Decision made and things suddenly move quite quickly.
After realizing the pixie-level magic that's hidden in old manual focus Nikkors did not suit my photographic style, and after deciding which of my vast hord of Nikon lenses are less loved than they should be, I started posting items for sale.
In similar time I've been wrangling over which AF lenses to purchase. I'm thinking of three lenses at most. One each super-wide, wide, and normal lenses. Out go 12 Nikkors (I'll be keeping 4 "just in case this doesn't work out the way I think it will" kind of lenses) and in come three new tools.
Sinar F, 90mm Schneider Super-Angulon f/5.6
My garage with a dismantled Jaguar XK150FHC.
Check out that old Mobile florescent light on the wall.
Now that I live in an apartment in France I find
I miss having a workspace like a garage. Just
to do things in, you know what I mean?
Sony A7 images "feel" a lot like 4x5 view film camera work to me. The image quality of the digital cameras have a clarity to them that I couldn't get with any film format smaller than 4x5 inches.
If my A7's are modern large format film camera equivalents, then perhaps I could think of which lenses I used most when I shot film? Back in the day I used various 90mm super wide angle, 135mm wide angle, and one 210mm slightly longer than "normal" lenses.
On a giggle and a lark, well, no, more seriously than that basic research, I went to a site where one can compare depth of field between lenses and formats. When I typed in 90mm and 4x5 inch format I saw that the full frame digital equivalent is 24mm. Huh. Isn't that interesting. I _love_ that focal length in FF digital, just as I did 90mm in LF work.
When I typed in 135mm when selecting 4x5inch film format the FF digital equivalent is 35mm. Well. Well. Well. That too is very useful.
Sinar F, 135mm Tessar formula f/5.6
I loved this bike. It was only 500cc, but
oh how she was a sweet ride. I got her
from David Dicks who was in the mid-west
at the time. I had her several years before
passing her on to a friend, who then, in turn
passed her along to another/mutual friend.
Then I typed in 65mm and selected 1x full frame digital. Why this switch in using the tool? Well, I'd found a sweet looking little (or perhaps not so little) Sigma 65mm f/2 I lens for Sony and I hoped that it would turn out to be 210mm equivalent large format film. I wanted to justify buying the Sigma. Except, it wasn't the equivalent focal length I thought it was.
65mm FF digital works out to be 240mm on 4x5. Nope. That's a deal breaker for me. I never ever was in all my years of shooting film able to warm up to 30mm's difference on 4x5. OK, sure, 240mm was wonderful on 5x7, but the reason should be obvious as to why that would be.
Speed Graphic, 210mm Schneider Symmar-S/MC f/5.6
Hillsboro airshow and SU27 aircraft. It was the
first time Russian material was allowed/escorted
into US airspace. I can't believe I still have
the negatives from this event. Gads! that was
a long time ago...
So which FF digital focal length matched my much loved 210mm Schneider Symmar S/MC f/5.6 that I used for nearly three decades? Tappity tap tap tap... and the answer is - 55mm.
Well, would you look at that, will you? Doesn't Sony make a 55mm f/1.8 FE that comes with a cute little Zeiss badge on it?
Wheels are turning. I tell you. Wheels are turning.
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