Reader Michael Kohnhorst provided a link to a good post with more details about the Veydra lenses and the "transition" to Meike. Interesting reading!

https://thecinelens.com/2020/04/18/rip-veydra-2014-2019/#more-7744

Other random notes.

I'm off delivering groceries to someone who is quarantining. But before I grab my keys and head out the door I thought I'd go off topic and mention how great swim practice was this morning. 

I hit the six a.m. workout again. My temperature before the swim with 96.8(f). There's something really fun about a swim practice that features a sunrise right in the middle. We didn't do an amazing amount of yardage but we kept moving and kept our heart rates bouncing along. And the water was close to perfect.

We swim at a private club and we require that everyone register for swim time slots so we can do contact tracing just in case someone ends up getting infected with Covid-19. It's easy and fast to sign up on the web. We require that everyone wear face masks on the pool deck. That's cool too. 

Please wear a mask when you are out in public. It's not a political statement, it's an I.Q. test. Please try to make a passing grade. For everyone's sake.

Now I'm off to deliver that bag of groceries before the yogurt spoils...

Yesterday I wrote about a Sigma lens; today we've got something totally different: The Meike 25mm T2.2 Cine lens. WHAT??

A used Meike 25mm cinema lens on a Panasonic GX8. 

On a wall in front of Zach Theatre.

Sometimes lens bargains come in pairs. I left the house Sunday with the intention of picking up this Meike cinema lens that I saw on the used shelf at the camera store and the Sigma 16mm f1.4 lens just seemed to follow us home like a lost puppy. That's okay. We've got lots of room here...

Do you remember a few years back when a company called "Veydra" made a small splash in the hybrid production market (video+photo gear) with a line of cinema lenses that were intended for APS-C, and smaller sensor cameras? They got some good press and everyone I know who bought one, or two, or the full set had nothing but good things to say about them. The only hesitation people had in buying them was the fact that they didn't cover a full 35mm sensor format at a time when people were single-mindedly pursuing full frame. They are also only available for mirrorless cameras. Like the m4:3.

The lenses were actually designed for film and video and were not just re-badged and re-mounted still photography lenses like most of the inexpensive Rokinon Cine lens line. The Veydras were more complex optical designs which used industry standard gearing for focus follow equipment, were optically computed to minimze focus breathing, and were capable of focusing nice and close. The de-clicked aperture rings were smooth as butter and the focusing ring (manual only) had a nice big throw of 270 degrees which made for smoother and more accurate focus pulling in video. I was interested in trying the Veydras out but could never justify splashing out the cash for a new one; especially since I usually find myself drowning in a sea of other lenses around here. 

The Veydra line is no longer at B&H and when you search for it on Amazon.com the website takes you directly to the Meike line of cinema lenses which look to be identical (except for logos and graphics). It looks like Meike and Veydra either shared a common supplier or that Meike was the OEM for Veydra. Now that Veydra stuff has disappeared from retail channels it seems that Meike is offering largely the same line of lenses at about half the price. 

When I found a used copy of the Meike 25mm T2.2 at Precision Camera here in Austin I negotiated a nice, low price ($269) and whisked it off their shelves and into my camera bag (metaphorically). 

Right off the bat I'll say that it's the worst sports and follow small children as they run around the yard lens that you'll even use. Why? Because it's fully manual, there's no electronic correspondence with your camera, there are no click stops for aperture, and the incredibly wide/long throw of the focus ring would make quick focusing for sports a stand up comic's new material...if audiences knew anything about focus ring throw. 

But, for a careful photographic worker who makes photographs of things that don't move much, like people, art, street scenes, buildings, signage, landscapes and well rehearsed film making, the lens makes a lot of sense and delivers really nice results. The optical formula includes ten elements in eight groups and is nicely corrected and sharp even at its widest aperture and closest focusing distance of 9.8 inches. 

There is a filter ring at the front of the lens and it takes a 77mm filter. Nice for me since I just bought a set of individual ND filters, extra polarizing filters and a variable ND for the Panasonic 24-105mm f4.0 lens for the S1 system. It also takes a 77mm filter. The Meike lens I bought is made for the m4:3 lens mount but it's available in most of the mirrorless mounts and covers up to an APS-C format sensor. 

The lens seems to be very well made and is dense and all metal. The rings all turn wonderfully and are well damped. I'm happy to add this lens to my collection and anticipate getting much use from it, in conjunction with the Panasonic G9, for making fun, personal video movies. Even though I keep attempting to love all things wider angle my vision seems irrevocably stuck at a 50mm equivalent so in buying this lens I convinced myself that I continue leaning into my strengths. 

I must say that when it comes to film making I'm out of sync with current styles. Most of my director and camera op friends are hell bent on figuring out how to keep the camera constantly moving. It's either on a slider or mounted on a gimbal and the camera is flying all over the place. I like stationary cameras that follow the action from their anchor point on a nice tripod. 

I think the movie that made the biggest technical impression on me in the last 20 years was Jim Jarmusch's little movie, "Stranger than Paradise." He set up a stationary camera and the scenes unfolded in front of it. When the scene is done the camera cuts and moves to the next set. It doesn't move during most of the scenes. I like it. It's a less confusing and kinetic way of telling a story. We'll see how my vision evolves when impacted by reality. 

Which is a nice side point to make right now. All the projects I'm working on a have an initial audience of one. That's me. I don't have the responsibility of "bending" my way of seeing to accommodate the different viewpoint of a client. I guess that's good and bad. Since I'm not currently motivated to move quickly on anything. 

At any rate I used this lens on a Panasonic GX8 today to make images so you can see the way the lens handles stuff for yourself. The GX8 doesn't make as pretty Jpeg files as the G9 but when I shoot in raw it really doesn't matter. So I did. Enjoy. 

By the way...I'm loving that articulating EVF. It's wonderful.

Near the close focusing distance of 9.8 inches. At f4.0.

Focused on the second stud from the bottom. At f5.6. Very sharp!

These images are from a protest at the state capitol. Attended by 50 or 60 people.

They are protesting the re-closing of bars and clubs in Austin. They think the 

government has "over-reached." I nodded as I listened and laughed and then cried 

all the way back to my car. Still trying to wrap my head around serving 

people alcohol in a Sixth St. bar as an essential service. 

But the group was very peaceful and very polite. I appreciated that. 

Souped up with a different look from Luminar 4.0

I do have to agree that our governor, Greg Abbott, is not a good steward for the state.

Another day wasted testing gear and then writing about it. 

That's what happens when all the swim workouts are over by 8 a.m.

The Saharan Dust is still everywhere in Austin. That's why the usually brilliant skies look 

so glum. Hope you are doing well wherever you happen to be. And if you are in 

Europe and have been cleaning and preparing for my visit I'm sorry to say that

we'll probably not see each other in person till sometime in 2021.

In the meantime we can stay in touch via the comments. Please leave one. 

Portrait on a maintenance bridge. Using small format cameras for big projects. 2018.

Panasonic G9 + Olympus 12-100mm Pro.

I got tired of posting graffiti and buildings and coffee so I'm starting to reach back to recent projects that featured actual people. This from a shoot in North Carolina that we did back in 2018. The client is a large, national infrastructure construction company. They make stuff like dams and lakes. This is from a quiet shoot early in the morning.

On Assignment in North Carolina with a Panasonic G9 and the Olympus 12-100mm. Right place/right time; 2018.

When I come across photos we took on assignment and in Iceland in 2018 I wonder why I ever sold off my first set of G9s. I'm glad I bought another one...

Now, about that lens....

The announcement by Olympus of their divestiture of their camera division seems to have stirred up my appreciation of the M4:3rds format and its gear. This comes at a cost...

Lumix GX8 with the Sigma Contemporary 16mm f1.4 DC DN for m4:3.

I've had an on again, off again love affair with the mirrorless, m4:3 cameras since I bought an Olympus EP-2 with its clever, detachable EVF, back in late 2009. My original rationale for buying that camera was to experiment using vintage Olympus Pen F film lenses on a digital camera. It was, for the most part, a successful and fun adventure. If I was always only a devoted amateur/lover of photography instead of someone splitting my attention between the "pleasure of" and the "business of" photography I'm fairly sure I would have dug into the m4:3 systems only, and stayed there. It's a system that checks nearly all the boxes I'd be interested in if I shot photographs only because of my own passion for the art. 

But like most insecure commercial photographers I vacillated between believing the system was enough and wanting to hedge my bets with clients by showing up with bigger format equipment. Over the past twelve years I've bought into m4:3 systems, with the intention of using them for everything, at least five times, only to retreat the instant a goose-y client questioned whether full frame might be...better. 

But my appreciation for the jewel-like cameras that Olympus kept introducing, and the sheer usability and wide ranging prowess of Panasonic's cameras, stays with me throughout. 

Before the Olympus announcement I was at Precision Camera buying a tilt base for a video head I was putting on top of a big, Benro tripod. Reflexively, I looked through their collection of used gear, concentrating on the m4:3 stuff to see if there was anything that was absolutely irresistible. I found one lens that was interesting but decided the money might be better spent elsewhere. I found the tilt base, bought it and moved on. Until yesterday. 

Boredom will bankrupt us all... I finished all my domestic chores and was hesitant to leave the house and studio because of the air quality warnings about the Saharan Dust storm. After lunch I gave in to the relentless ennui, grabbed a handful of face masks, and headed off to take a quick stroll through the camera store. You know, just to see what's new. 

In the Olympus/Panasonic used case I came across a couple of the Olympus 25mm f1.2 Pro lenses, one of the 45mm Pros, and one of the 17mms. All in nice condition but none seemed to tweak my desire gland in the moment. I searched around a bit more and came across a lens that was counter-intuitive for me. It's the Sigma Contemporary 16mm f1.4, DC DN with an m4:3 mount. It's a lens that's usually in high demand and sometimes out of stock but I'd never thought of owning it because it's a bit wide and the focal length is also covered by my Leica/Panasonic 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 zoom lens.

This particular lens is in really good condition and I decided to negotiate a bit and see if I could take it off their hands at a better price than what they marked on the attached price tag. I imagined that it might be fun to play with. I might even train myself to like a lens closer to 30-35mm as much as my usual 50mm range. The tipping point spec was the fast max. aperture... and a number of very solid reviews.

I took the lens home with me, put it on my GX8 body and headed to Zilker Park for a lone walk through the trees. I'm trying to be careful to always wear a mask now, even when outdoors and socially distancing because I do want to model ethical behavior for all those other people... But, damn! It's hotter walking in high heat and humidity with your mouth and nose covered. The sacrifices we make to test out new lenses... (being sarcastic as I know the mask is good and walking through the park, testing a lens is not an essential duty!). 

I like this lens very much. It focuses closer than I expected and once you find out the sweet spot for the aperture it's insanely sharp and contrasty. Wide open the center is sharp enough and and I don't care about the far edges and corners. F2.8 is the optimum setting for me. It's the point where the center section of the image becomes wildly sharp and contrasty while the far edges have become "good" to "excellent." If your image absolutely MUST be sharp across the frame then the best compromise is probably f5.6 which gives you slightly lower performance in the central quadrant but brings up the edge and corner sharpness and contrast firmly into the excellent zone. 

For walking around outside I stuck with f3.5 and found it a perfect combination of overall image quality bundled with enough depth of field for the kind of photographs I'd normally take with a lens with this angle of view. I presume that once you get past f8.0 you'll start seeing more and more sharpness robbing diffraction so I don't even bother to play around with the smaller apertures. 

While the lens is big on the GX8 it's not too heavy and doesn't feel like it's out of balance or overly weighted to the front. At $265 for a mint-y example I think it's a nice addition to my little collection of m4:3 cameras and lenses. I'm itching to try it for environmental portraits in lower light. Ah, the promise of the future.

I am impressed by just about every lens from Sigma's Contemporary and Art lines. This one is no different. In a pinch it's competent used wide open and, when you suss out its strengths, it's a very, very nice lens at smaller apertures (up to f5.6). I think I'll keep this one. 

Here are some "FIRST DAY SAMPLES!!!!!!!" More to come soon. 

I always thought a 50mm equivalent lens would be my favorite on a GX8 or G9 but I'm slowly (very slowly) coming around to the wider perspective. Curious to take a casual poll of VSL readers: What's your favorite single focal length for m4:3? Let me know in the comments. 

Have a great and non-dusty day. KT

The city of Austin is limiting attendance to the pools. At Barton Springs Pool you have to make an online reservation days in advance to sign up for a two hour slot during the day. When you arrive for your swim they do the public health questioning (have you been out of the country? Do you know if anyone in your household has tested positive? etc.) and they use a I.R. thermometer to take your temperature. You also need to wear a mask any time you are not in the water....

As a result, there's hardly anyone in the 1/8th mile long pool. 

The picnic table where I go to write notes in my little notebook. 

Sometimes the notes grow into blog posts. Sometimes into books, 

but mostly into pieces of scrap paper with which to wrap up used chewing

gum before tossing into the trash.

No health checks at the spillway just to the N.E. of the Barton Springs Pool. 

It's jammed with people, none of whom are masked...

Would you like a great overview of the m4:3 world? Michael Kohnhorst wrote one on his blog and it's a really good read. Lots of interesting context.

Here's the link: https://michaelkohnhorst.com/2020/06/28/micro-four-thirds/

Nice to tie all of the pieces together in one place.

We came for the Corona Virus. We stayed for the Saharan Dust Cloud. Some much fun in Austin right now....NOT.

The last of the blue skies for days....

That movie, "A Perfect Storm" seems to have had one of the most prescient titles. The whole point of the movie is about when everything goes wrong at once --- making everything worse. 

Austin, and Travis County are now among the four areas in the state of Texas that are experiencing explosive, near exponential increases in Covid-19 cases this week. Seems we opened up the bars and dens of iniquity way too early which sent a signal to everyone under 50 years old that we've entered the "ALL CLEAR" period of the pandemic which would allow them to sit inches away from each other, guzzling down White Claw and tequila while shouting in each other's faces to be heard over the loud music. Now they're all coming down with nasty symptoms and positive tests... So much for flattening the curve.

I think the "careful re-opening" was all a secret I.Q. test and I hope we get a prize for being in the group that kept our masks on outside our homes, made infrequent, quick and careful runs for groceries and spent the rest of the time either writing photo blogs or reading books. 

Of course, spending time at home or in my private and secluded office means more time to watch on the web as the U.S. economy continues to collapse and to listen to commentators discuss what might happen when all the unemployment money starts running out. Or when the evictions of renters will begin. Which can't be good for my mental health. 

So, on top of all this we're being visited by a giant, miles thick cloud of dust that's blown over from storms across the Saharan Desert. According to my local weather service we're experiencing very unhealthy air quality --- right now. The air quality index is normally 10 here in Austin. It's why we're usually outside running and swimming and taking deep breaths. Right now the air quality index stands at 166 and the advisories are warning people at risk of respiratory problems not to leave their homes, and for the rest of us to limit/curtail our outdoor activities. Bummer. 

The ominous cloud presence been here since yesterday (Friday the 26th) and should be hanging around tormenting us until past Wednesday. I probably won't go to swim practice tomorrow morning since I think the tiny particulates being sucked into my lungs will probably offset any aerobic benefit. Hoping by Tuesday that we have some relief...

The crappy (or good) thing about this particular hardship is that there is no one in government or on the other side of the political divide that can be blamed. Ah, the dust storm that united us...

I've got electrostatic filters and HEPA filters in the A/C system and I'm wearing a mask while I'm sitting here typing in my less rigorously pollution-controlled office. Can't remember if dust storms call for drinking more red wine or more white wine, or just defaulting to that bottle of Ben Milam Whiskey in the pantry...

One thing I've figured out though is that this is not the time to take a long stroll with an expensive and adored camera and lens. Dust is probably the second most pernicious thing for photo gear. I think I'll give all the optical stuff the week off and let them sit in their dust free storage areas. It's the least I can do for good gear. 

Reminds me of Biblical stories. Book of Job anyone?