Cinema Natura

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The Minolta MD W.Rokkor 28mm f/2 + The Leica SL @ Summit Lake State Park

Brad Dailey

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GEAR + PROCESSING:

FEATURED PRESETS:

This gallery is fuller than I planned - 72 photos! - since I love the way the photos came out and complement each other so well. So, I’m going to keep the write-up short.

It was mid-October. The weather was low 70’s and overcast with a sprinkle of rain every now and then. I actually love shooting in these sorts of conditions even though they don’t offer the dramatic lighting and contrast that you get with sun. Instead, you get flatter and more even lighting from the sky acting as one big softbox.

The setting offered a variety of scenes ranging from field, lake, woods, and swamp.

Even though the temperature was that of a perfect Summer’s day, most of the native flowers were dying down in typical Fall fashion. While I do wish more of the wildflowers were still in bloom, I find their natural decay beautiful in its own way. Besides, the conditions cast a verdant glow over the landscape, which created a lovely juxtaposition of life and decay.

Bodies of water don’t usually seem as stereotypically picturesque on overcast days. I find that they take on a somewhat more contemplative nature. Combine that with a steady, slow wind and I thought the water scene felt rather meditative. This drew me to some stones that were at the right depth for the light waves to gently wash over them.

Fungi - responsible for almost all of what we consider natural decay - were prevalent in the shadier parts of the scene, but especially on the many dead trees and fallen branches that line the trail and forest floor.

Deep in the woods, a small swamp - filled with fallen trees - supplied all the ingredients necessary for some very happy fungus indeed. I’m only at the beginning stages of my fungi identification journey, but I believe some of the ones I found to be Russula rosacea, many Polypores, a few Mycena varieties, and some that I have absolutely no idea. If you can identify any of the fungi in the gallery, I’d love to hear from you!

As for the Minolta MD W.Rokkor 28mm f/2, I find it to be a bit of a mixed bag.

At about 2.5 inches (64mm) from the mount, the lens itself is rather long for a 28mm, but thanks to its plastic construction it’s not too heavy. Despite its plastic construction, however, the Minolta feels solid in the hand, like all other Minolta MD lenses I’ve handled.

In use, my biggest issue is achieving focus wide open at f/2. It isn’t that the depth-of-field is too shallow at that aperture - although it is quite shallow for a wide-angle lens - but rather that the focus throw is too short. I don’t have the exact angle available to me, but the throw from infinity to minimum focus distance (just under 0.3m) is a little less than 90°; probably 80° or 75°. While I almost always digitally zoom in to check focus before taking a photo, it is an absolute necessity with this lens. Looking at the full image in the EVF will lull you into a false sense of security that you achieved focus when, in reality, reviewing the image at 100% magnification reveals that the depth-of-field is shallower than you think. Luckily, the focus ring is nicely firm and satisfyingly smooth, which helps to alleviate the short focus throw.

Another issue - although not quite as problematic once you’re aware of it - is that the aperture ring is somewhat subject to moving unintentionally. There were a couple of times when I thought that the aperture was still at f/2 when in fact it had been bumped to f/2.8 or whatever. This surprised me because the aperture ring has a moderate firmness to it, but it apparently isn’t quite firm enough to set it and forget it. Once I was aware that the aperture could be changed unintentionally, I was sure to check it frequently. No big deal.

As for the results, I find the bokeh to be quite interesting! The edges of the image pull outward, which I find gives a sort of inter-dimensional feel, like you’re traveling at warp speed or viewing the world through a portal or wormhole. The effect is more pronounced the closer you focus and is all but gone once you focus more than a few meters away. Perhaps surprisingly, this inter-dimensional effect is present even when stopped down. This is, no doubt, a kind of distortion, but not the typical wide-angle distortion you’d expect.

Considering the Minolta MD W.Rokkor 28mm f/2 is from the late 1970’s, I find its performance at f/2 to be rather impressive! It’s plenty sharp enough, if you’re not too much of a pixel-peeper, and doesn’t have much in the way of aberrations.

Stopping down to f/5.6, I still find it to be more than detailed enough for most reasonable folks, although I don’t think it’s as strong at f/5.6 as many 28mm f/2.8’s out there. This is somewhat to be expected, though.

All photos were shot at f/2 or f/5.6.

I really like the results from the Minolta MD W.Rokkor 28mm f/2, especially at f/2. The short focus throw is indeed a bit of a pain. As a result, the Minolta is a lens that demands patience from its user, and, if granted, they will be rewarded.

I edited the photos in Adobe Lightroom Classic. The resulting preset packages can be used in Adobe Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Lightroom Mobile, Photoshop, and anywhere else where Adobe Camera Raw is integrated.

The color style, “Nestor,” induces feelings of vintage warmth. It’s a fantastic preset for greenery for all seasons, as well as skin tones. Perfect for any adventure in our green world.

The monochrome style, “Creature,” is of an interesting nature. Its duality lies in its semblance to a classic horror aesthetic with certain subjects while always being genuinely beautiful, perhaps even romantic.

I’m very happy with both “Nestor” and “Creature,” and I must admit that, at the time of this writing, they are indeed my favorites.

Thank you for reading.

GALLERY.