Review of my new Olympus 35RD on my blog

Abermaw woods

A
Abermaw woods

  • 1
  • 0
  • 20
Pomegranate

A
Pomegranate

  • 4
  • 2
  • 63
The Long Walk

H
The Long Walk

  • 1
  • 0
  • 99
Trellis in garden

H
Trellis in garden

  • 0
  • 0
  • 65
Giant Witness Tree

H
Giant Witness Tree

  • 0
  • 0
  • 74

Recent Classifieds

Forum statistics

Threads
197,511
Messages
2,760,318
Members
99,391
Latest member
merveet
Recent bookmarks
0

dehk

Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
881
Location
W Michigan
Format
Multi Format
Thanks Derek. Hey I really like your blog as well. Some really excellent photography there. Like the book idea.

Thanks a lot Eric, now i have to bookmark yours, give me something to read when i am bored, which happens a lot, Cheers!
 

chuck94022

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2005
Messages
869
Location
Los Altos, C
Format
Multi Format
Nice review and photos, Eric. I have a 35RD too, carry it everywhere, and just love it. One thing you didn't mention is its extreme low light capability - I ran a roll of Tri-X 400 through mine, exposing at 3200 (set the camera at ISO 800, under expose two more stops manually). The shots that I properly exposed came out great, after souping in Rodinal 1+100 for 2 hours stand dev. My talented "D" photog friend said he didn't think his Pentax K5 would produce images as clean at 3200 as mine came out.

One question, not to step too close to the "D" line here, and not to open a can of worms - how did you conclude you could get 64megs out of your 35RD? I always assumed 35mm film was able to resolve the equivalent of somewhere between 14megs and 20megs of information.

-chuck
 

mbsmith

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
92
Location
Utah, United
Format
Medium Format
Nice little write-up, and thanks for the example photos. I'm waiting to get my 35RD back from the shop so your post has me even more excited to shoot with this baby.

One thing... I notice that in your post you refer to it as the 35RC and on the images.

Thanks for sharing!
 

BrianL

Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Messages
538
Location
Toronto ON C
Format
Medium Format
Olympus had a great series for both the 1/2 frame and full frame market. They supported the rangefinder market longer than most in terms of making high quality non-slr cameras. Their lenses were 1st rate; they learned how to gind and make excellent lenses from their 1/2 frame designs and that quality still is here today.

The RD is one of those few cameras that just seemed to have it all right in terms of handling, features and results. I too liked the meter lens being within the filter coverage; especially when I needed ND filters or wanted to use a polarizer.
 

thuggins

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2008
Messages
1,144
Location
Dallas, TX
Format
Multi Format
One question, not to step too close to the "D" line here, and not to open a can of worms - how did you conclude you could get 64megs out of your 35RD? I always assumed 35mm film was able to resolve the equivalent of somewhere between 14megs and 20megs of information.

-chuck

With the modern, fine grained films, a remarkable amount of detail can be recorded.

http://www.thermojetstove.com/Tonality/
 

chuck94022

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2005
Messages
869
Location
Los Altos, C
Format
Multi Format
Calling Ralph Lambrecht! ;-)

With the modern, fine grained films, a remarkable amount of detail can be recorded.

http://www.thermojetstove.com/Tonality/

I'd like to believe this, but it seems to fly in the face of every other discussion about true resolution of 35mm film that I've ever read, even our own Ralph Lambrecht in his book Way Beyond Monochrome, (which I love by the way if you're reading this Ralph.)

I would agree on the issues of color capture and bayer, but it isn't as simple a conversion (100 to 400) as your note suggests. For one thing, luminance is captured at every pixel, but as you state, color is interpolated across pixels. This does create problems in certain cases (those small very red berries might be hard to capture cleanly in the d* world, and might get interpolated away color-wise, but their luminance would be captured I believe).

Not to defend that, or belabor a d* discussion, but I think I'd get slapped down pretty hard trying to claim that my Oly 35RD was equivalent to a 400 megapixel d* camera, or even 100 mp.

Ralph if you are reading, any thoughts?
 

thuggins

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2008
Messages
1,144
Location
Dallas, TX
Format
Multi Format
While I appreciate your scepticism, both the scan and the microphotograph show the same detail. The point to the posting is to illustrate subtle texture that is recorded in the image. So it depends on what you are looking for. There is one answer if you're looking for straight lines, and another answer if you're looking for smooth, continuous texture.
 
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here.

PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:



Ilford ADOX Freestyle Photographic Stearman Press Weldon Color Lab Blue Moon Camera & Machine
Top Bottom