Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Canon EOS 300D, Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8

Digital Moments: First impression images with a Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8, a lens acknowledged for its excellent optical performance and unique character.

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8, the precursor to the Pentacon Auto 50mm f/1.8, is a very well-made legacy manual focus lens with 6 (non-coated) elements in 4 groups and 6 (six) straight aperture blades. The lens is acknowledged for its excellent optical performance and unique character, especially with renderings of warm colors when stepped down to its mid-range apertures (f/5.6 to f/11).

Though the lens performs well wide open, some users note it can be slightly soft at f/1.8, while becoming sharper when stopped down. The lens, manufactured over several iterations (including the zebra and all-black versions), portrays images with a distinctive vintage look and excellent bokeh.

The lens, often described as a 'bokeh monster,' was produced by Meyer Optik Görlitz in East Germany from around 1960 to 1971 and can be found with M42 and EXA/Exakta mounts. Earlier iterations are typically black with silver stripes (zebra); later versions are all black. The lens has a very close minimum focus distance of 0.33 meters, making it very versatile for shooting in various situations, often making it a favorite for both portrait and macro photography.

The lens measures 52mm (diameter) x 48mm (length, weighs around 220 grams, and takes 49mm filters. and enjoys a rating for Sharpness (9.0), Aberrations (9.0), Bokeh (9.2), Handling (9.4), and Value (9.2) on PentaxForums.

On the Canon EOS 300D, the first 6.3MP entry-level DSLR introduced by Canon in 2003, the lens is a comfortable fit (via a M42 lens adapter), with the focusing ring at just the right distance forward. Even for its age, the robust and well-built lens is still an excellent performer, and the focus throw is glide-smooth.

Canon EOS 300D, Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8

Exposures are aperture priority with the lens aperture set to f8 and exposure compensation at -2/3 stops for a better color concentration. Images were tweaked further on the desktop image editor for tone, brightness, and contrast.

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm 1:1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

The 4:5 Image Aspect Ratio, A Large Frame Format

A look at the 4:5 image aspect ratio, a versatile image format particularly suited for mobile devices.

<< Click on images for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The 4:5 image aspect ratio, a very versatile format in photography and digital media, is particularly well-suited for mobile devices and platforms prioritizing portrait-oriented content, such as Instagram, where the images are scrolled vertically. The format allows for a visually appealing presentation that maximizes the device's screen space, which in turn, enhances visibility and engagement.

In photography, the 4:5 ratio, borne out of the traditional film format from where it was first adopted, is perhaps the most traditional film format, where it gained prominence when popularized by photographers who used 5×4 film in large format photography, orientated horizontally for landscapes, or vertically for portraiture.

With its unique visual characteristics, the frame strikes a balance between width and height, making it suitable for content from portraits to product images. It allows for a balanced composition with key elements of the image centered within the central area of the frame. This helps to contain the eye movement in a circular motion within the center of the image, as opposed to the left-to-right or up-and-down movement with images in rectangular frames.

The format is recognized and remains a standard for art prints, with 8x10 or 16x20 inches prints. Though the image aspect ratio is not normally found as an option for frameset settings on digital cameras, images can still be captured digitally, and edited to fit the format later on the desktop editor.

Many photo editing tools allow users to easily crop images to fit the 4:5 ratio without significant loss of quality. By planning shots with this aspect ratio in mind, photographers can avoid extensive cropping during post-production, thus preserving critical elements of their images.

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

For photographers with a vintage digital SLR with an APS-C sensor, say a Canon EOS 300D mounted with a legacy Pentacon Auto 50mm f/1.8, as in the case of the photo shoot seen here, the advice is to compose the images to fit this aspect ratio in-camera before cropping them later. This will ensure that the intended framing is preserved when the image is cropped.

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

Digital Moments: First impression images with a Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8, delightful and pleasant colors, and characteristic bokeh.

<< Click on images for enlarged Lightbox display >>

The well-made 6 elements in 4 groups Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8, said to be a direct descendant of the equally acknowledged Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/1.8, is a compact full-frame lens with an unusually close focus distance of 33 centimeters. The lens has a slightly rounded 6-blade diaphragm, measures 60mm in diameter and 38mm in length, weighs 194 grams, and takes 49mm filters.

This lens is also well known for its 'soap bubble' characteristics, with strong and sometimes harsh outlines, and is seen as swirls on others. The lens has also enjoyed its moment as a 'cult classic', appreciated for the bokeh effect and its very delightful and pleasant colors as seen on both film and digital.

Though optically identical, with no multi-coating of the older versions, the lens was seen with four iterations over its production run, with the oldest version having silver stripes on the aperture ring branded either “electric” or “auto”. This was followed by the second version, which has no stripes on the aperture ring but has two silver rings at the front of the lens.

The third version has one silver ring at the front, and the focus ring of the third version has a spiked profile. The last version is all black. A late version with a PB mount is also available. The lens enjoys a rating for Sharpness (9.0), Aberrations (8.3), Bokeh (10.0), Handling (8.7), and Value (10.0) on PentaxForums.

These first impression images with the Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8 are shot with the lens mounted on a Canon EOS 300D. Both camera and lens are vintages, of course, with the M42 mount Pentacon produced from 1971 to 1978 from the factory outside of Dresden, in Germany, while the Canon EOS 300D (EOS Digital Rebel in the US, EOS Kiss Digital in Japan, and also sold as the DS6041) was the first entry-level digital SLR camera introduced by Canon, Japan in 2003. The camera is fitted with a 6.3MP APS-C-sized CMOS sensor.

Canon EOS 300D, Pentacon MC 50mm f/1.8

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Nikon D80, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Nikon D80, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Nikon D80, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Photo of the Day

Nikon D80, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8

<< Click on image for enlarged Lightbox display >>

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.

Sunny 16 Rule, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8

In the community garden, fully manual exposures with a 10MP Nikon D80 and a Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8.

<< Click on images for enlarged Lightbox display >>

While some of us may think that the Sunny 16 rule is a leftover from the past, where images captured on older cameras need to be exposed manually, the rule is still valid and usable today, even with a digital camera. This is a case in point where I am using a vintage Nikon digital SLR camera, the 10.2MP CCD Nikon D80, introduced in 2006, mounted with an equally vintage manual focus Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8 lens, introduced in 1995.

The Nikon D80, an entry-level digital SLR camera, does not come with the 'Non-CPU Lens Data' input option, nor does it have the aperture-indexing finger for metering with older 'AI' lenses.

This means that when mounted with a vintage MF lens, say Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8 (an excellent choice for a starter lens), the D80 does not work in any of its automated exposure (Program, Aperture, or Shutter priority) modes. Exposures are executed manually with the mode dial set to M, and the camera prepped with the appropriate ISO and shutter speed settings.

As with images from the community garden where these test shots were taken (and others as well), learning the basics of the Sunny 16 Rule for manual exposures is fairly easy and straightforward.

Nikon D80, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8

First, prep the camera with the ISO speed setting to 100 or 200, and the Shutter speed similarly to 1/100 or 1/200 (or to the nearest) second. Next, set the lens aperture opening based on the lighting condition of the scene: 1:16 for Sunny, 1:11 for Slightly Cloudy, 1:8 for Cloudy, 1:5.6 for Overcast, 1:4 for Dark Skies, and 1:2.8 for Low Light conditions. Last, frame and focus the scene, and shoot away.

Vintage Camera Marketplace by ImagingPixel

Malaysia's Online Marketplace for Vintage Film and Digital Cameras, Lenses,
and Camera Accessories. Follow ImagingPixel on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.