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Re: [OM] Soft Lens

Subject: Re: [OM] Soft Lens
From: "George M. Anderson" <george@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 19:42:21 -0700

Giles wrote:
> 
> This topic brings to the fore something I have wondered about.
> 
> What does a soft focus lens do specifically that a a diffusion filter or 
> vaseline on
> a skylight won't.  Do they have the same resolution and contrast as a 
> conventional
> lens?
> 
> Giles
> 

I've got one made by Mamiya for my 645 camera.  It's a 145/4 (equiv to
85-90).  It's a big, bulky lens.  But it produces really interesting
results.  

It differs from a regular lens in that it has an extra movable ring.
This ring has 5 marked settings, denoted by colors, but is continuously
variable.  The ring controls the amount of 'softness' from min. to max. 
It creates the softness by moving the front and rear element groups of
the lens to intentionally create spherical abberation. The degree of
softness also depends on the aperture, of course, and is gone by f/8
with softness ring set at minimum.  The softness effect can be seen in
the viewfinder.  In fact, one must pull the focussing ring back towards
you to see a sharp focussable image, done by stopping down the lens, so
focus can be a bit of a challenge.  When the focussing ring is released,
the set aperture is chosen, so one could compare effects at f/4 to those
at other apertures.

George

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