A few MC-21 tests

The Sigma SA->L adapter has arrived! 

I already have three lenses to try with it: 28-300 asph IF, 70-300 non Apo and 70-300 Apo DG. 

The 28-300 does not focus.. it's probably too old and Sigma won't guarantee it. Both 70-300s work all right, but step into focus slowly in poor light or at the f/5.6 max aperture. Neither will focus in AF-C, which I knew in advance.

Both the 70-300s appear to slightly back focus, so adjustments might be tried. Since I'm using DFD contrast AF, that seems odd. Once the USB dock for Sigma lenses is here, I can try to bring these lenses to a higher level of functionality. Or not.

spare bits

 I did some small-time shopping today and picked up some spare parts.

Two adapters for micro-43, one for SA lenses and one for Maxxum. The SA does not appear to allow for aperture control, so its value might not be worth much; on the other hand, it didn't cost much! The mAF adapter also doesn't have much value, especially since I have only one Maxxum lens - but again, really cheap and it's the 100-200 f/4.5 lens. 

What makes that one worthy of interest? Well it's essentially the same size and weight as the Lumix 14-140 but faster at f/4.5 all the way through the range! (The adapter adds bulk, but it's still pretty small.) On days where the 70-300 4Thirds lens is a bit much, this little thing could be fun. It's not stabilized.. but that's also true of the 70-300.

L:14-140 and 100-200, (adapter below). -- R: 100-200 and Zuiko Digital 70-300.

A few S5 night tests

Why have a great camera on one's shelf when Aurora is showing off and a bright comet is doing its thing? 

I've picked up a G100 μ43 body since it also uses the Lumix Sync app to download images. It does a fine job and I'm more familiar with its workings. The S5 is similar in its Lumix-ness but massively more complex, and I haven't read every corner of the user manual yet. Still, I often learn the hard way - so off I went into the darkness to shoot the sky. 

Early images were uninspired but a bank of higher clouds left around midnight PDT on 10/11th October - and things got interesting in a hurry! I test-drove many ISO and shutter options with the 20-60mm zoom at 20mm f/3.5, and captured plenty of red and green glow in the wide field. I switched to my Pentax 28/2.8 for a while but skies were bright enough for f3.5 so the zoom got most of the action. I even tried a few videos which haven't been reviewed yet(!).

 Jpeg and Raw images compared 

Then I remembered time lapse. I'd wanted to try that in May's auroral storm but 1230am isn't my sharpest for memory. I set up about 100 shots with 10 seconds between them and off it went. Now and then I adjusted the shutter speed as the glow pulsed. When finished it asked if I wanted a video, Yes I Do!! I chose 3fps so it lasts about 33 seconds, and it's excellent!

Not bad for guessing at some features that I didn't fully know how to work yet.

Ten days later I was out seeking comet Tsuchinshan/Atlas as it receded from the neighborhood. I'd seen it a few days prior, but the G100 took that job. It did nice work, but again: why not use the Max camera for these few faint photons? 

Skies were again striped with high clouds, but after 15min things improved. I took many nice shots (oops, jpeg only!) as it dropped near the trees. The clouds returned after 20 minutes of decent clarity, so we returned home. I only brought the DA70 lens since it's bright at f/2.4.. but for a second time I missed my 85/2 lens for a night of sky records. It's around here someplace!!

A few preliminary tests

 While assembling a bare-bones S5 team, I did a few indoor tests to check on adapted lens image quality and ImgStab usefulness. I shot a calendar and some labeled jars. First shots with the Minolta 100-200 were sharp and contrast was great, and the Rikenon 70-150 had a few blurs before I became more serious about posture and technique. At that point images were quite similar to the 100-200 for color and clarity. 

Today I shot a spider-web under construction on our porch. The 20-60mm can reach 0.4x closeup images, but I stayed further back to keep the spider from worrying. Those came out nicely too, and had much more light to work with. 

I went to town at midday and tried out the fall colors at our city-central lake. It's too early for pervasive fall color but it's getting underway! I've set the S5 on 4:3 so the 21.5Mpx images were framed best around 35mm. I shot at both extremes to get a feel for the lens' great range; it's really impressive to get the lake and the entirety of the coloring tree just to its left! In landscape mode!! 

As to the camera? It feels like my old K5 reborn as a mirrorless, which is very comfortable. The heft and grip, and the upper left playback button, feel familiar. Exposure and color are about what I recall from my Pentax era. When I finally try some video, I'm sure to notice I am not in Pentax-land any more!

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The following day I wandered about with the Pentax DA40 xs attached. It was fun -- but I did shoot two black images, both times just after powering up the camera. I'll need to watch for more of those! I already deleted them, so I can't check the EXIF to see whether any particular parameter was out of whack.. oops.

kit adjustments

After an evening of failed connections between my GX7 and its Lumix phone app, I tried the Lumix Sync app. The S5 uses that, but the GX7 cannot; only the G9 and G100 can manage that since it accesses bluetooth to facilitate connection.  That sucks!

So once again I shall let the GX7 depart, and likely find a g100. Much as I've enjoyed that camera over the years, the few frustrations aren't worth the bonus hassles.

With the G100 I lose about fifty shots per charge* from the GX7, the tilt screen and inbuilt IStab :^(  - but I do gain a few things:

• the new and improved 20Mpx sensor
• 4k imaging /video features
• a higher-resolution viewfinder
• in-body charging via USB, and 
• my spare battery will still work!

Wish it came in silver though!

* probably better battery life with rear screen than with hi-res evf..

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Almost simultaneously, I found a deal on a curiously rare lens. Sigma made thousands of 70-300mm Apo zoom lenses over the decades, but finding a red-ring DG Apo in their own SA mount was tough! This Apo lens will not be a featherweight by any means (550g plus adapter weight), but it should do the job for now. Oh yes, I found a discounted MC-21 SA->L adapter also. Wow, over 200 grams?! 😕

Inevitably someone will introduce a small and light 50-200ish L-mount lens. I've no evidence for this, but it's a rather big lineup gap that some company will fill and make easy money. Every company made 70-210s and 80-200s in the film days (even more than 70-300s!) though the formulae  need to be tweaked to work with mirrorless cams' reduced lens-to-sensor distances.

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Another update. A lightly fogged Sigma DG Macro 28-300/4-6.3 was available for cheap, so I shall give it a try. It won't compare with the Lumix-S model - but using it as a 28-200 proxy will lead to less issues and better light gathering. It is also an SA-mount lens. The choice is between a sub-$100 superzoom or none at all, as I cannot afford the Lumix-S any time soon.. so something may beat nothing, but if not I'm out very little!