Leica Correspondent limited edition.

Leica Correspondent

In collaboration with Lenny Kravitz – the musician, actor and designer– Leica Camera AG, Wetzlar, presents a special camera edition.

Don McCullin's Nikon F

Larry Burrows' Leica

A correspondent's camera bears scars from the situations in which it it has been, a correspondent bears scars from the things they have seen. 


No Lenny Kravitz, artificial wear and an inflated price is nought to do with photojournalism.

Lomography Belair X 6-12 City Slicker - First impressions.

Boxed Lomography
Belair X6-12 City Slicker

Lomography have shipped their first batch of  Belair X 6-12 Cameras. Pictures and specifications of the camera can be found at the Lomography Belair microsite.

Here are my first impressions of using the City Slicker with the 58mm wide angle lens;

• It is delivered in a nice cardboard package with the body, 2 lenses (58mm and 90mm) and matching viewfinders.
• The viewfinder is very approximate, particularly at less than 5m focus range.
• The 58mm lens is really soft at f8. As you would expect it gets a bit better at the f16 setting.
• Focus fall off from the centre is quite severe on the 6x12 format (this lens would be better with the 6x6 and perhaps 6x9 formats)
• There is a stop or two of exposure falloff from the image centre to the edges (for that lomo vignette effect)

Here are two sample images from the first roll;

Stone shed. Kodak TMax 400, Lomography x6-12, 58mm @ F8

A girl and her dog. Kodak TMax 400, Lomography x6-12, 90mm @ F8

However even with its flaws,  all in all it is a very light & fun medium format camera.

Leica M Monochrom

Leica M Monochrom

This week Leica have announced a new camera, the Leica M Monochrom. Surely, as a monochrome only sensor, it will cost ¹/₃ the price of a colour M9 ;)

As a Leica there is of course no possibility of such a "cheap" price.
The Monochrom is certainly a niche camera, but there will be a significant number of Leica affectionados who put themselves on the Leica Monochrom waiting list.
After all, Leica users have given up autofocus and other creature comforts, why not sacrifice colour to be more obsessive about the sharpness that a monochrome sensor can deliver.

Nifty fifties and Canon EOS cameras

An un-scientific comparison of 50mm lenses.

There are available a plethora of lens mount adapters that allow one to mount almost any lens onto a Canon EOS digital camera.
It is possible to mount lenses using the Nikon F mount, Olympus OM and M42 lens mounts (among others) by the use of a mechanical adapter. The Canon FD mount is not usable for general photography unless an adapter with optical elements is used to maintain infinity focus.
So... what's the point of mounting an older or off brand lens on a modern digital SLR camera?
Only one way to find out, let's take some pictures!
First, here's the selection of 50mm lenses that were tried.

Selection of nifty 50mm lenses
(click image for a larger view)

Below are examples of the same photo, or as near as can be, taken with these lenses and the appropriate lens mount adapters. (Click on the pictures to view a larger version)

"The Edit" by Ed Wargin

I can relate to this quote from photographer Ed Wargin,

"Waiting for film to come back from the lab is the closest thing to being a kid again, kind of like waiting for Christmas so you can rip open that one special present to see what is inside..."

This quote accompanies the short video "The Edit" at the Fresh coast project blog.

Sadly, it doesn't matter how long I wait, my pictures don't look as great as those in his Fresh Coast Project.


The Edit from Ed Wargin on Vimeo.
(to view, type in "coast" for the password)

Disasters & family photos

For many days now we have had constant television reports of the floodings in Queensland.
We have heard the sad news of people who have lost their lives and seen images of the enormous damage done to houses, buildings and to whole towns.
With many homes inundated, I wonder how many photographs and precious family memories have been lost as photo collections and computers are submerged.

M42 Adaptors - some are more equal than others.

Today there is an enormous range of affordable M42 or Pentax screw mount adapters available. Here is a Nikon Ai example under $10.
Using an M42 adapter you can adapt any ol' screw mount lens to fit many 35mm, digital SLR or even a micro four thirds cameras.
Such adapters are an excellent way to breathe some life back into older lenses.

However try before you buy,

Karambolage - a photographic journal about traffic accidents.

Finally tracked down a copy of Arnold Odermatt: Karambolage.

Arnold Odermatt photographed automobile accidents on the streets of the Swiss canton of Nidwalden between 1939 and 1993.

Two black and white photographs from each accident tell the sad story of crossed trajectories, with exquisite composition and print quality.