I got my new lens today. It is the Voightlander Nokton 25mm f-0.95. It is the fastest lens ever made. There have been other F-0.95 lens, but nothing faster than that.

I waited 'til the golden hour to go out and shoot some test shots in my neighborhood, Old Farm in Millcreek just south of Salt Lake City. I plan to go out to Summit Park tomorrow to do some shooting in the Wasatch mountains. So, expect better shots of my new life in the Wasatch Front.

To the point - First impressions of this lens is: WOW!!!

It is fast. The lack of auto focus was not the issue I thought it would be. After a short learning curve, I didn't even have to zoom the display to make sure I was getting a sharp focus except with the extremely shallow depth of fields. And, this thing can produce a depth of field as thin as a sheet of paper.

I started this shoot about 20 minutes before the sun disappeared behind the mountains and 30 minutes before sunset. I think I got a good idea of this lens' capabilities in bokeh and low light.

I didn't take notes of my settings and the lens doesn't have electronic connections, but all but two of these shots and all of the videos were done at ISO 200 and the shutter speed was never set below a 50th of a second.

Enough talk.

I kept these videos under 30 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdkiezN7WQ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1i5QChSyto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhS5n5d2mn4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDreuQJTBbU

Sorry about the shaky cam. I am not a videographer, so let's get to the pics.

Did some one say paper thin depth of field?



To truly appreciate how shallow the depth of field is, take a look at this crop from the image above. The stem of the stigma (receptor at the end of the stem like thing) is in focus, yet the carpel (the stem like thing) is not.





These following pics are a few minutes before twilight and yet I still kept the camera art ISO 200-400 and never went below a 50th of a second shutter speed.

I would you to introduce you to Pete and Joe. They are my best friends.



My place is the one on the left with the BBQ pit.





Old Glory caught my eye.



More to come tomorrow after I return from the mountains.

I rode my bicycle into the Wasatch Mountains early this morning. I left my place at about 4,200 feet elevation and arrived 22 miles away in Summit Park, a small city in the mountains at about 7,000 feet.

I chained my bike to a tree and took off on foot to reach the Summit of the tallest peak around. I think it is named Murdock Peak. It is a little higher than 9,000 feet.

When I started into the woods, I saw a family catching butterflies. The little girl insisted I look at her catch.

I obliged.



Then, the second leg of my journey began.



My objective was to get a great view of the land. This one was good, but I wasn't quite high enough.



Back to the trail.





Another view, but it still isn't what I was looking for.



Yet another, but still not it.



Can't forget to look down.





So, the views are getting better, but still not it.



This old guy caught my eye.

[img]http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af208/mediaperture/12.jpg[/img]

Getting closer.

[img]http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af208/mediaperture/14.jpg[/img]

I stopped here for water and to take in the view.

[img]http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af208/mediaperture/15.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af208/mediaperture/16.jpg[/img]

Finally, the summit.

[img]http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af208/mediaperture/17.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af208/mediaperture/18.jpg[/img]

NICE! Glad to see you are settling into your new digs! Nice pictures as well, but I am kinda reserving judgement on the Shanks Mares!

WOW! Great pictures. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

hello Ian, and How is the land of Oz this winter (ok, YOUR winter)! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Did you also see the Pics Zuluextreme put up?

That Voigtländer is amazing! It´s money well spent! Keep them pics coming. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Very nice!!

G'day, <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Not too bad this winter, -2 Celsius is as low as it has got so far, by now we usually have had a couple of -4's

We make our extreams up in summer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

Updated

Very nice!! Do you have a pic of the lens camera setup?

I ride for about 10-13 miles and walk for another 3 miles and think I have really done something.....holy cow 22 miles then a hike...do it to it brother!!

It was about 5o miles total since I had to go home afterward. At least the ride home was downhill 90 percent of the way. I will take a pic of the pic taker now and post it for you.

Well, taking a picture of a camera with said camera isn't the easiest thing to do well, so forgive me for the weird look of these. They were taken through the two mirrors in my bathroom.





It is an Olympus EPL2 with a Voightlander Nokton 25 mm lens. Attached to the lens is a Genus Neutral Density Fader, which is basically an adjustable ND filter. It will step the exposure down from 1 stop to 8. It is needed to shoot at F-0.95 in broad daylight without overexposing the shot. Attached to the filter is a rubber collapsible hood for keeping the sun from creating flares on the lens.


Not my pics. I snagged them from a Google image search.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> WOW very nice setup!! If you dont mind me asking how much did the whole setup set you back?

I havent bought a camera since I dropped 3K on my Canon XL2 back in 06. I still havent heard the end of it from my wife. LOL.

The camera was $500, the lens was $1,100, the fader was $100. I also have two more lenses $300 and $600. Not including the extra batteries, memory cards, bag and misc. stuff, I guess the math says, $2,600. Much cheaper than my last kit. Just as capable as my last rig (even more so in low light and depth of field) at less than half the weight.

Very nice JJ! At the time I bought the XL2 my thinking was that the video quality was better than the picture...but in retrospec, I havent hung any videos of my kids on the walls yet. I think the next camera might very well be this set up.

Thank you for sharing this!

Nice hike JJ. We told you it was pretty country. Wait until you get away from civilization and REALLY explore the mountains.

Very nice scenery! Good pictures too but who was the funny looking guy in the pics? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

That's about half of what I paid for one of my Nikon bodies back when I was shooting sports for a living. I think you did extremely well!

I think so too. I definitely know how much the $ can add up when it comes to camera gear.

Awesome pics man.