Hi, I am happy with the way the pictures turned out too. The very soft
lighting lets you see their eyes, without having to fire a flash into them
(and risking green eye).
My two favorite cat lenses are the A 50mm F1.4 and Sears 135mm F2.8
"Macro". The Sears lens allows for closeups of the face, and it performs
pretty well. The FA 135mm actually focuses closer than the Sears, even
when the Sears is in the Macro mode, so it would be another fine choice.
(shot with Sears 135mm "Macro", ZX-M, Promaster flash)
Bobette:
http://www.visi.com/~nickmpls/bobette.jpg
George:
http://www.visi.com/~nickmpls/george.jpg
I do like the 50mm lens for it's limited DOF:
Monkey:
http://www.visi.com/~nickmpls/monkey1.4.jpg
(this was shot on Kodak Select B&W+, using F1.4)
Ernie:
http://www.visi.com/~nickmpls/ernieatdoor2.jpg
(F1.4 again)
Another good lens I recently got is the A 35-105mm F3.5, because it can
cover the ground of the 50mm, and the get up close ability of the 135mm.
It's not the perfect cat lens though, as the minimum aperture at 50mm is
F3.5, so no really limited DOF shots. I have not used it much for cats
because I'm too cheap to buy a nice 67mm UV filter to avoid the inevitable
nose nudges on the front element.
Tybalt (and a possum):
http://www.visi.com/~nickmpls/tybalt&possum.jpg
(A 35-105mm, Ricoh body)
As for the 77mm, I wish I had one. This will probably make a good lens,
due to the 3D effect. I remember someone posted some cat pictures taken
with a limited lens and the 3d affect was stunning.
Of course, you can still take pictures with any lens you feel like:
http://www.visi.com/~nickmpls/tybalt19.jpg
(Vivitar 19mm F3.8 @ F5.6)
Happy shooting!
Todd
At 03:52 PM 5/25/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Todd wrote:
>> http://www.visi.com/~nickmpls/Tybalt.jpg
>> http://www.visi.com/~nickmpls/ernie0.JPG
>
>> Comments welcome. (For those that are interested, camera is the ZX-M
>> and lens is the A 50mm F1.4 at about F2.8)
>
>Very nice shots. The lighting is wonderful. A cloudy day on your deck?
>
>Is the 50mm your favorite lens for shooting cats? It's served me well
>for this purpose, but I've considered getting the 77mm limited. I
>really like the 50mm perspective but one of my cats won't stit still
>when I come in close.
>
>Amy
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