gear

THE DIGITAL SOAPBOX OF ANDY CLEAVENGER

85mm PC Micro

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Email:  graycard18@gmail.com

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Behold the monster...  Frankenstein.

Franky is truly a beast. Mary Shelley would be proud. I was hoping to use him handheld for portraits to achieve a cool, narrow focus tilt/shift effect, but found him to be pretty demanding for portraiture. You end up spending a lot of time concentrating on tweaking the tilt controls when you want to concentrate on your subject. I’m not saying it can’t be done, I’m just saying it can be a challenge at first. Plus a good deal of the cool tilt/shift effect that this lens offers is lost on a digital body thanks to the 1.5X crop. To get the full benefit of the tilt/shift effect you need to use it on a film body or a D3.

Franky’s intended purpose is macro photography and within that context he excels. I’ve found him to be EXTREMELY helpful for close up table top stuff like electronics or food because he makes it possible to adjust the plane of focus while keeping the camera stationary, rather than endlessly trying to reposition the camera to get the right things in focus.

If you’re making your living off of macro photography Franky is worth considering, but only if you’re trying to make a living at it, cuz the monster ain’t cheap. Frankenstein cost me around $1000, and I got him used. Brand new he’s going for about $1300. If you’re just shooting macro for fun, check out the 60mm micro or the 105mm micro. Both of those are cheaper, easier to use and more versatile “walking around” lenses.