Range Finder Lens Choice – why two of each

Leica M with EVF and R Series Adapter
Leica M with EVF and R Series Adapter

The majority of Leica rangefinder users tend to only own two modern new lens due to the high price of Leica glass, but many of us have a collection of older classic lens to complement our gear choice.

When choosing rangefinder lens it is very popular today to go for the fastest glass one can afford.  My two fast glass lens are my Leica 50mm Summilux (f/1.4) and my Leica 35mm Summicron (f/2), both the fastest 50mm and 35mm lens I can afford.

Having such light strong lens to quote the term used by Thorsten Overgaard, allows you to use selective depth of field and the lens control light very well, you can often shoot direct into sunlight without risk of flare.

The problem with them is of course price as already mentioned and size, while small compared to modern SLR autofocus lens they are large for rangefinder lens and they often intrude into the viewfinder causing framing issues.

So today more and more photographers are choosing two lens at each focal length, e.g. a 35mm at f/1.4 or f/2 and a smaller cheaper version at say f/2.8 or slower.  These lens are small, allow all the viewfinder to be seen and of course are much cheaper.

Nikon’s D810 Announcement

I was thinking of blogging about the new D800/D800E replacement, the D810 but many other sites have done it far better reviews, but I did have a few thoughts about it.

See Thom Hogan site for a good review.

The big thing about this update is that they have dropped from two versions to one.  With the new D810 we get a none AA filtered D800E with the improvements we saw in the D4S.

With a sensor at 36 MP it’s going to be rare moiré shows up; in fact I hardly ever see it on my 10 MP non AA Leica M8 plus we now have tools in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to deal with this.

Will I be getting this?  Well maybe, though I might see if I can now pick up a late model D800 but either will have to wait until I have upgraded my computers. At 36 MP these cameras need computers with lots of horsepower and RAM to cope well and process your images speedily.  My late model 2008 MacBookPro is not really up to that.

Ideally I would still love a D800 body with the D4 sensor, a great blend of size, ergonomics and manageable RAW files, but Nikon seem to have forgotten the old D700 user base.

For those of you lamenting no increase in MP from 36, do remember the new 56 MP sensor is still not ready, maybe the D900 in a year or two will have this and computer and memory/harddisk manufactures will rejoice as we all upgrade our computers again.

Adobe Photoshop Shortcuts

CompositI love command line shortcuts and most apps have keyboard shortcuts to speed up your work flow.

Most people know that Command-S ( Ctrl-S for Windows) saves a document and is much faster then taking your hands off the keyboard to reach for the mouse/trackpad.

Here are a few common ones I use when editing documents in Photoshop.

New…Command-N (for Command use Ctrl for Windows users)

Open…Command-O

Save…Command-S

Undo…Command-Z

Step Back…Shift-Command-Z

Copy…Command-C

Free Transform…Command-T

New Layer…Shift-Command-N

Layer via Copy…Command-J (feels like my most often used command)

Merge Visible to new Layer…Shift-Option-Commamd-E (Option is Alt in Windows)

Lasso Tool…L

Spot Healing Brush…J (Toggle to different heal brushes Shift-J)

Brush…B

 

Some of these options are also programmed into my Wacom Tablet and Pen to speed up my work flow.  The key is to just find a few things you do a lot and then learn the shortcut for them, its amazing how much time you can fine yourself saving.

Sensor/Film Size and Perspective

Panasonic GX-7Most people are aware changing the format; eg MicroFourThirds, 35mm full frame, 5 x 4 large format etc, changes the field of view. So a 25mm lens on a MicroFourThirds camera has the same field as a 50mm on 35mm and approximately 150mm on 5 x 4.

What fewer people realise is the impact on aperture and ISO.

Recently Chris posted a video that covered this area quite well.

One thing I never see mentioned is the impact on perspective.

So does the rule about field of view also apply to perspective?

Large Format CameraPeople are advised when shooting a head and shoulders portrait to use a focal length of 85mm (35mm full frame), as this gives a pleasing perspective. It flattens perspective giving a more pleasing look to the face.

But what if you are a MicroFourThirds user. Does a 40mm lens give a similar perspective affect as that of a 85mm on full frame?

Well, we know the field of view is close to the same so let’s try a thought experiment.

Stand about 10 metres from someone and stare at their face; now do the same at 1 metre and finally 0.1 metre.  The closer you get the more the perspective changes and their nose gets bigger and bigger, its the same as if you use a wide angle lens and shoot them from a distance with a very high resolution camera, zoom right in and the perspective is quite flattened.  Walk close and take the same picture and the features become more pronounced.

They say the 85mm lens makes the nicest portraits on 35mm and that is because it forces you to stand far enough away to make the perspective pleasing.

The perspective is a result of the camera to subject distance and not the lens.

Leica Monchrom M230 Announced

Well the rumours were wrong, it turns out the new Monochrom M230 is in fact just a chrome version of the current black M9 CCD Based Monochrom M.

Never mind still a stunning camera and still in a league of its own.

Vintage Fairs – Lincoln Drill Hall

Chaps

 

Vintage fairs have become very popular over the last few years.  On our monthly visits to up hill Lincoln we often pop into a vintage shop and the antique shops in the Bailgate area and Steep Hill.

This Saturday there was a vintage fair held in the Lincoln Drill hall, a familiar location for those of us who attend the Lincoln Photography Show.

I picked up a few items to add to my collection of antique shaving equipment and a rather nice silver stamp holder and a leather match book holder.

Some had dressed the part, the visitors and some of the stall holders.  I took a number of photographs with my Leica M8 and there was a number of photographers there taking pictures and making themselves known with their big SLR’s and flashguns.

Next week there is another vintage fare in Lincoln and we might pop over again, it made an interesting and fun morning out.

 

MacBook Airs have a minor upgrade

Macbook Air -topThere have been a lot of rumours over the last year about a new retina MaBook Air. The rumours also indicate that it will have a 12 inch screen.

The range currently consists of an 11 model and a 13 inch model. The 11 is great for people on the go and easily fits into a small camera bag. You would not want to do too much work on the 11 inch screen and if it was your only computer a desktop monitor would be essential. The 13 inch is more practical and still fits in most camera bags. It also comes with a built in SD card reader making it even more useful.

This weeks upgrade was a minor processor upgrade plus a minor price cut, always gratefully received.

Not sure whether to grab one of these or wait a little longer to see what comes.

4K on still cameras

Sony Alpha A7r

Sony recently announced the new A7S, designed for 4K video.

There is a lot of discussion about 4K and whether it will take off or fail like 3D TV.  To be honest for content providers there is a case for going to 4K, while consumers are yet to take up 4K it does make sense for film makers to produce their content now in 4K ready for the future.

Putting 4K in what are predominately still cameras to me makes less sense.  If your going to shoot movies then use the right equipment.  By the time you have purchased all the accessories to make it work you might as well have bought a proper video camera and now 4K video cameras are more available.

There is a case for video in still cameras but its mainly for news paper photographers, they need quick short clips, sound bites for websites.  The rest of us also might want to pop a quick short clip onto our websites or YouTube but if your serious about moving making then buy a proper video camera for that use.