Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

General discussion and anything that isn't covered by the other categories.
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby Mike Farley » Fri 20 May 2016, 09:58

An update about my purchase of this lens. Having thought about it and looking again at the sample images, I found that I was still enjoying the results and let my contribution to the Kickstarter project stand. I have ordered mine with the brass finish, which is both cheaper and feels more appropriate to the ethos of the original lens on which it is based than the black version. Originally, the cheapest option I could obtain was $400 for September delivery, but I was fortunate enough to find subsequently a vacated slot at $350 with the lens due in November. It is now available for pre-order with availablity in January 2017 at its full retail price of £399 (£479 for the black finish). Together with the various stretch rewards added during the Kickstarter campaign, that represents a significant saving.

Of course, there is a risk that the lens could turn out to be a white elephant. With manual focussing and Waterhouse stops, it will not be the straightforward to use and I will probably end up only making the occasional image with it. On the other hand, it also intrigues me as an object in its own right so either way I hope to get something from it. If all else fails, there is always the For Sale section on this forum or eBay.

I'll add to this post once the lens is in my possession and will be happy let let people try it if anyone is interested.

http://shop.lomography.com/en/lenses/da ... t-art-lens
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby Mike Farley » Thu 22 Sep 2016, 15:30

Good news. I had paid for a November delivery, but Lomography is ahead of its production schedule and I have just been notified that the lens is on its way.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby Mike Farley » Tue 27 Sep 2016, 09:52

The lens arrived late yesterday and initial impressions are positive. It seems to be a good recreation in the spirit of a lens dating from the very earliest days of photography, around the time Queen Victoria ascended to the throne. It even comes with a leather pouch which looks like something which could have been made during that period. The pouch is one of the various free extras added as a stretch incentive once the initial funding target had been reached. The lens is well made with a brass barrel is and fairly large, making it quite heavy compared to a contemporary design constructed from more modern materials. Of course, the EF mount and the inscriptions "Lomography Art Lense" and "Handcrafted in Central China" are not authentic, but it was never intended to be an exact reproduction of a vintage lens.

Those backing the Kickstarter campaign had the option to pay a substantial premium to get one of the first lenses with a low serial number. The lens I received does not have a number engraved and the only indication of its sequence in the manufacturing process is a "Certificate of Quality" with a handwritten number, which I cannot quite decipher. I appear to have lens 000001051* and it really does have all those leading zeroes, although I doubt that more than a few thousand will ever be made. I am not sure that I would have been entirely happy with that arrangement had I opted for a low number, although not many people appear to have taken it up.

Now to get it on a camera.

* The lens is available in three mounts, Canon EF, Nikon F and Pentax K, each with its own series of numbers.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby Mike Farley » Tue 27 Sep 2016, 15:08

The weather is not really doing me any favours, but I have done some quick tests of the lens. First off, it is tricky to focus accurately as wide open it is inherently soft, which makes judging the point of optimum focus something of a tricky task. Without any adapters for other cameras, I can only try it on my Canon 7D which means I really need live view for focussing, which is not as convenient as an EVF when handholding. The 7D's crop factor also results in not being able to test performance at the edges, although it is apparent that resolution drops off away from the centre of the image. It helps to focus if the lens is stopped down a bit as that improves resolution. The f/5.6 Waterhouse stop, inserted into a slot on the barrel of the lens, worked best.

Wide open gives very dreamy results and a further test I am planning is to see what happens with an infrared camera, but for that I'll wait for the sun to make an appearance.

The shots below show the lens set wide open at f/2.9, followed by f/4 and f/5.6 respectively. Focus was on the Rowan berries at bottom left and the camera was on a tripod. Much as I would have liked a subject with a bit more aesthetic merit, these shots do give a good indication of the way the lens performs including out of focus areas. By f/5.6 it is becoming quite sharp, but I think I prefer the dreamy effect when it is at maximum aperture.

Daguerreotype test (1 of 6).jpg
Daguerreotype Achromat, f/2.9
Daguerreotype test (1 of 6).jpg (108.38 KiB) Viewed 2865 times


Daguerreotype test (2 of 6).jpg
Daguerreotype Achromat, f/4
Daguerreotype test (2 of 6).jpg (105.65 KiB) Viewed 2865 times


Daguerreotype test (3 of 6).jpg
Daguerreotype Achromat, f/5.6
Daguerreotype test (3 of 6).jpg (139.32 KiB) Viewed 2865 times
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby Mike Farley » Tue 27 Sep 2016, 15:12

The same scene as in the previous post, this time with the f/8, f/11 and f/16 Waterhouse stops respectively.
Attachments
Daguerreotype test (5 of 6).jpg
Daguerreotype Achromat, f/8
Daguerreotype test (5 of 6).jpg (133.61 KiB) Viewed 2865 times
Daguerreotype test (4 of 6).jpg
Daguerreotype Achromat, f/11
Daguerreotype test (4 of 6).jpg (127.88 KiB) Viewed 2865 times
Daguerreotype test (6 of 6).jpg
Daguerreotype Achromat, f/16
Daguerreotype test (6 of 6).jpg (136.86 KiB) Viewed 2865 times
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby Mike Farley » Tue 27 Sep 2016, 15:49

Around 170 years in the development of photography equipment lies between the lens and the camera to which it is attached.

The Daguerreotype Achromat is available in a choice of two finishes. I opted for brass rather than black lacquer as that seemed more in keeping with the concept of the original.

Daguerreotype lens on camera (1 of 1).jpg
Daguerreotype Achromat lens on Canon 7D camera
Daguerreotype lens on camera (1 of 1).jpg (134.99 KiB) Viewed 2865 times


The next shot shows the lens with a Waterhouse stop inserted. It would be a while before lens design incorporated a variable diaphragm to control aperture.

Daguerreotype lens on camera and Waterhouse stop (2 of 2).jpg
Daguerreotype Achromat lens with Waterhouse stop inserted
Daguerreotype lens on camera and Waterhouse stop (2 of 2).jpg (133.31 KiB) Viewed 2865 times
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
User avatar
davidc
Posts: 2410
Joined: Wed 12 Sep 2012, 11:27
Location: location, location.
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby davidc » Tue 27 Sep 2016, 16:14

Interesting and thanks for sharing! Looking forward to your first image entered into a competition ;)
Check out my website - davidcandlish.photography
My Top 50 album is here
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby Mike Farley » Tue 27 Sep 2016, 18:01

davidc wrote:Interesting and thanks for sharing! Looking forward to your first image entered into a competition ;)

Always happy to share. Not certain about producing competition images, though. Too much scope for a judge to dismiss a shot for not being sharp.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
User avatar
davidc
Posts: 2410
Joined: Wed 12 Sep 2012, 11:27
Location: location, location.
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby davidc » Thu 29 Sep 2016, 09:39

You're going to love what I have planned for future seasons then... :)
Seriously, I'd just enter them! I now enter images because I know if they get negative feedback then it's probably achieving the effect I'm looking for :)
Check out my website - davidcandlish.photography
My Top 50 album is here
Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Daguerreotype Achromat Lens

Postby Mike Farley » Fri 30 Sep 2016, 20:54

davidc wrote:Seriously, I'd just enter them!

First I need to produce something that is worth putting into a competition.

I have just ordered a couple of adapters which will allow me to mount the lens onto mirrorless cameras, one of which is full frame and will allow me to see true nature of the lens; performance.
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)

Return to “General”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest