Been getting very quiet on the forum

Perhaps it is the uncertain times? - or is it that the Northern Summer is in full swing?

Busy days with work in my case, also I've been shelving a lot of projects for the time being as I need to get a few bits and bobs to make my remaining projector lenses fit my camera as intended.

I also have a fair few projects in need of more delicate designing and 3D printing, which I just don't feel like doing atm. So I'm focusing on using my native lenses and shooting for now, while looking forward to a new astro season as soon as the skies darken!

That being said, my contributions to this forum were hardly large enough to make any difference but still

Janer_2 said:

Busy days with work in my case, also I've been shelving a lot of projects for the time being as I need to get a few bits and bobs to make my remaining projector lenses fit my camera as intended.

I also have a fair few projects in need of more delicate designing and 3D printing, which I just don't feel like doing atm. So I'm focusing on using my native lenses and shooting for now, while looking forward to a new astro season as soon as the skies darken!

That being said, my contributions to this forum were hardly large enough to make any difference but still

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Thanks for the quick reply. I think it is as much as the collapsing number of original posts that interest us and are worthy of reply.

The forum waxes and wanes with the full moon of topics but I have never seen it quite as quiet for a long time.

Of course it is hard to know just what makes the forum interesting enough to warrant a response.

Whatever it needs there is no doubt that we each have our own busy lives to take care of.

I have started a new thread regarding new MF lenses made in China. Not adapted lenses per se but are often made in multiple mounts. I think they warrant discussing on this forum simply because they seem to be increasingly an alternative to our legacy MF lenses.

But they do come with the mount of our choice, often deliberately made for aps or 4/3 and mounted accordingly. Arguably more suited to the smaller sensor formats that have been more generally 135 format film format lenses. They also have the advantage being brand new in the box and don't need CLA or other tinkering with. But of course we, as members of this forum, just love to mess around with our legacy lenses.

Tom Caldwell said:

Janer_2 said:

Busy days with work in my case, also I've been shelving a lot of projects for the time being as I need to get a few bits and bobs to make my remaining projector lenses fit my camera as intended.

I also have a fair few projects in need of more delicate designing and 3D printing, which I just don't feel like doing atm. So I'm focusing on using my native lenses and shooting for now, while looking forward to a new astro season as soon as the skies darken!

That being said, my contributions to this forum were hardly large enough to make any difference but still

Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply. I think it is as much as the collapsing number of original posts that interest us and are worthy of reply.

The forum waxes and wanes with the full moon of topics but I have never seen it quite as quiet for a long time.

Of course it is hard to know just what makes the forum interesting enough to warrant a response.

Whatever it needs there is no doubt that we each have our own busy lives to take care of.

I have started a new thread regarding new MF lenses made in China. Not adapted lenses per se but are often made in multiple mounts. I think they warrant discussing on this forum simply because they seem to be increasingly an alternative to our legacy MF lenses.

But they do come with the mount of our choice, often deliberately made for aps or 4/3 and mounted accordingly. Arguably more suited to the smaller sensor formats that have been more generally 135 format film format lenses. They also have the advantage being brand new in the box and don't need CLA or other tinkering with. But of course we, as members of this forum, just love to mess around with our legacy lenses.

Click to expand...

I'll start two similar topics for favorite lenses in Minolta SR (MC/MD) and M42-mount, maybe that can get some discussions going.

Thanks for joining in - looking less quiet already

Tom Caldwell said:

Perhaps it is the uncertain times? - or is it that the Northern Summer is in full swing?

Click to expand...

Things have been pretty unsettled here; got laid off recently, doing consulting work to fill the gap but timing has been erratic and so has the time to both shoot and process photos from shoots. And on top of that the weather's been very hot and my energy levels have been all over the place. ^^;;

Got at least a couple of posts in the works after I finish processing the shots - visits to the Truman and Lincoln Presidential Library/Museum, and playing with a Soligor C/D 135/2.

I've been on this forum from the very beginning and don't plan to leave. I have a lot of equipment I still want to play and experiment with, I have been distracted by the new gear I have acquired but will get back on track with my adapted lenses.

I like the idea of a Chinese lens forum, though I don't have any, I could use some primes for my MFT gear.

photoholiko said:

I've been on this forum from the very beginning and don't plan to leave. I have a lot of equipment I still want to play and experiment with, I have been distracted by the new gear I have acquired but will get back on track with my adapted lenses.

I like the idea of a Chinese lens forum, though I don't have any, I could use some primes for my MFT gear.

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I hadn't thought about a Chinese lens forum but it is an idea worth thinking about.

Meanwhile dpreview keeps some Chinese manufacturers in their lens database but I would not think it anywhere complete.

Chat on a forum might be a good way of filling in the gaps.

As these lenses can be competing for attention with adapted lenses I think that we can stretch a point and include them for discussion here even if in time they might be better served on a dedicated forum.

Travis Butler said:

Tom Caldwell said:

Perhaps it is the uncertain times? - or is it that the Northern Summer is in full swing?

Click to expand...

Things have been pretty unsettled here; got laid off recently, doing consulting work to fill the gap but timing has been erratic and so has the time to both shoot and process photos from shoots. And on top of that the weather's been very hot and my energy levels have been all over the place. ^^;;

Got at least a couple of posts in the works after I finish processing the shots - visits to the Truman and Lincoln Presidential Library/Museum, and playing with a Soligor C/D 135/2.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about the wobbles Travis. Over here we have had the second really wet year in a row - 94" October to May. And only 4 days in March with no rain at all. But then we have since had weeks of dry weather only to have extremely wet again for only a few days but this resulted in 80,000 people being issued with flood evacuation orders in the Sydney-Newcastle area. This was very serious flooding and apparently the worst in 70 years and the fourth area flooding with substantial housing inundation in that area in 18 months. That area floods and always has but not nearly this bad and only perhaps every five years or so.

Nobody has to be convinced any more that something global warming is under way.

A small city called Lismore north of here was effectively wiped out by a major flood at never seen before levels (since records were kept). It happened not much more than a month ago. There are still thousands there that cannot go back to their homes because they are now condemned because of the flood damage. The government is trying to figure out how to shift a good proportion of the city residential and commercial area to higher ground.

Been cold since the big wet - probably the clear skies we were having. Was down to 1C a few nights - which is awful seeing that most houses around here have no normal heating arrangements other than a small electric fan heater or air-conditioning - normally for cooling purposes.

But we are flood free on a ridge and even if the ground is soggy, at least we have a secure roof over our heads.

Tom Caldwell said:

photoholiko said:

I've been on this forum from the very beginning and don't plan to leave. I have a lot of equipment I still want to play and experiment with, I have been distracted by the new gear I have acquired but will get back on track with my adapted lenses.

I like the idea of a Chinese lens forum, though I don't have any, I could use some primes for my MFT gear.

Click to expand...

I hadn't thought about a Chinese lens forum but it is an idea worth thinking about.

Meanwhile dpreview keeps some Chinese manufacturers in their lens database but I would not think it anywhere complete.

Chat on a forum might be a good way of filling in the gaps.

As these lenses can be competing for attention with adapted lenses I think that we can stretch a point and include them for discussion here even if in time they might be better served on a dedicated forum.

Click to expand...

Isn't it hard to draw a line what a Chinese lens is?

Modern Viltrox and Yongnou AF-lenses for E-mount are two chinese lens makers. Are they in?

But Samyang who also make modern AF E-mount lenses are Korean, so they are out?

And Sony AF-lenses designed in Japan and built in Thailand are out but the ones made in China are in?

MS-Optics which is a small Japanese manufacturer is out?

All iPhones are manufactured in China, they are in?

I think you see the problem I try to visualize with the above.

So the group name, the purpose and the description of it needs to be really carefully worded if such a forum shouldn't be flooded with non relevant threads.

I have some topic ideas of the historic articles I've encountered that are a fun read, but I want to write something alongside them and links to other pieces etc and it just gets a whole lot more complicated!

There might also be some complaints about copyright... ;-)

Something which shouldn't be too complicated, and also interesting- talking about the first generation (1920-1952~) of 6 element Double-Gauss normal lenses. Mostly diagram led, sticking to production-only models.

What mainly sparked this was finding quite a few articles documenting them for projection from Bausch and Lomb etc, which really was the hook- the 6 element Gauss lens was the 'higher spec' class, and for the period I described stayed in the same cemented layout as the original Opic, before rising to 7 elements or having a cemented rear in place of something else etc.

Some of my adapting ideas are also to large or medium formats, both of which I lack. I could do with finding someone in the local area to try them out with.

I think that we could be quite happy to discuss those lenses made for simple manual focus directly on the range of the new order of mirrorless mount systems on the basis that they are the direct alternative to adapting legacy MF lenses to these mount systems.

Those other lenses made for (say) EF mount when adapted to mirrorless mount systems are already included by definition.

This might obviate the necessity for a separate forum to cover these lenses. Noteworthy is the fact that these lenses are often cross mounted to a number of mirrorless mounts.

So I see a connection by way of "factory adaptions" even though those other recognised historical companies such as Sigma, Tamron and others have made lenses with various mount systems on a basis accepted by their mount owners on a historical basis.

I don't think discussing these emerging MF only lens types is going to set the dpreview fora alive in any particular way, enough to need their own forum. Many of them will be separately discussed on the applicable mount forum that they are marketed to in any case.

Consequently general discussion of these lenses on this forum should be an acceptable extension of our activities in my own personal opinion.

I have all but two of my ~25 old lenses and the rest of my stuff in storage for years now. Old glass is heavy and I don't want to carry too much anymore while I'm travelling, hence the switch to m43 a while ago. I'm just back from a week in Vienna where I used my 50mm/f1.8 Zuiko ('made in japan') more than my native m43 glass and I'm gonna keep it in my bag for another while, wouldn't want to miss the fun. That being said the love for old glass, especially Zuikos, Nikkors and Zeiss lenses won't die anytime soon. I'm still looking forward to fill some blanks in my sleeping collection ... next stop will be something small and fast around 85-100mm, maybe native chinese ... long live the forum

Tom Caldwell said:

I think that we could be quite happy to discuss those lenses made for simple manual focus directly on the range of the new order of mirrorless mount systems on the basis that they are the direct alternative to adapting legacy MF lenses to these mount systems.

Those other lenses made for (say) EF mount when adapted to mirrorless mount systems are already included by definition.

This might obviate the necessity for a separate forum to cover these lenses. Noteworthy is the fact that these lenses are often cross mounted to a number of mirrorless mounts.

So I see a connection by way of "factory adaptions" even though those other recognised historical companies such as Sigma, Tamron and others have made lenses with various mount systems on a basis accepted by their mount owners on a historical basis.

I don't think discussing these emerging MF only lens types is going to set the dpreview fora alive in any particular way, enough to need their own forum. Many of them will be separately discussed on the applicable mount forum that they are marketed to in any case.

Consequently general discussion of these lenses on this forum should be an acceptable extension of our activities in my own personal opinion.

Click to expand...

If I think right here, these are all the scenarios:
(I will use Sony as the example, but the examples should work quite well as well for other mirrorless mounts by just switching Sony to another brand name):

1. AF-lenses made for Sony E-mount by themself or 3d parties like Zeiss, Tamron, Sigma, Samyang, Viltrox, Yongnou etc.

2. MF-lenses made for Sony from licensed manufacturers like Voigtländer and Zeiss. These have electronic contacts and sends Exif data.

3. MF-lenses for Sony from non licensed manufacturers like Loawa, 7 Artisans, Meike etc These do not have electronic contacts and does not sends Exif data but they do have E-mount from factory.

4. Adapted AF-lenses for Sony like A-mount from Minolta/Sony, or from Canon EF or from modern autofocus Nikon F etc.

5. Adapted MF-lenses for Sony like Minolta SR, manual focus Nikon F, Canon FL/FD, M42, Leica M etc.

6. Adapted "mountless" lenses that comes from projectors or other applications and have been adapted to work on Sony E-mount.

At the moment it says: "Adapted Lens Talk. Welcome to the Adapted Lens Talk Forum, the place to discuss legacy glass, cross-system adapters and the experiences of using them. This forum is a place to discuss the use of non-native lenses from any system and on any system."

I think it would be good to clarify the text what should be in and out of this forum.

At the moment it is moderator's discretion and my main aim is to keep the forum harmonious and am willing to make the boundaries fairly fuzzy as long as anyone reading and posting feels comfortable to discuss them.

Obviously we might be wasting our time trying to run a thread that drifts too far from the intent of the forum.

But as a chief ring-leader and edge of the precipice waffler in a variety of subjects I think that we can tolerate discussing the new(ish) wave of Chinese MF lenses on the basis that they are effectively competition to the legacy MF lenses that are the primary subject of this forum.

Tom Caldwell said:

At the moment it is moderator's discretion and my main aim is to keep the forum harmonious and am willing to make the boundaries fairly fuzzy as long as anyone reading and posting feels comfortable to discuss them.

Obviously we might be wasting our time trying to run a thread that drifts too far from the intent of the forum.

But as a chief ring-leader and edge of the precipice waffler in a variety of subjects I think that we can tolerate discussing the new(ish) wave of Chinese MF lenses on the basis that they are effectively competition to the legacy MF lenses that are the primary subject of this forum.

Click to expand...

I like that purpose, maybe write in something like: "Discussions about the new(ish) wave of new Cheap MF lenses that are competing with the legacy MF lenses are also welcome".

G'day Tom,

I'm with you down here in the southern hemisphere and all I can tell you is that this winter in South Australia is the most consistently drizzly and grey and the drabbest for a long time. Very unconducive to both outdoor activity and photography.... You may have experienced worse - If you're in the east, you may well have been affected by the disastrous flooding this year. In which case, please ignore my whinge, and I hope you've fared well.

Regards, Rod

lattesweden said:

Tom Caldwell said:

At the moment it is moderator's discretion and my main aim is to keep the forum harmonious and am willing to make the boundaries fairly fuzzy as long as anyone reading and posting feels comfortable to discuss them.

Obviously we might be wasting our time trying to run a thread that drifts too far from the intent of the forum.

But as a chief ring-leader and edge of the precipice waffler in a variety of subjects I think that we can tolerate discussing the new(ish) wave of Chinese MF lenses on the basis that they are effectively competition to the legacy MF lenses that are the primary subject of this forum.

Click to expand...

I like that purpose, maybe write in something like: "Discussions about the new(ish) wave of new Cheap MF lenses that are competing with the legacy MF lenses are also welcome".

Click to expand...

I would have to talk to admin about that. Whilst they are good people they are pretty busy with day to day requirements and might not have the time to address such a change.

I am happy to use my discretion on what might be relevant as forum topics - as I always have done. But if my discretion is getting too lax then of course I will respond appropriately to popular opinion from the forum members.

Rod McD said:

G'day Tom,

I'm with you down here in the southern hemisphere and all I can tell you is that this winter in South Australia is the most consistently drizzly and grey and the drabbest for a long time. Very unconducive to both outdoor activity and photography.... You may have experienced worse - If you're in the east, you may well have been affected by the disastrous flooding this year. In which case, please ignore my whinge, and I hope you've fared well.

Regards, Rod

Click to expand...

Thanks for your good wishes Rod. The last rain was heaviest south (torrential and the most severe flooding for a long time). Some places were being inundated for the fourth time in 18 months. Only now questioning just why so much fairly recent subdivision was allowed on a known flood plain. Maybe think developer profits, shortage of suitable land, and slack councils?

The other rain was coming down from the Gulf and heavy in south Queensland and Northern NSW. We were sort of meat in a very damp sandwich. But the rain patterns seemed to bounce off one another and out to sea. We still had a good wetting but I have seen much heavier.

After September-May with almost constant rain we have have a very cold (for us) dry winter except for that rain even just a week ago. Sunny Australia not. We have had some 1C overnights but 8-10C is more regular - which is sometimes the maximum in the southern states, so mustn't whinge except that this cocky lot of northeners usually have no form of built-in artificial heating in their houses ..... Deemed unnecessary as usually not cold enough.

Ground remains super-saturated, rivers and dams are full, farmers are having a good year as long as they have not been affected by the excess water.

Tom Caldwell said:

lattesweden said:

Tom Caldwell said:

At the moment it is moderator's discretion and my main aim is to keep the forum harmonious and am willing to make the boundaries fairly fuzzy as long as anyone reading and posting feels comfortable to discuss them.

Obviously we might be wasting our time trying to run a thread that drifts too far from the intent of the forum.

But as a chief ring-leader and edge of the precipice waffler in a variety of subjects I think that we can tolerate discussing the new(ish) wave of Chinese MF lenses on the basis that they are effectively competition to the legacy MF lenses that are the primary subject of this forum.

Click to expand...

I like that purpose, maybe write in something like: "Discussions about the new(ish) wave of new Cheap MF lenses that are competing with the legacy MF lenses are also welcome".

Click to expand...

I would have to talk to admin about that. Whilst they are good people they are pretty busy with day to day requirements and might not have the time to address such a change.

I am happy to use my discretion on what might be relevant as forum topics - as I always have done. But if my discretion is getting too lax then of course I will respond appropriately to popular opinion from the forum members.

Click to expand...

Hi Tom,

Aren't the lenses made by new manufacturers the subject of discussion in the Third Party Lens Talk Forum? They're offered in mounts native to current cameras, rather than adapted. They're not all cheap either. The competition they offer with legacy lenses could certainly be referred to here.

Cheers, Rod