Metal Threads For Your Plastic Adapter

As wonderful as the Viltrox 28mm F 4.5 lens is, it isn't perfect. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the lens has has no means of attaching a filter. This could be a big thing because the fixed F 4.5 aperture is pretty wide, and it would be helpful if a neutral density filter could be attached to provide a means of controlling the exposure other than ISO and exposure time. 

A company called Filmatura has addressed to problem my offering an adapter ring that can hold a 52mm filter and slips onto the Viltrox 28mm F 4.2 lens barrel. It is not machined from metal, but is instead created using a 3-D printer using a plastic similar to a weed-wacker cable. And while those 52mm threads can be created with reasonable dimensional accuracy, they are still plastic, and therefore subject to wear whenever a filter is screwed in or out. Cole of Alt Cine Cam suggests that users install a metal 52mm to 55mm step up ring to prevent damage to the soft plastic threads. 

Buy yours here.

Now 55mm accessories are not as common as those in 52mm, Nikon's default filter size from many years ago. As you know, filters are threaded at both the front and rear to facilitate stacking. The lens side has male threads, while the side facing the world has female. The filter's optical glass disk is usually held in place with a narrow, threaded retaining ring can be unscrewed using a lens spanner wrench like the one pictured here*. By spreading or compressing the two spanner blades, you can adjust the width to accommodate almost any filter size. I found this spanner on Amazon, but many REAL camera stores may have these spanners available for sale, but be sure to call first. In a pinch, you can clamp two thin screwdrivers in the jaws of a bench vice, but these spanners are not that expensive, and useful for other projects.

Now for the filters. While you're at the camera store, ask to see if they have any old colored filters for black and white photography, with yellow, red, and green the most common. They can be difficult to sell because so few people use black and white film, and for most photographers, the effects can be simulated by using a monochrome preset in a digital camera. Very often these filters are just thrown in a drawer, and some dealers may just give them away. Don't worry if they are scratched since you will discard the glass anyway. Just be sure that the filters you choose do not have dented rings which can impede the removal of the retaining ring. 

I would up digging through a tub of discarded filters and lens hoods at a local camera store and found a like-new Hoya filter which I paid $5.00 (ouch!) for. Oh well, it's still cheaper than the worst new filter on eBay.

Once you've found a suitable filter, adjust your spanner to engage the two tiny slots located on the retaining ring. Look carefully, as they are very narrow. Use a piece of discarded rubber glove to hold the filter ring in the palm of your hand. Now engage the retaining ring slots with the spanner and carefully, but firmly, unscrew the inner retaining ring. After several turns you will now have an adapter with both male and female threads which you can screw  permanently into your plastic filter holder. The brass/aluminum filter ring you've just installed will certainly outlast the softer plastic threads.

Here's the actual video. If you can cut to the chase, advance to 1:28. 

*  I've also seen manufacturers use thin wire snap rings, perhaps as a cost saving gesture, or possibly to prevent warping of the glass.

Post Script: My order for the adapters was made on May 8, 2025 and delivered on May 20. Twelve days from the Czech Republic. Oh, a signature was requied upon receipt. 

A Taller Stack (of pancakes)

Order Up: My new (fourth) pancake lens, a Viltrox 28mm F 4.5, has gotten rave reviews since its introduction in 2024. As a photographer, there has to be some good reasons to justify its purchase. To wit: 

• It is cheap: The MSR, if that applies to web-exclusive purchases, is just shy of $100.00, or maybe less if you shop around. I've seen them as low as $70 on eBay, as of today. I opted to pay the full Benjamin on Amazon to ensure prompt delivery.
• It is sharp: Reports have universally praised the lens for its sharpness, and it lived up to the hype based on my limited experience.
• It has autofocus: This lens is probably the lowest priced autofocus mirrorless camera lens. It bumped the former low priced champion, the 7artisans 27mm F 2.8.
• It offers full-framed coverage: This is the big one. On a Fuji APS sensor body, its a "short normal" lens. On a full-frame Sony it is a true wide-angle lens. For me, this makes the lens better aligned with my street photography philosophy of "Wider Is Better".

Meh To Blah: You have to be realistic about your expectations on a lens made to fit this price point.

• Type C USB Port: Like my TTartisan 28mm 2.8, this lens can update its firmware using a USB port, although Viltrox chose to put the interface in the lens mount. If you do buy this lens and find yourself needing an firmware update, view this video first. It makes the process appear almost simple. 
• Fixed 4.5 aperture: I do not know if this was a concession to the price point or the lack of internal space. Nonetheless, the lens has a fixed, non-adjustable aperture of 4.5.  If we were to follow the tried and true "Sunny Sixteen Rule", setting your camera to an ISO setting of 100 would require a shutter speed of shorter than 1/800 of a second for a proper "bright sunlight" exposure. I have a partial work-around, which I'll discuss -later. Don't expect any dramatic front-to rear depth of field photos with such a large aperture.
• Long Minimum Focusing Distance: The online specifications set the minimum focusing distance to about .3 meters, or about one foot. Not an issue for a  general purpose lens, but a limitation worth remembering.
• Sliding Lens Blinder. In spite of its tiny size, the designers managed to squeeze in a sliding blinder that protects the lens. There is a knob on the front lens bezel that, when rotated clockwise, retracts the blinder allowing the lens to extend slightly and assume the "ready position". I neglected to mention this in my first post, but as you will see, this feature will become inaccessible as I start adding accessories to the lens.
• No Provisions For Filters: With a fixed aperture of 4.5, a neutral density filter could certainly help control exposure, assuming that one could be attached. While Viltrox made no such provision, some clever people at Filmatura created an adapter to mount a 52mm filter to the Viltrox lens barrel. Check out the video here.

Out Of This World. I make joke. Here is a photo, taken from the website, of the 3-D printed Filmatura adapter. It is threaded to accept 52mm filters from the front while having a friction fit on the barrel of the Viltrox lens on the other end. Currently, it is in transit from somewhere on the planet, so the cloud background is sem-appropriate. When it arrives, I will have a 52mm polarizing filter I can play with, and an assortment of 49mm accessories adapted for use from a 49mm female threaded Fuji X100 filter pack. When the adapter arrives I will experiment with my filtration options.  I do not know if any of my current accessories will induce vignetting in the frame corners, so I'll just have to see what I'll need to buy so I can make everything work together. 

Christopher Frost has an excellent review of the lens. View it by clicking here.

Doubling Up On Speedlights

I'm here at the Sonoma Valley Muzzle Loader Rendezvous just outside of Cloverdale. I try to attend every year to make photos and enjoy the company of many old friends. I spend most of my time documenting the weekend's activities, and at the end of the event after the awards ceremony.  I invite anybody in attendance to pose for a photo, which I'll post on the club's blog site for convenient downloading. It saddens me to think that several of these random photos would be included in memorial pieces for the subjects.

The Problem: When working in the late afternoon, the sun's position is low on the horizon.  To keep my subjects from squinting, I face them away from the sun, Since I am standing in a sheep-grazing pasture, there are no natural reflectors available, so I am forced to provide my own light. I purposely did not bring my fully-packed Pelican Case so my lighting was limited to the two speedlights I normally carry on assignment. In addition, there's the carrying bag containing an umbrella bracket, a Zumbrella, a bungee cord, and a compact light stand that always stays in my trunk.

The Clamp: In my camera bag keep a Slow Dolphin Photography (yes, that's the name) clamp with its little ball head. I used other mini-clamps, but this one has a bigger  "bite" of slightly more than 2", and it can grip planks and pipes equally well. The ball head, while not Manfrotto quality, is strong enough to hold a speedlight-sized flash. Unlike the industry-favorite Justin Clamp, it can fit in the side pocket of my Domke camera bag.

Addendum: I noticed the Amazon warning that this item is frequently returned, and that several reviews found one fault or another with this clamp. I believe that one should be realistic about their purchases. A $12.00 clamp, complete with ball head, cannot compare with a Matthews Mafer Clamp, which costs three times more. 

The Cold Shoe: I found an old Frio Cold Shoe in my junk drawer and screwed it in place. Eventually I'll get around to replacing it with an all-metal one, but for now, it will be just fine so long as I treat it gently.

The Setup: Normally I use a single speedlight for lighting, but when dealing with a relatively bright sky as a background, I may need some additional power options if I am to balance the blue sky background with the flash illumination on my subject/s. When used at relatively short flash-to-subject distances a single speedlight is enough, but other times, the additional light provided by that second speedlight can be used to sweeten the exposure.

You can see that the clamp allowed me to easily mount a second flash for additional light. I purposely positioned the flash as close to the lightstand shaft as I could. This minimizes the stress on the ball head because the center of gravity is very close to the clamping point.

Another control option is to redirect the flash. By elevating the flash head angle I could feather the light output to favor the upper half of the frame, should that be necessary or desirable. Had my subjects been wearing lighter colored clothing, this technique could have been used to prevent overexposure in the lower half of the frame, had it been necessary. But in this case, elevating the flash output was not necessary. 

In the end, this little clamp and cold shoe combination can provide the photographer some additional light placement options. For its compact size, it provides a lot of flexibility in a very small package.

TTArtisan Firmware Update

Get yours here.

The Firmware Update: After encountering frequent failures of the focusing system with my X-Pro1 and X-E1, my two oldest X cameras, I started searching the web to see if other users were having the same problem. As it turns out, firmware updates were made available on May 17, 2023, just two years after the lens' introduction on March 11, 2021.

Costs: Some purchases would be involved. Both of these expenditures can be considered investments, since I'm sure they'll be used again. First, I spent $20.82 for a USB Type C cable. Next, there was a $20.30 purchase of WinRAR, a program that opens RAR compressed files. There was a free trial offer, but I opted to just buy the software license.

USB Port: Image Source: Click here.

For the record, I paid about $130.00 for this lens on February 7, 2025. This link quotes a price of $103.00, which includes some free goodies more useful than the ones I recieved with my earlier purchase. I almost want to buy a second one, just to cash in. Very suspicious, the price dropping at this moment in history.

Tutorials: If you visit the TTArtisan's website, you can see that several lenses have firmware updates available. You may also notice that they have created a tutorial on how to perform the updates. I wasn't too enthusiastic about the factory's efforts, but found this one on YouTube which I believe was better presented.* While the instructions were for a Nikon Z lens, just be sure that you download the Fuji X file update and proceed.

At the time of publication, I've installed the updated firmware, and immediately saw an increase in reliability. I won't say the TTArtisan lens is as reliable as the original Fuji, but I am feeling more confident that it will perform properly if it is ever called to duty as my emergency backup.

*I reviewed this video, and while I thought it was clear, infrequent computer users might have some difficulty understand some concepts like "drag and drop" and basic file/folder hierarchy. I suggest you watch the video several times to familiarize yourself with the process.

My Third Pancake

Photo Source: Click here.

I am a firm believer in having a complete backup system. Now wedding photography has become an incredibly high-stakes game, and in this litigious society, it is not unusual for photographers to be sued simply because the groom didn't look like Cary Grant, when in reality, he could pass for Ernest Borgnine in poor light. So posing and lighting aside, one better come ready with enough backup equipment to take the entire wedding should one's primary camera body go kaput. 

Photo Source: Click here.

I normally have two bodies with me, so that isn't where my angst resides. It's from the lenses. Normally I have two zoom lenses: a wide to normal and a normal to telephoto zoom. A compact compromise emergency lens could be Fuji's 27mm F 2.8 "pancake", which has a compromise focal length, and is extremely compact. I paid almost $450.00 for the lens, and it is my constant companion whenever I'm shooting assignments that warrant carrying the full two-body, two speedlight, two-lens kit. In a pinch, I can mount this pancake on either of my two bodies. For the record, my copy was the earlier version withuot an aperture ring, something that be added to the second, weather resistant version that was introduced in 2021.

Buy yours here.

Some time later, a manual-focus version was offered by Meike, which was a predictable purchase. I was in my cheap manual focus lens phase, and it gave me a lens with a compromise focal length at the price of dinner in a reasonably nice restaurant. It proved to be something of an inspiration, as the photos produced during its first day on the street were most satisfying. Nothing magic about the lens, mind you, but compact and  handy. It now lives permanently in my "mini" camera bag where all of my most compact lenses reside, neatly stacked to minimize bulk.

Photo Source: Click here.

Shopping For a New Purse: A while back I had the itch to create a compromise camera kit based on two Fuji X-Pro1 bodies and  two or three classic lenses. I stumbled upon a (now discontinued) Domke Director's Bag at a local camera store, and in spite of its high price, bought it without hesitation. I saw this as the perfect purse for those few times when I didn't want to be seen schlepping a mountain of equipment in an oversized camera bag. As of this writing I haven't filled the bag, but I can see there is ample space for everything I might need. With this much space, I can indulge my inner Fuji Fanboy self, stuffing in a Fuji X-500 flash and its accessory battery pack. I could probably stuff a Gary Fong Lightsphere while I'm at it. Ready to go with only one half the bulk. Need a group photo made? Hold my beer.

I decided that the 27mm lens would be just the lens to pack in this smaller bag. It small size would make it easy to store it mounted on a Fuji body, ready to grab and go. Sure, it's not as wide as I like, but it could also present an opportunity to produce more tightly cropped images without getting too close and personal. It might also be fun to live in a world where the backgrounds are not so cluttered by every distraction in the universe. 

 Get yours here.

I just so happened that I found this TTArtisan 27mm F 2.8 lens on eBay for about $30.00 less than its suggested selling price. Plus, it came with a no-name filter and a fabric carrying bag, so it represented real value. Cue the eye-roll.

The lens had one initial flaw: The autofocus can occasionally stop working. I've tried the lens on a variety of bodies, and it has failed occasionally on all of them*.

The TTArtisan lens comes with the unique lens hood that was first introduced by Fujifilm along with the current weather resistant (WR) version. I was fascinated by the hood, which resembled the eye of an African chameleon. Of course, I ordered two used hoods from KEH before I realized it came with its own hood, plus a unique lens cap that can fit either the lens bezel (39mm threads), or onto the hood itself. I never missed having a cap as the hood seemed more than adequate for keeping fingers from accidentally touching the front element.

I still have a  bit of fiddling to do before the Domke bag can have all the necessary kit stowed within its roomy pockets. I will also  need some properly sized dividers installed to keep my equipment neat and tidy. I'll bring everybody up to date when everything is in place. I guess we'll  all have to just wait and see.

*Addendum: February 13, 2025: I Googled the focusing problem and found that there was a firmware update that would improve focusing on the first generation Fuji X cameras. TTArtisans thoughtfully provide a USB port in the side of the lens cap (how clever!) to facilitate the file transfer. Since it's a backup for my most current bodies, the upgrade may not be needed. 

Lunar New Year 2025 Redeux

Saturday: There were two Lunar New Year celebrations. One was in Millbrae and the other was in downtown San Mateo. I opted to photograph in Millbrae because it was the bigger of the two. Five blocks had been blocked off, the vendors lined both sides of the streets. I managed to find a parking space on the street just outside the barricade, so I only had to cross the street to find myself in the middle of the celebration.

I appreciate that so many different cultures were represented through their cuisines. You could buy a whole grilled turkey leg, then walk a few feet and purchase dumplings, and if you looked hard enough, a good old fashion hamburger with a side of fries. Soft drinks, boba iced tea, so many things to try.  I could just see myself reaching for the Tums. Oh, to have the stomach of a 20-year old.

New Approach: I wasn't really happy with my choice of equipment when I was "lion hunting" in San Bruno a few days before. As I mentioned in my previous post, equipment choice would have an impact on my ability to get my shots. First, it was a night event, and the low light caused my wide angle lens to hunt for proper focus, a process that lengthened the time between shutter press and the actual exposure. Also, the flash I was using wasn't optimized for manual adjustment. Lastly, the adjustments on the radio controller I chose were difficult to read outdoors, and difficult to manipulate with fingers numbed by the cold.

The Camera: My lens choice was a Pergear 14mm F 2.8 lens. As a fully manual lens that is adjusted externally. Looking down on the lens, the distance scale, depth of field table, and the aperture setting are clearly visible from above. The Pergear has a Sony mount, so I used my full-framed Sony A7.

Flash: I'm used an early Flashpoint Zoom Li-on flash. The flash recycles quickly, has a zoom flash head, and most importantly, requires manual output adjustment, which is controlled with a rotating wheel, which can be adjusted with one hand.

Controller: In this case, I would use on older radio trigger. a long discontinued Calumet Wireless Trigger. It's a simple radio trigger that has a hot-shoe on top which allows me to trigger a full-powered softbox for a key light and having the option of mounting a conventional TTL speedlight for on-camera fill. 

So wouldn't you know it. Saturday was gifted with high intermittent clouds, which served both as a diffuser and a reflector. If you compare the asphalt on the street, you can see that both the highlight and shadow areas could be reasonably well exposed with an average exposure setting, meaning that I really didn't need to use flash if I watched my positioning. The shadows show that the sun was coming from behind my right shoulder. Simply put, there weren't enough shadows to require my flash. 

I concentrated on making a photo that would include the crowd, one prominent lion, and some audience interaction. Using the "Hail Mary" overhead position, I made this shot with a above the crown perspective, which eliminated the background sky and gave me plenty of room for the lion and his fans. Even though this shot was made early the day, I followed the lions down the street, trying to "one up" this early shot.

Another Perspective: Nick Rose, another Journal photographer, was sent to cover the San Mateo event. I didn't attend because I knew I'd have many photo opportunities in Millbrae, due to the size of the celebration. It also started just as the San Bruno lions were getting up to speed, and there wasn't a way for me to get the San Mateo, find parking, and make a shot. His photo (right)  made Page 1 of the Monday edition, and I was stunned by the graphic simplicity of the image. The prominence of the two lions and the absence of any people gave the view the quintessence of "lionism". I really appreciated the simplicity of the image, and clearly a different approach to getting a telling photograph.

In the end, the Editor In Chief ran the Millbrae and the earlier San Bruno photograph on consecutive days. They appeared on page 2, a space normally reserved for photos from UPI or Reuters. The San Bruno photo, taken at night under somewhat challenging conditions, is shown below.

Between these three shots, I think the Lunar New Year was well covered. 

Happy New Year - Twice

1/8 second, F 5.6,  ISO 1250

Year Of The Snake: Things have been very quiet, photography-wise.  After Christmas, it seems like the world unwinds to welcome the New Year in a post-celebratory stupor. Well, the Peninsula's Lunar New Year celebrations have just started, and for the first time, I photographed a celebration in San Bruno's Centennial Plaza. It is also the first time I photographed the event at night, which is something I've never done before. In many ways, this provides both opportunities and challenges. which is important to remember lest one's work become uninteresting and stale.

1/8 second, F 5.6, ISO 1600

Printing The Honorable Mentions: It's easy for photographers like Joe McNally to offer up entire portfolios of world class images, and as an aspiring photographer, it is an inspiration for my own work. So why would I print my Honorable Mentions? They remind me that at some point in confronted a lighting or composition problem, and scored a charitable near miss. This photo has some future potential. If I had positioned myself in alignment with the triangular formation of the musicians, I would have achieved a more symmetrical composition. Unfortunately, I would have probably stepped on some babies to do so, and besides, these old bones aren't as nimble as they were last year. But taken in total, the photo was a partial success. First, there are not shadows or hot spots on the ground. My flash, held above my head, was aimed towards the rear performers, so only the soft edge of the light hit those in the foreground.

1/8 second, F 5.6, ISO 1600

In addition to the upward tilt of the flash, I had also installed a single grid spot onto my Godox V1 flash.This confines the illumination to a narrow beam, just like a spot light. In this shot you can also see the white balance issues that occur with mixed light sources. 

I thought that I would change the camera's White Balance Preset to Tungsten to get a more realistic rendering of the background. You can see the effects of a Daylight preset (left) to a Tungsten preset (right). If I added a Tungsten gel to my flash I could better integrate the two light sources. Unfortunately, the gel took away too much light, so I took the gel off. It isn't just about increasing the flash output to compensate for the light lost to the gel. This seriously increases recycle time, and that is an important consideration when working with moving subjects.

1/8 second, F 5.6, ISO 1600

Our beloved lion has pulled out a toy stuffed snake from the red tube at the right of the frame, I remember struggling with the camera controls, trying to select the proper focal length with the same hand I was using to hold the flash. Anyway, the magic moment really got away from me this time. This was a new addition to the act, pulling a reptile out of a red tub. Wait a minute. Year of the Snake. Makes sense now.

Technique Vs. Ergonomics: I wanted to attend this evening performance for a number of reasons. 

The Camera: I was using my standard Fuji T2 with the 10-24 F 4.0 zoom lens. I occasionally used in the manual focus mode with the hopes of eliminating the camera's labored efforts to establish focus in this low light environment. 

The Lens: The 10-24 F 4.0 does not have an aperture ring or an external distance scale. When I needed to make an adjustment, I was forced to put down the flash and use both hands to verify my changes in aperture and distance on the LCD panel. 

The Flash: The flash was my Godox V1 with a single mounted grid spot. Adjustments are done using the shoe-mounted controller which was difficult to see and adjust. Again, adjustments are a two-handed process.

1/8 second, F 5.6, ISO 1250

I immediately started to rethink my approach when shooting up close with a super-wide angle lens. For me the trouble started when I needed to change flash output settings when the subjects moved in and out of my preferred distance. If I could stay within a three to six foot shooting distance, all would be reasonably well. But when the distance increased, I was often forced to lay down my flash and use both hands to  make the adjustments.

These two "run and gun" shots required a lot of quick adjustments, which often kept me from paying attention the action. To capture the ambient light, I was shooting at ISO 1600 with a shutter speed of 1/8 of a second. There was lots of blur, not just from my subjects, but from having to grab a fleeting shot. The motion blur is interesting to look, but I must say it would never work in black and white.

1/8 second, F 5.6, ISO 1250

This last shot was made at the conclusion of the performance. I had to move quickly to get into position, and even then only had time for four shots. From an exposure perspective, I am pleased with the results. The narrow beam of the flash highlighted the main center of interest, and the camera's white balance setting to match the flash made the color pop.

Next Time: If I have an a similar assignment in the future, there are some equipment changes that might make everything easier. Those changes would include:

Flash: While I prefer the Godox V1 for its rounded lighting pattern, I'm going to try using a Flashpoint Zoom Li-on flash. They recycle quickly, have a zoom flash head, and most importantly, they were designed for manual operation. Output is controlled with a rotating wheel, which can be adjusted with one hand.

 

Controller: In this case, I would use on older radio trigger. a long discontinued Calumet Wireless Trigger. It's a simple radio trigger that has a hot-shoe mounted on top which allows me to trigger a full-powered softbox for a key light and having the option of mounting a conventional TTL speedlight for on-camera fill. 

Lens: Here's the sticking point. I might be better off if I used a fully manual lens with all manual controls. This way I'll be able to see both the distance and the aperture while looking down on the camera, For this work my Pergear 14mm 2.8 mounted on my  Sony A7 should do the trick.

I believe that these changes in my equipment may make these shots a little easier to make, since all the adjustments can be done with one hand,  and he settings easily seen from above. We shall see.