Putting the Zeiss ZM Biogon 35mm f2.0 rangefinder lens to work. Getting its potential imprinted on my brain.
A friend and fellow photographer recently gifted me a pristine Zeiss 35mm bright line finder. It sits in the hot shoe of the M camera I mostly use with a 35mm lens. The view through it is wonderful. And it seems to take away so much worry about focusing and exposure. The view looks so nice you just assume your rough estimates are going to work out.
Another friend recently bought a Voigtlander 35mm f2.0 APO lens. I have the 50mm version of that lens family and find it to be pretty much faultless. He let me try his 35mm and I was pretty impressed. Enough so that I started looking longingly at it on the B&H website. My hand hovered over the "buy now" button but, upon reflection, I realized that I already had two very nice, very good 35mm lenses for the rangefinder cameras. I thought I should take one I already own out for a spin to see if I found it lacking --- at all. Of course it was just fine. Mostly perfect. A wonderful companion for the camera. And, as a bonus, the smaller size means less blockage of the rangefinder window on the camera. A consideration to be sure.
The other 35mm lens I have for the RF stuff is pretty new to me and I haven't had as much time to play with it. It's the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 Nokton II. It's smaller than the Zeiss, but not by too much. Basically, the only differences are the faster maximum aperture and a slightly different overall final look. The Zeiss is more "clinical" while the VM lens has a bit more "character" (which you can accurately interpret as "flaws." Both have their place and I'm glad to have them. Together, they outweigh the advantage of the single VM APO lens ---- but..... that one is enticing.
I walked around yesterday and shot with the ZM lens. It's a joy to work with. The aperture click is sublime and the focusing ring is perfectly weighted and smooth. The saturation and contrast are high and, after I've passed f2.8 (heading towards f8.0) the sharpness across the frame is all I would ask for.
Here are sample...
the front of Torchy's Tacos. Good breakfast tacos but really,
for lunch I'd rather go to TacoDeli.
Flare test. Bright sun on specular mylar windshield cover, through a dirty windshield...
Matron saint of high chairs.
New mural on the side of Allen's Boots.
Handheld at 1/15th. No I.S.
Focused on the toe of the middle green boot.
Walkway in the San José Hotel
Pool at the San José Hotel
Mid-afternoon two stepping at Jo's Coffee. Yes...live music.
unsupervised artist finds another mirror.
Silver truck. Pizza.
Eating pizza outside on a 95° day.
Worried about getting your camera stolen or damaged?
Probably wouldn't bother this Ferrari owner too much...
How many Q3-43s could you buy with the ticket price of this car?
Further disputing the idea that Leicas are only for rich people and professionals I had two Leica sightings during my one hour walk today. One was a nice, chrome M6 camera being wielded by a kid who couldn't be much older than college age. He stopped and introduced himself. His companion was shooting with Sony camera. Both were friendly and obviously loved being out taking photographs.
The other person was a woman in her 30's with super casual clothing and a Leica M10 + 28mm. Handling it like it was second nature. We smiled and nodded at each other in passing. I didn't spot anyone wearing a dentist's outfit out there with a Leica so...... ipso facto. Kids, mostly. And one older duffer with his ancient M240 and a 35mm ZM lens. Go figure.
Nice stuff. I looked at the enlarged version of that turquoise boot, and I couldn't see any point in an image that was sharper. Random observations: that Hook 'Em sign, for the few that don't know, is a reference to the full saying of "Hook 'em, Horns," the horns being the Texas Longhorns. I once owned a home above the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and the Longhorns came to play in the Rose Bowl and there was a guy on our street selling tee-shirts to passers-by, that said, "Horn 'em hookers." I'm sure a few were. And a white Ferrari? Who buys a white Ferrari? I can't think of a reason you'd do that. Must have been sold at a steep discount. That's like a dentist buying a Q3/43 and then covering the red dot with black tape. --John Camp
ReplyDeleteJohn, That's just a daytime Ferrari. In Texas you buy your daytime Ferraris in white or silver --- to reflect the heat. In the early evening you drive the black one. And when you head out on the town, especially if your car will be valet parked in front of a venue, you drive the Ferrari red one. It's like owning Leicas; one body for each lens. One car for each everyday use scenario. Makes perfect sense. Hook Em Horns! (graduate and former faculty member at UT Austin!!!)
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your tours of Austin via Leica. During the noon time of day I would hide my cameras - surely the light is much to harsh. But man, those colors pop and the lenses you use on those cameras seem to be a match made in photo heaven.
ReplyDeleteAnd....what would happen if you ever brought home a Ferrari- of any color?
If I brought home a Ferrari B. would just say, "If it makes you happy it's fine with me." Honestly. She's that chill.
DeleteIf anything, I think you've been too modest about *how* you've arrived at this happy Leica and car-buying state. Perhaps like you, I grew up comfortably middle-class. But while some of the values I learned from my family and school were great (beware of credit card debt), others were iffier (study hard, get good grades, get a good job, work hard = success). I had to learn some stuff from books and from successful people who shared a bit of how they perceive the world and recognize opportunities. One thing's for sure: Complaining that "Times are tough" or that "It's unfair how the rich are getting richer" never paid for shiny new toys.
ReplyDeleteIronically, my own fascination with high end, luxury goods was greatest when I had little net worth to speak of! Will I ever purchase another new or secondhand Leica product, who knows: At the moment, I'm more concerned about what tasty things to have for lunch.
Jeff in Colorado
Hi Jeff, I've done a bunch of different things over the last 68 years and some of them have been profitable. Teaching? Not so much. Partner in an ad agency? Much better. Commercial photographer through the 80s and 90s? Very rewarding. But the real secret, I think, in accruing enough wealth to make paying cash for a new car or being able to buy Leicas without breaking a sweat, is down to a few logical ways of living. Marry someone who is smart and frugal. That's the most important. If you have a spouse who needs diamond jewelry and expensive vacations on a recurring schedule you are already mostly screwed. Invest in the stock market early and automatically. The first 10% of all profits went directly into investments outside my own industry. Buy an affordable house in a nice neighborhood. Pay off the mortgage as quick as you can and never move again. My favorite billionaire investment banker admonished me when I was talking to him about investing in something new in the stock market, "Always stay invested. Don't move money around too much. If you do you lose a little bit here and a little bit there and after a while it adds up. But generally not in your favor" Don't feel like you have to keep up with the neighbors or your work peers in accumulating status symbols. Just stay on track. And, as Warren Buffett often said, "Leverage the power of time + compound interest. Stay healthy. Be happy. Drama in your life costs money. Pampered children cost money. Enjoy work. Enjoy family. Everything else will fall into place. No secrets here. But budgeting like a school teacher and earning like a doctor is a good combination.
ReplyDeleteOur annual fair was last week and I took full advantage to try different camera/lens combo's, got some really nice pics with voigtlander 27mm f2 on the x-t5, someone posted a tip about just setting it to f8 and focusing on infinity, so I did that and it mostly worked well, not so good for things at v close range, people complain about the tiny focus throw, was really nice to get pictures full of stuff, crowds of people etc, I used a bracket for off camera flash this year, now where did I read about doing that...
ReplyDeleteDang, I enjoy clicking the pictures to 'big' size on the computer screen. Technique and life lessons are a nice bonus.
ReplyDelete