Petzval, part 3

Petzval Week

episode 3: painting with Petzval

d7000. Lomography X Zenit Petzval 85mm f/2.2. ISO400, AP mode, f/2.2.

I arrived to work one morning a bit earlier than normal, and while sitting in the car and listening to NPR, the windshield fogged up.

5 minutes later, I walked into work with some shots on the card. GoGo.

Not much more to say: this lens is great.

Petzval, part 2

Happy Tax Day! I hope you’ve all happily paid your share to (theoretically) run the country!*

Petzval Week

episode 2: the carpark in the dark.

Insofar as I shot these at f/2.2 before dawn, these shots are not any any way meant to be a test of sharpness or focus, but look at that color!

Most of these got no post work beyond the Lightroom’s default NEF conversion.

This lens really is a joy to use: with the d7000, set the focus point where you want to focus and gently twist the focus knob till the little green arrows become a little green dot, then gently squeeze the trigger.

Given the design of the lens, you’re unlikely to ever get tack-sharpness across the frame. Given my experience with Zomb-E and other reversed lenses, this is no problem for me, but it bothers some other commentators, and if MTF charts and pixel-level sharpness is your thing, 1) you’ll want to visit a proper review, and 2) you don’t want this lens, so go look at one of the pro models from Nikon or Canon: the 85mms are supposed to be brilliant wide-open, and wicked-sharp at f/4.

This is not what the Petzval is for.

The Petzval is an Art lens. It says so on the box, the websites, and the lens itself…

Oh well. Other people get to spend money however they like, I suppose (and I suspect many reviewers got review copies on loan from Lomo or something).

Anyway: judge for yourselves.

Note the flare in one of the images. Note also that the best results come when a subject is relatively isolated in the center of the frame, with a fair amount of distance between it and anything in the background.

Again: the Petzval is a joy to use. The focus is smooth as butter and the color and bokeh are both brilliant.

Stay tuned.

D7000. Lomography X Zenit Art Lenses Petzval 85mm f/2.2. ISO400, AP mode, f/2.2.

*Actually, much of your share went to child-killing and wedding-party-crashing drones, with the rest going for social programs that would be much more well-funded if the banksters and our corporate masters could be made to pay their fair share, and those that our beloved politicians seem hell-bent on destroying. May Allah guide them (and us).

Petzval, part 1: unboxing

We interrupt our usually-scheduled programming to bring you a special event…

Petzval Week

episode one: the unboxing in which the author unboxes his new Lomography X Zenit Petzval 85mm f/2.2, serial number 131.

Note: this will not be a review, really, nor will I get into the history of the Petzval lens or Lomography Corp.’s stunning Kickstarter win. Others have already done a great job of this.

As an early Kickstarter backer, I originally went for the lens itself for $400, but after a brief bit of consideration, decided to go with an early-production number model for $500. (The lens is currently sold out, but they’re taking orders for a second production run in Canon and Nikon mounts, and there are also black versions.) I think this was a good idea: while it took a bit longer to receive my copy, Lomography were very careful with the QC on these, and so I’m seeing none of the issues others noted (specifically, the aperture plates fit tightly and are in no danger of falling out, even if I take the lens and shake it).

The package that arrived was smaller than expected, with a pleasant and surprising heft to it. From previous reports, I knew the packaging was excellent, but was still surprised at the quality of the materials and the care with which everything was put together.

The outer shell opened to reveal a bag of goodies for Kickstarter backers and what I presume is the retail box.

You can flip through the pictures above to see all the other fun stuff that came with the lens, but what I found most interesting was the lens itself: heavy, solid-feeling, with none of the rattling that comes from many contemporary lens designs. I assume this is due partly to the classic design, and partly to Russian engineering/Lomography Corp. quality control.

The Petzval is a beautiful lens, and a joy to hold and shoot with.

One small quibble: the lens mount is a bit off. It doesn’t fit onto or come off of the D7000 quite as easily as other lenses from Nikon, Vivitar, Sigma, Tamron, or even Fotodiox. It attaches, but it’s just a bit fiddly getting it on and off. (I have no idea if this is an isolate issue, or if I’m just thick: I found no other instances of this issue in a quick google search.)

But this is a minor issue. I’m loving the lens so far.

And with that, I’ll leave you in suspense for episode 2. It won’t be too long a wait, as I plan to post something new every day for the rest of this week. So stay tuned if you’re interested, or pay me no mind for a bit. We’ll return to regularly-scheduled programming next week, InshaAllah.

(unboxing shot with the d7000 and Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 ai. Cropping and minor adjustments made in Lightroom.)