Lens testing at Quiapo

After concluding that 50mm is far too narrow for practical freelensing, I eventually headed to Quiapo to hunt for a prime lens with a shorter focal length. It was in one of the unnamed shops where I stumbled across the smc PENTAX-M 1:2.8 28mm.

Upgrades

Just purchased the cheapest full-HD LED monitor I could get my hands on.

Samsung Series 3 T23A350 — pretty decent bang per buck

Gear Talk: Velbon Sherpa 600R

Got a new tripod.

Not exactly the cheapest option, but I suppose it's a sensible one if you're putting equipment worth a few months' salary on top or underneath. Tipped one over before and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

The thing probably weighs twice as much as my previous one, maybe even more. In theory, that should mean greater stability.

Gear Talk: EF 50mm f/1.8

I had lent my cheapshit EF 50mm f/1.8 to a coworker for a few weeks and, suprisingly, I did come to miss it. Just got it back last week and I spent the afternoon fooling around with it (and only it) on the camera.

Having a variable zoom range is handy, but zoom lenses just can't beat prime lenses when it comes to smooth bokeh.

This shot was achieved by using custom aperture. Said aperture was made using state of the art materials and equipment, namely...

a box cutter, an index card, and a black marker pen.


Another new accessory that I had crafted for this lens is a lens hood.

Without lens hood

With lens hood

Of course, the lens isn't designed to be mounted in the reverse position, so it's not really surprising that this configuration is prone to glare, which kills the image contrast. Surprisingly, a cardboard tube from a roll of tissue paper did improve the image quality somewhat.



Other shots for the day, all taken with the 50mm.

2 of 3 resident felines

A bath towel 

Window screen 

Microfiber cloth for cleaning lenses 

Tip of a dart 

A spray nozzle

The afternoon sun