Loaded, Primed, and All Set To Go

Analog Diary - Film photography favorites, an AF Sigma Zoom-Gamma 21-35mm F3.5~4.2, a Canon EOS 700QD, and an AF Nikkor 35-105mm F3.5~4.5 D.

My collection of vintage lenses and 35mm film SLRs grew over the last two weeks with the addition of an EF-mount Sigma Zoom AF 21-35mm F3.5-4.2 zoom, a Canon EOS 700QD the lens will be mounted on, and an AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-105mm F3.5~4.5 D, which I wanted to test mounted on the Nikon F601, an earlier acquisition.

Canon EOS 700 QD, Sigma Zoom AF 21-35mm F3.5-4.2

The Sigma Zoom AF 21-35mm F3.5-4.2, the second in my collection after the initial Sigma Zoom-Gamma 21-35mm F3.5-4, the world's first-wide angle zoom lens, was introduced in 1985 to meet the demands of AF SLR cameras which started with the introduction of the Minolta Maxxum series.

Canon EOS 700 QD, Sigma Zoom AF 21-35mm F3.5-4.2

Just as well, the Canon EOS 700QD, released in 1990 by Canon, was an upgrade of the EOS750/EOS850. Canon's initial development of the EOS series started with the introduction of the EOS 650 in 1987. The EOS 700QD is basically a frame-and-shoot 35mm film SLR that comes with a range of programmed scene settings and an option of using the camera as a shutter-priority SLR.

Nikon F601, AF Nikkor 35-105mm F3.5~4.5 D

The AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-105mm F3.5~4.5 D, developed from an Ai-S version of the same, is a kit zoom lens packaged with Nikon F cameras. The lens is said to be a gem often overlooked by photographers and reviewers during the days of Nikon AF film SLRs. It is a push-pull zoom with a decent zoom range, very well made, a bit bulky by today's standards, but comes with image qualities that are highly respected. The lens was accoladed by Ken Rockwell in his review here.

Nikon F601, AF Nikkor 35-105mm F3.5~4.5 D

The Nikon F601 (N6006 in the US), an earlier acquisition, is a tough bakelite body from the era of the professional Nikon F4 and semi-professional F90x. Introduced in 1991, a couple of years after the F801, the Nikon mid-range came with an improved second-generation autofocus system, motor drive for automatic film advance, a built-in pop-up electronic flash, a top shutter speed of 1/2000 of a second, and a new 'Matrix' evaluative multi-zone metering program.

The camera and lens are a seamless fit, it has one of the brightest viewfinders I have ever come across, and looks all set to be one of my preferred camera-lens combinations.

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Five frames With An SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8, Down By The Lake

Analog Diary - Film photography favorites with an SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8, catching the fishing tourney with the Pentax MZ-7.

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I might have not done true justice to the SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8 here. I had it mounted on the Pentax MZ-7, an excellent camera by itself but mismanaged in the manual setting for the lens. This ended up with the camera/lens combo not working at its best and I went through half of the film roll with that.

Pentax MZ-7, SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8

The SMC Pentax M 100mm F2.8, however, is a delight to use. It is compact, light, sharp, and solidly built, and enjoys an average user rating of 9.6 on PentaxForms.com. The lens has always stayed at the top of the enthusiast's choice.

The all-manual lens is of 5 elements in 5-group construction and comes with 5 aperture blades. Images, as you can see from these shots, are not as contrasty and can be boosted or adjusted with image processing.

At 100mm focal length, the SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8 is a great lens for outdoor portraits, and landscapes, and should be equally suited for traveling by its small and compact size. It has also been reported that, when used in the field, the lens has the potential for purple fringing issues in high-contrast situations.

Pentax MZ-7, SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8

This is the first time I am using the lens, and as I mentioned earlier, mounted on the Pentax MZ-7. Images were shot on an almost expired Kodak Colorplus 200 and were post-processed on Olympus Viewer 3 (OV3).

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Five Frames With A Lumix G 14mm F2.5 Asph., on Microsoft Photos

Digital Moments - Images with a Lumix G 14mm F2.5 Asph., edited and post-processed on Microsoft Photos.

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I do a fair amount of LRT (Light Rail Transport) hopping, on the weekends, where I would first take the train, either to the city or in the opposite direction, dropping off at interconnecting stops along the line, to do the loop before coming back to join the main route I was originally on.

Olympus E-P5, Lumix G 14mm F2.5 Asph.

Back on the desktop, I am also warming up (rather slowly) to the new image-editing software from Olympus, Olympus Workspace, which replaced the older Olympus Viewer 3 (OV3) a few months back. Between the two, I do add in edits with apps from a standalone version of Google NIK Collection and even Microsoft Photos in the process workflow.

The enhancements are done on the 'Filters' section of the apps, where you can go for automated enhancement by just clicking on the 'Enhance your photo' image, or go further and have the image rendered with the menu of filter effects.

The good part about using Microsoft Photos is that the app is installed with the version of Windows you are using, you can access the 'Edit & Create' interface by clicking on any image you have in your image folders, and using it is very easy and intuitive.

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Five Frames With An Olympus IZM 220 AF Panorama Zoom, Aged in Sepia

Analog Diary - Film photography favorites with an Olympus IZM 220 AF Panorama Zoom, with images post-processed in sepia.

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I was really excited about having the camera, though its form may be that of a wedged brick. The camera comes with a fairly large viewfinder, and the brightest I have experienced so far (on compact 35mm cameras), and I was equally taken aback by the sharpness and clarity of the images it produces.

Olympus IZM 220 AF Panorama Zoom

Images were post-processed and converted to sepia on Olympus Viewer 3 (OV3), and print sharpened on Google NIK Sharpener Pro3.

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