot of late departed cockerel snapped with the ZD and 80mm 1/125 at f2.8 and autofocus - which has nailed, with precision, the focused and locked point of the bird's eye/head.
cockerellawn-100pc.jpg
cockerellawn-100pc.jpg (56.89 KiB) Viewed 7111 times
100 per cent clip - you can see that even wide open, the standard Mamiya lens has no problem at all with sharpness or BF/FF issues. But this is ISO 50! Look at the noise! (ACR 4.5, no sharpening, no NR). You have to shoot at ISO 800 on the A900 to get noise like that. The 22 megapixel sensor used in the ZD is still a current product and while some medium format sensors are better, this is not a 'terrible' result, it is what professional medium format users have been used to and continue to accept with the new 31, 39, 50 megapixel backs.

David
alfake
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Re: A landscape (A100 + Mamiya 300mm)

Unread post by alfake »

Thank you very much, David, for your responses (you seem to have used everything in the market!). Your comments on the 70-300mm SSM and on medium format lenses and digital backs have been very helpful. On the whole, I conclude that my Mamiya lenses will most probably be ‘sharp enough’ on 35mm full frame digital bodies, so the 70-300mm SSM is no longer a priority for me. (For my not so frequent and usually casual tele shots in APS, my light and cheap Tamron 55-200mm works fine.) Thanks again.
Alfonso
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