In Today's News. A new adapter arrives. ATMTX discovers the magic of the Leica SL. Gerald Undone suffers the slings and arrows of rebellion toward the gods of influence...

 

The new Frankenstein MF camera system. A little bit of this; a little bit of that.

ATMTX writes about their initiation into the mysterious world of Leica SLs. 

I woke up and checked my email today and there was a post about photography from a mailing list that's always bringing me fun reading. This post is a monthly newsletter written and illustrated by a photographer friend who has done a really good job remaining personally anonymous on the web. Here's his (or her) website: https://blog.atmtxphoto.com/

While he (or she) blogs, and blogs well nearly every day, they shy away from most photographic controversy and the blog is more of a look at the day-to-day photo experiences of an ardent amateur in love with the craft. A person smart enough to have a real job in his or her back pocket...

In addition to the daily blog he or she also does a very interesting monthly news letter. If you go to the link provided above and click on the discreet, little menu icon at the top right of the home page you'll see an option to subscribe to their monthly newsletter. No spam. No advertising. No egregious attacks. All you'll get from ATMTX is..... a monthly newsletter. 

Today's newsletter surprised me because the blogger was explaining how he came to add the legendary, original, Leica SL to his enormous personal collection of cameras and why he thinks it is absolutely the best camera he's ever used. And, of course, he blames me personally (and in print) for having brought along an SL to a lunch a while back and encouraging him handle it for a while. This apparently sunk the hook. His feelings about the camera mirror mine in almost every regard, even down to the point of preferring the original SL model to the SL2 and perhaps even the SL3. It's largely the purity of the industrial design.

I find that we also love adapting odd lenses to our SLs. He shows a number of images done with an inexpensive 7 Artisans 35mm lens and extols the color palette that results from the combination of the camera and that rudimentary lens. He's also used the camera extensively with a Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4. 

It's fun for me to read about other photographers' adventures with cameras that we both regard in the same way. 

Don't run out and buy a Leica SL. Please! I want to pick up one more before the market totally sells through all the available, well maintained SL bodies. Three, in total, should be just right. 

Prolific and interesting v-logger, Gerald Undone, talks about the YouTube influencer culture and its impact on camera launches and reviews. 

I've always enjoyed Gerald Undone's take on  still and video cameras, and assorted accessories. He's smart, articulate and doesn't waste your time with a lot of "umming" and "ahhhing" and personal asides. He digs right down into his subject matter and creates fast moving and compelling content. He's here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC09qASY4ixFS-KXIH6Nw0rg

Here is his post on why camera reviews have to change: https://www.geraldundone.com/camera-reviews-need-to-change/ It's about ten minutes long and in it he talks about how the camera companies use trips for influencers to market their cameras. Why everyone's reviews post on the same days. How camera companies punish reviewers who are too critical. And why it all needs to change. He's been to a lot of the "influencer events" and he's speaking from experience. 

He references the latest mass migration of YouTubers to Japan for a short term, deep (shallow?) dive into Panasonic's new S9. It's an interesting video and while some might see it as spite on the part of Undone for not having been invited to this particular event it's much more than that, and all the manipulation I've experienced on similar trips tells me that he's on the mark about the core message he's sending out. Go see for yourself. 

I don't often recommend YouTube sites but the ones I like are ones I think you might like as well. Some are acquired tastes, like "GrainyDays" (all film cameras and film with lots of shooting trips...). Some are getting a bit repetitive but are still fun, like James Popsys. But if you need to find out how well something really works you'll head to Gerald's site again and again for a refreshingly honest appraisal of photo related gear. 

Today's Gear Arrival. Firing up my medium format engines.... Vroom. 

On Saturday I was over at Precision Camera where I bought an ancient, used but nicely maintained Pentax 645 medium format lens. It's the Pentax 645 A, 150mm f3.5 short telephoto lens which is all manual and was one of the first three lenses to accompany the Pentax 645 original's camera launch. So, it's old. But there's not a lot to go wrong with a lens that isn't stuffed with electronics and tiny (delicate) nylon gears for driving image stab. and such. I owned one of these back in the 1990s and liked it. It's not razor, laser sharp like most of the current Fuji GFX lenses but the images it makes have a very nice look to them, and by f5.6 it's laying down lots of detail from corner to corner. Since this lens was designed to cover a much larger image circle than the current Fuji GFX lenses are asked to cover there isn't even a hint of vignetting. Not at wide open. Not at infinity and certainly not at the close focus limit. 

The downside is the need for an adapter to mount the lens to the current GFX cameras. I looked around and bought a Kipon adapter. I bought a new one. But the one that came this morning has one irking defect. Whoever was responsible for putting white paint into the engraved model designation type did so and then apparently tossed the item into a shipping package before the paint dried. There is hard-dried paint on the part of the ring that faces up when you are using the camera horizontally. It has no effect on the image or the operation of the device but it's downright sloppy. I put a piece of black tape over the offending white paint and am now getting on with my medium format life.

The lens fits snuggly on the adapter and the adapter fits snuggly on my GFX 50Sii. The aperture ring turns well and, when I look in the front of the lens I can see that the lens is stopping down correctly in conjunction with the movement of the ring. All good where it counts. 

I made some test shots around the office and found the lens to be a good portrait performer even wide open but that's only because most portraits don't want to be punishingly sharp. Sharp enough wide open is basically...just right. By f5.6 and at about 6-10 feet the lens becomes mostly a good, modern-like performer. Sharp. No apparent distortion. And, as I mentioned above, not even a hint of vignetting. 

Why not just toss more money onto the fire pit of photography and grab for the vaunted Fuji 110 f2.0? The lens everyone salivates over while mentioning? The Uber lens of the system? Eh. I've always been a bit of a contrarian. I enjoy adapting and playing with combinations of gear. And it was never really my intention to plunge fully into current medium format cameras. Or as I call them: "Full Frame XL". 

For a world that revolves around displaying advertising and commercial work almost completely on the web the added image quality provided by the GFX over the Leica SL2 is deeeee-minimus. Fractional. Vague. So, when it comes to value proposition I'll use the Pentax 150 mostly in the studio, on a tripod, with lights and I'll enjoy manually focusing with it. When it comes to fast moving subjects in fluid situations I do okay with the Leica stuff and I have had my name on a list for the new SL3 since the announcement. We'll see if supply ever catches up with demand... And if their implementation of phase detect AF is... all that.

The cost of a new 110mm f2.0 is about $2700. They go on sale from time to time for $2200. The Pentax 645 lens cost me less than $120. The adapter $150. The difference is many, many cups of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Many cups! Mastering that equation was pretty simple. Besides I need to hold on to some cash just in case I decide to buy more cars. It could happen.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to like the Pentax 150mm. I did once before in my life. And back then it was actually harder to focus accurately. Now? With focus peaking? With image magnification? You'd have to be a pretty dismal operator not to make it work. 

Putting everything into context --- the GFX is my fourth tier system. In terms of use and favoritism it falls behind the M Leicas (first place). Then the SL cameras.  Then the CL cameras. The GFX just nudges out the Panasonic S5 for fourth place. Probably wise not to invest too deeply or stick feet in too far or it will just complicate the process of making daily camera choices. And they are already becoming difficult. 

Swimming chat. 

The weather changed yesterday. It's ten to fifteen degrees cooler. The humidity abated. The aerators worked at the pool last night and a bit of rain and small hail didn't hurt when it came to bringing the water temperature into the safe zone. Yesterday morning the pool water was 85°. This morning it was °83 degrees. Our aim point for the Summer is 81°. Electricians are coming to the pool today to rehab some electrical outlets around the pool so we can plug in additional aerators. Another aerator is on its way. We're looking forward to some relatively chill water soon. 

We had a new coach on deck today. His name is Dennis and he has been a masters swimmer with our group for several years. He's fast. He swam in college. He's never slowed down. We needed a new coach for Wednesday mornings and a group of swimmers twisted his arm. 

His workout, written out on the white board, made some sensible allowances for the temperature of the water. The workout was fast moving and Dennis continued to give us technical tweaks to think about during the sets. We (the swimmers) were very happy with his first official practice. Always good to get more very experienced coaches into the fold. Makes the swims more effective. 

I'm thinking of switching from the eight a.m. workouts to the seven a.m. workouts. By nine o'clock we have full sun on the pool. The choice is either to slather sunscreen all over or to wake up an hour earlier. Both options are unwelcome  compromises. I think I'll try one of the earlier workouts and see how it pans out.

During the early days of Covid we had to sorely limit the number of swimmers in the pool at any one time (two in a lane, each starting at the opposite end of the pool...) so we added earlier and earlier workouts. I still have the unpleasant memories of getting up at 5:30 to make it to the 6:00 a.m. time slot. Just like my long days in high school and college. It seemed like an endless vacation when we were able to go back to 8 o'clock practices, and perhaps those memories of brutal early mornings flavor my decisions. 

Human nature.