April 2025

[Hans_S]

Great Hans

Thank you Colin.

[Øivind Tøien]

Spring breakup.

[Birna Rørslett]

Very nice use of tranquil IR cloud reflections contrasting the grim tube feeding who knows what...

The clip-in filter caught my attention: Do you see any more problems with flares or wide angle corners performance (due to the steep angle caused by the close proximity of the clip-in filter to the lens rear element) than with an on-sensor of front mounted filter? I am thinking if a full-spectrum body can be combined as an extra visible light body with clip-in UV-IR cut (perhaps with Kolari's Nikon OEM filter offering), clip-in IR pass, and clip-in quartz protective window as base for UV (no UV-pass clip-in offered for that as I can see).  Also is register distance adjusted to avoid problems with infinity focus due to different combined filter thicknesses behind the lens? Apparently what you have seems to work very well, but asking anyway. Ideally the IR-cut on the sensor would be removed and not replace with on-sensor quartz filter glass, but always be used with one type of clip-in or the other to replace it.

Kolari touts their clip-in filter approach as the ultimate solution but reality is different. Depending on the actual lens in use, the filter in position  might work well, or there are artifacts like colour displacement or vignetting towards the periphery of the image frame. Strangely there is apparently no direct relation between angle of view of the lens and filter issues. Thus, for example, the Laowa 9mm f/5.6or the Nikkor 400mm f/4.5Z does well, whilst the 40mm f/2 Nikkor SE or the Nikkor 70-180mm f/2.8 sometimes shows colour issues. Not in all circumstances and focused distance may factor in here as well. Thus one simply has to try in practice and pay attention to situations where issues become troublesome.

A final warning is you do have to be very careful when the filter is put into place, as the edges are hard and might nick the sensor if you are careless. Which of course my Z5 sensor bears witness to already (there is a magnetic frame holder for the filter which wasn't properly positioned first time).

[John Geerts]

That must be a fascinating and interesting task. I've been scanning family paper pictures for the next generations in the family, but also for the local archives where my parents lived / worked. I enjoy watching old pictures in the archives from the city where I grew up, so it's only fair to contribute.     

Thanks Lars.  In a weekly column of a local newspaper I try to explain the backgrounds of a photo in the City Archive

https://www.stadsnieuws.nl/neodirect/static/1/38-Stadsnieuws-Tilburg?date=20250419&page=36

[Øivind Tøien]

Kolari touts their clip-in filter approach as the ultimate solution but reality is different. Depending on the actual lens in use, the filter in position  might work well, or there are artifacts like colour displacement or vignetting towards the periphery of the image frame. Strangely there is apparently no direct relation between angle of view of the lens and filter issues. Thus, for example, the Laowa 9mm f/5.6or the Nikkor 400mm f/4.5Z does well, whilst the 40mm f/2 Nikkor SE or the Nikkor 70-180mm f/2.8 sometimes shows colour issues. Not in all circumstances and focused distance may factor in here as well. Thus one simply has to try in practice and pay attention to situations where issues become troublesome.

A final warning is you do have to be very careful when the filter is put into place, as the edges are hard and might nick the sensor if you are careless. Which of course my Z5 sensor bear witness to already (there is a magnetic frame holder for the filter which wasn't properly positioned first time).

Thanks, Birna. This is very valuable information and food for some thought. The 40mm would likely be one of the main uses on such a body together with the 14-30mm. But i have my hands full enjoying the Z lenses in visible light on the Z8 at the moment, so this is not something that would happen in the short term.

[KarlMera]

I add some lichen from Galicia to the nature theme today and 300PF versus Pixel 9 Pro to the ongoing phone vs camera topic ... I guess both are real good but the 2000€ glass has more "something" than the 1350$ phone or not???


NOW it is YOU who finds the phone without EXIF peeking

Hello Frank, that is an exciting challenge, I would have been overcharged. But I think an evaluation without your infos would have been impossible.

[Birna Rørslett]

The two images have significant differences in how the background is rendered. Do keep in mind the physical focal length of phone cameras has to be very short and that limits size of the blur circles. Software might try to alter the rendition, but at least in Frank's example, that hasn't happened.

[John Geerts]

The front garden with the Azalea in bloom for the first time

Fuji S5 Pro  AFS 35/1.4

[Frank Fremerey]

Asturias

[KarlMera]

The two images have significant differences in how the background is rendered. Do keep in mind the physical focal length of phone cameras has to be very short and that limits size of the blur circles. Software might try to alter the rendition, but at least in Frank's example, that hasn't happened.

Thats right, but my note was that without the infos you could not name the lens or the camera, I mean that basically. If I look at a picture I often ask myself with what camera or lens the picture was made, out of curiosity, but its impossible for me.

[Birna Rørslett]

Few lenses are so specific that you can tell them apart. In particular, when the outcome is seen at low web resolution (and size).

[KarlMera]

Perfectly clear.

[Frank Fremerey]

Few lenses are so specific that you can tell them apart. In particular, when the outcome is seen at low web resolution (and size).

which reminds me to use the Ai-S 1.4/35mm more often

[Akira]

Dogwood.

[Birna Rørslett]

Another from my last riverside hike. The low water level exposes mud flats and depressions in the silt where organic matter decomposes to make a rust-coloured film across the surface. In IR, these areas come out very bright.

Nikkor 40mm f/2, Z5 with Kolari 720nm clip-in filter. I had really to fight the colour unevenness caused by the filter in the post-processing stage. A bit strange this not-so-wide lens triggers the filter to behave badly, unless this behaviour is due to the combination of stopping down and near infinity focus.