My Blog List
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Blog housekeeping: New Camera Reviews page - An update to my master Camera Reviews page.12 hours ago
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Abstraction: The April / May Issue - We must unplug, disconnect and savour the things that bring us joy – from the macro to the micro. Inside this issue we explore these ideas further. The p...12 hours ago
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André Schulze Reimagines Traditional Still Life Paintings with Contemporary Pixellated Auras - When the paintings that form the foundations of André Schulze’s compositions were made, people likely had never heard of a pixel. The German artist’s ele...13 hours ago
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土門拳的生與死 ──〈自述〉 - 文──土門拳 本文出自日本攝影家土門拳(1909-1990)文集《生與死》(死ぬことと生きること,1974年)繁體中文版將由大田出版社於2024年5月1日發行譯──嚴可婷|圖文──大田出版提供 起初,我也曾經是東京上野公園附近某間照相館的「學徒」。每天忙著清潔打掃、收拾客人的鞋子、以清水沖洗照片上殘留的藥...13 hours ago
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俄仔 16KP 50mm F1.2 x Nikon ZFC 俄國風味 - 俄國的投影鏡頭有很多,支支都大光圈,不少人會改裝來玩,50mm f1.2,120mm f1.8 等在曰歐美地區都很受歡迎。有人會加光圈,但就算不加光圈玩,這些俄鏡光圈全開的解像力都不算差。 俄仔的50mm f1.2 投影頭大約有兩個主要版本,一款是標16KP 50mm F1.2,另一款是PO-109-1A...15 hours ago
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Sony Releases More than 45 Updates for Alpha 1, a7S III, a7 IV & a9 III Cameras - Published: March 27, 2024 Sony releases more than 45 Firmware Updates for Alpha 1, Alpha 7S III & Alpha 7 IV cameras to improve Shooting Functions, Wo...18 hours ago
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Julie Patarin-Jossec – The Thread of Water - Review by Lee Halvorsen • Before starting a photo book, I usually flip quickly through the pages from back to front to give me a feel for the book. I start...1 day ago
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Examples of 'Punctum' - I would be remiss if I were not to mention that "punctum," apart from being a coined word with a conscientious and earnest definition, is also a signifier....1 day ago
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MiNT Camera and Pentax film compact cameras: What we know so far - [image: Rollei 35AF in box (Pic: MiNT Camera)] 2024 may turn out to be quite the year for film photography. Two companies – the Ricoh-owned Pentax and Hong...1 day ago
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HOMES NOT ROADS - Dyers Hall Road, 26th March 1994Revisiting my photographs of the M11 Link Road demolitions of 1993-94, I do find myself wondering why I didn't take more p...2 days ago
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A Place Called Home - Can art help shape the way communities interact? In Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora’s powerful new work, young women and their families open about the effects of ge...2 days ago
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Fujica STX-1N - This was another camera given to me by a friend to ‘clean-up’. He also gave me the Brownie I just… Read more Fujica STX-1N2 days ago
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Kodak Reflex II (1948) - This is a Kodak Reflex II, a Twin Lens Reflex camera made by Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY between the years 1948 and 1949. It was an update to the ori...2 days ago
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In Praise of Bad Photographs - While looking back through a fat binder full of negatives, I came to a realization: most of these photographs are bad. The post In Praise of Bad Photogra...3 days ago
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The Artist’s Books: Reviewed by Meggan Gould - Book Review The Artist’s Books By Francesca Woodman Reviewed by Meggan Gould "Francesca Woodman: The Artists Books has been sitting on my desk for some mo...3 days ago
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A new star from a country featured by red atar~7Artisans18mmf6.3.II~ - さて今回のご紹介は、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ようと思っていたのですが、ふと衝動的に面白げな中華レンズが欲しくなり、つい密林物販電站にて、ポチっとな、してしまい、それが金曜日の夜に受け渡し場所である近所のコンビニに届いたというので、浦安のスーパー銭湯帰りに引き取っ...4 days ago
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Review: Thypoch Simera 35mm 1.4 - Introduction Thypoch is a new manufacturer of photography lenses and entered the market at the end of 2023 with two M-mount lenses, the Simera 28mm 1.4 a...4 days ago
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Out of Gas - You can read my review of the amazing Olympus 35RC here. The post Out of Gas appeared first on Film Advance.5 days ago
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山の写真 (389):後立山連峰「大町三岳」 - 昨22日(金)は久しぶりに晴れ。 北アルプス=飛騨山脈の北部を後立山連峰と言い、 その内この*爺ヶ岳・鹿島槍・五竜*の三座を*「大町三岳」*と言うと、 *「大町市史」第一巻:自然環境*の巻頭口絵写真に説明があります。 その爺ヶ岳 主峰直下から*シュプー...6 days ago
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March 17: Fabric - For some, an early path in photography winds into other spheres; in this case into a fascination with interior and fabric design, and academia. Photographe...1 week 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...3 weeks 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...3 weeks 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. ...3 weeks 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.1 month 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.2 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 ...5 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...1 year 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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俾我由頭鬧到尾既《太平紋身店》 - 睇左ViuTV三套劇,《男排女將》、《暖男爸爸》及《二月廿九》,係各有特色,而且好有水準,好有電影感,就算劇中有啲演員好新,未必演得好好,但至少真係見得到誠意,令人覺得值得支持。 之後《熟女強人》,睇左一集唔啱channel,就冇睇。知道就嚟有套《太平紋身店》,好期待,新年期間十五集全上架,就開始睇。 我...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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[讀者投稿]Lighroom日系菲林調色(一) + Preset分享 - 日系色調令人感覺非常清新並能提供畫面簡潔的視覺感,於是我嘗試在Lightroom軟體調色,令現時的數碼相機擁有接近日系底片的色調,雖然質感還不如菲林相機,但可以為大家製造了一個很大的空間去創作;一個Preset當然未能夠滿足所有相片,但也有一些後製的思路可以讓大家參考一下。 這篇文章 [讀者投稿]Lighr...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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Francis Bacon and George Smiley - Bill Brandt, Francis Bacon, Primrose Hill, 1963 Francis Bacon didn’t like this portrait of him by Bill Brandt. I can’t t...6 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.