The Rikenon 40mm f/2.8, an appreciation

The Rikenon 40mm f/2.8 is one of my favorite lenses. It’s sharp enough, with good color transmission and not too much vignetting, and I love the field of view: it’s never too wide like a 35mm can sometimes be, and it’s never too tele like a 50 sometimes is (especially if you shoot with a …

Unknown M42–>Nikon Infinity Focus adapter review

I wish I’d kept better records about where I got this thing and what I paid for it… Alas. This one looks like it, but I think I might’ve paid a bit more than that… or maybe not. My copy has the same markings on it, that is, all it says is “M42 –> Nikon” …

LensBaby +10 Macro filter and the Graphic View

Come to find out, the Graflex Optar 135mm f/4.7 has the same 37mm filter thread as the LensBaby Muse… I rearranged my office last week and came across the +3 and +10 filters that I’ve rarely, if ever used, looked at them, noticed the similar size, and decided something had to be done.

New Toys: Micro Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 and PK-13

After many years of hacking together macro things, reversing lenses, stacking lenses together, stacking reversed lenses on extension tubes, picking up old lenses with macro modes, etc., and after liking the results I got with them sometimes, I finally decided to pick up a proper macro lens, mostly to be the major part in a …