45mm Zeiss Tessar CY, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Snapseed, Ps CS5.

Trying out a friend’s lens to see if I want one for myself. This is a Canon 70-200mm ƒ2.8L IS II at ƒ2.8. I returned the Leica 80-200mm ƒ4 Vario-Elmarit. I have a Zeiss 80-200mm ƒ4 Vario-Sonnar, and a Canon 70-200 ƒ4L IS USM. The Zeiss is the best of them all for my taste-certainly the sharpest and the best contrast. The Leica had really nice color rendering and a nice gentle style going out of focus, but a number of problems too. The Canon 2.8 is plenty sharp in the highlights but lacks contrast in the shadows, among other problems. This evaluation is not based on this exposure at ƒ2,8.

70-200mm ƒ2.8L IS II, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Ps CS5.

This is a reworked file, previously posted under the same name.

45mm Zeiss Tessar CY, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Ps CS5, HDR.

35-70mm Zeiss Vario-Sonnar CY, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Ps CS5.

80-200mm Zeiss Vario-Sonnar CY, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Ps CS5.

80-200mm Zeiss Vario-Sonnar, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Ps CS5.

Another fine evening here at the Crossroad, going the way of all things. These fields, lovely though they are, are nuked every spring by an agricultural chemical spraying company. They spray a cocktail of several herbicides, multiple insecticides, at least one fungicide, and fertilizers. They then follow with genetically modified seed, usually corn or soybeans, then spray some more.

At least one of the insecticides was previously illegal to use because it was deemed too dangerous. But it kills stinkbugs, so it is now OK to use. There were definitely fewer stinkbugs at my house this year than last, by a wide margin. The farmer doesn’t own this land, he leases it. Nor does he live near here. I live here.

80-200mm Zeiss Vario-Sonnar CY, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Ps CS5.

Plantanus occidentalis

45mm Zeiss Tessar CY, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Ps CS5.

80-200mm Zeiss Vario-Sonnar CY, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Photomatix, Ps CS5.

I don’t believe it would be possible to pump more color into this than was actually the case. These are the same three sycamores in other recent posts. A fox scolded me for intruding into its turf—thus the name.

45mm Zeiss Tessar CY, Canon 5D Mk II, Aperture 3, Ps CS5.