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Hell has frozen over: A Leica M with out the ‘M’ the EV1

Leica M. The last of the rangefinders. Able to compose and see things coming into the frame, capturing that decisive moment. M stands for Messsucher, which is German for rangefinder. This has always been what has defined the Leica M cameras until today.

There are advantages to modern EVF’s, focusing modern fast glass is hard to focus, parallax issues are gone, you can see your exposure in the viewfinder, preview focus and depth of field, plus your not limited to the supported frame lines so can use wider and longer lens.

Is it an M, well it’s not a rangefinder, but is rangefinder styled and for users of M glass maybe a good option.

Lincoln high street. Old ladies with shopping bags on a wet street.
Leica M8 50mm Summilux

Check out out the reviews:

https://www.slack.co.uk/articles/elsie-the-leica-m-ev1.html

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UK On line Safety Act – Age verification data hacked

So the UK on line safety act has only been active a few months. Meant to close the door on unsuitable material but already one of the companies doing the age verification has been hacked.

As was warned now adults have had there details stollen and are now at risk of identify theft.

We are seeing vital health knowledge now blocked to minors who need it.

Its not looking good, but its looks like UK government are looking to expand and increase censorship online for the UK.

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Mixing light in the studio

Blond model wearing red baby doll, holding a lit candle. The light is low and there is a red glow in her eyes.

The whole idea with flash, especially flash in the studio it to fully control the light in the space.

That’s why most of my shots in the studio are taken at f/8 and 1/200 of a second at ISO64. This gets rid of any ambient light, just allowing the flash to light the scene.

But just occasionally you want to introduce another light source, here we have candle light and flash carefully balanced. Wide open, lowest ISO and I kept dropping the shutter speed till the candle looked right then lit the rest of the scene with flash. Tricky but easier when you tether to the computer.

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Sensor, chipset or firmware – what creates the image

Black and white image of a young blonde woman, leaning on a wall. She is wearing a white shirt and a jacket.

People concentrate on the sensor too much. Oh that’s just a Sony sensor I might as well buy a Sony camera. Sony fabs sensors for many companies often with that companies own back end electronic designs on the sensor.

Nikon for instance have often subcontracted three separate companies to manufacture their sensors, Sony and Toshiba used to get the bulk of the work.

But is it just the sensor. If you look at the results from a Hasselblad and Fuji medium format camera using supposedly the same sensor the results are very different. Each company puts their own spin on the raw data coming off the sensor and the processing chipset and firmware can make a big difference.

So while some of the underlying technology makes a difference such as BSI sensors verses none BSI sensors, ultimately the image is made of many things, and don’t forget the impact of the lens, the light and of course the photographer.

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UK On line Safety Act now in force

Black and White Studio portrait of a young blond model. She is wearing an open white top revealing her cleavage. She is holding one hand to her face and a fan out of shot is blowing her hair up.

Today the UK’s new on line safety act came into force.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/important-dates-for-online-safety-compliance

The aim they say is to protect children, which we can all agree with, but will it work and is it too draconian.

The act makes it illegal for content that could offend or cause distress, and also bans pornography for those under the age of eighteen. The issue with the act is that it does not define these terms. Pornography is something that could turn on a viewer.

These bans will be controlled through age verification. There are no standards around age verification, no authorised companies, you have no idea what these third parties may do with your data and the risk of security leaks, identity theft and having your sexual preferences use to black mail you are all high risks. Your a teacher at a Catholic school and enjoy gay porn, if that got out, your out of a job.

The question is also will it work. I would think most children know one of there peers who could help them access an anonymous proxy, install a VPN, point them at TOR sites where the content could be god knows what. Getting around this is pretty easy.

The other issue is that it’s putting small sites out of business. They just cannot afford age verification. If your a small forum website that promotes cycling, and allow users to put up pictures of there routes and cycles, you run a risk. One of those accounts get hacked, someone uploads ‘porn’, your on holiday, and do not find out till its been on line for a week. Along come Offcom and your facing Jail or a significant fine. It’s not worth the risk, you close the site and create a Facebook page and let Facebook take the heat. You’re driving people into the arms of big tech and making the internet smaller and more controlled by a small number of billionaires.

The picture at the top of this post I consider clean and none offensive, but will everyone. Anyone now posting material is at risk. How many will close their sites?

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The Suffolk Coast – Beccles

Old church in the background, with a window central to the image. Three gravestones can be seen and the picture is framed by a trees and plants.

Beccles is typical of the slightly larger town you can find in Suffolk.

Old but colourful houses. The main one in the centre of the image looks tired but is a pale pink in colour.

In places a little run down, as many places were post COVID-19 which accelerated the death of the high street, but places are opening up.

Old brick building that's now a coffee roaster.

I remember just a few years ago when all there seemed to be on the high streets was instant coffee or corporate Starbucks, there were few independent coffee roasters and few independent coffee shops selling quality, well sourced coffee.

Smart looking old building now an antique shop

But now coffee roasters and cafes seem to be springing up even in the most unlikely of places.

Highstreet of a small town. A church can be seen in the distance, and a bright blue bookshop in the foreground.
smart old building now an antiques shop.

What the high street will look like in the future now on-line shopping dominates is unknown, but cafes and good coffee seems to one thing that we will be able to find.

Old traditional English church with a plain window in the centre.

Beccles is an old town with lovely old churches and building, well worth a walk around after you have refreshed yourself with coffee.

Old red brick building, a notice board on the wall and an old sign post in stone. It shows Beccles to London 109 miles.

Reminders of its links to the larger towns and London are all around.

Shop selling shoes and jewellery
Old English tea shop. A couple of women can be seen enjoying a drink though the window.

So if you on route to one of the larger cities try a visit, whether a quaint book shop, a delicatessen or locally roasted coffee there will be something for you.

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A change to your morning routine – Local Media

My morning routine used to start with our radio alarm clock broadcasting our local commercial radio station; LINCSFM. An award winning station, with local presenters highlighting local events. It was good entertainment and fun.

Farm house gate decorated with a union flag to celebrate the late queens jubilee

Like much local media and local small independent shops, everyone is under a lot of pressure. Our local newspaper has gone from daily to once a week. And now the local radio station has gone.

Thanks to a change in legislation by the last conservative government, the local Media Act 2024 enabled larger companies to buy up local radio stations and last Friday they were able to remove all local broadcasting.

Its a sad good bye to:

  • Steve and Karen (North East)
  • John Harrison and Liesl Soards (and producer James Crookes) (South Yorkshire)
  • Alex and Nicola (East Yorkshire)
  • Elliot and Matilda (Staffordshire)
  • Leanne and Joel (Lancashire and Liverpool)
  • JD and Roisin (West Midlands)
  • Jo and Sparky (East Midlands)
  • Joseph Begley (Lincs)
  • Leigh and Claire (South Wales)
  • Neil and Saffy (Cornwall)
  • Mylo and Rosie (West Yorkshire)

In the mean time I’ll be tuning into my local BBC station for their breakfast show, and I see a new local radio station is trying to start up. https://www.lincssound.com So I’ll be giving them a listen when they start up on the 30th June.