GAS GAS: Please Share your Latest Acquisitions Big and Small

Oh hell, here I go again .....
BNIB OM-1 Mk II (<$1725 to my door!)
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Bought a secondhand Asus UX325E with a 13,3" OLED display, a I-7th 11th gen and 16GB ram, and a 512 SSD as a back-up/stop-gap for the creaking Dell, that I use for everything including post work.

Got around to pick up a Satechi USB hub for it today so will give it a proper swing over the next weeks. The picture hoard is backed up on several external HDs and I am currently trying to get to grips with a few technicalities and I will probably get a larger internal SSD as well as a external ditto and see how it fares for daily use as well as on the go stuff. Its tiny and weights about the same as a tablet with a keyboard cover, but offers a familiar OS and known workflow.

Pics may be added.
 
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After a very long and scary wait it has finally arrived, my second Samsung NX500 in black and silver. To my surprise it is in pristine condition with no scratch on it.

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Sorry for the bad quality pictures, it's very late and I don't have the energy to set up better lights.

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At some point down the line, probably next spring, i will convert the white NX500 to 820nm Infrared.

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I am not very enthusiastic how it looks with my blue half leather case, now the camera has blue, black silver and white in the mix (white lenses) and it looks to much. I have to get another half leather case anyways so might as well get a black one. I don't want to ruine the fragile leatherette on the black one like it happened to the white one.

So I paid 360 £ for the mint NX500 plus an unexpected 75 £ customs tax but at least it came with the tinitiny SEF-8a flash, a spare OEM battery and a USB charger (I've been charging my white one in camera) for a total of about 60 £.
 
Took my newly acquired OM System 150-600 f5-6.3 IS out for it's first spin to a local bird sanctuary. First time using it, and first time in a long time photographing birds and trying to get BIFs. Used it both on a monopod and handheld. Will take some doing to get used to the size and weight. Here's a sample photo, taken handheld. Didn't get hardly any BIF photos. Way out of practice.

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OM Digital Solutions OM-1
OM 150-600mm F5.0-6.3
ƒ6.3 600.0 mm 1/1250 ISO1250
 
Holoholo33 said:
Took my newly acquired OM System 150-600 f5-6.3 IS out for it's first spin to a local bird sanctuary. First time using it, and first time in a long time photographing birds and trying to get BIFs. Used it both on a monopod and handheld. Will take some doing to get used to the size and weight. Here's a sample photo, taken handheld. Didn't get hardly any BIF photos. Way out of practice.

View attachment 543292

OM Digital Solutions OM-1
OM 150-600mm F5.0-6.3
ƒ6.3 600.0 mm 1/1250 ISO1250
Click to expand...
Congratulations. Looks really good. Thats a lens i am curious about but I am worried about the weight with my nad shoulders and hand tremors.
 
Uh-huh, so I did it. I was hoping to get away using my F-mount 24-120 with adaptor on my Z6ii, but there is a
very good Easter Special Nikon offer on at the moment and after watching several YT's and asking around, I
was persuaded that the Z mount 24-120 was a 'better all round new design' and I finally got it yesterday, after
placing the order last week Wednesday. Apparently they are selling out like hot cakes in the anticipation that
all camera gear will inevitably go up in price due to all the newly imposed customs and taxes

So far I'm having fun - I could only try it under very low light conditions due to the time I fetched it from the shop

The image below was taken at 18:47pm last night - sunset currently is at 18:23 (it's autumn here) - last rays of daylight
(This is my usual new lens test pic - taken from off our balcony)

NZ6_7733 Testing Z 24-120.jpg
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It Begins!
My slippery slope back into M43.
Just snapped up a great deal on a Panasonic G100 kit... Yeah I've had one before.... And didn't Gel... But that's because I was using the big - ish lenses.. This time I vow to stick to the 12-32 and Nifty-fifty... Got to be a slight step up from the nikon V1 Right???
 
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Got the lens (Viltrox 50mm f/2) yesterday. Here, the Zfc with Viltrox 35mm f/1.7 looks down on its bigger sibling, the Zf, with the new lens mounted - to show how similar the lenses actually are in appearance; if you didn't know that the 50mm is ever so slightly bigger, you wouldn't notice; the most apparent difference is the shape of the hood. The two lenses don't have the same filter size, though.

A few quirks up front: Mine came with "0.F0" (0.15 or 0.150?) firmware instead of the "1.01" mentioned in the manual - as of yet, no update available on the Viltrox website; we'll see how that goes ... FWIW, my other two Viltrox lenses have both received worthwhile updates and were easy to update thanks to the USB-C port.

Currently, the AF is somewhat capricious - sometimes pretty fast, sometimes unsure of itself, sometimes (rarely) slowing down to a crawl (power recylce fixed that). My impression is that it's actually getting better with use, but it's also possible the bugs only show themselves occasionally - so, with more usage, odd moments simply become rarer.

Optical niggles: None - maybe except for the slightly long MFD of 0.5m (as reported by the camera - it says 0.51m on the lens). This lens is sharp and renders pretty nicely - not quite as sharp as the magnificent Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S, but it's half the weight and two-thirds of the size (including the hood in both cases). It feels right at home on the Zf - much preferrable in that respect to the mighty Nikon lens.

Pending the firmware and AF situation (which, in fairness, aren't that big a deal because things work reasonably well already), this might become one of my favourite lens for the Zf: good optics, small size, AF (better at least than the Z 26mm f/2.8, though that's not saying much). It's smaller than both my small-ish and very rewarding Voigtländer primes (the 40mm f/1.2 and 28mm f/1.5 for Z mount) while, again, offering AF and competitive optics.

It also doubles as a 75mm-e equivalent on the Zfc, and with its 20mm f/2.8 stablemate, it makes for a compact travel combo with pleasing performance (though the 20mm isn't quite the equal of the 50mm in terms of optics, mostly because of visible moustache distortion that lens corrections won't fix - but its size and pleasing rendering mostly make up for that).

I like such lenses - a lot. It's early days, of course, but all in all, given the results, I'm happy.

M.
 
I have been looking for a filter holder for the Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Shift for a while but there are very few options, with Nisi being the best but quite expensive as it is a 150mm square system. The only other options are Haida (which I can’t see in stock anywhere) or Kase, but the Kase doesn’t actually let you use a polariser as the front element of the lens is too bulbous.

I tried the Laowa 10mm f/2.8 with 77mm filters but I can’t get used to not having shift, so have listed it on the auction site. As soon as I did, Nisi immediately showed all of their filter holder options for the Laowa 15mm as out of stock. They did have one on their EU site but they won’t ship to the UK from there. I emailed them earlier to enquire and they replied that they have one left and won’t be making any more, and I instantly got a notification that one was in stock so I have grabbed it.

Just have to hope that the 10mm sells quickly so I don’t have to explain the extra outlay…
 
L0n3Gr3yW0lf said:
Congratulations. Looks really good. Thats a lens i am curious about but I am worried about the weight with my nad shoulders and hand tremors.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Yes, it is heavy. Two pounds heavier than my 100-400, which I thought was already heavy. But the reach this lens gives me without a teleconverter is awesome. I used it part of the time on my monopod with a Monogimbal, but had to take it off to try to get some BIFs. Ended up using it handheld most of the time, and my left arm and wrist would start aching after a while. I need to do some exercises after not having been out with a birding rig in over a year. The weight might actually help steady it for you in the face of hand tremors. The Sync-IS is great. Or, use a monopod or tripod to help steady and support it.
 
So I stumbled upon a lens I never realized existed.
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For as much as I'd like to have the 75mm 1.8 for portraits, I don't know that I'd use it enough to justify even the used cost. In comes something called the Sigma DN "ART" 60mm 2.8. It was really quite cheap at KEH (less than half the price of a used 60 macro), so I thought it might be worth a try. It's rather peculiar with it's smooth focus ring (which would really annoy a manual focuser, I'd imagine), and when it's off, you can hear the focus element rattling about alarmingly, but once it's powered on, it's quiet, fast, and it's super sharp, even at higher ISO.
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And to my surprise, my beloved MCON-P02 threads onto it, turning it into a poor man's Olympus 60mm 2.8 Macro. This thing might have just gotten even more use out of me. Oh, and I also grabbed the 9mm BCL for cheap fisheye fun.
 
Darmok N Jalad said:
So I stumbled upon a lens I never realized existed.
View attachment 543995

For as much as I'd like to have the 75mm 1.8 for portraits, I don't know that I'd use it enough to justify even the used cost. In comes something called the Sigma ART 60mm 2.8. It was really quite cheap at KEH, so I thought it might be worth a try. It's rather peculiar with it's smooth focus ring (which would really annoy a manual focuser, I'd imagine), and when it's off, you can hear the focus element rattling about alarmingly, but once it's powered on, it's pretty fast and it's super sharp.
View attachment 543996

And to my surprise, my beloved MCON-P02 threads onto it, turning it into a poor man's Olympus 60mm 2.8 Macro. This thing might have just gotten even more use out of me. Oh, and I also grabbed the 9mm BCL for cheap fisheye fun.
Click to expand...
Love your pussycat, Randy.
That lens looks to give a very nice image.
 
Okay, here we go:

Sony 70-200 f/2.8 GM II
Sony 2 X TC
3 Hoya Polarizers, 2-67mm and 1-77mm

New computer specifically for processing (ie: wife can't use it to shop), custom build:
  • Intel Core Ultra 7 265K processor
  • Asus Prime Z790-V AX ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
  • G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory
  • Inland QN450 1TB M.2-2280 PCLe 4.0 X4 NVMe SSD
  • Sparkle Guardian OC Arc B570 10 GB Video Card
  • Air 100 Lite by Montech Case
The processor is part of Intel's Arrow Lake line released in late 2024. From PC magazine:

"Arrow Lake also sees Intel introducing its first neural processing unit (NPU) in a desktop CPU. The Core Ultra 7 265K has a pair of Intel’s third-gen Neural Compute Engines, which the company says has AI performance of 13 TOPS."

This thing screams. With my old computer, DXO Deep Prime 4 would take about an hour to run 12 photos. This one does the same photos in about 4-1/2 minutes.
 
Darmok N Jalad said:
So I stumbled upon a lens I never realized existed.
View attachment 543995

For as much as I'd like to have the 75mm 1.8 for portraits, I don't know that I'd use it enough to justify even the used cost. In comes something called the Sigma DN "ART" 60mm 2.8. It was really quite cheap at KEH (less than half the price of a used 60 macro), so I thought it might be worth a try. It's rather peculiar with it's smooth focus ring (which would really annoy a manual focuser, I'd imagine), and when it's off, you can hear the focus element rattling about alarmingly, but once it's powered on, it's quiet, fast, and it's super sharp, even at higher ISO.
View attachment 543996

And to my surprise, my beloved MCON-P02 threads onto it, turning it into a poor man's Olympus 60mm 2.8 Macro. This thing might have just gotten even more use out of me. Oh, and I also grabbed the 9mm BCL for cheap fisheye fun.
Click to expand...
These were a nice trio of lenses, that I imagine are getting quite affordable. They made a 30mm and I want to say a 19mm? I had the widest one for a bit. It was a good lens.
 
MountainMan79 said:
These were a nice trio of lenses, that I imagine are getting quite affordable. They made a 30mm and I want to say a 19mm? I had the widest one for a bit. It was a good lens.
Click to expand...
I had both the 60mm and the 30mm back in the day; both nice lenses - the 30mm more for its rendering than its terminal sharpness (that's why I swapped it for the 30mm f/1.4 later - similar images, but 2 stops faster and visibly sharper), but the 60mm was a real gem. @Darmok N Jalad Enjoy the lens!

M.
 
Darmok N Jalad said:
So I stumbled upon a lens I never realized existed.
View attachment 543995

For as much as I'd like to have the 75mm 1.8 for portraits, I don't know that I'd use it enough to justify even the used cost. In comes something called the Sigma DN "ART" 60mm 2.8. It was really quite cheap at KEH (less than half the price of a used 60 macro), so I thought it might be worth a try. It's rather peculiar with it's smooth focus ring (which would really annoy a manual focuser, I'd imagine), and when it's off, you can hear the focus element rattling about alarmingly, but once it's powered on, it's quiet, fast, and it's super sharp, even at higher ISO.
View attachment 543996

And to my surprise, my beloved MCON-P02 threads onto it, turning it into a poor man's Olympus 60mm 2.8 Macro. This thing might have just gotten even more use out of me. Oh, and I also grabbed the 9mm BCL for cheap fisheye fun.
Click to expand...
Don't be too worried about the rattling, it's built that way, it has a floating element that engages with magnets when you turn on the camera and the lens. It's an optical design to improve IQ at close focus and make focusing very fast, many lenses have it but I think Sigma just implemented a very loose floating element when not in use, you won't break the lens by shaking it.
MountainMan79 said:
These were a nice trio of lenses, that I imagine are getting quite affordable. They made a 30mm and I want to say a 19mm? I had the widest one for a bit. It was a good lens.
Click to expand...
I had the Sigma 19mm f 2.8 DC DN Contemporary and the 60mm f 2.8 DC DN Contemporary for a few years back when I was shooting with Pany GX-7. They are both very small, very light and very sharp lenses, also, they used to be the most affordable lenses before Yongnuo came out with their primes and even before Pany 25mm f 1.7 existed. The Sigma 60mm f 2.8 was THE SHARPEST lens on Micro Four Thirds before Olympus came out with their 75mm f 1.8, many reviews stated that emphatically:
1744868220785.png

1744868243103.png

That's from lenstip.com

Sigma released 2 versions of this trio set:
*Sigma 19mm f 2.8 EX DN
*Sigma 30mm f 2.8 EX DN
*Sigma 60mm f 2.8 EX DN

*Sigma 19mm f 2.8 DC DN Contemporary
*Sigma 30mm f 2.8 DC DN Contemporary
*Sigma 60mm f 2.8 DC DN Contemporary

They are optically identical but the difference is that the older EX series had a rubber focus ring and typical boy construction, while the newer DC DN had the entire body made of aircraft-grade aluminium, including the focus ring, which is very light but easy to scratch but builts a personality and look after some use.
I do miss my Sigmas sometimes because they were very fun but optically excellent and very fast to focus. But at f 2.8 it's hard to find use for them when I have my Oly 60mm f 2.8 Macro doing the same job equaly as well, my DJI 15mm f 1.7 is faster and smaller and wider. I don't have anything in the 25-30mm range (yet).
 

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