Selling my gear and going FF with MF alt glass!

[funkboy]

Hey HBOC, I imagine that you've already seen it if you've got adapter fever, but you should definitely read the lens tests over at 16-9.net if you haven't already. He also sells nice classic lenses bundled with Canon adapters from time to time.

 

[compuwar]

Using third party focusing screens can throw your meter off but people will usually say it's a non-issue.

That's why I asked someone who's using one- I'm interested in real-world experience. Lots of people say lots of stuff about imaging that doesn't tend to hold up well to folks who are critical when they evaluate images. I've seen people positively gush over digiscoped bird images that I wouldn't even have saved, let alone printed at 8x10.

It shouldn't be more than a stop at most. Center weighted average is recommended. Spot metering will be affected.

Just use exposure compensation if you must.

I'd hope it would be significantly less than a stop, as a stop is half or twice as much light- making for exposure failures in lots of situations where you're trying to hold highlight or shadow detail. If the bias is a third of a stop or so, then it may be relatively manageable, though it'll be less than ideal, if it's routinely more than that, then for me at least it'd be a no go.

The problem with exposure compensation is that it's a fixed value, where the amount of light hitting the split prism isn't going to be constant- which is why I'm interested in feedback from someone regularly shooting with a Katz.

I'm going to put an 80mm Planar Hasselblad lens on my D3x, and I am trying to decide between trying to chip the C-mount adapter with a Dandelion chip to get the focus indicator working and going with a split prism focusing screen. I expect exposure compensation will be relatively easy in the studio, but shooting outside I'd think it'd be a real PITA to get exact exposure unless the value changes are relatively predictable given things like white clothes, sun in the frame, etc.

Switching screens is enough of a pain that I'd like to know more about how the Katz handles in real life before investing too much time in research and testing.

Paul

 

[rhett7660]

I fail to see where getting a completely new set of camera gear makes you more creative and improves your skills. Maybe there will be some novelty factor involved but creativity comes from within, not by artificialy limiting the capabilities of your gear. Skills are learned by discipline and practice, not magically absorbed by forcing oneself to use subpar or old equipment. There's nothing wrong with AF or other modern "features"- as long as you treat them as a tool and not a crutch.

And if your sig is anything to go by- (40D and 17-40L?) then really the thread title should be "upgrading my gear to better body and then saving money by using MF glass"...?

To put it frankly- IMHO you are crazy and I don't think your creativity or skills will improve any. The only real result will be a lighter wallet.

Ruahrc

This... I completely agree.....

 

[compuwar]

Good question.

If you're going to be exposing to the right then you're going to need to dial in some exposure compensation anyway, and get pretty good at setting up your camera for nice full-range histograms with minimal blown highlights in a hurry. I had been using this technique for about a year on the 10D before I got the 40D, and it's one of the reasons that I made the decision to upgrade.

Are you using UniWB, or not, and is the exposure adjustment generally the same, or do you find one or more channels affected?

Probably with the normal Katz treatment you wouldn't even need the -1/3 and could just leave it at 0 most of the time with this configuration.

That's good to know, I've read lots of back and forth things over the years, and since I've always shot with lenses that coupled, I've gotten quite used to using the focus indicators on my D2x and D3x, rarely finding manual focus a real problem - since a lot of my shooting is varied, I've been wary of anything that might affect exposure too much, especially since I tend to ETTR in my more critical work.

Anyway, definitely a good investment, especially on a camera like a 40D with HTP and "officially Canon supported" focus screen swapping so you don't have to worry about shims & stuff. It took 2 minutes to install.

Yeah, all the Nikon pro bodies have user-swapable screens- I'd just hate to have to deal with major exposure differences for things like macros based upon differently toned subjects.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[flosseR]

Yeah, all the Nikon pro bodies have user-swapable screens- I'd just hate to have to deal with major exposure differences for things like macros based upon differently toned subjects.

Thanks,

Paul

this is from Katz Eye's page:

 

[funkboy]

Are you using UniWB, or not, and is the exposure adjustment generally the same, or do you find one or more channels affected?

That's an interesting technique I hadn't heard of before; thanks . After reading up on it a bit I understand how it works & it makes sense.

To try to answer your question, I almost always leave white balance on auto for RAW and correct it in LR3 with the eyedropper if needed. The 40D has RGB histograms, and the -1/3 comp. value I decided on in my initial testing took that into account. I suppose it'll blow a channel under really harsh circumstances, but I've never really had a problem with it & I shoot a lot of concerts where the stage lighting means that most of the useful data is in two channels if you're lucky.

I've got an expodisc that I use for setting WB when I (occasionally) do studio stuff, and that works fine. Most of the macro I've done is with the 85mm f/1.8 and the Kenko rings, and the extension rings monkey with the metering enough that I basically just dial in the exposure with a few test shots & checking the histogram (this has nothing to do with the Katz Eye).

Short answer on the whole metering question with a Katz Eye: if you're fine leaving highlight tone priority on all the time and don't use spot-metering much, then it's a non-issue. Partial, Matrix, and Average all work fine (I almost always use Matrix, & switch to Partial when I only want to meter on the subjet).

The split-prism & microprism confuse the spot sensor a bit, but I hardly ever use it & certainly haven't tested it extensively. The spot mode I found really useful (for landscapes) was the multi-spot on my beloved T90, but the 40D's single-spot was not one of the reasons I upgraded from the 10D.

 

[Westside guy]

So, you are a serious shooter (no other reason to get a 1ds) but your 40d has only 8k clicks.

I realize some people inexplicably equate "serious shooter" with "I have 100,000 photos of my girlfriend and my dog" - but this is a really silly statement.