Author: Richard

So has the Photokina announcements given me GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

Well yes it has.  The Panasonic LX100 / Leica DLux and the Leica X are top of my tree but the M-P (240) is also up there.

We rarely need new cameras now, most cameras in the last three years are excellent and the improvements in image quality are very minor.  Buying a new camera now is all about what inspires you and will make you go out and take more pictures.

We are often better off keeping our old cameras and learning how to use them better but a new camera can inspire ones photography, the trick and the difficulty is finding the camera that truly inspires and not one that interests you just because its new.

A difficult choice, now wheres the credit card 😉

The original X1 was one of the first large sensor’ed compact cameras, Sigma were the first  and this came just afterwards.  For many this was the preferred option, traditional digital cmos sensor and simple direct controls.  It had issues, the first being slow autofocus, poor manual focus implementation and no viewfinder but the quality lens and sensor produced great images.

The X2 was a disappointment, a minor improvement but by then a number of companies had released similar cameras and now Fuji had there fantastic X100, also with direct controls and a fast f/2 lens and a real viewfinder.  Yes it also had focus issues but it also had come great features.

At Photokina the other week, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, Leica released the third version of the fixed lens X, this time badged just Leica X type 113.

It seems they have learnt from their previous mediocre upgrade and really gone to town with this one.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/6139702522/leica-announces-updated-x-typ-113-with-f1-7-lens

It still does not have a viewfinder but Leica do an optical viewfinder for it, plus you can use the external EVF from the Leica T series, this particular EVF has the neat trick of having a GPS receiver built into it.

The camera features a lot of ergonomic features of the X Vario and includes the neat auto-manual focus design, so you can finally focus manually with the excellent well damped lens.  The lens is also the fastest in its class at f/1.7.

I have read some of the beta tester reports and the image quality looks good so look forward to when Steve Huff gives a real world test.

It has neat looks and I find myself really wanting to try this together with the D Lux they released.  I feel a bit GAS coming on.

 

Tuesday saw the Canadian Lancaster leave the United Kingdom and head back home to its base in Canada.

After takeoff accompanied by a full escort from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight she did one last flyover some of the local airbases and the City of Lincoln.

They came low out of the sun and misty sky from Waddington and came over the city, I popped out from my Lincoln office to quickly to grab a quick shot as I had just happened to bring along a Nikon D200 and 70-200mm f/2.8 lens 😉

 

There is often something going on in Lincolnshire, whether its the Lincolnshire Sausage Festival, the Steam Punk Festival, or any of the Village or County Shows, its always worth a visit with your camera and for the food!

These last few weeks its been quite hectic with events in Lincoln such as Morris Dancers, the largest Steam Punk Festival in Europe and two local village shows.

There is always lots of colour and interest.

 

At the Collingham show last weekend I gave myself the challenge of shooting just with the Leica M8 and with the Leica Elmar 24mm f/3.8 lens.  This is not sexy lens but gives excellent results, but is a little wide for general use.

I also shot a little action, I chose the longest lens I own for the Leica M, a 50mm Summilux.  Shooting moving subjects without a fast SLR some would say is impossible but with careful thought, planning and preparation one can get a good image with any camera.

Every two years Photokina hold their photography show, many years ago it was huge, with companies like Kodak, Fuji and Agfa booking entire halls.  Nikon and Canon with revolutionary new SLR’s, the Large format and Medium format manufacturers who had a virtual monopoly over the fashion and studio photography world.  My dream was to one day own a Hasselblad V system camera (and now I do)!

Today the show is a shadow of its former self, Kodak only has a very small presence and only Leica booked a whole hall to themselves.

So what did people think and what did I think, well you can check out a few other thoughts below:  Chris’s blog first and of course Luminous Landscape.

Back in 2010 was the last time I was really excited by a Photokina, and that was the prototype Fuji X100, unlike Kodak, Fuji have really risen to the challenges of the digital age, and importantly they have continued to listen to their customers and continued to develop and improve old models whilst releasing new models.

The Fuji X100 range and the Fuji X Pro both with there hybrid optical viewfinders I find the most exciting small camera’s available at the moment.  Both have improved over the years and with this years Photokina we now see the Fuji X100T, for users wanting a Leica type rangefinder, whilst these camera’s are not rangefinders they bring that kind of experience to the photographer at a relatively cheap price point.

A lot of people ask what is the point of the rangefinder and why do many like it so much; well its less the ranger finder part but more the optical viewfinder and its positioning on the camera.  The viewfinder being in the top corner means the camera obscures less of ones face meaning that people relate to you differently and you often get a better and more relaxed pose from your subject.  The other factor is the viewfinder of most SLR’s is about 97% unless its a pro model which gives 100%.  A rangefinder gives you anywhere between 110% and 180% coverage compared to your lens, thus you see things about to enter your picture and can frame and anticipate better.  Now the only other cameras that I am aware of that can also do this are the Fuji X100 range and the X Pro1, thus the interest.

I am tempted but the X-trans sensor with its potential issues to large areas of green that can sometimes show up puts me off.  I would love them to come out with a X100 without the X-trans sensor, the original X100 had the standard sensor but missed focus too much.

Now lets talk about Leica; they had a huge show, several hundred square feet were dedicated to gallery space where they showed the work of many of today’s great photographers.

The major announcements that I found interesting were the Leica M 60 a rather strange and very brave special edition, the new X camera and the two new Dlux and Vlux cameras.

I am not sure if the Leica M 60 is brave or foolish.  There is something about it that makes me want one but as its a special edition of only 600 units costing £12000 that is not going to happen, its basically a M 240 with no rear screen so viewing your images is not possible until you download them to a computer, its just like working with film, you have to know what you are doing and get it right in camera.  I love it!

Another new M we had was the film M-A this is a replacement I think to the M-P but has no meter so very back to your roots.  Before you think its a camera impossible to use then just remember I use my 1960’s Leica M4 well and have rarely had a badly exposed picture and that also has no meter in it.

We have two joint development cameras from the Leica Panasonic agreement the Panasonic LX100 / Leica DLux and the Panasonic FZ1000 / Leica VLux.  Expect to see another five years of co-operation as both companies signed another agreement to share electronic and lens technology which has given us some well thought out little cameras since 2001.

Lastly we had a new S medium format camera, this time with a CMOS sensor and 4K video.  Up to now video has not been that good on Leica camera’s but the big sensor and some of the best lens in the business has got a number of videographers very excited.