Well, I Got This New Macro Lens

So, once again, I have been on the Ebays. This time I bought a new macro lens.  It's the Olympus OM-System Zuiko MC Auto-Macro 50mm f/3.5.  I took it out into the yard (and the kitchen) to take a couple of follow up photos from my last post.  All with the 5D.

The Valencia orange flowers are opening up.  They are the biggest citrus flowers on any of my trees. I caught a little spider waiting to catch the bugs drawn to the flowers by their delightful scent.

 
The Ein Shemer flowers (the only ones on the tree) opened up.  Looks like something's been munching on the leaves.

And finally, the orchid flowers in the kitchen are starting to open.  Background isn't that great, but the flowers are pretty.

So there you go, camera and garden.

Spring Has Sprung

La Feliciana awakens early

     Well, It's February second, and I hate to say it, but it appears that spring has sprung. We've had incredibly warm weather for the last couple of weeks. I was wondering the yard this afternoon and low and behold, to my horror, my peach trees have broken dormancy.

     Why is this bad? Peach will lose all their flowers and/or fruit if there is a late season frost.  Here in Austin we aren't out of the woods until about March 15th, so we've still got a month and a half to go. Yikes! Fingers are crossed.

     Also, usually I wait until late February to prune.  The break in dormancy means I need to do my pruning now, and it also means I missed my dormant anti fungal spray.  I guess this year will be an experiment to see if I can get away without doing one.  I usually prefer to avoid chemicals if possible. 

Junegold saying hello to spring

   
      Homegrown peaches are the most amazing thing in the world. No kidding.  Texas is a great place to grow peaches.  I firmly believe that everyone should have a peach tree in their yard.  I have four.

     When choosing a tree for your yard, make sure and pick one that is right for your area.  http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/files/2010/10/peaches.pdf  is the place to go for good peach growing info if you live in Texas.  They have a pretty comprehensive list of varieties along with chilling hours and ripening times.  You'll need to figure out what chill zone you live in a choose a variety appropriately.  Austin is in the 700 chill hour zone. If you get multiple trees, get them with staggered ripening times so that you have a longer harvest season.  Ripening times are relative compared to the ripening time of the Elberta variety.

     The four varieties that I planted are:

     Junegold   - 650 chill hours - 46 days before Elberta
     Harvester - 750 chill hours - 26 days before Elberta
     La Feliciana - 600 chill hours - 18 days before Elberta
     Redskin - 750 chill hours - 2 days before Elberta

     So in theory, my peaches ripen over a period of a month and a half (44 days to be exact) starting in June, although with the warm weather, and if there isn't a freeze, the harvest will probably start earlier.  La Felicina and Junegold, my lower chill varieties, are the two that have broken dormancy, but the Harvester and Redskin look like they aren't too far behind.

     Having a variety of trees is a good way of hedging your bets.  If there's a frost before my late chilling trees break, they should be fine, even though I might lose the fruit from the low chill trees.

     Last year was an early spring as well, but not this early.  I had a good harvest.  La Feliciana and Junegold gave the biggest and highest quality crops.  Harvester and redskin haven't hit their stride yet.  Maybe this year will be the year.

 
  

Deconstructing The Olympus OM H.Zuiko 24mm f/2.8

"Eureka!": Canon T2i, EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

     Well.  I am not as prepared today as I thought I was.  I have a pile of things I want to blog about, but they all seem to get piled up on one another, and then i go to write and discover that I am missing some of the pictures I need.

     Never fear, though, for I have a topic, it just wasn't the one I was planning on, although it makes sense in the natural progression of things. So, without further ado, I dismantle the Olympus Zuiko 24/2.8.

  
     It really is pretty amazing how these things are put together inside. I never really understood the cost of a lens until I started taking them apart.  They are pretty much a modern marvel of mechanics.  I bow to anyone who designs optics. I can't imagine anything more challenging.

    Now, if you read my last post, I said I was going to show you what happens when you go into a lens from the front. If you recall, I have two copies of this lens.  I gave up on the first copy, and now I need to clean some gunk and fix the aperture in the second, and optically superior copy.  This is the one I want to keep.

   So I gathered my tools.  You will laugh when you see them. Please do. I deserve to be laughed at (and probably chastised) for using them.  Better tools are on my Christmas list this year.

   The first task is to get the front retaining ring off.  This is the piece with the writing on it.  There are two little slots on opposite sides of the retaining ring. These are for a spanner wrench, which is a special, and surprising expensive tool.  I have fashioned my own.

The elegant spanner

    A paper clip works, but you have to be careful.  Since it is obviously not the appropriate tool, if it slips, which it is prone to do, you can scratch something pretty good.

   Once you get it loose you can unscrew it more easily using a friction tool.  You can get a set from http://www.micro-tools.com/. They're basically just a set of rubber cones("It's a cone!").  You can find the other proper tools there as well. Here is my friction tool(Hee hee, I said "friction tool"!).

Purple nitrile glove and water bottle cap...

...in action.

     Once you get it off, you're in dangerous territory.  Don't turn the thing over, or things will come off, and you will 100% most definitely lose the tiny ball bearing that makes the aperture clicks for each stop.

     You will lift the retaining ring off and also the ring with the filter thread on it.  Underneath will be a silver ring with some holes in it that the ball bearing fits into. The best way to keep from losing the ball bearing is to remove the aperture ring(the ring with all the teeth) and the silver piece together(hold them together) and set them aside as a single, assembled group.  Lift up and off.

OMG, It's the ball bearing!

Then you will see a little stainless notch (it fits into a hole in the aperture ring).  This is the physical connection between the aperture and the aperture ring.

Aperture Lever

     Now, using your spanner(actually your fingers might work, mine did), you can unscrew a large portion of the optics as one piece.  If you need to clean in there, then you can further dismantle it.  Fortunately, I didn't need to get in there.  My problems were behind these elements. Here is what the piece looks like.

Front optical elements

     Once you get the front optical elements out, Voila! you have reached the aperture. A ridiculously complex little thing.  The two screws that attached the aperture lever to the aperture had fallen out(they fell out of the lens during an earlier operation, so i knew something was wrong somewhere), and to my luck and surprise, the dust spot that was showing up in the bokeh was on the element you see directly below.  I blew out the inside of the lens with the rocket blower and cleaned the element with some lens cleaner and a microfiber cloth.

Aperture open

Aperture stopped down to f/16

These screws came loose and were screwing everything up.

Now. All you have to do is put it back together.  It's important to pay attention to what you're doing so you remember how it goes back together.  As far as what I did here, it's not too hard.  You just screw the optical elements in until the unit is finger tight.  Then you put the aperture ring back on, making sure the aperture lever fits in the little hole in the ring(remember to do this with the other rings together as a group as to not lose the ball bearing). Once the aperture ring is lined up correctly, you can screw the retaining ring back on using your friction tool, and at the end, your spanner to tighten it up.

     I may have over simplified it a little bit, but generally every piece has some little notches that have to line up to allow everything to snap into place correctly. You can't put it back together wrong.  Now if you do some other things, you can put it back together wrong, so don't tear this lens apart with reckless abandon. But for this procedure you're safe.  When you start taking screws out, make sure you keep track of them(they are tiny) and remember what goes where.  Also, if you start taking individual elements out, make sure you don't put them back in facing the wrong direction.  You're done for if you do. Please bear in mind that most of these pictures are much larger than actual size.

   Of course, good intentions be damned. I have a perfectly working aperture now, but it appears a new planet transits the sun.

Could that be Mercury in its transit of the sun?

(P.S. If you like athletic Greek women you should do a google image search for "voula" like I did when I was trying to make sure I spelled voila correctly)

Check out my Funky Bokeh Balls

Bad Bokeh Balls: Canon T2i, Olympus OM H.Zuiko 24mm f/2.8

    So previously I wrote about how wonderful this lens was.  And then I finished by showing you the nasty bokeh balls.  This is the sort of thing you have to look out for when you're buying used lenses.  They can look perfect, and then do things like this.

    You will read, time and time again, that dust and other stuff in the lens doesn't really make much of a difference in the photos it takes.  That tends to be true, for the most part, except when it comes to the bokeh.  That's where the imperfections start to show up.  They are more pronounced when the offender is present on or between the elements closer to the sensor plane(or film plane if you're old school, or a hipster).  That's why a little dirt and grime on the outside of the front element doesn't really effect anything, but on the back element, it can cause trouble.

    As if getting one bad copy isn't enough, here's the bokeh from the second 24/2.8 that I bought.  Described as being perfect in the auction description, it's most glaring flaw was a broken aperture mechanism, but we'll look at that in a later post.  This second copy had a speck of black dust that showed up in the bokeh. Is that venus' transit of the sun? You can see the spot about halfway out from the center towards the bottom in both balls.

Orange eyeballs are watching you.

    In the case of the first lens, it appears that there might be some oil on one of the elements.  being the thrifty fellow that I am.  I decided I would go inside and see what I could do.  The nice thing about manual lenses, is that they are made very sturdily, and there are no electronics inside for you to mess up.  Still proceed with caution.  Make sure you remember how to get it back to together, and be sure to mark elements so that you know which way they face when you put them back in.  A backwards element would render a lens useless.  A nice pair of magnetic tweezers and magnetic screwdrivers are really nice as well. the screws inside the lens are tiny, and you don't want to lose them.

    Ok.  First, for Olympus lenses, if you ever want to find the exploded parts diagram, which, believe it or not, can be quite helpful, check out http://olympus.dementix.org/Hardware/olympus_hw.html. There is a parts diagram for every Olympus OM lens ever made(I think).


    If you're going to go in through the backside (minds out of gutters please), you would start by laying it face down on a microfiber cloth, so that nothing on the front element gets scratched.

     Then remove the three screws on the mount and lift it up and off.  Quick and easy.  It's easy to get back on too, you just have to make sure all the levers in the mount engage all the aperture levers.  I probably could have taken a clearer picture, but you will get better picture in some future posts.  

     Now, Is everyone ready for the anti-climax? Dead end. I need to get into the rear elements, which means I needed to get the rear retaining ring off.  Unfortunately I couldn't, and I gave up because, as I already have a better copy of this lens that I plan on keeping, this one is going on the auction block.  It takes good pictures and just has a minor bokeh problem. There's more value, though, in a lens with an oily squiggle  thing in the bokeh balls than a broken lens.

     The irony of it all is that the rear element retaining ring screws right off on my second copy of this lens. It's only finger tight.

     So you hate me now for letting you down.  Hopefully I can remedy that in the future.  I will show you the horror that is the flashlight test,  I will show you how I got the dust spot out of the bokeh balls on my second copy of the 24mm and what i did to fix the aperture, and I will show you how I cleaned at least some of the fungus out of a 28mm f/2.  You'll see me go in through the front side and the through back side. It'll be a good old fashioned party.


This is my dog after all was said and done. She's pooped.

Stella has been bored to sleep by this post: Canon T2i, EF-s 60mm F/2.8 Macro USM

The Olympus OM-System H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8

No Caption Necessary: Canon Rebel T2i with EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

      This lens is a beauty. It's a reasonably fast lens designed for the full frame Olympus OM system and is easily adapted to the Canon EF mount. You can buy a small metal adapter for around $10 on the Ebay.  It is small, light and superbly sharp.

     If you want to know all the technical details, I suggest you check out http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/shared/zuiko/htmls/24mm1.htm.  The site is out of Malaysia (so Kai ought to like that), and it has pretty much all the technical information you could ever want to know.  If you're into classic manual focus lenses, it's a good resource.

     If you don't believe me that it's a superb lens, you should check out http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/24mmcup/final/24mm_final1.html.  The little Zuiko is second only to the Canon 24mm f/1.4L in the "24mm World Cup".  That's lens would set you back about $1000.  The Zuiko can be found easily on ebay for a little over $100. That's a lot of value for your dollar. Granted, the 16-9 review is a little old, and doesn't include some of the newer players, but rest assured this lens can compete in the digital world.

    This lens really is a pleasure to use.  It is solid and the focus  and aperture rings are well damped and feel good.  The aperture is 6 blades, and there is a click at each f-stop.  Manual focus takes some time to get used to, and eventually I might invest in a manual focus screen for my 5D, but for now I seem to be doing okay without it. 

   

     So that's what it looks like.   I tried do a side by side layout of the pics, but blogger doesn't do that very well, as best I can tell.  So what do the photos it takes look like.  Here are some examples:

The Stately Bean: Canon 5D, Olympus OM-System H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8

A Rose: Canon 5D, Olympus OM-System H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8

An Asian lady I found in the backyard: Canon 5D, Olympus OM-System H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8

  

   Some dudes in a hat store: Canon 5D, Olympus OM-System H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8

A Chicken: Canon 5D, Olympus OM-System H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8

   So you see, it can take some pretty decent photos.  I won't lie.  I have Adobe Lightroom, and I use it.  These pictures have been processed using my usual workflow. These photos show you what you can do with what you get out of this lens.

But wait a minute!

Bazooty Buttsnacks!: Canon 5D, Olympus OM-System H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8

    What in the Bazooty Buttsnacks is going on with those bokeh balls?

     

     Yikes! This calls for an investigation! Unfortunately, it will have to wait until next time, because it's past my bedtime. 

Rose Mallow: Canon 5D, Olympus OM H.Zuiko Auto-W 24mm/2.8 @  f/2.8

Well Folks. I have decided that I would like to start blogging. I have been thinking about doing it for a while, but have not really gotten around to getting started. I figured I should just go for it, so please bear with me as I get going. Content will hopefully get better/richer as I progress, and as I learn how to use this thing(or decide I would rather use Wordpress).


There are two things that I am currently obsessed with at the moment: Cameras, more specifically lenses, and the garden, fruit bearing things in particular. My hope is to explore both, and hopefully interest you while I'm at it. You'll get to meet my fruit trees, and you'll get to meet my lenses. You will probably get a healthy dose of pictures of my dog, Stella, as well. She is a stinker.