But wait! More sky fun

After a foot of rain this past week from two skyrivers, another awaits! 

Today and tomorrow are almost dry - but by Monday afternoon another arrow of tropical punch has the PacNW in its sights. It appears to slide south sooner (map of tue at 4pm), which would be a great relief to Washington. Still a bit early to say.. though last week's modeling was very good! 

Monday will be wet in any case. Our forecast is for 4" by Thursday. Ug. If the moisture sags south, we get to be on the cool side, meaning the snow that departed last week will start to rebuild. That would be good news!

A good day's work

My EF-mount lens collection has brought me useful information as to L-mount adaptations. 

Today brought a second copy of the Canon 70-210usm (3.5-4.5). That was necessary because the first copy is wildly off with autofocus; it successfully meshes with my S⁵ for passing focal length and aperture but I have other good options for manual focus. 

The second copy was similarly cheap to the first, but for a different reason: a cloudy front element. It was described as dust, but I feared fungus. I figured I could swap that front element with copy #1. Thing 2 arrived today and focused correctly, so after testing I prepared the operating/dining table for surgery. 

I have definitely performed my share of such, including a Pentax body with a bad shutter solenoid. I'd improved a few lenses also, but nothing major - so in I went!

• I was pleased to find just six screws in my way: 3 to detach the lens' nose and 3 to pull the lens group from its housing. 
• I was even more pleased to find it was dust not fungus scattering the light!

Several minutes of soft cloth, cleaner and squeeze bulb cleaned the front group front and back plus the front of the next group. It would take a lot more work to break into other lens elements, but they appeared less in need of intervention. 

In less than an hour I had a clean and sharp 70-210mm lens!

And I mean that. Its images looks better even wide open at 210mm than the 100-300usm at 200mm (and ½ stop faster). It might win against the Pentax 135/3.5 + 200/4 primes since it can AF (but AF-s only) and max aperture is similar to both. It definitely outpoints the all-manual Minolta 100-200/4.5 and the massive K-mount 80-200/3.5, so many spares in my kit can depart. 

Plus I still have 70-210 copy #1.. but no clue as to fixing its focus issue. That now becomes Somebody Else's Problem, as Douglas Adams once said. 

This compact yet speedy 70-210mm lens is A Big Deal because an L-mount lens of this sort is still does not exist! And that sucks!! Yes, fixed-aperture 70-200s and a vari-ap 70-300 do exist - but not at 660 grams or under $750. 

At some point they will exist, and I shall rejoice! But until then, the EF lenses will serve me well -- and give me the patience to wait! :√)

The next skyriver is on the doorstep

Another solid round of rain is coming soon. The last one dropped nearly 4" at Thanksgiving, and this adds up mighty close to that. It's still a couple of days away so the final location of the heavy rain will shift at least once, but an inch or two appears guaranteed!

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Update - quantities are a bit higher than before, and Monday 12/8 is in play for a deluge. The table below shows WxUnderground 10-day forecasts at Longview for the last three days. 

We're a few hundred feet higher so it's quite possible our total will be higher! As of 11:30 on the 5th we have 1.61" for 4+5 December. That's nearly an inch above these forecasts.

Another update - it's bigger! It's TWO rivers, in fact!!

Update 3? Massive regional rains. The Skagit will break all recorded records tomorrow, all west-side WA rivers are full. Even the Yakima, thanks to the 8k freezing levels. Had snowpack been decent,  circumstances would be much worse. Ski Bowl and Timberline snow is gone.

Here are our local values for the past 8 days: over a foot!

 

EF first (and 2nd) tests

 I'm satisfied by my initial tests with the Viltrox EF-L adapter and Canon 100-300/4.5-5.6 USM lens.

Tests show nice color contrast and sharpness, and - so it's a typical sample that verifies what reviewers have said. It focuses at a decent pace but definitely not to L-native standards - but that's OK for now, and better than my no-AF adaptations of Minolta AF, Sigma SA and Pentax K lenses. Manual override is straightforward, and the S5 internal stabilization provides four stops with acceptable results (1/10s at 200mm is consistently decent, 1/8 or less would be a crapshoot). Focus is sufficiently silent if somewhat pokey, and AFc is not available at the USM grade - I'd have to check online to see if newer, higher-grade lenses can manage it. Weight isn't an issue for me, which is quite nice and sadly rare for L-mount telephoto lenses at any price. The new Sigma 20-200 and Lumix 28-200 lenses are lighter, but both stop at 200mm and are slower than this lens!

Viltrox EF-L adapter summary: 

• Viltrox EF-L (first edition, not Pro)
• adapter weight is 134 grams
• AFc is not available with USM sample lens
• camera screen shows "use AF-S" when set to AFc
• O-A switch - needs to be A with 100-300!

Canon EF 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 USM summary:

• Tests show nice color, contrast and sharpness (noted in reviews)
•  some chromatism away from center at longer focal lengths (also noted)
• manual override is straightforward - just rotate ring at base of lens
• 640 grams with adapter; weight is very nice
• no IS within, but S5 internal stabilization provides four stops
• f/4 only to about 120mm but f/5 to 180mm!

Curious bonus coverage!!

The lens does not focus accurately with my polarizing filter! It took me a dozen shots or so to remember that I'd put the filter on (a K&F nano cPL). It wasn't just shake either, as the first shots were outdoors. Focus didn't look right in the viewfinder, nor could I get a sharp image with manual focus. Once the filter was removed I felt a bunch better about what was happening. 

Still.. what's going on, we wonders?

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More news!

A poorly-focusing copy of the EF 70-210/3.5-4.5 is coming. Possibly its problem is front or back focusing on a dSLR, and it will do fine with the S5 contrast detect AF - but possibly not. In any case, I picked it up for a great price! Another experiment is also coming: a 28-300mm Tamron with VC stabilizer. This would be quite wonderful if it can work without issues, but it can be returned after a thorough exploration. It takes the same filters as the 20-60 and could be great or not-so; we shall see!

Update: the 70-210 has arrived, and it's all true. AF is fast - and wrong! It's backfocusing by a large amount, even with the supposedly more exact contrast AF of the S5. Weird! Early tests at 200mm ± show it doing well for overall IQ wide open f/5 vs the 100-300 at 5.6. I'll do some research on the back focusing; could shims help it out?

damp turkeys this year

 

An inch today, 3/4" tomorrow. Less but still more coming on Thursday. 

Casual football will be messy around here!

11:30am = 0.01" - - - - 6:30pm = 0.90"

retooling

 After many thoughts in several directions, my kit is settling into place.

I had promised that if the S5 system didn't work sufficiently well enough I'd consider retooling the micro43 kit instead. Looking that over it doesn't make enough sense, as used S5 and eM1.2 or .3 is nearly a price match now - so I gave myself a week off, and considered other kit mutations.

Once I settled on the Lumix-S as my best choice, I evaluated my sorry lack of AF telephoto. It's clear that SA to L adaptation is not of value. So what about EF lenses using the Viltrox EF-L adapter? It's  cheaper than the Sigma SA-L, and much less than Sigma's EF-L option - so we're giving it a try. 

Reviews suggest that 3rd party EF is less consistent with adapters from all brands, so the reverse-zoom Canon options were explored - well those in my miniscule budget zone at least. Too bad, as the Tamron 28-300 vc would be handy and it zooms the "correct" direction!

Of course I'm also wishing to keep weight down also! The table below (almost) sorts some options by grams, with adapter included. The bulk factor eliminates a few - but many more are in play with EF. Canon actually made a 36x24 compatible 55-200mm.. bummer that it's old and reviewed rather poorly. They have a couple of 70-300 types, and an early 70-210/4 with push-pull zoom. Wow: Tamron has a modern 70-210.. but ugh 990g when adapter is added, nearly 300g heavier than the Canon.

I finally decided on a bargain 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 with USM drive but no IS. The S5 can stabilize it internally,  so hopefully that will serve. That 70-210 might catch me yet though* - it's closer to my S5 dream lens (a 50-200ish telezoom that's faster than f/5.6 at max FL). 

Also, the 100-300 leaves a sizable kit gap from 60-100mm; that isn't ideal. The vivitar 70-150/3.8 is a good manual option, and I expect a Meike 85mm or TTArt 75mm will plug the gap at some point. Or maybe that Pentax 85/2 that I own will resurface! 😃 

But another option would also serve: the EF 28-105 usm is small and light, faster than many at f/3.5-4.5, and it takes the same 58mm filters as the 100-300. And it's quite cheap! So I dumped most of the SA mount lenses and adapter to a reseller for a copy of the 28-105. 

The Lumix 20-60 will serve me well much of the time, and the two Canons can fight over the long end of my focal-length needs. For now.

I did search for the 75/85 primes online but didn't see any deals.. but of course Winter is Coming! No red wedding, but a black friday might be nice.

However..
I did stumble upon an open-box Meike 35/2 in L mount, for $50 off! The TTArtisan 40/2 was nice and tiny, but the Meike has a moisture gasket; that isn't proof of much, but feels comforting. I won't test it much in bad weather though: that's the 20-60's place to shine! For clear nights and other low light, though, a fast 35 will be great.

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* an EF 70-210/3.5-4.5 usm has turned up: that's news to me! The f/4 push-pull model is a bit lighter but has no USM motor, so this sounds appealing. A pinch heavier than the 100-300, but a smidge more capable when lights are low. We'll consider this option once the previous announcements have arrived and given their chance to impress. It definitely gets added to the wish-list and threatens the 100-300! After all, I have a 300/5.6 mirror lens when long shots are important. And with that I get free donuts! :^)
Also, I see the TTArtisan 75/2 is $50 down for the holiday. Must hold for a bit though.. and/or offer a few swaps?

A few too many

options! But how to choose 

which telezoom to carry??  

What I'd like is an L mount answer to this question. Sadly the two listed below are not available on my current budget. Plus they are heavy - not by current standards, but definitely so compared to most of my other acquisitions shown here!

So for mow I can choose from the manual-focus options below. 

Ideally I'd prefer to get to 200mm and brighter than f/5.6, which suggests the pleasantly light 100-200mm .. but its minimum focus is quite disappointing* . I also have that Focal 80-200, which is nearly a stop faster - but it makes modern lenses seem light!

The most convenient are the SA mount 70-300 and 28-300 lenses as they share focal length and aperture data with the camera.

So we then move to the other options. The relatively light 100-300 is f/5.6 at 200mm, as is the more versatile 35-200mm with its nice range & close focus. The 28-300mm uses the same filters as the 20-60mm, but it's bulky and uses the reverse zoom direction from the rest of my collection. 

The vivitar 70-150 f/3.8 is light and fast, and it doesn't leave the gap that the 100-x00 lenses create. But of course this stops 50mm short on the long end! But I do have the 1.5x multiplier - but then the lens becomes 105-225mm f/5.3 and the 60-100mm gap returns. Taking off and putting on the multiplier fixes the gap but is twice the work of swapping a single lens, so that's a new problem. So this option has a few too many 'but's.. but when I want a little tele in low light, it's the right choice!

So each lens has its good and difficult points. 

Clearly that means I have everything covered! 😉

* I do have a Minolta 50/2.8 macro for when that's a problem!