Category: Lenses

Single frame… European robin (Erithacus rubecula)

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European robin (Erithacus rubecula)European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon XF 100-400mm f4.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 400mm, 1/250s, f8, ISO 500

This week has seen a reshuffle of camera equipment enabling the acquisition of a Fujifilm 100-400mm f4.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR lens. Like a lot of people I’ve taken more of an interest in wildlife this past year and this lens, longer than any other in my collection by quite a margin, gets me so much closer to my subjects.

More practice is definitely required, even with optical image stabilisation (OIS) avoiding camera shake is difficult with a lens this long.

A stack of pancakes for Pancake Day!

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Pancake stackA stack of pancakes
Nikon D5500, AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G DX, 0.6s, f11, ISO 100

Physically thin, short barrelled lenses for single-lens reflex and mirrorless cameras are colloquially known as ‘Pancake’ lenses… for obvious reasons!

My collection is pictured above, from top to bottom we have the Minolta MD 45mm f/2, the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM, the NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8P and the NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8 AI-S.

I rather like the slightly wider view offered by the 40/45mm lenses and as can be seen in the image below (comparing the ‘pancake’ NIKKOR 50mm with the ‘standard’ NIKKOR 50mm) such lenses tend to be smaller and quite pocketable.

Nikkor 50mm lensesNikkor 50mm lenses
Nikon D5500, AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G DX, 1.3s, f11, ISO 100

Over the years I’ve used others… the Contax Tessar T* 45mm f/2.8, the Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 and the Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 but the ‘holy grail’ of such optics is definitely the Olympus Zuiko Auto-S 40mm f/2 for the OM system… I’d love to get my hands on one of those!