Author Topic: Plena?  (Read 13508 times)

bressong

  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 125
  • a nikon user
Re: Plena?
« Reply #90 on: October 16, 2023, 16:22:32 »
well, you must know how it is. With a new lens we check to see what it can do and what it can't do easily. The Plena can do a lot, yet it's stunning quality is the huge image circle and the abundance of light and the fact that it is clear and sharp to the edges of the fram. THAT is not something I am used do. It is remarkable and makes me want to take photos of everything and anything. LOL.

if the light is more sharp  on what you took,the photo/lens will become more sharp ;D

Michael Erlewine

  • Close-Up Photographer
  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 2067
  • Close-Up with APO
    • Spirit Grooves
Re: Plena?
« Reply #91 on: October 16, 2023, 17:08:18 »
if the light is more sharp  on what you took,the photo/lens will become more sharp ;D

I know sharpness and lenses pretty good by this point. It is what it is, sharp but not sharp like a macro lens.
MichaelErlewine.smugmug.com, Daily Blog at https://www.facebook.com/MichaelErlewine. main site: SpiritGrooves.net, https://www.youtube.com/user/merlewine, Founder: MacroStop.com, All-Music Guide, All-Movie Guide, Classic Posters.com, Matrix Software, DharmaGrooves.com

MEPER

  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 1179
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: Plena?
« Reply #92 on: October 16, 2023, 22:50:33 »
Does the aperture open up all the way or did they make a 1.4 lens and then just call it a 1.8 where aperture does not open up fully?
The lens has no vignetting at full aperture ( 1.8 )according to the advertising. Maybe the reason also for no cat eye effect?

I just looked at images taken with the 0.95 Z Noct. It has a lot of cat eye effect when looking at official images.

Michael Erlewine

  • Close-Up Photographer
  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 2067
  • Close-Up with APO
    • Spirit Grooves
Re: Plena?
« Reply #93 on: October 16, 2023, 23:07:09 »
Does the aperture open up all the way or did they make a 1.4 lens and then just call it a 1.8 where aperture does not open up fully?
The lens has no vignetting at full aperture ( 1.8 ) according to the advertising. Maybe the reason also for no cat eye effect?

I just looked at images taken with the 0.95 Z Noct. It has a lot of cat eye effect when looking at official images.


The larger image circle is why there is not more vignetting. And the eleven-blade aperture. My interest, originally, was that it was not really a lens for focus stacking, and I continue to look into that.

I find that if I make a short stack, in the following case, just stacked the area from front to back of the main flower, stacking works OK. It punctuates the flower, but leaves the background bokeh alone. Not too bad.

And I know this is not what the Plena was designed for. I will be getting around to that as I can.
MichaelErlewine.smugmug.com, Daily Blog at https://www.facebook.com/MichaelErlewine. main site: SpiritGrooves.net, https://www.youtube.com/user/merlewine, Founder: MacroStop.com, All-Music Guide, All-Movie Guide, Classic Posters.com, Matrix Software, DharmaGrooves.com

MEPER

  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 1179
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: Plena?
« Reply #94 on: October 16, 2023, 23:11:00 »
That is "ok"......very "3D like".

Roland Vink

  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 1535
  • Nikon Nerd from New Zealand
    • Nikon Database
Re: Plena?
« Reply #95 on: October 17, 2023, 01:22:39 »
Does the aperture open up all the way or did they make a 1.4 lens and then just call it a 1.8 where aperture does not open up fully?
The lens has no vignetting at full aperture (1.8 ) according to the advertising. Maybe the reason also for no cat eye effect?

I just looked at images taken with the 0.95 Z Noct. It has a lot of cat eye effect when looking at official images.
Usually, to make a lens free of mechanical vignetting (which causes the cats-eye effect), the front and rear lens elements need to be large, so they won't clip peripheral light rays. However, if the designer goes to the effort of making large diameter lenses, they may as well make the lens faster - the marketing people like this because you can sell a faster lens at a higher price :)

So you end up with a faster lens with cats-eye effect and vignetting at full aperture, but with more even rendition when stopped down. Most lenses are like this, I imagine the cats-eye effect of the Z Noct largely goes away by f/1.2 or f/1.4. The Plena largely eliminates cat-eye at full aperture partly because it has a relatively long focal length - the narrow field of view means that even peripheral rays are not entering at much of an angle so are not clipped going through the lens. Also, the Z lens mount is very big - this enables the rear element to be very large, fully covering the sensor, while the front element can be normal size (for a lens of this type).

SHEN_HUI

  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: Plena?
« Reply #96 on: October 20, 2023, 10:27:52 »
It's a quite special lens.

SHEN_HUI

  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: Plena?
« Reply #97 on: October 20, 2023, 10:28:39 »
100% crop

MEPER

  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 1179
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: Plena?
« Reply #98 on: October 20, 2023, 10:50:59 »
Do you think this lens will be good for wedding portraits?
I am mostly thinking about full size portraits of the "wedding pair".
Maybe 135mm is a bit long for this.
I have been "hired" next spring for this and maybe I will have a FF-Nikon body at that time.....
Probably my old Nikkor AF 85/1.4 D can do the job......now I have it....

Ilkka Nissilä

  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1712
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: Plena?
« Reply #99 on: October 20, 2023, 11:52:49 »
Do you think this lens will be good for wedding portraits?
I am mostly thinking about full size portraits of the "wedding pair".
Maybe 135mm is a bit long for this.
I have been "hired" next spring for this and maybe I will have a FF-Nikon body at that time.....
Probably my old Nikkor AF 85/1.4 D can do the job......now I have it....

135 mm would probably be too long for this purpose; you might have some issues communicating with the couple at that distance. But you could get some nice background blur. ;-)

85/1.4 D would be manual focus only on a Z camera, but other than that it's a great lens. I would use it with a DSLR to get the AF working.

MEPER

  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 1179
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: Plena?
« Reply #100 on: October 20, 2023, 19:45:29 »
Ok, I will go with the AF 85/1.4 D with adapter.
I know that the focus points turns green when focus is reached.
So manual focus is doable. I also have the Z 50/1.8 and the Z 40/2.
I can read all the Zf feedback. Will see if that is the new FF for me.
It can give some nice clean images I am sure with nice details in a white wedding suit even in full sunshine......I hope.....as pictures will be outdoor.
But I will prefer overcast to have nice soft flat light. I have time to practice also using a flash outdoor.

But I just realized this is a "Plena thread".
Yes, Plena could give nice blurred background and is sharp enough for portraits at 1.8 :-)

bressong

  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 125
  • a nikon user
Re: Plena?
« Reply #101 on: October 22, 2023, 04:53:38 »
135mm suitable for landscape,
for portrait photograph, the distance required not good for cummication with the model.
it's good to capture the model from a far distance.

bressong

  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 125
  • a nikon user
Re: Plena?
« Reply #102 on: October 22, 2023, 05:00:01 »
Sigma 135/1.8 art

BruceSD

  • Confirmed Bokeholic
  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 251
  • I'm here to learn from the best
    • The F/2 Guru
Re: Plena?
« Reply #103 on: October 22, 2023, 18:20:51 »
.
Photos posted here by Michael Erlewine do a good job of showing the terrific characteristics of this new lens.

I do not own the Plena, but I do own the Zeiss ZF 135mm f/2 Milvus lens.  Wouldn't it be interesting to see the new Plena in head to head shoot outs with the Zeiss 135 Milvus and with other premium 135mm lenses?

Here's a link  (  https://www.flickr.com/photos/yogitan/53265437140/in/pool-14869264@N21/  ) to photos taken of the same subject using both the new Plena and the older Nikkor 135mm DC lens.   Maybe it's my old eyes, or maybe it's my inferior monitor, but I don't see much difference between these two images - do you???

ColinM

  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 1980
  • Herefordshire, UK
    • My Pictures
Re: Plena?
« Reply #104 on: October 22, 2023, 19:07:07 »

Here are a couple more shots, the first a single shot, which is what the lens is designed for.
.....

And I still have some Christmas lights in there, which is not usual for me, just to see how the bokeh is.
I'm curious about the lowest Xmas tree light in the two images you posted Michael.

Whilst they don't displease me, something about these (and not the others in each image) seems off centre. I have attached crops of each.
Of course, the lights themselves may be unusual......

Meanwhile, the single unstacked shot of the vase on its own is breathtaking. The curve lets your eye wander up and down the planes of focus