I finally got about six shots back that I took with my new Derogy 6" Petzval. Looks like there is a learning curve here! I mounted it on my Shen Hao 4x5, shot HP5. First problem to overcome was no shutter. I elected to shoot at night, something I do routinely anyway. I shot both ambient light and using radio triggered strobes. I had no trouble focussing and the lens was pretty easy to use. I wear black gloves in winter anyway and used that to cover the lens and block light when in the process of taking a shot.
First thing I notice is there isn't much contrast from this lens, even less than I expected. I can goose it up in CS4 when I want, I guess. I can deal with it and actually like a softer look. The lens isn't as sharp as my modern ones, but I like the look. The one thing that is giving me fits is the flare. I knew I'd get some flare as the lens is uncoated, but not this much. The lens definitely does not like intense points of light at night. That's going to be difficult for me to work around since I shoot trains a lot. I am planning on making some washer stops which might help the flare issue.
I am disappointed in the way the lens flares so easily at night, but love the lens. I'll try to come up with new strategies to use it. Winters here give very soft, even light and that might be its salvation. I need some tight stops to get exposure times down to a second or two so I can use it in the daytime. It will also sharpen it up and increase DoF, another thing I noted. I know I am using a portrait lens as a general purpose lens and night photography lens, but am also planning to try some portraits as well. I do like the look the lens gives; it's just a matter of me figuring out how to use it.
Kent in SD
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