Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/01/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks, Alan. Interesting. Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Magayne-Roshak" <amr3 at uwm.edu> To: "lug" <lug at leica-users.org> Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 9:54 PM Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: My Ross Lens Project > On Mon, 3 Jan 2011 "Jim Nichols" <jhnichols at lighttube.net>wrote: > >>Beauiful portrait. Facial details appear quite sharp, but the highlights >>in >>the eyes seem to be blurred. Is this because of the lighting setup that >>you >>used? > ================================================================================================= > It's the lens. > > The Verito, the Thambar, the Struss Pictorial, the Aldis Lens, the Speed > Panchro*, and others are all diffused focus portrait lenses that use under > corrected spherical aberration to produce a sharp image overlaid with a > soft glow. If you could see my print, you'd be able to see that all the > strands of hair show this feature. On my Verito, stopping down decreases > the diffusion; f/4 gives (for me) too much, f/16 - on is too sharp, but > f/11 is just the right blend of sharp/soft. With my invented "VElmar" - > the 1931 13.5 cm f/4.5 Elmar that I modified to be like a Thambar, the > best stop is around f/5.6 or f/6.3. > > <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/Portraits/Glamour05_Velmar_AMR.jpg.html> > > *Check out old Hollywood films from the 1930's - many are shot with this > lens at about f/2 or f/2.3. Specular out of focus highlights have a white > dot surrounded by a slightly less intense circle of light. I love this > look. I got this information from one of my favorite books, "Film Style > and Technology" by Barry Salt. He discusses cameras, lenses, lighting, > etc. decade by decade. > > Probably more than you wanted to read. ;~) > > Alan > > Alan Magayne-Roshak, Senior Photographer > UPAA POY 1978 > University Information Technology Services > University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee > amr3 at uwm.edu > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/ > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >