The New Leica? - Steve Huff Compares Leica M, Fuji X-M1 and Panasonice DMC-GX7

So Who Needs A "New Leica?" I Like the Old One

by Reed A. George

 

Steve Huff has a habit of making "crazy comparisons," many of which turn out to be very interesting.

 

This time, he compares the new Leica M and 50mm f1.4 Summilux Aspheric lens ($11,000 value) to the Fujifilm XM-1 and Zeiss 32mm Touit lens ($1,600 value) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 and Voigtlander 25mm f0.95 lens ($1,900 value).

 

People seem to be always looking for a "new Leica." The fact is, there isn't one. Steve acknowledges this, while challenging Leica's apparent disproportionate image quality:price ratio. It's true. Leica's images aren't 5X better than Fuji or Panasonic's. However, the fun of using the Leica may approach it. At least that's my opinion.

 

Huff says the Fuji feels like a toy made for a child, while the Lumix feels like a toy made for a photographer. I like the way he puts that into terms I can understand. I sure like my photography toys.

 

So, if there's a "new Leica," Mr. Huff thinks Panasonic is closer than Fuji. Interesting to know.

 

(Click Here) to read this entertaining comparison (this is just the first installment of it), on Steve Huff's site.

 

I am rather attached to the old Leica. In fact, the older the better in some ways.

 

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Great Project by Jay Hynes - "Grandmas Rock"

 

Image Source:

http://www.lostateminor.com/2013/09/27/grandmas-rock-portrait-series-by-jay-hynes/?utm_source=feedburner

 

I found this unique photo project by photographer Jay Hynes on "Lost at E Minor," one of my regular look-to sites for creative ideas.

 

(Click Here) to see more photos of grandmas in rock & roll t-shirts.

 

(Click Here) to go to Jay Hyne's website.

 

I think this is a great show of creativity. We are now in the era where some grandmas were likely actually at some of the shows whose tours are commemorated on the shirts they're wearing.

 

I lost my grandmas a few years back, having been fortunate to know them both well into my own adulthood. Neither would have likely worn an AC/DC t-shirt, except maybe long enough to let me take their picture. But now, my mom's a grandma her self. I have no problem at all imagining her in a Grateful Dead t-shirt. Maybe she didn't go to the shows, but she sure put up with a bunch of us kids before and after we did.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Skeletons From The Closet Camera for October: Zeiss Ikonta 521/2 Medium Format Folder

 

Zeiss Ikonta 521/2 6x9 Format Folding Camera

ca. 1947-1951

 

This month's camera is from deep in the closet. A somewhat random ebay purchase from years back, I don't remember what I paid for it, but I remember thinking hey, if it's a Zeiss camera, it's got to be worth that much. It wasn't a lot.

 

I have not used this camera much to date, largely because the shutter was a little sticky, and more importantly, the shutter trigger, which loads as part of the film winding process, was a little unreliable. That's all fixed now, thanks to Jurgen Kreckel. You may remember that I sent off my lovely Agfa Record III to Jurgen for service. When I did that, I decided to get this camera fixed up as well. It came back working very smoothly, and is now ready to get out and shoot.

 

(Click Here) if you want to contact Jurgen Kreckel (certo6). I recommend him highly for service of folding cameras. I think he's the best in the business.

 

Although my 521/2 shoots 6x9 format (very large negatives) on 120 film, I don't expect it to replace the Agfa Record III as my current favorite folding camera for a couple of reasons. First, while my Record III has the top of the line Solinar lens, my Zeiss has the second tier Novar 1055cm f4.5 lens. The Novars are not bad lenses, just not as renowned as the Tessars. Second, the 521/2 has no rangefinder built-in, not even an uncoupled one like the Agfa does. And further, there's not accessory shoe to even mount up a finder to it. So, it's guess focus and guess exposure. Far less convenient than the Agfa in this respect.

 

My 521/2 has a Compur shutter, with speeds from 1 second to 1/250, plus B. F-stops range from 4.5 to 32. Close focus is at 1.5m.

 

Well, I'll get it out and shoot it this month. Let's see what it can do!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Photographing Paintball With the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 and 14-140 mm Zoom

My twelve year old daughter has taken up a new sport - paintball. Until now, I've merely dropped her off to play, but have wanted to try my hand at photographing the action. I finally followed up and did it.

 

Assassin, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens at 140mm

iso 400, f10, 1/320 sec.

 

 

So, I found a UV filter to fit the 14-140 lens, custom fit a plastic freezer bag to fit around the edge of the filter and cover the body, and headed out. By the way, this approach worked perfectly; I took a direct hit in the hand while holding the camera. Orange paint splattered the bag, but not the camera. The filter would have protected the lens front element as well.

 

Most of the people out playing paintball are not middle school girls. Many are military people, and they take it pretty seriously.

 

Intense Focus, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens at 140mm

iso 400, f11, 1/125 sec.

 

Here is the best action shot I captured that day:

 

Gunsmoke, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens at 140mm

iso 400, f13, 1/500 sec.

I heard comments about how my little girl is a "badass," "a warrior," "a little ninja," and several other things, all positive. One guy said, "she's on my team, and it seems like everywhere I go, she just pops up." She's quickly gaining the respect of this group.

 

Who's That Little Girl?, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens at 140mm

iso 400, f14, 1/500 sec.

 

Here's what it can look like when you take a direct shot.

 

Face Shot, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens at 140mm

iso 400, f5.3, 1/500 sec.

 

Cover, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens at 140mm

iso 400, f13, 1/500 sec.

Point and Shoot, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens at 140mm

iso 400, f11, 1/500 sec.

This was a fun photographic outing. I rarely use shutter priority on any of my cameras, but knew that I wanted a fast shutter speed for this type of action. So, I set the G3 to "S" and generally 1/500 second, letting the meter choose the aperture for me. That worked quite well.

 

Because I had to wear a protective mask on the field, it was necessary to shoot from the LCD, rather than through the electronic viewfinder. That was more of a challenge, but it worked okay.

 

Shooting the wide range zoom, which goes from wide angle to telephoto, was also very handy. Next time, I may try getting out on the field with a 35mm equivalent lens. We'll see.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Skeletons From The Closet - Nikomat FTn and 80-200 f4 AIS Lens

 

Growing Up, by Reed A. George

Nikomat FTn, Nikkor AIS 80-200mm f4 Lens

Kodak TMax 400 Film

 

I shot this with my Nikomat FTn, September's SFTC camera.

 

(Click Here) to read about the camera.

 

Shooting the Nikomat got me once again interested in older Nikons and lenses. As luck would have it, I met someone who had a nice Nikon F2 and 80-200mm f4 AIS lens for sale. These cameras are incredibly inexpensive these days, selling at ~10% of what they cost new. In any case, I thought I would not be interested in the zoom, until I saw it. The fixed f4 aperture is quite nice. This is one heavy, well-built piece of optics.

 

(Click Here) to read a comparison of several versions of Nikkor zooms in this focal range on JSV Foto, including the 80-200 f4 AIS. The old manual lens did pretty well against its younger cousins.

 

As you can see from the shot above, it's plenty sharp for this type of application. Older zooms were notoriously unsharp compared to primes, but the 80-400 AIS was a premium lens in its day. I think it renders perfectly for people shots like this.

 

So now I'll have to spend some time with the F2 body as well. My first brief experiences with it remind me of when I was a kid, and got to shadow a photojournalist for a day. They were shooting Nikon Fs and F2s. Lots of fun.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Nikon's New Underwater Interchangeable Lens Camera - the 1 AW1!

 

Image Source: nikonusa.com

 

Now here's something very interesting to me, from Nikon. A waterproof camera (good to 49') with interchangeable lenses and raw file capability, all in a small package.

 

I am a big fan of Nikon. I shoot Nikon SLRs (both film and digital), and love the Nikon lenses. However, I equate Nikon with the SLR configuration. My Nikon D700 is an extreme image quality machine, but it's an SLR - heavy, large, perhaps overloaded with features. When I want simple, I shoot Leica.

 

Until now, I have not paid much attention to Nikon's 1 series cameras. Nikon was a little late to the mirrorless camera game, and with a sensor size smaller than Micro 4/3, it just didn't motivate me to look into it. Of course, the format has been good for Nikon, and has gained a good level of adoption.

 

Now they've announced something really interesting - an underwater version. With two lenses currently certified to be waterproof along with the 1 AW1 body, this really could go somewhere. The current lenses are a 11-27mm f3.5-5.6 kit zoom, and a 10mm f2.8 prime. The zoom is probably not that great for underwater usage, but that 10mm (~27mm equivalent 35mm format field of view) could be spectacular. Fast f2.8 aperture and close focusing to ~9", this could be an excellent lens for the reefs.

 

(Click Here) to read about the new 1 AW1 and kits at nikonusa.com.

 

(Click Here) to read a first impressions post on dpreview.com.

 

I really like the idea of a flexible underwater camera system. I would prefer it to not take me into yet another camera system and format, however. If this were a Panasonic Micro 4/3 camera, I'd be getting out my credit card, even though it would not take advantage of my current lenses for underwater applications.

 

In any case, the Nikon 1 AW1 could start an interesting trend. If I were going to do a lot of diving, I'd seriously consider giving it a try. For now, I'll stick with my Lumix DMC-TS5 underwater compact camera.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Nikomat FTn at Irish Dance Exhibition - Skeletons From The Closet, September's Camera

My Nikomat FTn and I recently went to Glen Echo Park in Maryland. They were holding an Irish dance event in what used to be the bumper car ride in the old Glen Echo Amusement Park.

 

Very challenging lighting, indeed, the pavilion was ringed with mid-day sun, while the interior remained quite dark. Having not brought a flash with me, or ever attempted to use one with the FTn, I decided to go with the prevailing conditions. This first shot took advantage of the light around the edges, and allowed me to capture some details of the dancers stretching and warming up.

Warming Up, by Reed A. George

Nikomat FTn, Kodak Tmax 400 Film

To really share what the lighting was like, I decided to shoot a few silhouettes. I really like the lines of the wood planks in the floor, and how they created a pool of reflected light in the relative darkness. The rafters in the roof also add to the structure of the shots. In this first silhouette, I also like how the dancer at right is actually not touching the floor; you can just detect that by the shadows under her foot.

Silhouette #1, by Reed A. George

Nikomat FTn, Kodak Tmax 400 Film

What I like about this final shot is how the dancer's arms frame the spectator in the distance beyond them. I also think the electric fans add an element of interest.

Silhouette #2, by Reed A. George

Nikomat FTn, Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

Hardly documentation of the event or the people involved, these shots are my personal interpretation of what I saw. I enjoyed shooting the Nikomat here, and feel that it helped me to extract some details from a challenging lighting situation.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com