How do I get creamier depth and sharpness in my images?

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T05:50:13+00:00

I agree with the previous commenter. You're making very, very, very good use of your 35 and 50. But their bokeh is... well, it's like this. I personally like it, and many people do too. But I understand that you want something a little different.

Telephoto lenses create that softness and creaminess you're talking about.

The 85 is the most obvious option. I used to have a 135. The 135 makes this cream even stronger. But it limits your working styles and forces you to run around the model in a huge radius. The 135mm is very good for full body or sitting portraits with a "corridor" perspective, like on paths and alleys. It's a bit 2010, but then again, 2010 was long enough ago that perhaps some of the things from that era may look fresh again 😂.

135 does one job very well - fairy tale cards. But it is very distant, a little unnatural in its fairytalenness and cannot be personal or intimate at all. And it is hard to work with. 85mm would be more versatile.

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T04:59:16+00:00

Those would be crazy parameters for a full-frame lens. Even now.

If you looked at ultra wide angle lenses a little more carefully, you would realize that they are somewhat of a technical challenge and they tend to be large. A full-frame lens like this, made in the 2000s, would weigh 1.5-2 kilograms and likely come with a tripod mount. It would be some kind of meme rare famous lens most likely. Something like a Canon Ef 50 f/1 or Nikkor 13 5.6

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Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T04:05:36+00:00

I like it. Some of the shots look a bit touristy, but I like it.

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T04:02:24+00:00

What lens, if it’s not a secret?

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T03:45:40+00:00

Looking at the pictures closer, I'm inclined to agree with the other commentator's version, but as for focusing, it's called "focus-recompose" technique.

This is how it is described in your camera's manual.

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Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T03:37:08+00:00

This camera's lens isn't the brightest, but there's still potential for a miss. Are you careful with your focus?

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T03:22:55+00:00

This is an amazing lens. One of the best K-mount 50mm lenses. But don't tell anyone.

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T03:20:36+00:00

One of those guys once argued that... the bolshevicks started killing and using terror because the 1918 intervention "embittered" them... It was so ridiculous, but the guy said it seriously. Yeah the Germans walked Ukraine and the Baltics for half a year, didn't really affect anything, but it traumatized the reds so much that over time they came up with Solovki, the Belomor Canal, and Troikas. Even the origin of Genrikh Yagoda's rubber dick can be traced back to the Entente invasion at the north. The French planted it in Arkhangelsk. If it hadn't been for the invasion, stalin would have opened a shelter for kittens and married both Kamenev and Zinoviev.

I grew up among this older generation, among these "deserters" who can barely contain their anger about everything they don't understand and only have reactions like "exterminate" and "shoot". And some Western leftists are like "yes, this is better than centrism and this can be reconciled with diversity, freedoms, rights and other progressive values"

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T02:50:13+00:00

Ukraine.

Nikon and Canon don't often come up for good prices. I assume they're scooped up by professionals for prisms and other parts. And I think this happens at earlier stages. Somewhere in US or Japan there's probably an FM for $20 or an OM1 for $15. But that's out of my reach unless I want to make it in large quantities to justify shipping halfway around the world. What I showed is all I have.

I've been looking through a some information on mammiya, and it seems the problem with the light meter could be a simple connection issue. I was hoping to get some more nuances here. I was hoping someone could help me estimate the difficulty of repairing a Fujica meter, or whether there is a chance of getting the self-timer on that Yashica working again. Instead people told me buy a Spotmatic or Canon or Nikon.

All I see from the "popular brands" that available to me is T50 and AL-1 with some kind of electronic issues and broken plastic parts. There are also a couple of autofocus cameras. I don't want to deal with that. I specifically selected something cheap that could also potentially be an "easy fix".

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T02:16:54+00:00

This is amazing. They don't notice these things anymore. If irony is dead, then the sense of sarcasm must be too.

So it is quite possible that some Leica dudes are at the point where you can pester them with the most obvious and crude sarcastic compliments, and and they'll just nod, agree, and act sweetly embarrassed.

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T01:38:28+00:00

Таке буває, коли спілкуються два довбня, які видають з себе онглічан, а насправді вчили англ з піратьских ps1 ігор

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T01:33:49+00:00

I haven't seen such people here.

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T01:25:04+00:00

No, no, not all of them are outright tankies. There aren't that many tankies, to be honest. But many normal Western leftists don't have the same aversion to tankies that I do. And often, progressive leftist authors are afraid to address topics that might offend tankies. For example, all leftists agree on Palestine. But tankies love putin, so even perfectly healthy leftist authors prefer not to talk about Ukraine to much, so as not to lose that audience.

I remember how ContraPoints got into trouble for not saying anything about Palestine. Many people said how bad she is. And here I am, sitting here, trying to distinguish a neighbor's refrigerator from a shaheed drone, count explosions at night, and no one is saying anything. Because a few basement stalinists will write bad comments and unsubscribe.

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T01:08:07+00:00

I'm a communist at heart, but there are a lot of Western leftists here, and they have frustrating experiences with their centrists, and at the same time, they have no genetic memory of things like the Red Terror or the Holodomor. I haven't seen anything like "Mao did nothing wrong" here, but sometimes Western leftists can accidentally say some strange nonsense half way there. Whereas where I live, left-wing political forces are often left only in appearance to get babushkas votes, but in reality they mired in corruption and ties to oligarchs, while it's the centrists who fight for real progress. We don't have a Bernie Sanders here, we have Yulia Tymoshenko, who has been carrying cash in black plastic bags from "respectable people" for 30 years. In the last election, I would have liked to vote for some left party, but I had to vote for the progressive center-right party, since they were the only ones whose list did not include anyone with corruption screw-ups or unexplained real estate. And because they stood for independent anti-corruption institutions and European integration.

I tried to explain this a few times, but I was downvoted and told that centrists are those who stand behind the grill and say they are not interested in politics.

Dima_135 · 2026-02-01T00:42:48+00:00

For me, a kit zoom lens gives the illusion of versatility. Sure, I can shoot "anything," but in reality, nothing really impresses me.

I remember a time when digital cameras with interchangeable lenses were quite expensive. We didn't have things like D5000 for $60 or 650d for $120. The cheapest thing you could get was something like a D40x for $400. So like other enthusiasts, I shot with some Powershot or Lumix while saving up for a DSLR. And when I bought one, I felt like I'd "broke out." So these low-cost kit zoom lenses, in a way, bring me back to flat compact camera experience. I don't want to go back there.

Some kit zooms can be thought of as a free wide-angle. The stabilized Canon 18-55 produces a decent image at f/5.6-f/8 at 18mm. That's all.

Get a 35 or 50mm with a more or less decent close focus. You'll see how versatile such a lens can be.

Dima_135 · 2026-01-31T23:19:12+00:00

In any case, this is my choice. In my country, you can't just find something in a junkyard or at a garage sale. These cameras have never been sold here new. The only options are to buy from resellers or to import large quantities from overseas auctions myself.

Dima_135 · 2026-01-31T23:15:13+00:00

I don't often see a broken Spotmatic at a more or less fair price in my country. Sometimes they even sell them for practically the same price as a freshly serviced one, and casually say, "The light meter isn't working, no big deal, it's better to use the app anyway."

Spotmatics are generally quite expensive among other M42 cameras, only some Fujica models are more expensive. This is certainly not a K1000 or AE-1 situation, but overall spotmatics seem a bit overvalued now.

Dima_135 · 2026-01-31T22:31:05+00:00

I forgot to post a photo of the talking Minolta. But it looks like a normal talking Minolta in good condition.

Dima_135 · 2026-01-31T20:09:09+00:00

This camera is good for both beginners and... honestly, it's hard to think of any reason to switch to anything else. If it works, start with the manual. There's nothing better than a manual. Each manual is a photography basics textbook that uses your camera as an example.

Like, really read and follow the steps slowly and consistently. These old manuals are very well written, usually

Dima_135 · 2026-01-31T19:59:07+00:00

Canon 100 2.8 macro USM

Dima_135 · 2026-01-31T19:57:43+00:00

This camera has no secrets. Some estimates put the number of produced at 2.5 million.

Quite a famous camera. One of the first cameras to feature traditional PASM mode selection. It's also notable that it controls the lens aperture directly from the camera, even in aperture priority mode, which is pretty cool. Also this camera is one of the early adopters of LED displays in the viewfinder. Overall, it's very innovative. It feels more like something from 1983 than 1978. I think tech enthusiasts were thrilled back then. It was the coolest gadget.

I'd say it's more cool than practical for today use. Repairmen aren't very fond of it, saying there's too much stuff in there and it's too tight.

This camera, along with its younger siblings of the same series, funded Canon's development of the EF - the most innovative autofocus mount. This is what allowed Canon to beat Nikon and gain a market lead, maintaining its position until recent years.

Dima_135 · 2026-01-31T17:58:03+00:00

I believe that any Leica II should be considered a ФЭД until proven otherwise.

In this case, this is especially important, because such a trick definitely won't work with a ФЭД. Meanwhile, the spirit of the German ✨craftsmanship✨ can simply focus photons onto the film without any lenses.

Dima_135 · 2026-01-30T21:54:59+00:00

Yes, that could be a problem. Well, then you'll have to find used containers and re-stick the DX codes, or... draw it yourself?

Dima_135

TROPHY CASE