NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => What the Nerds Do => Topic started by: Erik Lund on January 05, 2017, 19:26:48
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JA cooking ;D ,,, Bjørn behind some of the long lenses ;)
(https://c4.staticflickr.com/1/647/32125264835_c13e468dfb_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QWNo1t)_EGL9249 (https://flic.kr/p/QWNo1t) by Erik Gunst Lund (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_lund/), on Flickr
Shot with a newly chipped 35mm 1.4 Ai'ed - The Lens is f/1.4-f/22 and lens Ai-ring f/1.4-f/16,,, fast lenses are not meant to be stopped down,,,
Anyway we are having a great time with JA at the Dutch NikonGear headquarters ;)
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Day #1 spent with upgrading the old types of focusing adapters (for the long Nikkor lens heads 400, 600, 800, and 1200 mm). These adapters needed a helping hand from Erik to become operational with the newer Nikons and adding a CPU chip made them even meter successfully.
My suitcase held "only" 2*CU (old) and 1*AU (new adapter), plus 400/4.5 and 600/5.6 lens heads. The long 800/8ED stayed at home lest my checked in luggage should be massively overweight.
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Erik is on the last stretch of the CPU conversion of the very old 35 mm f/1.4 Nikkor-N. To save delicate souls of our NG community from agony, very few details will be given. Suffice it to say that Erik needed a big dinner to regain strength after the modification was completed.
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Lovely, btw i see JA rinsing spaghetti, i had expected 'boerenkool met worst'.
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Good question ... but here is Master Erik busy at work expanding the near focusing capability of my 20 mm f/3.5 Nikkor (52 mm filter thread). He needed an extended lever in the lens and a quick raid into Jan Anne's drawers netted us a ball pen just with the right dimension. That signalled the demise of said pen for writing purposes. In return, I got a CPU-modified nice lens able to focus to < 20 cm instead of the former 30 cm, which for a short focal lens confers a tremendous difference.
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Super, great job !
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To save delicate souls of our NG community from agony, very few details will be given.
No worries. You already reported the conversion work on the venerable Noct!
Erik's works are always joyous to watch. 8)
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do those focusing adapters get stuck easily? :o :o :o thinking of buying some and selling them ::)
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do those focusing adapters get stuck easily? :o :o :o thinking of buying some and selling them ::)
One of the CU adapters had impact damage (dropped?) and needed minor modification & repair to allow smooth operation. The main issue with the early adapters is their tendency to bind in focusing when the long and heavy lens heads such as 800/8 and 1200/11 are attached. Nikon designed the newer version AU-1 to overcome this issue. However, although AU-1 does not bind and provides a nice filter slot for rear filters, it is also much heavier and less easy to operate hand-held (one might say it is lunacy to work with these contraptions hand held, and be correct, but the human mindset operates in mysterious ways so sometimes one tries the impossible).
The extremely non-linear (actually, rotational) movement of the aperture stop-down lever in these adapters confers a disadvantage for modern cameras and Nikon lists all these old lens/adapter combinations as incompatible with current cameras. However, we found a way to overcome this problem with minor side effects by judiciously special programming of the adapter CPU.
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Here are the "short" lenses we worked on after their surgery had been completed.
The 20 mm f/3.5 Nikkor had its near limit extended to 19 cm. The very old 35 mm f/2 Nikkor-O from the '60s are now AI-modified (shortcut method, literally). The almost as old 35 mm f/1.4 Nikkor-N from early '70s has miraculously survived its internal surgery to become CPU-enabled, like its two siblings.
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Erik is test shooting his "new" 600 mm f/5.6 Nikkor + CU after extensive modifications. Typical testbed environment kindly provided by Jan Anne.
Subject is the sheep outside Jan Anne's farm house.
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I think i have that same type tripod Erik is using,Gitzo 3541xls? What is the ballhead mounted on it?
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With a nice souvenir of Scotland in the foreground. I am surprised that there is so much of it left.
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Jakov arrived with a Rodenstock 42 mm f/0.75 and unrealistic expectations of what the lens could be made to do on his FX camera. This resulted in a very unusual (for him) sad face ...
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I think i have that same type tripod Erik is using,Gitzo 3541xls? What is the ballhead mounted on it?
Hi Fons, it's a Gitzo GH5380S head on a GT3540LS tripod.
The head is made to sink in partially inside a 3 series systematic tripod and entirely inside the 5 series models, it's a poor man's Burzynski head :)
They don't make this model anymore btw and to my knowledge the newer model only comes with Gitzo's useless proprietary clamp, mine is without one so I could install an Arca clamp.
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I'm pretty happy with my chipped Nikkor-N 35/1.4
Erik did a terrific job.
Sunset from JA's farmhouse :)
Df ISO100 1.4 1/400
BTW it's JA's to-do list on the window ;D
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Jakov arrived with a Rodenstock 42 mm f/0.75 and unrealistic expectations of what the lens could be made to do on his FX camera. This resulted in a very unusual (for him) sad face ...
AH, no!?
Sorry, Jakov! what happened?
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Brent, this is what happened :)
Bjørn (front desk) and I embraced dearly while Erik (back office) was modifying the Heligon :)
Jan Anne took this image with D750 and 20/1.8.
The photo that Bjørn posted was just a test shot with his V1 where you I modeled for him with loads of enthusiasm on my face :D
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Erik (back office) working on the 42mm f/0.75 TV Heligon. He was drilling and applying loctite as can be seen in the images.
Bjørn (front desk) explained that it's f/0.75 at infinity, however, when focused to its only focus distance, the effective lens aperture becomes approximately f/3.8 with the D750.
EDIT: I didn't mention the the images were taken with 85/1.4 AF-D and the dedicated 1.4 II TC as an extension ring that Erik (back office) modified and gifted to Bjørn (front desk) as a birthday present.
I need to get myself a TC and let Erik (back office) remove all the glass elements from it in order to have a universal extension ring :)
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And finally, here is an image taken with the modified TV Heligon 42mm f/0.75 on Erik's work bench (back office) and a Grolsch bottle beer just accidentally posing for me. Rare are occasions when alcohol is (not) found in the back office :D
Brent, thank you!!!
For certain I will be enjoying this lens in the future :)
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Jakov just lent me his Heligon for a few seconds.
Df @ISO12800
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As usual - inspirational handiwork by Dr. Lovelenses. I love the little I've seen of JA's house...manly chic style.
And there seem to be a theme with green bottles which I assume all you fine men made sure ended up empty :)
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As usual - inspirational handiwork by Dr. Lovelenses. I love the little I've seen of JA's house...manly chic style.
And there seem to be a theme with green bottles which I assume all you fine men made sure ended up empty :)
That's to be called 'let there air in' in some areas of Germany.
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I love the little I've seen of JA's house...manly chic style.
Technically most images posted here so far have been taken in the kitchen, besides a bedroom and bathroom the actual house isn't really in use at the moment.
Formally an open barn the kitchen is indeed very modern in design with some classic details for the proper "living in the countryside" atmosphere.
Here's an image, shortly after we finished a lot of grilled steak :)
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Jakov just lent me his Heligon for a few seconds.
Df @ISO12800
We have an norwegian expression, "beer glasses", which might describe the character of the heligon :) What you can see thru them, might not look so good the next morning ;D
It seem like you are having a good time down there :)
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And finally, here is an image taken with the modified TV Heligon 42mm f/0.75 on Erik's work bench (back office) and a Grolsch bottle beer just accidentally posing for me. Rare are occasions when alcohol is (not) found in the back office :D
Brent, thank you!!!
For certain I will be enjoying this lens in the future :)
Jakov, if you're up for taking apart that 42mm lens you may be able to get more useful focal distances out of it by removing/rearranging some of the elements. I have a Kowa 42mm f/0.75 I've done this with. By removing lens groups, combining them in different ways, sometimes reversing them, etc I was able to move the focal distance from 3 inches all the way to a very hazy infinity. I haven't tried it with my Heligon 42mm yet but there is a good chance it would behave similarly. Just removing the rear element alone moved the focal distance about a foot.
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Charlie, thanks for the tip!
I am not up for it, neither would I do it, but luckily I am accompanied by nerds who love taking things apart.
Will they confiscate the Heligon? Will they drug me and kidnap my new baby lens? The mystery continues... :)
In any case, I believe that the back office needs a break from the bench and needs to get some shooting done tomorrow.
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Here is an image made with the Heligon 42/0.75.
It is snowy and slippery at the farm house :)
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Chipping my like new Nikkor-NC 24/2.8
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After the chipping the lens is being programmed by Bjørn.
And of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
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Next project is/was the fixing of the chimney-shaft. :D
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The NG workshops are comprehensive ...
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:D It was not a lens rocketed in the roof? ;)
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Today I also played with the 1.4 TC void of glass that I coupled with an 85/1.4 AF-D.
Erik, I want one. Erik, I want one. Erik, I want one. The ultimate extension ring!
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We have an norwegian expression, "beer glasses", which might describe the character of the heligon :) What you can see thru them, might not look so good the next morning ;D
It seem like you are having a good time down there :)
You can achieve a similar effect by putting an actual beer glass in front of a macro-lens. Examples:
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Today I also played with the 1.4 TC void of glass that I coupled with an 85/1.4 AF-D.
Erik, I want one. Erik, I want one. Erik, I want one. The ultimate extension ring!
Erik is currently making two of these for me, and I am eagerly awaiting their arrival to try them on my lens lineup!
BTW: great shot of ice crust on the meadow!
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Frank, Erik said that he was going to leave one of yours behind for me.
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Frank, Erik said that he was going to leave one of yours behind for me.
I have two for different purposes, one 1.4 and one 2.0, there is no spare for you my sweety baby ...
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Am I missing it - or where are the bananas?
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I have two for different purposes, one 1.4 and one 2.0, there is no spare for you my sweety baby ...
Erik is persuading me to go for the 1.4 but I kind of like the 2.0.
Don't worry Frank, you will get at least one back ;)
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Today, really bad weather (for Dutch situation). Everything was glazed over. Jakov had to work hard to de-ice his big Audi ('El Presidente'). Obviously the tension pent up also for a later visit to a fast food café for som well deserved lunch.
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Erik is persuading me to go for the 1.4 but I kind of like the 2.0.
Don't worry Frank, you will get at least one back ;)
I need both. But I can send you my beer glass if you like the results ;-)
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Chris Dees. Superb documentation shots!!!!
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The glacial conditions, however, allowed for some nice shooting opportunities. Here some yellow pea-shrub (Cytisus?) flowers with the 105/1.4 E and the now legendary extension ring derived from a TC-14E.
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D750 + TC14 void of glass + 85/1.4 AF-D
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Those extensions... wow
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Having fun this morning with the TV Heligon :)
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Ghost rider appearing through the mist
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/399/31340314904_8ec253b6a8_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/PKriJY)_EGL9288 (https://flic.kr/p/PKriJY) by Erik Gunst Lund (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_lund/), on Flickr
The Nikkor-P 600mm f/5.6 courtesy of Bjørn
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Jakov, Jakov, Jakov!
Erik, Erik, Erik!
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I probably missed a thread somewhere announcing this workshop or was it a 'family and friends' arrangement ?
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Winter meet-up / workshop for the NG Team. Planning, fun, and vacation.
The next official NG Event is scheduled for Crete in beginning of April, 2017.
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Thank you, Akira :D
Here is Erik with his new toy (Chris closely monitoring the developments).
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Catching the remaining snow in Jan Anne's back yard.
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Jakovljevic is not intimated by a Dutch "winter" ...
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The 400 mm f/4.5 Nikkor Q isn't intimated either by Dutch winter or fog.
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Later today, the fog cleared and we could see more of the ambient landscape. Here, a raft of colourful floating villas on a Dutch river. (400 mm f/4.5 Nikkor-Q, D500).
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One of the real backgrounds for the Team meeting was to solve the issue of having 4 lens heads for focusing adapter and only three adapters ... All of which should work with modern cameras and hence had to provide CPU support.
We decided on combining the adapter for my 400/4.5 and 600/5.6 lens heads into a single unit with an external CPU selector switch. Thus, Erik would retain a 600/5.6 lens head with the second CU unit, and I would keep the more sturdy AU-1 adapter for my 800/8 ED lens head.
Basically the solution involved the drilling of a hole into the CU casing for the switch, soldering separate CPUs onto a 2-way switch, and putting the entire contraption into the CU unit itself.
Here are illustrations to show Erik's progress with said project. Seems so easy when Erik is at work on these matters.
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I must admire the entrepreneurship show, and the pictures follow suit. :)
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Test shot with the 600mm Nikkor-P - Colour refections from the house-boats and Jakov scouting for images :)
Stitch of two images.
(https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/559/32043505022_96a4c97190_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QPzkEw)_EGL9296_2 (https://flic.kr/p/QPzkEw) by Erik Gunst Lund (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_lund/), on Flickr
The lens is a beast, very long and heavy,,, needs a lot of support! Sharpness is there to be obtained but requires immaculate technique.
CA is manageable in most images, here it's also clear that the depth of focus is very narrow indeed
(https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/492/31350322694_8ca53a7098_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/PLjAH5)_EGL9282 (https://flic.kr/p/PLjAH5) by Erik Gunst Lund (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_lund/), on Flickr
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JA at the front door greeting us welcome back to the estate after a short midday ride in El-Presidente :)
(https://c8.staticflickr.com/1/302/31381744423_c75c23b94c_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/PP6Di2)_EGL9308 (https://flic.kr/p/PP6Di2) by Erik Gunst Lund (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_lund/), on Flickr
19mm
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Yes. Engineering is a fascinating art form!
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Jan Anne, thank you for your hospitality. Your farm is great :)
Chris, Erik, and Bjørn it was an inspiration see you all again my friends!
Until next time.
I call this photo: the bowel movement
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Jan Anne, thank you for your hospitality. Your farm is great :)
Chris, Erik, and Bjørn it was an inspiration see you all again my friends!
Until next time.
I call this photo: the bowel movement
Lovely image Jakov!
It looks like you had a good time during this get-together.
Thanks all for posting :)
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I call this photo: the bowel movement
This should be printed BIG! Could also go in the minimalistic thread. :)
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Impressive Jakov. It works as impact with surprise composition (1/12 partitioning ?) great choice for pp.
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The title is intriguing , but probably better left unexplained
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Thank you, Simone! We had a good time indeed and I am looking forward to our next encounter. It's always inspirational for me :)
Thank you, Smusesuse! Perhaps I will print it large :)
Thank you, Paco! There wasn't that much processing involved, just converted to BW and pumped up the contrast. No cropping was carried out, neither have I used any layers or brushes ;)
Thank you, Armando! The title will remain a mystery :)
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Indeed we had a great time despite the weather!
Here is the last image from my journey -
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/681/31925802070_3e40928e72_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QDb5Fh)_EGL9331 (https://flic.kr/p/QDb5Fh) by Erik Gunst Lund (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_lund/), on Flickr
I amsterdam
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Erik! Very cool, I like it! :)
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I am scarf.
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Oh how nice it can be when you have a proper tool to process images :)
It has been a long time since I experienced a computer being quicker than my thoughts...
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Congratulations on the new number-cruncher :) Images are as good as ever! ;) What a lens,,,
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Aha, the new Mac finally arrived ... congratulations Jakov :D
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And finally, here is an image taken with the modified TV Heligon 42mm f/0.75 on Erik's work bench (back office) and a Grolsch bottle beer just accidentally posing for me. Rare are occasions when alcohol is (not) found in the back office :D
Brent, thank you!!!
For certain I will be enjoying this lens in the future :)
thanks for the writeup, Jakov!
glad you'll put it to good use. cool image!!
Best
Brent
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Good question ... but here is Master Erik busy at work expanding the near focusing capability of my 20 mm f/3.5 Nikkor (52 mm filter thread). He needed an extended lever in the lens and a quick raid into Jan Anne's drawers netted us a ball pen just with the right dimension. That signalled the demise of said pen for writing purposes. In return, I got a CPU-modified nice lens able to focus to < 20 cm instead of the former 30 cm, which for a short focal lens confers a tremendous difference.
That's a fascinating picture. And, kind of scary at the same time.
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That was a fun read! Always love these conversion articles. :)
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Hi Fons, it's a Gitzo GH5380S head on a GT3540LS tripod.
The head is made to sink in partially inside a 3 series systematic tripod and entirely inside the 5 series models, it's a poor man's Burzynski head :)
They don't make this model anymore btw and to my knowledge the newer model only comes with Gitzo's useless proprietary clamp, mine is without one so I could install an Arca clamp.
Hi Jan Anne,
How do you evaluate the Gitzo GH5380S?