I've included the above image as an example of what's possible when using these longer manual focus lenses. It is sharp with some nice colours with the background out of focus. It is also nice bokeh, smooth even though the background was rather busy. This lens gives nicer out of focus background than my Pentax 135 f3.5, but I prefer using the Pentax.

Compare this image with the one posted a couple of days ago, taken with the Leica Elmarit 90 f2.8. Same place, same leaves, taken a couple of of days apart.

I liked what I saw in the scene above and stopped the lens right down to somewhere near f11 so that I could get all of the scene in focus. I sometimes like the background to go out of focus but in these types of shots all of the scene should be in focus, just my opinion though.

The above image is typical of the type of images I like to take and I can get these with the use of my 135mm lenses. It's how I shoot and how I see the world. Some see the world through a 35mm lens and some through a 50mm. My vision tends to be towards the telescopic end of things. As you can see I've been practicing my focusing with these lenses and it's slowly coming together. However, at the moment my misses average more than my hits, so I'll keep on until I feel I'm confident enough to use these manual lenses in earnest.

I must admit I like my 135mm lenses, especially the f3.5s. Why? Because they are small, light and real fun to get to the details of my subject. These lenses are usually so light you hardly notice the extra weight on the camera and you can carry them around all day. The above image was taken with the Olympus OM 135 f3.5 which is quite a good lens. My other 135mm lenses incluse a Pentax, Nikon, Konica and Minolta. What does spoil it somewhat is the adapter required to use the lens which does add to the overall length of the lens. In some cases it nearly adds 40% to the length, which isn't ideal but is the price you pay for using these lenses on modern digital cameras.

Some of these lenses are easier to use than others and the Olympus is one of the easier ones. If you use these lenses wide open then more care must be taken when focusing. It's even harder with the f2.8 versions which also adds some weight to the whole rig. Of course, the longer the focal length the harder it is to use.  Blurry images is also possible because there is no image stabilisation with these older lenses and the Sony bodies doesn't have IBIS. The Olympus M43 bodies are a diffeent story however, and I must say, I have become a big fan of this great function. The Panasonic GX7 also has IBIS and I take my hat off to Panasonic for implementing this feature in their latest camera.

This is the last image from the Leica Elmarit 90 f2,8 for now befor I post some images made with some very nice 135mm lenses. All of these lenses are legacy manual focus lenses and have an aperture of f3.5. The reason I like these f3.5 lenses is because they are small, light and don't stick out too much. I have a couple of f2.8 135mm lenses and they're quite a bit bigger and heavier. It really amazing how much glass weighs and how much more glass there is in the f2.8 lenses.

Again, I find using these lenses easier on the A7 because the shutter is not as drastic as on the A7R. I will conquer these two cameras as they were purchased for my manual focus lenses. I find it so much more fun using a manual focus lens and saves me a lot of space on the hard drive as I tend not to take as many images. Just pointing the camera, focus with the AF and holding down the shutter is too easily done. Using the manual lenses just slows me down in every aspect of my photography.

Some people might say that there is nothing special with the above image, and they may be right but it's an image that I like so I'm posting it just because I can. I can see exactly where I focused and nailed it too. This is one reason why I like the longer focal length lenses. The longer the lens the less depth of field you have and at this focal length and at an aperture of f2.8, you have very little.

I hit the nail on the head again with this shot. I try to get it first time but sometimes it just takes more than one try to get the focus to be where I want it. In this case, it only took one try (because the wife won't stand still long enough for more than one shot). If I bring the camera out around the house she hides immediately. I think she's had enough.

I've had the Sony Alpha A7 and A7R now for a couple of weeks and I must say, I frefer using the A7. That loud double shutter sound bothers me on the A7R and I get a lot more "throwaways" than with the A7. It's probably technique and not the camera so I'm going to have to work on it a lot more. I'm also starting to get a workflow in LR5.3 and Photoshop but that needs some more work too. The files are nice and since I only shoot raw, the jpg engine doesn't bother me. Anyway I like the post-processing (I know I'm wierd that way) and I don't consider it a chore at all.

Another example with the Elmarit 90 f2.8. If you're wondering what this lens looks like on the A7 see this post:

Obviously I'm not going to show you my bad to very bad attempts at manual focusing but I will show you the images I manged to nail because when you do manage to get the subject in focus, the image quality is just fantastic. I'm sure Sony will release a firmware update for some minor problems with these cameras. I just can't imagine they won't otherwise they'll lose a lot of customers (present and future).

Now this is one nice lens on the Alpha cameras. I'm not certain which one I prefer, this one or the Zeiss Tessar 85 f4. But one thing is certain, that extra stop is nice to have and the subject/background separation is great with good bokeh. As you can see I'm still practicing with different lenses and this is the third that I can honestly recommend for the Alpha cameras. More to come.

As you can see I've been practicing quite hard at this manual focusing stuff on the Alpha cameras. Do I find it getting easier, well yes and no. It all depends what lens I've got mounted. Presently the best lenses I've used are both Zeiss, the 50 f2 Planar and the Tessar 85 f4. Both exhibit excellent colour and are very sharp. The best rendition I've seen on the Sony sensor so far. Some of the Voigtländer lenses have a very long throw and I'm in real trouble with a couple of them. I think these will be used more on the Nex line and my M43 cameras where they perform very well.

The image above was taken during the blue hour and in low light conditions. It was actually nearly dark and the lens was wide open at nearly MFD. This is one that I nailed but it doesn't happen often with this lens. I must find the correct settings for nailing focus without using the magnification function, as that puts me off totally.