Industar-69 28mm 1:2.8 + Olympus Attach. Lens F=130cm

Vintage Lens Test: Image making with an Industar 69 28mm 1:2.8 lens mounted with an Olympus Attachment Lens F=130cm.

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The Industar-69 28mm 1:2.8, the standard lens for Russian Chaika Half-frame cameras which I acquired earlier and was adjusted to fit the flange distance of an M39 LTM lens, has a new friend now, in the form of an Olympus Attachment Lens F=130m. The lens is a 22.5mm diameter unit that Olympus produced for attachment to the inner ring of the Pen EE half-frame camera lens.

An attachment lens is primarily used to enable macro photography without the need to use a specialized primary lens. They work on the principle of a magnifying glass, allowing a primary lens to be brought to focus closer to the subject, for close-ups or macro-orientated photography. While they do not affect exposure, close-up lenses do change both the maximum and minimum focus distances of a lens.

Olympus E-P5, Industar 69 28mm 1:2.8 with Olympus Attachment Lens F=130cm

While there are hardly any details or further info on the Olympus Attachment Lens F=130cm on the Net currently, I am happy enough with just using the lens and attachment among my small collection of garden plants, with a flower that is in bloom and a couple of other subjects.

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Industar-69 28mm 1:2.8, First Impression

Vintage Lens Test: Image making with an Industar 69 28mm 1:2.8, the Russian Chaika 35mm Half-Frame lens, on a 2x crop sensor mirrorless ILC.

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Wow, what a combo, a re-aligned Industar 69 28mm 1:2.8, a lens made for the Russian Chaika 35mm Half-Frame cameras, mounted on a 2x crop sensor mirrorless digital, an Olympus E-P5. Working on a crop factor of 1.4, which I believe is the correct lens-to-camera crop ratio, the lens will be equivalent to a perfectly normal 40mm prime lens on a full-frame camera.

The lens, a copy of the Zeiss Tessar, was produced from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s. Though initially built as fixed and non-removable, the lens was later constructed with a М39x1 thread mount, but, unlike other LTM lenses, the flange distance on the Industar 69 is shorter than the usual distance of 27.5mm. So, no infinity focus for you here.

Olympus E-P5, Industar 69 28mm 1:2.8

Adjusting the lens to the correct flange distance to achieve infinity focus, in most cases, is an easy fix. I did it by following the instructions found in a YouTube video. The two-minute non-destructive routine seems to work right for me, and I was off grabbing these first impression shots in no time. Not much to expect from the images either, nothing Wunderbar, unless otherwise, it is just a fun lens to trot around with.

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Olympus VR-350, Playing Catching Up

The CCD Sensor: Image making with a 16MP CCD Olympus VR-350, cute and capable ultra-compact travel zoom.

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Am playing catch up here, with submissions to my 'Re-Living The CCD Sensor' series, and for this week early images with the Olympus VR-350, a 16MP CCD sensor ultra-compact travel zoom fitted with an Olympus 10x optical zoom 4.2-42mm (24-240mm full frame equivalent) lens with 1:3~5.7 aperture opening. The camera is also fitted with a 3-inch 460,000-dot LCD screen. Designed to be simple and easy to use, it comes with a user interface that is well laid out and is quite intuitive even for the first-time user.

The camera is designed to be handy and practical, almost minimalist, looking cute and attractive in its anodized aluminum skin which is available in silver, black and purple. The front of the camera sports a flash strobe, focus assist lamp, and a tiny aperture for the microphone towards the bottom, and again, a minimalist finger grip.

Olympus VR-350

Aside from the Power On and Shutter Release buttons on the top plate of the camera, the functionalities of the camera are mainly centered on the backplane. The most dominant component is the large 3-inch display with touch settings for menu display and setup, with a dedicated movie recording button, 5-way D-pad, and buttons for Menu, help, and playback on its right.

The camera is fun and easy to use, easily available on auction sites at giveaway prices, and if you are an enthusiast of vintage cameras with CCD sensors, this might be just the right one for you.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28, First Impression

The CCD Sensor: Image making with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28, a very impressive first outing with a 10MP CCD sensor digital bridge.

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I upgraded my digital bridge camera recently, from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 which I have been using for a couple of period sessions, to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28. The update saw me having a slightly bigger 1/2.33" CCD sensor (1/2.5" on the FZ18) and a higher image resolution at 10MP (8.3MP on the FZ18). Like the FZ18, the FZ28 comes with a 1:2.8~4.4 18x optical zoom Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a zoom range from 27-486mm (35mm equivalent). For image processing, the FZ28 features the high-speed, high-performance, Venus Engine IV.

Besides the numerous specs that you look up from digital camera review sites, the FZ28 is now capable of doing video clips in HD (not really my forte), comes with a 230,000 dots 2.7-inch display, and a Record/Play toggle, right where your thumb would rest when shooting. The new Venus engine does seem to be slightly better than the Venus III of the FZ18. While touching up the images on the computer is recommended, I tweaked mine mainly with Auto Tone Correction, Brightness & Contrast, and a bit of Unsharp Mask.

Panasonic Kumix DMC-FZ28

Enjoying photography is not without the pitfall of just having a camera that you are not too happy with, the inquisitive need for model upgrades or replacements, and the cost of doing it all. With film photography, it could very well be the spiraling cost of film and its development charges, while on the other hand, the high cost of acquiring current digital models with very advanced features could be just as telling. Looking between the rift, you may find the ubiquitous digicam with CCD sensors as just the ticket for you, with captures that have lower noise, higher sensitivity, and better image homogeneity.

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