sample photos from the Zenitar 16mm f2.8 fisheye

[jpsimon]

I got the lens today! i had ordered it from that russian based company, it took about 4 weeks to get here..

anyways, i am VERY VERY pleased with this lens. For $160 shipped from russia, ya can't go wrong!

it is sharp from corner to corner! the deodorant in the bottom right and the cologne on the bottom left both stay sharp!

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/zenitar/ztest1.jpg

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/zenitar/ztest2.jpg

the crud on the mirror, is actually on the mirror... i gotta clean that ;)

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/zenitar/ztest3.jpg



i am VERY pleaseed with this lens, now remember it is manual focus! but i dont care, ya just stop down a bunch, and learn to deal with the lil bit of focusing you have to do.

for $160 dollars it is a very fun lens to mess around with!!

[jpsimon]

these were at ISO 1600 at f8

[jpsimon]

a couple more.. these are at ISO3200

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/zenitar/ztest5.jpg

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/zenitar/ztest6.jpg

[Bruce Watson]

Yeah, I bought one from Ebay last spring. It's a great lens for the money and has surprisingly good optical and build quality for the price.

Use Panotools or PS with PTlens and you can make some nice normalized wide angle shots with it, if you get tired of the bending effects.

Cheers,

Bruce

[cmM]

I wish someone would compare this with the Canon 15mm fisheye. Now ya got me curious

[45R]

Bro could you send us a link!!! :)

[Persian-Rice]

You can't go wrong with Russian fish eyes, for whatever reason they made/make good ones.

Eew, Ferrari? It's all about Flavio & Nando!

[timmyquest]

FANTASTIC!

Does this require an adapter?

I may just have to get this at the same time i get the 17-40

[tpinchback]

I have been wonder about this lens! Thanks for posting. do you have any outside shots?

thanks

[jpsimon]

when you order it, you specify weather you get the nikon or canon adaptor.


http://rugift.com/photocameras/zenitar_m_fisheye_lens.htm


heres a link!

a place in atlanta carries these as well, but i dont know the website adress for them.

[tpinchback]

I have been wonder about this lens! Thanks for posting. do you have any outside shots?

thanks

[jpsimon]

tomorrow ill take some, its dark out

I have been wonder about this lens! Thanks for posting. do you have any outside shots?

thanks

[Adam Hicks]

That really does a nice job! Those are a lot nicer images that I would have expected for the price.

[pcasciola]

Wow, that is an amazing value for a fisheye of that good quality. Too bad it's manual focus though, but for that price, who cares? I just ordered one off ebay after reading this post. Thanks for the heads up. This lens + PTLens will hold me over until Tamron releases their 11-18mm ultra wide (EF-S-like) lens, or I break down and get the Canon 10-22mm.

I just checked, and PTLens does have a profile for the Zenitar.

[jpsimon]

where can i download thie PTLens software? is it a plugin for photoshop? is it free?

[jpsimon]

nevermind, i just checked and PTLens isn't for mac, but i found something that works like it

[booggerg]

outdoor shots
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/zenitar/16_28_mc_fisheye

[tpinchback]

what does super short-focus mean?

[Bruce Watson]

http://www.pbase.com/kbike/zenitar

Some sample images taken around the cottage and farm this past year.

It is a "fun" lens. Some of these are corrected, some are left distorted.

All taken with a 10D.

[blackviolet]

http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/image/36701636.jpg

sigma 15mm on 1dmkii @f8

http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/image/36701648.jpg

zenitar 16mm on 1dmkii @f8

you can see a full size, non processed/resized test between sigma and zenitar (http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/fisheye_test) on both the 1dmkii and the 10d at f2.8, f8, and f16, taken within 5 minutes of each other on a tripod.

[Kenski]

Ewwwww, Its not as good as the Canon 15mm... The price is right it just doesn't look good at all.....

[jpsimon]

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/zenitar/newtest/z-wrx1.jpg

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/zenitar/newtest/ztest1.jpg

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/zenitar/newtest/ztest2.jpg

[mr.photoguy]

I don't know, but IMO I don't really see a difference between the two lenses.

If the canon is better, somone post a canon photo..

As far as I can tell, the zenitar, looks as good as the sigma..


plus there is nothing wrong with a little manual focus, come on people.. don't be afraid to use your fingers.

[blackviolet]

the focus screens aren't very condusive to getting tight focus. it's easier to stop down and set it to infinity. many of the zenitar fisheyes have to be adjusted in order to keep the focussing barrel from travelling too far, but it's easy to do with a tiny screwdriver.

i agree - for landscape photos with details in the distance, the two are pretty much the same. when you have more details close up (and lots of parallel lines), you can really see the differences. if there's still good light when i get home, i'll take some shots...

[Kenski]

Here are some shots with the Canon 15mm... Now, the plane shots were done all by hand indoors with NO FLASH and with longer exposures so don't look at those too much but look at the others....


These are ALL unprocessed and NOT processed with PTLENS eaither...

http://www.pbase.com/kenski/canon_15mm_fisheye

http://www.pbase.com/kenski/image/36715241.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/kenski/image/36715238.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/kenski/image/36715239.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/kenski/image/36715242.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/kenski/image/36715248.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/kenski/image/36715255.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/kenski/image/36715257.jpg

[mr.photoguy]

I think you Canon 15mm is very sharp Kenski.
I just took a look at the photo's in your album.

Especially of the Baracuda, I like the way the green is reproduced.

[Kenski]

yeah, some of those pictures are slightly underexposed I think but I was just learning when shooting those so I'm getting better :) I really like the reproduction of this lens, the contrast and sharpness is AMAZING!

[mr.photoguy]

yeah, I saw some that were a bit underexposed. You may be able, or should be able to adjust that with photo shop though.
Did you check the histgram after shooting the photo's.

Yes! I like the contrast and the sharpness of the lense. What do you think of the 10-22 from Canon? I have to research that next. I really need a fisheye lense. There are times when I want the fish eye effect, but never had the lense.

[Kenski]

yeah, I saw some that were a bit underexposed. You may be able, or should be able to adjust that with photo shop though.
Did you check the histgram after shooting the photo's.

Yes! I like the contrast and the sharpness of the lense. What do you think of the 10-22 from Canon? I have to research that next. I really need a fisheye lense. There are times when I want the fish eye effect, but never had the lense.


I thought of the 10-22 but then realized with the 15mm and with PTLens there is no need for it... I forgot who it was but he is on this board, he found a post on another board and they came up with some math formula with the 180 degree diagonal of the 15mm and the PTLens software correction it ends up being a 12mm lens. With the 20mm f2.8 lens I have in my bag, I don't need the 10-22.... I'm happy with my 15mm, 20mm, 28-75, and 50mm for all my close up stuff....

[mr.photoguy]

yeah, I looked up the price of that 10-22 mm ... That is frigin nuts that this frigin lens costs as much as my Garret twin ball bearing turbo ... lol ...

I love optics, but damn ..

I saw the 15mm for about 400 or so used and a little less.

[Persian-Rice]

Kenski, the zenitar lens isn't all that bad. The Canon is better but not that much better in terms of image quality. Obviously you get AF and whatnot, but if you are fine with MF, then the zenitar is great.

Blackvioelts shots are poorly exposed. Comparing to correct exposures from jpsimon, the lens is actually very good.

BTW there is a place in the USA that sells this lens as well

http://www.kievcamera.com

[blackviolet]

Blackvioelts shots are poorly exposed...

yeah i know... tell me about it :oops: it was rushed and the wife was 'urging' me to come in for dinner. :oops:

i took a few more which should show, as you stated, that the zenitar is pretty comparable. it would be even better with a different focussing screen... (i *tried* to focus on the red capsicum laying sideways)

http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/image/36731944.jpg
sigma @ f8 on mkii

http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/image/36731945.jpg
zenitar @ f8 on mkii

you can see the full sized photos (http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/fisheye_test&page=2) (unprocessed) plus two others with some horizontal and vertical lines

[morpheus]

Kenski, the zenitar lens isn't all that bad. The Canon is better but not that much better in terms of image quality. Obviously you get AF and whatnot, but if you are fine with MF, then the zenitar is great.

Blackvioelts shots are poorly exposed. Comparing to correct exposures from jpsimon, the lens is actually very good.

BTW there is a place in the USA that sells this lens as well

http://www.kievcamera.com

Zenitar M 2.8/16 mm(AI Nikon mount) $200.00
Zenitar M 2.8/16 mm(Canon EOS/FD mount) $179.00
Zenitar M 2.8/16 mm (Pentax K mount) $179.00
Zenitar M 2.8/16 mm (Pentax M 42mm mount)$169.00

it's $179.00 (without shipping cost) then ? jpsimon where did you buy your lens (it's cheaper than kievcamera).

[photography By Evangelos]

I just ordrd one from ebay :) . Canon Mount! :D ! For a total of $152 with S&H not too bad :) . Can't wait :P .



Angelo 8)

[Andy_T]

Take a look at dRisley's Tokina 17/3.5 ATX shots as well.

AF, rectilinear and nice image quality for 350$ (?).

Best regards,
Andy

[Kenski]

yeah, I looked up the price of that 10-22 mm ... That is frigin nuts that this frigin lens costs as much as my Garret twin ball bearing turbo ... lol ...

I love optics, but darn ..

I saw the 15mm for about 400 or so used and a little less.


Ahhhh, a boost junkie too huh.... ;) I have a SRT-4 running mid 12's and its my daily driver.... ;) Damn... I love spanking vette's....

[Bruce Watson]

[quote="it's $179.00 (without shipping cost) then ? jpsimon where did you buy your lens (it's cheaper than kievcamera).

I bought mine for $150 US on Ebay auction. There seem to a number of independant agents selling these at less than Kiev or RuGift.

I say "agent" because although I paid to a seller here in Canada, the lens was shipped direct from the Ukranian factory, about 3 weeks.

Well packed and a bit nostalgic; when was the last time you saw a parcel done up with twine? Reminded me of the mail I used to get from my Grandmother in Scotland many decades ago......

[mr.photoguy]

Blackvioelts shots are poorly exposed...

yeah i know... tell me about it :oops: it was rushed and the wife was 'urging' me to come in for dinner. :oops:

i took a few more which should show, as you stated, that the zenitar is pretty comparable. it would be even better with a different focussing screen... (i *tried* to focus on the red capsicum laying sideways)

http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/image/36731944.jpg
sigma @ f8 on mkii

http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/image/36731945.jpg
zenitar @ f8 on mkii

you can see the full sized photos (http://www.pbase.com/iagrafx/fisheye_test&page=2) (unprocessed) plus two others with some horizontal and vertical lines

From your tests I can notice the following.

- The sigma registers the colors of green peppers, carrots, and that red meat in the other plate much better. In other words it reproduces the colors that your eye's are used to seeing better in this photo.

- The sigma is sharper than the zenitar.
Look at the detail in the red meat .
Look at the writing on the Colavia bottle
Look at the detail of the bottle with the (red cap) next to the Colavia bottle.
Look at the detail on the paper towel
Look at the detail of that white liquor looking bottle in the background next to the stove
Look at the detail in the spoon where that is sitting in the red meat.

The Zenitar is out for me, no thanks.
Even though it's cheap, I can't really skimp that much on details.

Now I would like to see a comparison of the Sigma and the Canon 15mm.
I love this board.

[mr.photoguy]

yeah, I looked up the price of that 10-22 mm ... That is frigin nuts that this frigin lens costs as much as my Garret twin ball bearing turbo ... lol ...

I love optics, but darn ..

I saw the 15mm for about 400 or so used and a little less.


Ahhhh, a boost junkie too huh.... ;) I have a SRT-4 running mid 12's and its my daily driver.... ;) darn... I love spanking vette's....

Ohh yeah the infamous SRT-4.. Those are just frigin monsters..

I have a 1995 mazda protege that I am boosting, with fmic, turbo xs rhl bov, GT-T28R, Begi rising rate, and a few other things. I am still in the install process which is being really slow during to the recent 20D purchase .. lol...

spend --- save ---- spend ---- save ---- spend ---- save ---- spend --- save ...

I hope to hit 13.5 at least with it all tuned, that should be good enough for me .. lol..
I don't even wanna know what hp that SRT has.

[Olegis]

now remember it is manual focus! but i dont care, ya just stop down a bunch, and learn to deal with the lil bit of focusing you have to do.

If I'm not mistaken, it's not only manual focusing, it's manual everything, including the aperture - you have to set everyting yourself.

[Kenski]

now remember it is manual focus! but i dont care, ya just stop down a bunch, and learn to deal with the lil bit of focusing you have to do.

If I'm not mistaken, it's not only manual focusing, it's manual everything, including the aperture - you have to set everyting yourself.


I would rather spend the extra money and get the auto focus and if this is true where you have to set everything, it is REALLY worth it.... From the pictures I have seen, it is really not that comparable to the canon...

[Persian-Rice]

Ah more boosters...................I used to run a 95 integra that hit 11.79 once on slicks. Bad timing by me though. I spend my first two years of working in the real world on modifying a car to part it out as soon as it hit its peak. It's was a great sleeper, the holes I ran though some respected cars with that thing.

I think I will do it again after I graduate. Stop talking about boost, brings a tear to my eye. haha

I still think the Zenitar is pretty good, but it obviously lacks some of the great conveniences of a modern day lens built for the Canon.

[Kenski]

Don't get me wrong, the zenitar looks like a good lens and for the money its priced right but do it right.... It does lack some contrast but its sharpness is inline with the canon.... Hmmmmm.... but for it being auto-nothing, forget it....


As for boost.... Hmmmmm, I'll tell you what, It sure sucks in this weather we are having!! :)

[mr.photoguy]

So do you set the Aperature manually through the camera or on the lens somewhere?

I guess it's like shooting in Manual mode right.


------------------------------

As for boost, Yeah my days of boost should be fun. But I don't know how much longer it will last. It's really expensive, and with no earning potential like photography; it is really not that attractive.

[Jon]

Yes, just like the Good Old Days, there are two rings on the lens, one for aperture and one for focus. Instead of pushy-buttons and whirly-dials, you directly set the aperture with one, calibrated in f/stops and distance on the other, calibrated in feet and meters (try that with your fancy electronic-everything cameras!). Think of it as "Super Manual" :{)#

[Persian-Rice]

I actually like shooting with an aperture ring. If the 10D had a focus screen I would actually say this lens is awsome for a 10D.

Talk about the weather, we are expecting 30 cm tonight. Thank god the rental we got after my moms accident is an SUV.

[Jon]

I actually moved to the Eos world as much for the diopter adjustment as for the digital. The old FD stuff still works fine - just my eyes that don't (plus the uncertainty about your film getting X-rayed in transit)!

[Bruce Watson]

I checked in my Ebay records, here is the guy I bought from with his current crop.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48552&item=3855604 742&rd=1

Prices are much better than some other sources. Sale went smoothly and I had lens in the promised time.

Bruce

[morpheus]

I checked in my Ebay records, here is the guy I bought from with his current crop.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48552&item=3855604 742&rd=1

Prices are much better than some other sources. Sale went smoothly and I had lens in the promised time.

Bruce

Hey guys stop recommending me with this great lens. It's true that it's driving me crazy with all lens I wanna buy. :-)
I can't resist to this temptation :-)

[ron chappel]

JPSimon-
You have ferrari everything,speedstick deodorant,a fire extinguisher next to it :lol: and a night pitbox in your bedroom-even a famous sponser for a name!....are you a motorsport fan by any chance ?? :lol: :lol: :lol:



I can clearly see the difference between the sigma and zenitar.
I wonder how much closer the zenitar would get if any and all post processing were allowed to both? (a relevant tactic for budget buyers prepared to put in some effort)
The zenitar (defished) does look a bargain .But Like all budget buys one has to decide if the pictures one gets are good enough.
And on that note THANKYOU for those providing full size image choices to download and fool with!! :D 8)

**wrote the above before seeing that some precise zentiar/sigma comparisons were posted-i'll check them out when my connection speeds up**

I didn't wait 'till all the canon fisheye shots were downloaded (sloow conection,too tired to be bothered right now) but the couple i saw point to it being the best.No real surprise there.
8)


HERE ARE A COUPLE OF EXCELLENT ARTICLES ON FISHEYES-the first one on defished fisheyes on DSLR's,the second an in depth look at different fisheyes and field of view in general


http://www.photo.net/learn/fov/

http://www.photo.net/learn/fisheye/

[Andy_T]

Hi,

Also take a look at DRisley's recent posts regarding the tokina 17/3.5 ATX Pro.

Here's one example: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=47697&highlight=tokina+17

It's an AF lens with great image quality for $360.

Best regards,
Andy

[blackviolet]

ron - i got my zenitar @ camera action in melby early last year. i know they don't stock them, but they should be able to get them from the same source

[chops]

yeah, I looked up the price of that 10-22 mm ... That is frigin nuts that this frigin lens costs as much as my Garret twin ball bearing turbo ... lol ...

I love optics, but darn ..

I saw the 15mm for about 400 or so used and a little less.

T25, T3/T4? And what is the car, a Soobie?! I noticed the AutoMeter vac/boost gauge on the steering column. :wink:

That takes me back to the good 'ole days of my Nissan. Best time was 11.7 sec @ 122mph on 17" Kumho street tires! What was really nice was eating up Ferrari 355's and C5 Corvettes all day at the track. They would get me off the line, but I'd get them half way down the track! 8)

[dsze]

....Don't forget about the Tokina 17mm....of course, its a little more than $160, but at $350, its still isn't bad! ....quality is outstanding!

-daniel

[Kenski]

Thats not a fisheye is it?

[c0ntr0lz]

see i need that 15mm for my car shots
that would be so fun.

[jpsimon]

haha so much discussion broke out about this lens.

i just bought it because it was 160 bux shipped from rugift.com and i needed something wide while I save up for the 17-40L, since i only have the 50mm and the 100-400L



the quality isn't bad, its just a lens to mess around with for fun though. Ill post some other shots in a day or two.

[Andy_T]

Thats not a fisheye is it?

The Tokina 17/3.5 is a rectilinear lens (if you're referring to that one).

My guess is that you'll most likely end up with a FOV similar to that of a 16 mm Fisheye after de-fishing. Right?

Best regards,
Andy

[dsze]

No, the Tokina 17 is not fisheye, which is one of the things I really like about it. Its still very wide, but straight lines pretty much stay straight. The sharpness & contrast throughout f stops is very impressive so far. I've only had this lens for a little while now, but I used it in the wedding I shot last sunday was it did not disappoint. Some of my fav. shots from that wedding are with this lens.

There's a couple images in this thread from this lens:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=48000&highlight=


-daniel

[Kenski]

No, the Tokina 17 is not fisheye, which is one of the things I really like about it. Its still very wide, but straight lines pretty much stay straight. The sharpness & contrast throughout f stops is very impressive so far. I've only had this lens for a little while now, but I used it in the wedding I shot last sunday was it did not disappoint. Some of my fav. shots from that wedding are with this lens.

There's a couple images in this thread from this lens:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=48000&highlight=


-daniel


yeah, sorry, we were talking about fisheyes though...

[dsze]

Yes, I realize. Andy also mentioned the Tokina 17 and then you said, "its not a fisheye though is it?" ...and I was just responding to your question.

-daniel

[mr.photoguy]

It's a T28R from Garret. I really couldn't deal with the T25, it's just to small. I need to get the time together to get my insall done. I am doing everything myself. The car is a 1995 mazda Protege.

As for the Tokina 17mm, I have to check that out. I would figure that you would still get a little bit of that fish eye effect with the 17mm ( I forgot the actual term) . I say this because I noticed it with my dad's 17-85 usm is lens.. but never the less still sharp..

I actually want the fisheye effect. I want it for my auto shots. I frequent car shows a lot, often in Englishtown raceway or Atco. There are some shots that I want that fisheye effect for.


yeah, I looked up the price of that 10-22 mm ... That is frigin nuts that this frigin lens costs as much as my Garret twin ball bearing turbo ... lol ...

I love optics, but darn ..

I saw the 15mm for about 400 or so used and a little less.

T25, T3/T4? And what is the car, a Soobie?! I noticed the AutoMeter vac/boost gauge on the steering column. :wink:

That takes me back to the good 'ole days of my Nissan. Best time was 11.7 sec @ 122mph on 17" Kumho street tires! What was really nice was eating up Ferrari 355's and C5 Corvettes all day at the track. They would get me off the line, but I'd get them half way down the track! 8)

[jpsimon]

another shot outside, now that im back at home in CT

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/20d/wrx/money2.jpg

[jpsimon]

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/20d/wrx/money3.jpg

[photography By Evangelos]

Is that a WRX STI?? Fast car! So how do you like the lens so far??






Angelo 8)

[Kenski]

Hmmm, doesn't look like a STi.... There not fast cars anyways... The owners THINK they are fast :)

Hmmm, they can hold there own.... I have alot of respect for the car but not alot of respect for the majority of the owners... I have met a few that are actually pretty cool though... Not many though!!!

[jpsimon]

its wrx, but keeps up with stock sti's


and kenski... uh?

[photography By Evangelos]

Hmmm, doesn't look like a STi.... There not fast cars anyways... The owners THINK they are fast :)

Hmmm, they can hold there own.... I have alot of respect for the car but not alot of respect for the majority of the owners... I have met a few that are actually pretty cool though... Not many though!!!

I drove one STI that is and all I can say is WOW :twisted: !! The handling is wonderful and the all wheel Drive is assume. Great car. But a bit too pricey for me at $33K. They are very popular here in south Florida. You see a lot of the STI, EVO, and the Dodge SRT Neon. This market has a lot of small imports running around town. I have a SVT Cobra and it is fast but the STI is a way better handling kind of car it stays glued to the road. The STI reminds me of BMW M3 type of handling :shock: at half the price.


Angelo 8)

[Kenski]

Hmmm, doesn't look like a STi.... There not fast cars anyways... The owners THINK they are fast :)

Hmmm, they can hold there own.... I have alot of respect for the car but not alot of respect for the majority of the owners... I have met a few that are actually pretty cool though... Not many though!!!

I drove one STI that is and all I can say is WOW :twisted: !! The handling is wonderful and the all wheel Drive is assume. Great car. But a bit too pricey for me at $33K. They are very popular here in south Florida. You see a lot of the STI, EVO, and the Dodge SRT Neon. This market has a lot of small imports running around town. I have a SVT Cobra and it is fast but the STI is a why better handling kind of car it stays glued to the road. The STI reminds me of BMW M3 type of handling :shock: at half the price.


Angelo 8)

I have the SRT and I love it... Makes the STi owners wish they didn't spend all that money!!! Yeah, they may have the AWD advantage but it takes about 3k to get the handling improved on the SRT to blow away STi's all day long... ;) There isn't a STi around here I'm scared of... Now, there are 2 EVO's... :) one EVO6 and one EVO8... WOW!!! This EVO8 is really tricked out but I wouldn't even consider him competition... Carbon fiber hood, doors, trunk, one seat in the ENTIRE car, striped down interior, plus electronics in the cab that I've NEVER seen before and he still claims its street legal... the carbon fiber doors alone make it non street legal.... He blew me away at the track... I was running a 12.62 @ 113 and he laid down a 11.2 @127 and he wasn't tuned in yet!! CRAZY!!!

[photography By Evangelos]

Cool! Fast numbers. My Cobra is in the low 12's



Angelo 8)

[Kenski]

Cool! Fast numbers. My Cobra is in the low 12's



Angelo 8)


Yeah, yeah, yeah... No need to brag... :) lol

[jpsimon]

haha i dont care how fast you can make your little neon, I'd take an sti over it anyday, or over any mustang.

especially after seeing what my friend can do on the track with his sti against MANY way more powerful cars... :twisted:

[jpsimon]

but yeah I dont want to get into a stupid car vs car fight here. to each their own, ive seen what a kickass driver in a suspension modded sti can do.

(modded z06 with a driver who has won regional championships... my friend in the sti almost had the FTD, behind this guy by less than a second) those sti's they hold their own. (a catback exhaust, and all suspension mods). He would have taken him easily had he had his R-Compound tires then. Oh well spring isn't too far off for somemore fun... until then..


SNOW-CROSS!!! i wanna see your neon do that ;) just kidding.


but yeah, I love my wrx and wouldn't trade it in for anything but an STi

[photography By Evangelos]

[quote="jpsimon"],or over any mustang.

I like my stang! It is not that bad. I have just a few goodies installed and I am just over the 450 HP mark. The thing of it is the car is just too dam heavy. I need to put it on a diet. So far I have not had any small imports beat me. The only car I have had spank me is a Porsche twin turbo. That thing is just too fast for the street. It pulled away from me at 85Mph like I was nothing and it pulled hard. It also cost $200K which is a far cry to what I paid for my 2003 SVT cobra.




Angelo 8)

[spearce6]

This looks good and I want one!!

The only thing is that the ones I can find on EBAY are all M42 with an EOS adaptor. Is yours like this?

I was wondering if there is another version which takes the aperture control from the body like normal, or is it just a case of adjusting the aperture on the lens and shooting shutter priority?

Cheers

Steve

[jpsimon]

yeah you have to get it with the eos adaptor.

you set the aperature on the lens, and aperature priority works just like normal.

[spearce6]

Does this mean you focus with the lens stopped down?

Must be quite tricky?

I read something on German Ebay about it having some kind of mechanism to only stop down when the shutter fires, but I cant see how this would be possible!?!

[jpsimon]

not tricky at all

[spearce6]

Here's the link -

reads "the lens has an automatic jumping diaphragm that adjusts with the advance defined lens stop value while shooting. It allows to bring the picture into sharp focus at the entirely open diaphragm independent on the lens stop setting"

What on earth does this mean??

Is it something only applying to fitment to an M42 mount body maybe?

See the page here:
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=12873&item=3857115 634&rd=1

[Bruce Watson]

spearce6 wrote "Is it something only applying to fitment to an M42 mount body maybe?"

Yes, this would apply only to use on older style cameras designed for screw/bayonet mounts with mechanical aperature linkage.

A modern EOS camera utilizes electronic connectors to transmit information from lens to body; this is not possible with the Zenitar lens in any mount configuration.

However, it is workable and as mentioned many times in this thread, manual focus and aperature are minor detractions from an otherwise very useful lens (for the $).

[spearce6]

Thanks for the answers and clarification.

Don't get me wrong - I don't shudder at the thought of having to do things manually and love my totally manual Bessa R2 - reminds you that a camera needs three things controlling to take a picture (as well as ISO consideration)!!

I just wanted to be clear about the way the lens works before deciding to buy!

I think I probably will, seems good value and a reasonable compromise for a lens that won't see as much use as the normal focal lengths.

Steve

[Bruce Watson]

Steve, you are absolutely right.

For my limited use of this lens, it is a perfect solution. I could not justify having many $$ tied up in what is mainly a novelty use lens.

With that said, I really like it and have not regretted buying it.

[photography By Evangelos]

I got one from ebay with the mount built in no ring needed.

Here is the ebay link to the one I am waiting for.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3855129847&ssPage Name=STRK:MEWN:IT



Angelo 8)

[jpsimon]

i mean you can def tell its a 160 dollar lens... (thats why I have a 17-40L coming in the mail) it was just to satisfy my needs for a bit etc..

either way its a fun lil lens... another shot from today

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~jsimon20/photo/20d/wrx/wide/wrx1.jpg