My Blog List
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Imagining Worlds After Climate Disaster, Julie Heffernan Melds Chaos and the Sublime - Julie Heffernan likens her paintings to “advent calendars gone haywire.” Working in oil on canvas, the Brooklyn-based artist renders vast dreamworlds wit...11 hours ago
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Beginner’s Guide to Ilford Delta 400 - Everything you need to know to get started with black-and-white photography and Ilford Delta 400. The post Beginner’s Guide to Ilford Delta 400 appeared ...12 hours ago
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Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 28mm f8 鷹眼廣角AF體驗 - Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 28mm f8 CONTAX RF 鏡之前玩了一次菲林,今次有NIKON ZF,有天工TZM02環,F8 之下,不知 AF 表現如何? 插上一試,即知真章。 Zeiss 2.8cm f8 Contax廣角鷹眼 上回菲林上的表現也是一般般,不知數碼上會否更差。 ...17 hours ago
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Bell & Howell TDC Stereo Vivid (1954) - This is a TDC Stereo Vivid, a 35mm stereo camera produced by the Three Dimension Company, a subsidiary of Bell & Howell in Chicago, IL, USA between the y...18 hours ago
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Shooting Wide Open - Interesting bunch of comments about shooting wide open on April 4th. The responses were far more varied than I expected, and the reasons given were more va...19 hours ago
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I’m not sold on Kodak ColorPlus - I shot my last roll of Kodak ColorPlus to decide whether to buy more of this film.23 hours ago
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Outdoor Art:Installations for the Season - From Antony Gormley's new installation at Houghton Hall to Steve Messam at Lowther Castle, we outline outdoor exhibitions to check out. The post Outdoor ...1 day ago
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日記(1265):近所を散歩 - ちょっと古いですが、一週間前の17日(水)、家の近所を散歩。 桜があちこちに植えられています。 花桃 風で枝の動きが止まらず、1/4000秒で切りました。 山桜 こちらは白い桜。 土手に登ります。 ...1 day ago
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The Lizard: Reviewed by Brian Arnold - Book Review The Lizard By Gabriele Rossi Reviewed by Brian Arnold "The 2011 film starring Johnny Depp, Rango, tells the story of a domesticated chameleon,...1 day ago
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‘Decisive Moment’ exhibition celebrates London film photowalks - [image: The Decisive Moment exhibition poster (Pic: Notting Hill Arts Club)] An exhibition of film photographs shot on the London Camera Project walks is t...1 day ago
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TIPA Awards 2024 Honor Sony Alpha 9 III, a6700, FE 300mm 2.8 GM & FE 70-200 F4 Macro G II - Published: April 22, 2024 TIPA World Awards 2024 name Sony Alpha 9 III Best Professional Hybrid Camera, a6700 Best APS-C Expert Camera, FE 300mm 2.8 GM B...1 day ago
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Review: Nikon Nikkor 105mm 2.5 Ai – The Portrait Tele Bestseller - Introduction Some lenses became famous because they are rare and/or expensive. Neither is the case for the Nikon Nikkor 105mm 2.5 Ai. In fact – from the ...2 days ago
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Andrea Orejarena & Caleb Stein – American Glitch - Review by Gerhard Clausing • What do we think of when we see the word glitch? Some part of a technical system that doesn’t work, something that slips throu...4 days ago
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Nikon F-801 (N8008) - I got this on the bay for less than £30. It came with a lens too so I was stoked.… Read more Nikon F-801 (N8008)4 days ago
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Making Light of Every Thing - A new exhibition explores the idea of intimacy through a fresh and surprising lens, bringing together a group of experimental photographers that play with ...4 days ago
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April 17: Process - One should not underestimate the contribution of one often unsung class of staff member in an educational institution. Good advice to any beginning teacher...6 days ago
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Revival from a long absence~Ernst Leitz Elmarit21mmf2.8~ - さて今回のご紹介は、正真正銘先々週の古河桃祭り撮影ツアーの主役で、修理を終えたばかりのElmarit21mmf2.8の試写をした結果をアップしたいと思います。まず、当工房のElmarit21mmf2.8が、或る時期からばたっと登場しなくなり、その代わりに、不要に明るく、無駄に重い、中華製レンズTTArtisan2...2 weeks ago
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攝影 京都之旅 - Sony FE 24-70mm F4 OSS Zeiss - 今次京都之前,我係冇變焦鏡頭,全部都係定焦鏡,連唯一一枝既Sony FE自動對焦鏡頭,都係28mm F2。 當初買28mm F2係因為要合照,當俾部相機人幫手影相時用,真係唔多人識同你手動對焦㗎嘛。所以之前一般會帶三支鏡,Sony FE 28 F2、Leica 50 F1.4同Leica 90 F2(定係...2 weeks ago
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藝術家張照堂辭世 - 非常沉重地代家屬通知大家,敬愛的藝術家張照堂老師於昨夜長眠,享年81歲。 張照堂的創作橫跨電影、電視、紀錄片、實驗電影與靜態攝影等視覺藝術,長年投身編輯、策展與教育,對台灣攝影暨影像文化發展的影響巨大。 張照堂於1943年生於台北板橋,初中時因為哥哥借他一台相機,開始對攝影產生興趣;高中時期參加攝影社,隨...3 weeks ago
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'WELCOME TO ESSEX' - Grove Green Road, 18th March 1994 Growing up in Ilford in the 1980s and 90s, its identity as being part of London was somewhat ambivalent: ‘London’ for me ...5 weeks ago
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Death Valley Noir - The flooded playa, as it would be seen by a being who evolved on a planet orbiting a cool red star...1 month ago
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齋傾唔做:關於裸體與身體自愛/色情與藝術的標準 - 上下集一齊推~ 再次多謝齋老味的邀請! 訪問有條理,提問以公眾的角度出發,深入淺出,易明又不膚淺。 當中讓我重新整理自己在「人體模特兒」、「裸體」、「裸體與色情的關係」等題目上的答案。感覺在這段時間裡,因為準備不同講座和訪問,又訪問別人,自己對裸體這題目又再加深認識。 我實在享受這個訪問,希望你也會...1 month ago
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Ensign Midget model 2 - The Ensign Midget model 2 is a compact camera with a fascinating history. Made in 1934, it features an Ensar lens, leaf shutter, and a folding viewfinder. ...1 month ago
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Stars over the Sand - I took too much to Australia, and still needed something else... The post Stars over the Sand appeared first on James Greenoff Photography.2 months ago
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Quotations - Quotations about photography can contain truths about photography in very few words. The post Quotations appeared first on FlynnGraphics.3 months ago
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Paper Negatives - I really enjoy being able to learn by experimentation. With large format film cameras this can be very expensive, so working with paper negatives can be a ...6 months ago
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In Conversation With: Stephan Jahanshahi - Stephan Jahanshahi is an Iranian-American artist based in Los Angeles. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts Photo, Video and Related Media MFA progra...1 year ago
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52 Cameras: Olympus E-500 - ------------------------------ [image: Amaranth] Amaranth [image: Cowpen Daisy] Cowpen Daisy [image: Purple Flower] Haven’t identified this purple f...1 year ago
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Go for a walk in Nihonbashi streetscape with Curtagon 35mm - The Flektogon 35mm is famous for its quasi-wide-angle 35mm. However, it hasn’t hit the market so much, so I took [ - ]1 year ago
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Vallerret Photography Gloves for Winter – Markhof Pro V3 Review - VALLERRET PHOTOGRAPHY GLOVES MARKHOF PRO V3 POWER STRETCH PRO LINER In the last couple of months, I led two photography workshops in the Dolomites and Icel...2 years ago
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高光捕捉 Enna Ennalyt 50mm f/1.9 - ENNA 創建於1920年德國慕尼黑,名字由始創者 Alfred Neuman 縮寫德語發音拼寫而成。 它從1950年開始生產相機鏡頭,是西德第一個生產Retrofocus 結構鏡頭的公司。 這種結構可以使小畫幅鏡頭廣角端突破 40mm 採用同樣原理的長焦鏡頭也變得輕巧袖珍。 ENNA 著名產品有1958年研製成...2 years ago
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#147 Leica M4-2 and MD-2 - 第一部高達動畫是製作於1979-1980年的《大地上的高達篇》,筆者知道有很多不同的中文譯名,《大地上的高達篇》的筆者兒時看無線電視時的譯名。《高達》也是筆者喜歡的動畫,在筆者心目中RX-78,跟Leica M3一樣是經典中的經典。 1979...2 years ago
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Five Photographers from Asia nominated for World Press Photo 2021 Awards - Five photographers and stories from Asia nominated for World Press Photo 2021 Awards, from Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, India and Bangladesh. The pos...3 years ago
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Fuck a T2 just get a µ[mju:]-II - Before starting, we would like to clarify that, normally we would not make a comparison like this because they are two completely different things (lik...4 years ago
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Capture One and the Fujifilm GFX 50S (Final) - The final workflow update for the GFX 50S and Capture One A surprise announcement by Capture One at Photokina 2018 changed everything! Starting with vers...5 years ago
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Check out my new blog! - *I've recently created a new website and am hosting my blog over there now. * *So for the most recent blog postings, please head over to www.darrenbradley...5 years ago
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Leica M 10-P Digital Rangefinder Camera - Sound comparison between Leica M10 and Leica M10-P: The Sound of Silence.5 years ago
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Scanning Film with the GFX 50S - Using a digital medium format camera to scan medium format film. What could go wrong? After bringing home freshly developed 120 format film, I looked at ...6 years ago
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Lens Bubbles Is Moving - This will likely be the last post I write for my blog on Blogger. After about 8 years, and 1327 posts, I have to say goodbye to Blogger and move on to my ...7 years ago
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Family Photo Shoot 2016 - Looking at a few family shoots that I did last year. Here are a couple of super loto ones.7 years ago
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東蔡三劍客zebra版_Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135/3.5 - *【虫前言】* 東德蔡司的M42鏡頭,大至可初分為三個時期 由195X年初的白銀時期、197X年的斑馬時期至198X年末的黑鐵時期 *白銀時期*的代表作品,有耳熟能詳甚至趁戰亂被俄國抄襲的經典款式鏡頭群 其代表為 大B 與小B *黑鐵時期*的代表作品更是將Carl Zeiss Jena推向高峰 ...8 years ago
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#47. 羽仁未央,溫子,垂水景 - 90年代在香港,大概相若的一個時期認識了三位日本朋友:羽仁未央,溫子,垂水景。羽仁未央乃著名導演羽仁進之女,未央於去年(2014)不幸去世。溫子與香港的攝影朋友也較熟絡。1994「中港台當代攝影展」,飯澤耕太郎特意來港看展覽,便是由溫子當翻譯。垂水景熱衷有關電子平台創作事項,當時我們正在出版「秩智」,一份發表數碼...9 years ago
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Thursday, April 30, 2015
One Year with the Leica Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Asph
I’ve read a ton of reviews on lenses – some very technical, some very practical – this review will be neither. I’m not a photography expert and certainly not a lens science expert, but I know what works for me and what doesn’t and I wanted to explain the merits of the astounding Leica 50mm Summilux… before I change it for the 50mm Summicron Apo Asph.
The Leica 50mm Summilux is without a doubt the most perfect lens I have owned in ten odd years of serious photography. I started out in photography with an average SLR and average lenses shooting average landscapes. I did this for years until I discovered street photography and then quickly discovered that SLR’s were not the right tool for this genre. This led me to Leica and their awesome range of lenses. At this point I should explain that although everyone talks about Leica camera bodies (which I believe are the very best in 35mm photography), it’s actually Leica lenses that most people choose Leica for. Leica lenses are amongst the very best glass money can buy, if not the best. I can talk with some authority here as I have owned lenses from various manufacturers including Nikon, Canon, Voigtlander, Fuji, Olympus, Zeiss and of course Leica. The first two mentioned I believe to be the worst and the last two mentioned I believe to be the best.
On the Leica M9 and M Monochrom, I have shot almost solely with Leica’s 50mm Summilux Aspherical f/1.4. I choose 50mm for street photography purely because it feels right for me, not because scientifically it is the closest reproduction of what the human eye sees, just because it feels natural, it’s easy to frame and i’ve never been a wide angle fan.
The 50mm Summilux is a small and extremely robust lens which, when fitted to an M rangefinder, feels solid, perfectly weighted and stealthy. It has a focus tab and riveted focus ring which allows you to choose between traditional rangefinder focusing or SLR lens focussing or a combination of both. Little details like this are very important to me. As a street shooter, focussing needs to be fast and accurate.
The Summilux has a wide open aperture of f/1.4, which is awesomely fast and allows you to shoot at low ISO’s in daylight, but it’s when light is at a premium that this lens comes alive. At night the Summilux is a light vampire.
Shooting wide open with the 50mm Lux gives you lots of possibilities… shorter exposures, sharp, crisp images, and great contrast. However, with a lens this fast it takes a fair amount of practice to achieve pin sharp focussing wide open at f/1.4 as the focal plane in the lux is über thin. On the upside, if you get it right, the lens will render an almost 3D image with the subject popping sharply out of the background.
Selective Focus: M Monochrom – 50mm Summilux
I can’t vouch for the lens when it’s stopped down below f/4.0 as I have never closed it up beyond that. Why would you? Fast lenses are designed to be shot wide open, right? If you are looking for a lens that performs stopped further down, try the standard 50mm Summicron, it’s half the price of the Summilux and it’s outstanding between f/4 and f/8.
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Performance on the M9
Colour rendering on the M9 with the 50mm Summilux is nothing short of perfection. I have genuinely never seen a lens that replicates colour as honestly as the Lux. I don’t know if the Lux was specifically designed for the M9 sensor or not, but together they sing. Before switching to Leica glass I used to spend a lot of time desaturating my images but with the 50mm Lux, desaturation is not necessary.
Sharpness on the M9 (with a good focus) is a near perfect. It renders perfectly smooth edges and very tight grain that when viewed at 100% looks incredibly close to fast, quality film.
On the M9, the 50mm Summilux outperformed my expectations.
Sidetrack…
I should mention that when I first started using an M9, I coupled it with a Zeiss Planar f/2.0, which is an awesome lens for the money – 3 times cheaper than the Summilux. It is sharp, easy to focus and feels good on the camera. However, I found it rendered an over-saturated image and I was never happy with the bokeh it produced. It also plummets in price in the used market – Leica glass holds it’s value very well.
Back on track…
If you are planning mounting a 50mm Summilux on your M9, I can guarantee that after a little time using it, you’ll love it. You will get to know it’s little nuances, like very slight fall off at the edges (which can be boosted in Silver Efex to produce beautiful, natural looking vignettes), it’s almost uncanny selective focussing ability and it’s massive capacity to swallow light at night and produce wonderful high contrast shots.
Sample Image: M9 – 50mm Summilux
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Performance on the M Monochrom
Here comes a big claim…
The 50mm Lux couple with the M Monochrom delivers the best black and white digital image I have ever seen, even compared to high end medium format.
The M Monochrom is a little bit different. It shoots just black and white (the clue is in the name) and it has no Bayer filter. This makes the camera better in low light and better at high ISO. These enhanced camera abilities combined with the already stunning capability of the Lux glass, produce stunning black and white photographs, photographs that need very little post work as the detail and the contrast are so close to reality that over processing the image is fruitless. The Raw shot is just class. I simply alter exposure if required, boost the vignette (that’s my thing) and export the image.
It’s interesting stopping the lens down to f/2 or f/4. The contrast just gets better and better and you can even see it in the Monochrom’s digital display (which is pitiful).
If I was over the moon with the Summilux on the M9, I am in heaven with it on the Monochrom. I’ve simply never experienced images like it. Unbelievably sharp, high contrasted images that separate the subject from the background so perfectly.
Sample Image: M Monochrom – 50mm Summilux f/1.4
After writing the above, it seems almost crazy that I am trading in my 50mm Summilux against the new Leica APO-Summicron-M 50 mm f/2 ASPH. Why? Well, because Leica claim it’s better. I have total faith in Leica glass and if the Summilux is close to 50mm perfection, I want to get even closer!
Give me a year and I’ll write a review on the Cron.