RNF: Nonsense Camera Ramblings & Rationalizations, & Some Father/Son Galavanting.

RNF: Nonsense Camera Ramblings & Rationalizations, & Some Father/Son Galavanting.

Subtitle: Everything ahead is nonsense. A distraction. You have been warned.

As an only child that did not connect with a lot of other kids I pondered a lot. Regarding the lack of connection the why is varied.

• Not many who shared my background.
• Not many who shared my interests.
• Not many who elevated doing what is right over proving themselves right.
• And… racism if I am honest.
  • Those who would have me charged a tax, requiring that I diminish who I was to join in, that I was not willing to pay.

Add to that being an only child, and that left a good amount of solo time. I could fill my head with nonsense ported into my house through the cable box, for “free”. (Nothing is free. At best your eyes are for sale. At worst your peace of mind is under attack to keep you in despair and watching… so your eyes can be sold to the highest bidder, i.e. the advertisers.) But often times I chose to create mediocre art, mediocre poems, read, and I pondered.

If I lost interest in proceedings, I would wander off in my own mind to pick up on a prior pondering session. I would wager the question I asked most in school was, “Could you repeat the question?”. It is a miracle that I managed the grades that I did.

Little has changed since.

I still do not really connect with many.

I still often ask, “Could you repeat the question?”.

I still ponder.

It is my safe space when the outside world overwhelms. A wonderful little nonsensical safe haven where little matters other than the random question I attempt to address in isolation.

This post is an attempt to put into writing a recent pondering bender.

• What makes a lens and camera “feel right”?

What I keep coming back to is a weird little phrase of my own imagining.

Camera to lens size ratio.

What am I on about? I am glad I imagined that you asked.

My first idea of how a camera should feel was set by an SLR. A Pentax ME Super that my Father taught me to use specifically.

Similar to many an SLR in size and shape. And I say ratio because it is scalable. More on that later. What brought this up was a recent acquisition.

It just feels right. That is when I realized that, more than the performance of the lens and camera, I think those SLRs also formed a muscle memory for me. A weight to camera width to lens length to focal length blueprint of sorts.

• Weight.
  • Fluid, but can be described as solid feeling without feeling burdensome.
    • Too light and it feels toy like.
    • Too heavy and it gets left at home.
• Camera width to lens length.
  • The lens protrudes from the body roughly half the width of the camera body.
• Focal length.
  • The traditional nifty-fifty set up that came as the standard kit lens often times.
    • One of the most affordable and versatile lenses made.

Looking at this latest kit viewed top down there it is.

Makes sense now. (As much sense as anything dedicated camera related does.) I had been trying to sort out why this lens felt more at home on the camera than the similarly spec’d 7Artisans 50mm f/1.8 AF. I really like that lens. But given the option of both, I go with the Viltrox every time. While not massive, I think it may have been as simple as it was too long to fit the ratio.

Seems such a trivial difference. But when I think back over my favorite camera and lens combinations, regardless of sensor size, it tracks.

MFT.

APS-C.

Other full frame mirrorless offereings.

You would think that DSLRs,…

…the literal descendants of SLRs would fit the mold, but due to their beefier digital sensor having bodies the ratio was not quite the same.

This is exactly why I was tempted by the likes of the Nikon Zf upon release.

So… That Nikon Zf… An Update.

The promise of a true throwback to the SLR look and aesthetic days in mirrorless form with the technical advantages that brings. Welp, (Nikon adherents look away.) they got the tech and aesthetics right. No complaints there. Great features and it is a great looking thing. The price is reasonable also. The feel, though? In hand the camera and lens both felt a bit light in the pants and plasticky. I have nothing against plastic, but this was not a good plasticky. More hollow and light than I would like. If Nikon were my main system, I would have muscled past this and made the purchase.

Sidebar: I find it interesting that there seems to be a LOT of Nikon Zfs for sale used. (KEH and even more on MPB.) There is no way for me to know for sure, but it does have me wondering if others had the same experience I had. Sold on the look and let down by the feel once received. Adds another justification for finding a local camera store if you can. Trying out a camera in hand has saved me some time and money over the years.

But, similar to the EOS RP/50mm f/1.8 STM pictured above, this was not a convincing enough effort to justify purchasing another mount to feed.

And say what you will of the Sony A7C, whether OG or second gen, they do feel like solid little beasts that easily pass my melee weapon in a pinch density/construction test.

While the reason why is still a work in progress the what is this.

I like this pairing.

So, I will do my best to pivot away from my pondering to just enjoying the moment. For as long as it lasts, I will enjoy this little camera gear interlude where a camera and lens have come together to bring a smile to my face.

I will take any bit of joy I can in this insane world.

Along those lines, here are some quick images I took with this pairing while galavanting with my son yesterday.

Not many pics were taken, because that was not the main thing. Nothing Earth shattering, but I like the images just the same.

If you made it this far, thank you for hanging out for a minute. Hoping it provided a distraction for you as well.

Happy capturing.

-ELW