Zeiss Milvus 100mm f/2M: Streamside Macro
See my Zeiss DSLR lenses wish list at B&H Photo.
Macro photography has long irritated me for being tedious and typical (my own conceptual fault). So on this trip I opted for trying more unconventional shooting: high ISO in full glaring mountain sun, and all handheld.
A few examples are shown below, processed while sitting in my car while munching on blueberries outside Vons in Mammoth (a resupply mission)—not ideal for assessing of course. What I found very interesting is in seeing what I did not see—details and styles of rendition that I would walk right past for 30 years and never see (speaking of myself). I also am pleased in capturing some sense of both the beauty and the raw elements of the high Sierra.
The Nikon D810 sensor quality is sensational. It reminds me just how disappointing the Sony A7R II can be when the files have to be pushed a couple of stops and from ISO at 400/800/1600 to boot. The D810 images feel artful; the Sony images feel digital. How unscientific! But that’s what my eyes tell me.
No filters used.
Out of focus lens bokeh is very pleasing on the Milvus 100/2M in spite of some secondary color.
A high-key take on lighting conditions normally very difficult to work with: flowers in strong sun on white gneiss.
This one was devilishly hard: the bubbles move very fast, focus perched on slippery rocks is a major challenge, and depth of field is nil. 100 frames or so yielded this one acceptable result, but every bubble pattern is different 1/10 of a second later; these things gyrate around.
The scene, including sunstars and ripples, changes many times a a second due to water movement.
The naked eye cannot see this standing-waver pattern. Not until I had shot this image did I realize just how much subtlety the rippled water entails.