After all of Smeagol's (and others') praise of certain old Russian lenses, I went and bought myself a Mir-1 37mm f/2.8. It's a really slow lens to operate, but it has a really nice aesthetic, and is really good for certain applications. I don't think I'll ever use another lens to take pictures of flowers (because those are so interesting ). It renders greens and warm colors really nicely, but struggles a bit with blues and other cool colors, and flares massively into the sun. Despite these fairly significant flaws, as a specialty art lens, it works wonders for the $50 I paid.

I really want to try using it for portraiture, I've seen some great success with it online, and I can't wait to pair it with some extension tubes, the bokeh this thing makes should produce some stellar macro shots. 10 rounded aperture blades is usually something you have to pay huge money for. Seriously guys, after spending a few hours with it, I can say that buying one of these things is totally worth it. They're cheap, fun to use, and in the right situations are definitely capable of producing some stellar images. No good for brickfilming though, the minimum focusing distance is absurdly long (0.7m).

Last edited by backyardlegos (November 15, 2014 (12:51am))

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I can imagine. I have the Helios 44-2 58mm lens, and it is a lot easier. But with a 37mm, that's got to be impossible. Maybe extension tubes will help you.

I agree. I tried taking family portraits last summer with an autofocus lens, and it would focus on the eyes like it was supposed to, so my family pictures didn't come out well. Though, it is very hard go focus things with a manual, unless you have the hang of it. The results of manual focus, are extremely rewarding if you can get your subjects from getting tired of standing in front of the camera while you focus.

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"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Thanks for the advice.  If I understand correctly you can put a piece of paper with the desired shape of hole in between the lens and camera body to get that effect?

"Talking with a Deputy."
Took some photographs for the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department. This was one of them.

Nice

Wow, you went to Pripyat! Probably number two on my bucket list of places to visit, though I wonder if it lives up to that in person haha

really liked the last one. overall, nice pix

Thanks!

Ah yeah, I see what you mean--glad you pointed it out.  I do have GIMP so I can easily correct that (I think you can even edit that in Windows Photo Viewer).  It was basically my first time using a DSLR for anything other than Brickfilming, and I think I'm generally unused to the weight and size of such a camera. Good to know for future reference, I'll definitely keep this in mind when shooting on the street (or wherever) again.  I'm glad you like the composition; it was the main thing I wanted to accomplish--I was mainly interested to see how the subject filled the frame (plus just generally getting to know my camera better and gaining experience; I've been told that if one has an interest in cinematography they should definitely pursue photography as they're basically the same in many respects).

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, this is probably my personal favourite, composition-wise:

Last edited by Mr Vertigo (December 13, 2014 (05:15pm))

@Gentrystudios
Love the second one of the birds. The whole composition works great. The first one is also good, but apart from the intriguing bird with the black eye there's not much else going on.
A few from me now:

13/12/14, 12:09 by AnimationIsaac, on Flickr

05/12/2014 14:55 by AnimationIsaac, on Flickr

13/12/14 10:59 by AnimationIsaac, on Flickr

Dog in a Bike Lock by AnimationIsaac, on Flickr

Last edited by animationIsaac (January 6, 2015 (02:28am))

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