Pancakes

I hadn't intended to have my most recent gear transaction include the RF 28mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens. But it did. This is the third copy of this lens I've had, most recently over the summer of 2024. I traded it in with some other lenses when I picked up my prior copy of the RF 28-70mm f/2.8 lens.

I'd like to say I'll hang on to this lens for an extended period. It's a very interesting design and the end result is pretty impressive. You can watch a tear down video showing the design of the lens here. Note the concave front element in the diagram below. You don't see that very often.

RF 28mm f/2.8 STM diagram

Camera/lens combinations which have the angle of view of a 28mm lens on a full frame, or 35mm film size, sensor are having their time in the sun. Main cameras on smart phones are generally this focal length equivalent. 

Ricoh makes a crop sensor camera with a built in 28mm equivalent lens in both color and black & white only versions. Leica has a series of full frame cameras with incorporated f/1.7 28mm lenses also in both color and black & white only models. More interesting to me is the Fujifilm GFX100RF with an f/4 lens which has a medium format sensor but lacks image stabilization. The design of these lenses are all pancake like to varying degrees. 

My version, with a full frame body with image stabilization and the f/2.8 pancake lens, seems a very respectable alternative. In comparison to the Leica Q series, the f/2.8 is slower than f/1.7 but the body has some better features like a 1/8000 sec. maximum shutter speed versus 1/2000. Advantages versus the GFX100RF include an f/2.8 rather than f/4 lens and image stabilization. Plus, I already have it.

Here is my now current kit with the pancake lens on the R6 Mark II.

And here are some scenes from my first outing with the combination in downtown Troy, NY this morning.

RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/4, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

28 Again

The RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM lens arrived late last week and I've been out with it a couple of times. Looking back at past blog articles about my former copy of this lens I noticed that a lot of the images I chose to include were at the 28mm focal length. 

It's generally accepted by reviewers that the wide end of this lens is its weakest performance. A comparison with Canon's 28mm pancake lens from The Digital Picture appears to bear this out. 

Having traded in my 24mm and 45mm lenses when I picked up the new zoom lens, I was without a small option as the new zoom is as large as the 85mm f/2 lens. The logical conclusion is that I need another copy of the 28mm pancake lens. I have a place for it in the Case Logic Kontrast DSLR bag I'm using for the rest of the gear and I have a small Lowepro bag which just fits the R6 Mark II with the pancake lens. 

Here are some photos from the new zoom lens.

Old Champlain Canal
RF 28-70mm f/2.8 at 37mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

Old Champlain Canal
RF 28-70mm f/2.8 at 61mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

Oakwood Cemetery
RF 28-70mm f/2.8 at 28mm, f/6.7, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 28-70mm f/2.8 at 39mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 28-70mm f/2.8 at 28mm, f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

General George Thomas Grave
RF 28-70mm f/2.8 at 50mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

While I Wait [Again]

My 2026 gear plan collapse means that until the RF 24-70mm f/2.8 STM lens arrives, hopefully later this week, I have only the RF 85mm f/2 lens. I know that the 85mm lens will see far less use than the zoom once it arrives, but something longer than 70mm is necessary and the close focusing and f/2 aperture of the 85mm lens elevates it over other options. Plus, I already have it.

A day trip to the southern Adirondacks yesterday resulted in some images from Beecher Creek in Edinburg, Saratoga County, and Northampton Beach State Park on Great Sacandaga Lake in Fulton County. 

This state park, and the "lake" in general, is a MAGA boater magnet in summer but it's a nice place off season. There are both B&W and color galleries on the website in the NY State Parks folders.

RF 85mm f/2, f/16, 1/4 sec., ISO 50

RF 85mm f/2, f/16, 1/8 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

My Plan Has Failed

My plan for using prime lenses has failed. There is way too much to deal with when changing lenses and filters while working out of a sling bag or backpack. I tried forcing lens changes this morning and it drove me crazy. And I wasn't rushed and conditions were nice. 

It was a nice hike along the tour road at the battlefield. By the time I was done I had pretty much decided what to do and did set up a transaction with MPB to trade in the 45mm and 24mm lenses and some cash for a 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM lens. I really like this lens, having owned one from when it came out in the fall of 2024 until March of 2025, and will pair it with the 85mm f/2. They are almost identical in dimensions and weight and both use 67mm filters.

You can see blog entries with photos made with the RF 28-70mm f/2.8 lens here.

My preference would have been to keep the 45mm lens but it had a high trade in value compared to its cost new and I couldn't justify holding on to it. Here are some shots from yesterday and this morning.

Whipple Bridge, Clifton Park, NY
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/4, 1/60 sec., ISO 400

Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

Saratoga NHP
RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/60 sec., ISO 200

24mm Spring Scenes

I'm still adjusting to the zoom to prime lens shift. I may have to end up going back to a zoom lens but that's not a near term practicality. My current thinking is the RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM lens which I had for a while before trading it for the 24-105mm f/4L just over a year ago. The 24-105mm f/4L is a good but boring lens. 

I walked around this morning with the 24mm f/1.8 lens looking for scenes with a close(ish) foreground subject. Mediocre results.

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/3.5, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

Mohawk River

The Mohawk River has seen much greater spring runoff than the Hudson River over the past few days. This makes sense as the Hudson watershed above the confluence with the Mohawk is farther north and at a higher altitude than that of the Mohawk. Another day of warm temperatures with some rain may even things out some.

I walked around Peebles Island yesterday afternoon which sits between the third and fourth branches of the Mohawk River. This is a part of the river which is bypassed by the Waterford flight of locks and not a part of the canal system. Only some hydroelectric dams alter the river from what it has been for thousands of years.

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/45 sec., ISO 100

RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

And here is a short video of what I have seen described as Buttermilk Falls on the third branch between Peebles Island and Van Schaick Island..

Welcome to the 60's

Today is the second of three days forecast to be in the 60's but the last day before rain moves in. I will probably get out again today but I hit a couple of watery locations this morning. If I have anything more today I'll post it tomorrow.

Lighthouse Park, Halfmoon, NY
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

Lighthouse Park, Halfmoon, NY
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

Lighthouse Park, Halfmoon, NY
RF 85mm f/2, f/2, 1/4000 sec., ISO 100

Lighthouse Park, Halfmoon, NY
RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

Cohoes Falls, Mohawk River
RF 85mm f/2, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

Cohoes Falls, Mohawk River
RF 85mm f/2, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100

From Late Winter to Late Spring

Late spring temperatures anyway. Nearly 70 degrees is not typical early March weather, and we have three of those days this week along with a 50 degree day yesterday.

I've been walking around with all three lenses but I tend to not switch lenses as often as I would use various focal lengths on a zoom lens.  But every zoom lens is a compromise with respect to aperture, focal length range or size and cost. I would want at least one prime lens in addition to any zoom lens available so I might as well work on getting used to frequent lens changes. 

Here are some shots from a walk around the rivers yesterday and a trip to Saratoga National Historical Park this morning,

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 24mm f/1.8, f/4, 1/6000 sec., ISO 100

Meteorological Spring

We are now in meteorological spring in the northern hemisphere. When I define a photo project by a season I use the meteorological time frame rather than the astrological. Although this year it really is still winter. 

Unless an opportunity to contribute to the disruption of the fascist war machine develops, I'll be out and around with my camera. The winter project with the 45mm lens has ended and can be viewed here. I ended up with 123 images. Snow and ice from beginning to end.

The next seasonal project I'm planning will be this summer and it will consist of images all made in the vertical, or portrait, orientation with either a 2:3 or 3:4 aspect ration. There will be galleries for both black and white and color photos. A couple of continuing projects are listed in the sidebar to the right.

Here are some of the last photos from the final days of February.

Saratoga Monument
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

Schuyler House
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100

Schuyler House
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

Oakwood Cemetery
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/11, 1/180 sec., ISO 100

Oakwood Cemetery
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

Oakwood Cemetery
RF 45mm f/1.2, f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 100