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PRR Station at Christiana: Santa & Mrs Claus viewed with a 135mm lens.

Christmas decor at the preserved former Pennsylvania Railroad station in Christiana offered a suitable seasonal opportunity to test out an unusual nocturnal camera lens combination.

My 1990s-vintage Nikkor f2.0 135mm ‘defocus’ lens is a heavy piece of glass. I’ve used this occasionally with my Z6 mirrorless camera to make digital images, and this lens offers a distinctive quality that allows for classic railroad telephoto views.

Coupling the traditional lens to the Z-body requires a Nikon FTZ adaptor.

I’ve been waiting to try the fast 135mm lens with the new Z6-III to see how it works with the more advanced sensor and see if it is sufficiently sharp.

I set up the Z6-III on my 3Pod tripod and exposed several images. This one was made at f2.0 (wide open) at 1/13th second at ISO 400. Upon inspection, I found the photo is sharp. More to the point, if I were to set the ISO to 6400, I could use a 1/250th of second shutter speed, which is fast enough to stop a moving train . Focusing will be a challenge.

That will be a test for another night! Stay tuned . . .

NEF RAW file scaled to JPG for internet presentation without cosmetic alteration. (No adjustments for exposure, contrast, color balance or color temperature).
Greatly Enlarged portion of the above image.

Tracking the Light explores the night!