23: September 2011

20110923

My weekend at MASIF 2011

probably not the most festival-ey of photos, seeing how i wasn't able to attend basically the entire festival due to work, but i had a good time meeting new faces and observing how they work. wish i could've attended the talk by renowned photographer, Amri Ginang, but a job's a job. at least i'm now able to afford some new films and comic books. that's good enough for me, i guess.

20110910

Helios 44-2 2/58

this lens was an absolute impulsive purchase. having seen the delicious swirly bokeh this lens could achieve (here via zuru1024's photostream) one fine afternoon in the lab, i Googled everything i could about M42 mount lenses, and the Helios 44-2 2/58 lens itself. as it turns out, the lens is bloody cheap and within impulsive buying range! seeing how the EOS 500 N didn't have its own dedicated lens, i thought "Why the hell not! It's only RM150!"

a manual lens, the Helios 44-2 2/58 is. no auto-focus to help you make those pin-point accurate focusing - just your good ol' eye to help you make your shot. i found it quite challenging to shoot with manual focusing, though i reckon that's only half the fun of using a manual lens. the Helios 44-2 is known for its quality lens and solid build. having taken a few sample shots, i actually find the pictures to be really sharp! and the silky smooth bokeh is amazing, though i haven't quite achieved the legendary swirly bokeh with this lens just yet.

i'm really looking forward to take this baby out for my photo walks. i'm planning to make this lens a permanent fixture in the EOS 500 N, though that is yet to be determined.

my only gripe is with the M42 screw mount to Canon EOS adapter i purchased which is supposed to have a focus confirm feature which i have yet to see happen. i'm pretty sure i've been conned, but what the hell, real men don't need focus confirm for manual lenses, amirite or amirite?