Kilfitt-Makro Kilar E 40mm f3.5 Lens

35mmc just published a short post I did on this lens that I bought fairly recently, after finding it recommended by Mike Eckman on a post he contributed to at Casual Photophile (here).

It’s been a few weeks since I wrote that and I thought I would expand a little on my experience with the lens so far and also some 3D printing.

The post I discovered this on was about favourite lenses and it was an interesting read; especially as people tried to not pick the obvious (perhaps) clichéd choices and avoided the “best” just sticking with the ones they use the most and truly are favourites.  

It was Mike’s recommendation that caught my eye though and it seemed to me that this lens would fit nicely into my small tool-set.  I have been toying with buying a new lens that I could use on my digital and maybe also on a couple of my film cameras too.  This wasn’t quite what I had in mind but it just sounded very useful and might replace an Olympus lens I am thinking of parting with.

Cameras: Nikon 1 V1

I have no real idea why I bought this; it was completely on a whim.  I have a perfectly good (better) digital camera that I love so this really is a mystery.

It happened in a kind of blur… I read a couple of reviews and then fatally checked out that auction site…  some days later a package arrived on my doorstep.

Apart from my Nikonos underwater cameras I have never been a Nikon owner.

I guess what interested me about this camera was the look it has; very simple minimalist lines (a sleek black slightly round cube). 

6 months of going mirrorless with the Olympus Pen-F

It’s been just over six months since I got rid of my dSLR and went mirrorless with the Olympus Pen-F so I figured it was time to review.

My main reason for changing was the bulk and weight of the Canon (with the Sigma lens) I had which, due in part to how I carried the camera, was actually causing physical pain – even when I wasn’t holding it.  It seemed to me that mirrorless

Photo month challenge

Now that I have this new camera I want to get familiar with it and so I thought I would challenge myself for the next month.

Mirrorless: final chapter.. or just the beginning

Okay done it, pulled the trigger and I now have a smart new camera to play with; very exited 🙂

Mirrorless part 6- time to call it

A weekend with the Olympus Pen-F and I am sold.

Mirrorless: Part 5½, the countdown to Desert Trip and Pen-F try out

Just a few days until Desert Trip where I’ll be seeing some of the biggest names in rock, see my previous post here.

Mirrorless part 5 – indecision

Wow!

Mirrorless part 4 – the try out – Sony a6300

So I spent last week with a Sony a6300 with a 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 lens rented from Borrowlenses.com which I took on holiday to Florida.  

Going mirrorless? part 3

Just putting down my thoughts on the two cameras I have in mind for going mirrorless should I decide to make the switch (apologies if I have said any of this before).

As mentioned previously the SLR has been giving me pain and I am thinking that technology is at the level where the difference between SLR vs Mirrorless (for my needs) is close enough.

So I have in mind two camera options having looked around; Sony a6300 and Olympus Pen-F digital.

Mirrorless or not? Part 2

I thought I would follow up on this subject and probably try to document this further over the next few weeks.

Following the last post on this I have been continuing my investigations whilst my SLR is in for repair.

I have fairly well convinced myself at this point that I do want to move to a smaller camera but not ready to make the decision yet.  To help me on the way I am renting a Sony a6300 from BorrowLenses.com for my vacation starting this weekend.  Hopefully this will give me what I need to make a decision of some sort.

There are two things i want to get out of it.

1. Try mirrorless in the real world and see if it makes the difference I am expecting.
2. Try out the one of the two cameras I have in mind and check operability.

The two cameras I am considering at the moment are the Sony a6300 and the Olympus Pen-F digital.  Both fit with my needs in terms of features so it comes down to usability and livability.  The Olympus is more expensive but look beautiful the Sony more affordable ;it’s not beautiful but is well designed and I like the look of it.

A week with the Sony will give me a good idea of what it is like to use and if it is good I will probably go with it leaving extra cash for lenses and accessories.

I’m thinking of going ‘mirrorless’

Is it time for me to switch?  I’ve been casually thinking about the idea for a while and now I am looking at specific cameras.