Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Leica Correspondent limited edition.

LEICA M-P ‘CORRESPONDENT’
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
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.

Monday, December 03, 2012

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
Stone shed. Kodak TMax 400, Lomography x6-12, 58mm @ F8
A girl and her dog
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.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

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.