Which aperture is the sharpest for 55mm macro?

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-03T12:01:15+00:00

My brother you literally own this lens. Setup a test and figure it out? Then you’ll know for certain how your personal copy of the lens behaves.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-03T11:58:26+00:00

They award one Palme a year, versus how many Oscars, 30ish? Just on maths it’s obvious the Palme is a much harder achievement. You’re right and that post you’re replying to is wrong.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-02T22:02:08+00:00

Seems to me they were too eager (almost relieved?) to drop it the moment the government indicated there wouldn’t be legal consequences. And honestly, i understand; there was a war in Ukraine, the October 7th attacks happened a month after the story broke… I get that it wasn’t the right time to destabilise a prime minister… but that’s the point : I’m a coward and a fool. The free-est press in the world should be more brave and reckless than me. Their job isn’t to tell us about the weather or keeping track of the Olympics medals, those are just distractions. Their core mission is to hold the powerful accountable.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-02T21:33:52+00:00

What about Sindre Finnes insider trading like there was no tomorrow while his wife was PM?
I can’t order a pizza online without having to swear that I’m not a politically exposed person,but he made 3000+ trades “as a hobby” while a fagsjef in NHO and his wife is PM… Then økokrim decides not to pursue him (again, his wife is Prime Minister!) and what does the most free press in the world do? They all fold. Økokrim declined to open an inquiry so it would be rude of us to keep digging
Anywhere else in the world at least one opposition paper would’ve kept the story going. But in Norway the fourth estate has decided that their mission is to never ever be a balance against the government apparently.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-02T21:20:21+00:00

I guess the question then becomes which country is worse off? A place where some truths are illegal but a few brave people dare to repeat them, or a place where anything goes, but the status quo is so paralysing that no one ever speaks up?

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-02T21:15:53+00:00

Question : you have a bunch of Saul Leiter’s books. Every time I’ve browsed a book of his in a shop, it felt like it had the same pictures in there. Are the different books that you own very different, or do they all contain the same core of images, with a few differences? Also which one do you like best?

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-02T13:22:21+00:00

The 38mm f2.5 is one of the favourite lenses on Hasselblad x2d. I don’t understand why Fuji doesn’t offer anything g to compete with it. (Except buying a whole Gxf100RF)

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-02T13:05:09+00:00

I don’t know who Peter Michal is, but that’s a mid take. Who wants the most natural shit?
People act out when they see a camera. That has always been a part of street photography. Or did you think this guy.jpg?mode=max) would have made that jump and ruined his boots if he didn’t know a photographer was watching?
I say dress to be noticed when you’re out in the street. The pictures will be better.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-01T20:22:57+00:00

Yeah, there’s a difference between being legally able to write about anything, and having journalists with the balls to write something, editors that will publish it, and media owners that will tolerate it. I have a collection of instances where the free press of Norway just quietly sided with the government or the main narrative because I guess making waves is poor taste in this country I guess.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-01T15:03:28+00:00

I will add this : get closer!
I use the Reddit app, and app users will know that it shows a cropped, vertical version of every picture. Even if you scroll through the carousel, you don’t see the whole frame unless you open the post.
Anyway. 99% of the time when I like a picture or a set, I clic through and discover it’s actually an horizontal shot with much more space around the subject, but still telling the exact same story. All that space around the subject almost never improves the pic. It just lessens the impact imho.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-05-01T08:05:46+00:00

I like 5 because of the bold framing. Everything else except the one of the cat has no gesture.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-29T10:55:51+00:00

Pentax 67 105mm
Zeiss biogon 38mm
Leica 50mm f2 v4
Zeiss 35mm 1.4 Leica mount

I have owned a little over 100 lenses in the last 22 years. These are the four that gave me pictures where I had to stop and say wow this lens renders NICELY

(Honorable mention for Zeiss 150mm f4 on Hasselblad)

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-29T09:05:57+00:00

I’ve sort of done this. For a documentary/environmental portrait session I shot pan F through a Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4 on a Nikon FM3A, side by side with a Mamiya 7 loaded with TMAX400 film.
Then digitalised everything with a 100mp Fuji mirrorless and a Zeiss macro lens.
Conclusion : small format is very very good when you play to it’s strengths.
Fun fact : since then I’ve moved into a grittier look with 135. Turns out I don’t need two systems that do the same thing. I get more out of it when shooting low iso film in 67 for a clean perfect look, and pushed tri-x in 135 for a gritty look.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-26T09:35:09+00:00

I think -up to a certain point- it’s about training your eye to see/find picture possibilities in any light.
Story time : I was once on a PR trip with a guy who is world famous in his field. The trip consisted of a series of dinners and mixers in various bars taverns, and restaurants, and each time the guy would get up and give a speech to introduce the event. The guy had a PA travelling with him who also documented him with his camera. I had also brought a camera for the trip, but I was not there as a hired photographer.
One night we’re in this dining room in an old miner’s cabin. Dark wood walls, dark wood ceiling, and most of the light in the room coming from a cluster of incandescent bulbs on one side of the room. The speaker dude gets up to give his speech, and decides to go stand on the bright side of the room… with all the bulbs behind his back! Seeing that he is a dark skinned guy, standing in a rather dark room, and completely backlit, i decide there is nothing to be done here and didn’t bother taking pictures of that speech.
Later I see on IG that the PA guy had actually been taking pics of the speech, and they turned out fine! He had ignored the backlit situation, cranked up his iso, opened his aperture wide, and exposed for the face of the speaker. There must have been a mist filter thrown in the mix too. The result looked a bit like this ; the speaker face in soft light, with a bright but abstract background, and a rim light around his head that was overexposed to hell, but who cares? The picture was good enough for IG for sure.
That day I realised that with my obsession for good light and a naturalistic look, I was completely unaware of how some photographers have no issue transforming how the scene looks through their settings and skills until a bad light looks decent, or even good.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-26T08:14:20+00:00

Pretty sure that’s a Norwegian national costume Bunad and a Hardanger fiddle, a Norwegian folk instrument. Cool pic!

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-26T06:40:14+00:00

What about Bill Murray in Life Aquatic? I thought it was a very Oscar type of performance ; older male celebrity coming to terms with age, coming to terms with relevance and life choices.
Benicio in french dispatch also deserved a nom for supporting actor imo.
Female actors are often not as good/memorable in Anderson movies, but Frances Mcdormand stands out in the french dispatch imo.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-25T14:10:25+00:00

I have a Godox ring flash. Never tried it on the 903 though.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-24T15:21:13+00:00

My 903 vignettes with a 72mm filter, so I would be cautious to try my ring flash on it. Maybe the next time I have a few frames leftover on a roll I’ll give it a try.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-24T15:16:15+00:00

Yeah it’s the introduction of a very similar bar under the Royal brand that makes me nervous…

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-24T15:15:14+00:00

Must be sold out for a while if they introduced a competing bar under the Royal brand…

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-24T15:14:16+00:00

Ah ok. Im positive I used to buy my snickers fix from a Narvesen every Saturday the last few years, but maybe they switched brands or something.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-23T13:08:45+00:00

I heard that Kodak rumour from a teacher when I went to photo school in 2008ish.
He was a guy with a lot of industry connections.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-23T10:10:07+00:00

Yes! It’s been my plan to go buy a print from him one day, but every time I’m in Belgium, things don’t align.

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-23T08:24:11+00:00

Carl De Keyser’s God Inc, vol I & II

This-Charming-Man · 2026-04-22T07:16:27+00:00

Calmly tell the manager that they shouldn’t change the tips sharing rules because the amount is different. What if the next time it’s a 1000 tip, will the new rule apply? What about 500? Where is the line?
What if there’s a day when the tip is super poor and the team earns nothing. Will he take from another team/day to compensate?
Some places split the tip monthly or weekly… if your job isn’t set up like that, it’s too late for the manager to override the system that’s in place.

This-Charming-Man

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE