Fun Sunday Morning. Great Swim and a cool walk (relatively speaking...) with a new (to me) lens. I posted some photos....

 

I usually go to our coached, masters swim practice at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays and then head out for a walk in the mid-afternoon but since we're currently experiencing a roaster of a heat wave I made a few good modifications to my leisurely schedule. I got up earlier and made it to the 8:00 a.m. workout. I figured I'd soak up a few less UV rays and also get ahead of the heat for the day. 

Practice was good and I swam with my friends Ed and Rich in my lane. We kept up a good pace and got through nearly 3,000 yards but we took it a bit easier today. It is Sunday after all. 

As soon as we finished I hit the showers, slathered myself with sunscreen, and I headed downtown to venture out on my usual route for camera and lens testing fun. I wore a wide brim hat and lightweight clothing and, amazingly, for most of my time out in the downtown area this morning there was a nice breeze and it actually felt pleasant. No sweat. Literally. 

On Friday I took possession of two really interesting fun lenses. I was disappointed not to have gotten out yesterday in the afternoon to play with one or the other of them so I was happy that today's schedule worked. 

The lens I took with me today on my bold but routine adventure was the Panasonic/Leica Nocticron 42.5mm f1.2 lens which is made for the micro-four-thirds systems. The lens is equivalent to an 85mm on a full frame camera.  It's heavy, wonderfully constructed, and now I can say that it's also a great performer. I used it in conjunction with the GH6 camera and I have to say that all the people who blather on about the GH6 being made just for video production are wrong. It's a very, very good still photography camera. And it works flawlessly with the Nocticron. 

I used the lens mostly around f2.0 but shot a good representative sample of images at f1.2 to judge that the lens is more than sharp enough even wide open. I think the sweet spot overall is f2.2 or around there but wide open is near perfect. I love having a portrait lens for the m4:3 systems that can easily throw backgrounds out of focus while maintaining high sharpness in the depth of field zones where things were  intended to be sharp. 

I've put captions to some of the photos but remember to click on the photos and make them bigger if you really want to see what the sharpness and colors look like. Thanks!

And to answer yesterday's post: I AM keeping both lenses. The 42.5 Nocticron and the Olympus 75mm f1.8. I'll find something fabulous to point the 75mm at. I'm sure of it.

Post swim selfie in the mirrored wall at Pulvo's Mexican food on 3rd St. 

This is the exterior of a new "healthy" restaurant on Second St.

It looks like its opening is imminent. People were inside today training. 

I like the blue trim. I like the rusted steel planters and the fresh plants.

I hope they keep up with their gardening. 

The restaurant is called, "Local." 

Loving the yellow booths offset by the blue trim. 

this is the little, independent Italian restaurant next door to "Local."

I wonder how they feel about the new competition. 

Today they had more hanging baskets filled with flowers than 

last week. Either a sign that things are going well or an 

answering salvo to their new neighbor's planter boxes.

The lens and camera handle reds well. 

Jo's Coffee on 2nd St.

Sunday morning rush hour traffic....?

the Sixth Street version of "Golden Arches". 

Along the side of "Wild Greg's Saloon."

Classy. 

Trash can art. Looking at the edges for myself. 

interested to see sharp and soft in one image. 

Full Frame image of pocket trash on the railroad tracks.

An enlarged portion from the image just above.

More pocket trash.

An enlarged portion from the image just above.

A series of Father's Day window display details. 

(I have already sent Ben a wish list of things he can get

his father from the Leica Store in Miami. Let's see if he gets the hint...).

the usual photo at the W Hotel and a heartfelt "thank you" for their ongoing 

and gracious hospitality. Someone even apologized to me for not getting

the front door quickly enough. Wow! 

Casio Eco-Drive Dive watch. Solar powered. Water Resistant to 300 meters.

A near daily swim watch. So far so great. 

A quiet detail from my usual bridge shots.

Outfitting the Sigma fp for a zany film project. 

The studio is now "All Fun All the Time." 

Stay tuned for the "notes from the field" concerning my appreciation or criticism of the 

Olympus 75mm lens. 

Chilling out on a Sunday. It's 74° in my 650 square foot office. I think I'll stay here for a while.