Browsing Category Contax G 28mm f/2.8

Films and tests with the Contax G 28mm f/2.8 lens

indiSYSTEM Bulldog and GH2 ETC test from Snow Storm to California Dreaming

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Snow Film Test Challenges with GH2 and indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip

Most of my short films come out of making something out of nothing. This instance is no exception. This past weekend it had snowed in Philadelphia and I thought it would be a great opportunity to shoot a test with the Panasonic GH2 camera and indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip rig using a few of my legacy zoom lenses. I first set up my Schneider Variogon 18-90mm c-mount lens with GH2 and indiSYSTEM Bulldog rig. I tested everything indoors pulling focus with my Chrosziel follow focus and 80mm SNAP! Gear fitted snugly on the lens and felt pretty good to go but as soon as I stepped out the door it was a different story. I could barely see the GH2 LCD screen with the snow falling everywhere and white brightness all around and I had forgotten my variable ND filter so I was getting utter crap. The camera and rig were getting icy and wet and I was just about to call it quits when I remembered I brought Tim Ovel’s hacked GH13 with me in my bag as a backup. It had the Panasonic 14-140mm lens and I set the lens to autofocus and kept trudging onward. Since my gear was wet anyway I set the GH2 and Bulldog rig in the fresh heap of snow and took a few quick snow pics of the gear. I then gave the GH13 and Panasonic 14-140mm a quick spin on the Bulldog as I walked back through the falling snow. The 14-140mm lens in AF mode allowed me to press record with out worrying about looking at my snow filled LCD screen leaving me with at least some usable footage.

When the snow finally stopped I decided to go back out to give my legacy lenses one more try on the Bulldog rig. This time I wanted to shoot with the Angenieux 8-64mm c-mount lens which was the first legacy zoom lens that I purchased for the GH1. It’s not a perfect lens by any means and is riddled with some of the problems that many c-mount zooms have on the m4/3 system but I was thrilled by the character of the lens and the ability to see it in action with the new GH2 ETC mode. It really shines with it’s sharpness, contrast and color around the 20mm to 50mm focal range. The 8mm wide end has heavy vignetting and edge distortion and at 62mm, the longest reach of the lens, you’ll see a couple metal edges of the interior of the lens in your shot. Despite these issues, I was just thrilled to finally use this lens with the new GH2 Extended Tele Conversion mode. The GH2′s ETC is really bringing to life many of these smaller c-mount zoom lenses and primes because you can finally fill most of the frame of the sensor and record using the full resolution of the camera. Another nice feature of the Angenieux 8-64mm c-mount lens on the GH2 is that it gives the indiSYSTEM Bulldog that steadicam feel because the rig is so light weight. I’ll talk a little bit more about this lens in more detail in a separate post. You can pick out the Angenieux 8-64mm footage pretty easily. It’s all the Philly footage shot right after the snow storm.

Aloha Winter Notes

With the challenges of the snow and with footage that was varied and shot with different lenses I decided I would have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how I can put this all together. To help me in the process I decided to look over some test footage I shot with the GH2 over the holidays. I was in Southern California and spent some time with family in Oceanside, CA. Oceanside is a small beach town just on the outskirts of San Diego and home to an eclectic mix of of surfers, folks who love the beach and military personel who live and work near Camp Pendelton. There’s a beautiful pier at Oceanside and I did a few tests with the GH2 and Contax G 28mm lens using the indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip. Looking at this warm beach footage and the joy of seeing my nephew and his love for his “Aunty Gayle” as he dragged her around the beach pier just made me think of the Hawaiian song “Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi”. It is just the song that comes to mind that always makes me long for home especially during a Philadelphia snow fall. The song was written in 1951 for the remake of the movie “Bird of Paradise”. I thought it would be a perfect song to connect these two winter stories together. One of my favorite versions of this song is by Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho whom I admire greatly. Their version of “Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi” with Tia’s beautiful voice and Daniel’s wonderful counterpoint with ukulele is quite evocative and filled with a childlike innocense and spirit of longing and reminescense. Their newest collaboration `ikena won them both a Grammy for best Contemporary Hawaiian album.

Here are the words to this beautiful piece.

Ku`u Lei Awapuhi
- Words & music by Emily Kekahaloa Namau`u Taylor

E ku`u aloha e (e o)    I call, my beloved (answer)
`Auhea la `oe (e ia no au)   Where are you (Here I am)
A huli aku au ia `oe    Return to me

Auhea la `oe e ke aloha   Where are you, my love
‘Awapuhi pala o ka ua noe   Like the ginger, covered in the misty rain
A eia no me au     Here, I am with you
I ka poli o ke aloha    In love’s sweet embrace

E ku`u aloha e (e o)    I call, my beloved (answer)
`Auhea la `oe (e ia no au)   Where are you (Here I am)
A huli aku au ia `oe    Return to me

Aloha Winter
a gary san angel film test

Cameras:
Panasonic GH2
Panasonic GH13

Lenses:
Panasonic 14-140 f/4.0-5.8 lens
Contax G 28mm f/2.8 lens
Angenieux 8-64mm f/1.9 lens
Schneider Variogon 18-90mm f/2.0 lens

Rig:
indiSYSTEM Bulldog
indiSYSTEM BallGrip

Music:
Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi
Tia Carrere & Daniel Ho
Hawaiiana

Location:
University City, Philadelphia
Oceanside, CA

Contax G 28mm lens leg cutting is easy.

I have to say I love my Contax G 28mm lens on the m4/3 format.

I’ve posted a few examples here and it’s a wonderful surprise to be able to use this lens. It’s by no means as perfect as it was on the ol’ rangefinder camera that it was originally suited for but it sure is wonderful to use on my GH1 and tack sharp with beautiful contrast. For those who may still be on the fence, I put together a very simple no frills video to go over the steps of cutting the legs from the Contax G 28mm lens and a quick tip to make sure your Metabones adapter is nice and smooth. If you are super brave you can even do this on your Contax G 21mm lens as well. It’s well worth it if you take the risk!

Filming Environmental Art

Going Green

New Environmental Art from Taiwan

Sponsored by

Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan

Taipei Cultural Center of TECO, New York

Presented in Partnership by

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

and Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia

Recently, I met two very talented installation artists named Chao-chang Lee and Ping-yu Pan who both create art in environmental settings in Taiwan. These two very humble and amazing artists were invited to the U.S. to create installation works at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education for the “Going Green New Environmental Art from Taiwan” Exhibition which has works at the Schuylkill Center and also the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. I thought this would be a great opportunity to test my new Metabones Contax G SNAP! Gear setup so I volunteered to document some of the performances they were both having at their installations. Because we would be out in the woods, I decided to really be low profile so I took only my indiRAILSpro MP which has a built-in follow focus and monopod. I also brought just two lenses, my Contax G 90mm and 28mm lenses. Because I was afraid the 28mm was not going to give me the full coverage I needed I also decided to be adventurous and I attached a Raynox HD-6600PRO55 .66 wide angle adapter to the 28mm making the lens approximately an 18mm lens.

One of the great things about using Contax G glass is that they are very sharp lenses and one of the challenges is that they are also very sharp lenses.

So with the GH1 this can be a problem. The screen is just not good enough to find critical focus especially in some outdoor environments like a wooded setting. Since I started to notice that I was having trouble with critical focus, I decided to play it safe and I opened up to f/4 through f/8 in order to get more depth of field in the hopes of covering myself and getting more in focus than out of focus shots. In many cases, the documentation shows some of the challenges when you have such sharp lenses. You’ll see a few out of focus shots here and there so its always a learning process. Having said that when the exposure and focus was on these lenses really do now how to shine.

Most of the shots I’ve seen with Contax G glass have been from still photographers so seeing moving images with Contax G glass is really wonderful and very exciting. I was also just floored at how well the Raynox HD-6600PRO55 wide angle adapter did. I basically had the adapter on the 28mm lens most of the time and it was still fairly sharp with a little vignetting and softening on the corners. I’ve used the Raynox on a few different lenses and the vignetting and softness is much more pronounced on my other lenses. I’d say using the Raynox wide angle adapter on Contax G glass produces some very good usable footage. Overall, I really see a lot of potential for Contax G glass especially in narrative filmmaking where you have much more control over your shots. I still want to see if I can get more comfortable and use them in more of a documentary run and gun style setting but for the second time at using these lenses I think this was not a bad effort.

I’d like to thank Chao-chang Lee and Ping-yu Pan for the opportunity to meet them and to film their work.

Here is one of the pieces:

Chao-chang Lee’s installation, “Everything is Buddha” uses found natural materials near the grounds of the Schuylkill Center to create a large earth drawing of a seated Buddha figure.

This film captures Chao-chang Lee’s live interactive performance where visitors are invited to place their own natural objects as offerings in his installation.

For more information on the exhibition please visit:

schuylkillcenter.org

asianartsinitiative.org

Filming details:

Panasonic GH13

Contax G 28mm f/2.8

w/Raynox HD-6600PRO55 .66 wide angle adapter

Contax G 90mm f/2 lens

Metabones Contax G adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear

Filming Environmental Art

Going Green

New Environmental Art from Taiwan

Flyfishing the American River with Contax G 28mm lens

Broken Rod

a gary san angel film

Location: American River – Sacramento, CA

Fly Fisherman: Royd Hatta

Music

Personal Notes by Gordon Mark

Frederic Chopin – Nocturne No.2 in Eb Opus 9, No.2

Record Label: Daniel Ho Creations

Release Date: October 2006

Since I finally put together a short demo on how to cut the legs off the Contax G 28mm lens I thought I’d show some sample footage as well from a filmmaker stand point. There are many examples of beautiful still photographs using Contax G glass at The GetDPI Photography Forum. I’ve always learned a great deal from these fine photographers and incorporate their techniques and knowledge for my filmmaking needs.The thread called “Fun with Contax G lenses on m4/3″ has some pretty stunning examples of why these Contax G lenses are making a big comeback.

A few weeks ago I had to fly out to work in Sacramento, CA for a week. Being a native Californian I wanted to check out the beautiful surroundings and rivers that make Sacramento unique. I called up my good friend Royd Hatta who is an artist and fly fisherman and we headed for the American River. Since this was a working trip for my 9 to 5 job I was not thinking and did not take my Variable ND filters or matte box along so much of what I shot using the Contax G 28mm lens was between f/5.6 to f/16 so there is not really any shallow depth of field shots. But you can still get a sense of the Contax G 28mm lens contrast and sharpness. Now mind you, for this segment you’ll not see that truly because I had the Raynox wide angle adapter on the lens. I did this for a few reasons, the first being that I only had my indiRAILSpro MP and no follow focus so I needed to counter the camera shake. Having the Raynox .66x wide angle adapter essentially made the 28mm lens an 18.5mm lens and you could get wonderful wide shots and not have to worry too much about having a super steady hand. The other reason of course is that the Raynox HD-6600PRO is a very good wide angle lens and does not have as much image distortion and obvious corner blurring that often is the case when using other wide angle adapters. I wanted to test and pair up the Contax G 28mm lens with the Raynox HD-6600PRO to see how well they work together.

This little film is a result of that test. One of the things you’ll notice is lots and lots of lens flares some of which is kinda cool but there were times I wish it wasn’t there. Much of the flaring came from the Raynox lens and when I took off the lens there was less flaring with the Contax G 28mm lens. Oh, well. Next time I’ll make sure to take a good matte box and ND filter. For a sort of run and gun type situation I was really happy with some of the sharp results. Just see for yourself.

Music was scored by one of my ukulele hero’s Gordon Mark with his version of Frederic Chopin’s piece Nocturne No.2 in Eb Opus 9, No.2 from his album Personal Notes produced by Grammy Award Winner Daniel Ho.

Contax G 21mm and 28mm

Now in order to use the Contax G 21mm and 28mm lens you’ll first have to let go of the idea that cutting off the legs of your 21mm and 28mm Contax G lens will ruin them and the value of the lens. You will only have to cut 5mm from the tip of each leg just so it clears the sensor so it’s more like a haircut than a surgical procedure.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Tools:

digital caliper or metric ruler
Scotch Blue Painters Tape
small hack saw with fresh blade
small file
X-acto knife
damp paper towel
Metabones Contax G to M 4/3 adapter
m4/3 lens cap

Directions:

Use the Scotch Blue Painters tape and cover the entire rear of the lens except the legs. You want to especially cover inside the cavity of the lens between the legs and the rear optic. Fold over a piece of tape and roll it so that the sticky side is on the outside. Squish the little piece of tape down between each leg and lens. This is the area that is vulnerable to getting any debris so you want to make sure this crevice is covered up. Make sure you do not tape the black leg protectors!
Also, make sure to double up some tape on the rear optic where you will be making your cut. Basically, in case you use excessive force as you are cutting if the blade goes through, you will only cut tape and not the lens. You do not want to hacksaw the rear optics of your lens.
Using your digital caliper or metric ruler measure out 5mm and use an X-acto knife to mark the 5mm measurement on each leg. If your digital caliper can lock a measurement, lock it to 5mm and mark the top the measurement starting from the very tip of the leg. Make sure you mark off both the right and left side of the leg.
Now using the straight edge of your ruler or digital caliper, line up your two 5mm marks for each leg and score your cut with the X-acto knife. Do this for each leg.
Now take your small hack saw with a new blade and line up the blade with the scoring mark. Firmly hold the lens, take a deep breathe and hold and concentrate as you apply pressure and move the blade back and forth slowly in a straight line. You will start to create a grooved slot. Take your time, applying pressure to the leg. If the blade binds, move it just one direction and carve out that groove. Once you get to the end, keep the pace steady and soon the leg will be cut off.Do not go fast, you will make a mistake and damage the lens!
If you have a small file you can finish off the cut and round off the sharp edges of the newly cut leg.
Use a damp paper towel to remove any debris near the lens.
Hold the lens and tip the rear down while you remove the tape so that any debris will fall away from the lens.
Pop your Contax G 28mm / 21mm on the Metabones mount following the appropriate instructions to line up and lock the mount.
Use an additional m4/3 lens cap to protect your lens. The rear caps do not come with the Metabones Adapter.
Place the Metabones and Contax G lens on your camera and start shooting away!

Here are a few sample pictures using the Contax G 21mm. Overall edge to edge sharpness is very good. A little vignetting and softness at the edges but very sharp and usable. I think it holds up very well. Probably my sharpest wide I have in a prime.

I took just a few quick run of the mill Philly landscapes at f/8 with the Contax G 21mm lens and just for kicks I attached my Raynox HD-6600PR055 wide angle adapter and I was pretty shocked at how well it held up too. When I pixel peep, there’s a difference obviously and you can see vignetting and softness but I was expecting far worse. Both versions very useable to me. Very exciting stuff!

Philly Skyline & Schuylkill River Contax G 21mm f/8 & Raynox HD-660PRO55 & GH1

Philly Skyline & Schuylkill River Contax G 21mm f/8 & GH1

Fairmount Water Works Contax G 21mm f/8 & Raynox HD-660PRO55 & GH1

Fairmount Water Works Contax G 21mm f/8 GH1

Here’s a few indoor shots just after I did the Contax G 21mm surgery to test for edge to edge sharpness with the Metabones adapter.

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