Author Topic: My Slide Film Catalog  (Read 2714 times)

Roland Vink

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My Slide Film Catalog
« on: December 30, 2022, 04:13:17 »
I recently finished sorting and cataloging all my old slides. Most were taken between 1994 to 2013 on FE2 and FM3a cameras with AI and AIS lenses on Fuji Provia and Velvia films, a number of Kodak E100 type films and a few others. I took notes for most pictures including the camera, lens, aperture, shutter, exposure compensation, subject and date - my manual exif data :). Out of each roll I would usually get 38 pictures - frames 1 to 36, plus frame 0 and E (extra, or no 37). On average I kept about 10 slides from each roll. A lot of pictures were discarded due to focus errors, over or under-exposure (slide film is very unforgiving), camera shake, bad framing, or the picture just wasn't interesting.

All my notes have now been transferred to computer, so I was able to get some statistics. Over that 20 year period I have kept over 2500 pictures. My most commonly used lenses are:
E 75-150/3.5: 12.1%
AI 50/1.8:  10.7%
AIS 135/2.8: 7.6%
AIS 55/2.8 micro: 7.4%
AI 20/3.5 6.5%
AF 105/2.8 micro 6.2%
AIS 200/4 micro 5.8%
AIS 28/2.8 5.2%
AIS 85/2  4.1%
AIS 105/4 micro 4.1%
AI 105/2.5 3.7%
E 100/2.8 3.1%
AIS 35/1.4 2.2%
AIS 50/1.4 2.0%

I obviously have a preference for short telephotos and macro lenses. The 135/2.8 got a lot of use in the early days due to its relatively fast speed, compact size and hand-hold-ability (longer focal lengths are harder to hold steady enough to frame accurately). Later I switched to the 75-150 due to its versatility - it has good speed, covers a very useful range of focal lengths, focuses fairly close and is compact. It's a shame there are no modern lenses like it. I also use standard lenses a lot - my AI 50/1.8 and 55/2.8 micro have seen a lot of use. I don't use 35mm lenses much, I have nothing against this focal length but my kit is usually based around a standard lens plus a wide and telephoto, and 35mm just doesn't fit in being too close to 50mm. At the wide end my favorites are the AIS 28/2.8 which is comfortably wide, or the AI 20/3.5 if I want a more dramatic image. I have a lot of other lenses which have not been used much, maybe it is time to clear some of them out...

My most used apertures are spread fairly evenly between f/5.6 - f/11, the use of faster and slower apertures drops off rapidly from this peak. I tend to use these moderate to smallish apertures because I did a lot of macro and landscape work, and also it helps to hide focus errors :o :) I do have some fast lenses such as my 35/1.4 and 55/1.2 which are fun to use on occasion.

My shutter speed is mostly 1/60 or 1/125, followed by 1/30 and 1/250 and then a long tail of slower shutter speeds up to several seconds, mostly due to macro and twilight photography.

Anyway, I found the process of cataloging my pictures was a useful process, I hope you find this interesting. Next task is to start scanning them...

Tom Hook

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2022, 05:12:32 »
Thank you Roland for providing all this very interesting information regarding the lenses and cameras you used from 1994-2013 while shooting film. I have some of these lenses and I regret that I failed to catalog the pictures I took with them in any way approaching your thoroughness. Maybe in another lifetime...

Also, was there a change in 2013 and did it have something to do with how you took pictures, something like switching to digital?

Again thanks,

Tom

Zang

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2022, 06:45:30 »
This is tedious and time consuming work! Thank you for sharing this... I would love to see a picture (or a couple of pictures) per lens, those pictures that you like the most. I do not expect to see that for all and every of your lenses but if you can start with any of them, that would be great. And it is fine if you think it is not a good idea :) Thanks again!

Hugh_3170

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2022, 11:37:01 »
Just curious Roland:  do you propose to actually scan the sorted slides or will you photograph them using a medium to high resolution digital camera?


I recently finished sorting and cataloging all my old slides.
.............................................................

Anyway, I found the process of cataloging my pictures was a useful process, I hope you find this interesting. Next task is to start scanning them...
Hugh Gunn

Roland Vink

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2022, 20:16:16 »
Also, was there a change in 2013 and did it have something to do with how you took pictures, something like switching to digital?
2013 was when I bought my D600 camera. Since then I have hardly shot any more film, although I recently loaded my FM3a with a fresh roll of Provia - going through all my slides reminded me of the magic of transparencies, when everything comes together right there is something about them that I don't see in my digital pictures. Although I have to add that I hardly made the best of my digital images (yet).

I continue to use the same lenses as before although I have been using my macro lenses less as I have less time for this sort of detailed work. More of my pictures are general family and holiday/landscape shots. I also used my 75-150 less as it shows more chromatic aberrations that my primes in the same range, and sunset shots have flare spot diagonally opposite the sun (reflection from the sensor) which was not present when using film.

Roland Vink

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2022, 20:24:37 »
Just curious Roland:  do you propose to actually scan the sorted slides or will you photograph them using a medium to high resolution digital camera?
I will probably try using a digital camera, I know good results can be obtained although I don't know how it compares to using a dedicated scanner. I had a handful of slides drum scanned - the results are marvellous. I have some prints which are 36 x 49 cm and the amount of detail and colours that can be extracted from a small 24 x 36mm slide is amazing. If I can use a digital camera to get something nearly as good, I will be very pleased. But that feels like a big project, not sure when I will have time for that.

Roland Vink

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2022, 21:47:44 »
This is tedious and time consuming work! Thank you for sharing this... I would love to see a picture (or a couple of pictures) per lens, those pictures that you like the most. I do not expect to see that for all and every of your lenses but if you can start with any of them, that would be great. And it is fine if you think it is not a good idea :) Thanks again!
Here are a few from my drum scans, downsized from the original tiffs and slightly cropped.
Buddha with hibiscus flowers, Bali, 22 June 2001
Nikon FE2, Provia 100
Nikon AIS 55/2.8 micro, f11, 1/2 sec, EV -2/3 stop

Roland Vink

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #7 on: December 30, 2022, 21:53:08 »
Borage flowers, 22 Dec 2022
Nikon FE2, Velvia 50
Nikon AIS 200/4 micro with PK-13 tube and A2 warming filter, f/11, 1/2 sec, EV -2/3 stop

Roland Vink

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2022, 21:56:51 »
Pohutukawa flower fallen on algae covered boulder, 7 Dec 1997
Nikon FE2, Velvia 50
Nikon AIS 200/4 micro, f/16, 1/2 sec, EV -1 stop

Roland Vink

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2022, 22:01:52 »
Fern leaf, 30 Apr 2000
Nikon FE2, Velvia 50
Nikon AIS 200/4 micro, f/8, 2 sec, EV - 1/3 stop

The AIS 200/4 micro is not among the most highly rated lenses (it would have benefited from ED glass), but many of my best pictures were taken with this lens.

Zang

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2022, 00:25:37 »
Wonderful picture quality and beautiful photos. Thanks Roland, very much appreciated!

ColinM

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #11 on: December 31, 2022, 16:47:38 »
Its lovely to see these examples of your work Roland
And a sizeable task, both the sift/sort and also compiling such a useful database


I obviously have a preference for short telephotos and macro lenses....

It could be said that outside of macro lenses, the longest you used was 150mm
I have the opposite tendancy and often wander around with just a 300mm (sometimes with a TC14 attached). Even with this, I've managed to take several landscapes & joiners I'm very pleased with

Roland Vink

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2022, 23:08:55 »
Yes, the longest lens I regularly used was my AIS 200/4 micro, which was always used on a tripod. Among the many lenses I have, the AIS 135/2.8 and E 75-150/3.5 are the longest I can comfortably hand-hold. With longer lenses even if the shutter speed is fast enough to avoid camera-shake it is difficult to frame the subject accurately, I'm always struggling to aim the lens precisely, it keeps drifting slightly to one side or another. Plus these lenses are compact and will fit inside my Lowepro Orion Mini, which is big enough to take my camera with a three small lenses - wide, standard and short tele (one of which is usually a macro). This lets me cover almost anything I want to photograph.

I do have longer lenses, including a non-macro AIS 200/4. This is the same size as the E 75-150 but is much less versatile so doesn't see enough use to make my top list. I used to have an AIS 300/4.5 IFED but found this focal length awkward - not long enough for birds and too long for most other things. I tried several Sigma and Tokina 400/5.6 lenses before settling on a non-IF AI 400/5.6 ED. It was clearly the sharpest of the 400mm lenses I tried. Without VR or IBIS these longer lenses need to be used from a tripod, which means a dedicated photographic outing rather than some casual shots. Circumstances changed and I don't currently have much time for that kind of photography, so it also doesn't make the top of my list.

John Geerts

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #13 on: January 01, 2023, 09:45:01 »
Very interesting to see the list of your used lenses!   Good luck with the digital processing.

Zang

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Re: My Slide Film Catalog
« Reply #14 on: January 01, 2023, 18:26:02 »
Roland, do you own a drum scanner or did you order someone to scan the slides for you?