efix:photography - News. Thoughts. Pictures.

Picture | Joie de vivre

efix — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:28:27 +0000

Simply enjoying life. Wildpark Edersee, May 1st, 2012.

Leica M8 + Planar 50/2 ZM @ f/2, 1/2000 sec, ISO 160

Re-skinning the Leica M8

efix — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:19:22 +0000

When I first got my Leica M8, I immediately disliked the standard leathering it came with. The fine grain of the original M8 leathering resembles sandpaper (from the looks at least), and offers as good as no grip. Leica fixed this with the M8.2, where they switched to the more pronounced vulcanite covering, but for some stranges reason reverted to the sandpaper style with the gray M9. The black M9 and the new M9-P models, however, all feature the vulcanite covering, which has just recently been slightly refined.

Thus, very early, I desired to give my M8 a new [...]

Picture | Commuting

efix — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:53:24 +0000

I’m currently testing the SLR Magic Toy Lens x Pinhole for Micro Four Thirds, which is a new 24mm pinhole adapter with glass covering. This was on the bus ride this morning, handheld. Just a test, but I like the blur of shapes and colours.

Olympus E-P1 + SLR Magic Pinhole @ 4 sec, ISO 200

New Aki-Asahi Custom Covering Kit for Leica M8

efix — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:22:33 +0000

Finally! Aki-Asahi, Japanese manufacturer of custom coverings (“leatherettes”) for analog and digital cameras, are now also producing a Custom Covering Kit for the Leica M8. Look:

Previously, they were only offering kits for analog Leica Ms. If you wanted to reskin your digital Leica M, you had to order a much more expensive covering from cameraleather.com. There’s nothing wrong with that — their coverings are well worth the price, especially the ones made from real leather. But they’re known to be slow on responding to inquiries, which has in the past put many people off [...]

Voigtländer – A German brand name hard to grasp for English speakers

efix — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:23:28 +0000

The Voigtländer brand name has a long history that dates back to the mid-18th century. It was only in the late 20th century that Cosina of Japan acquired the rights to use the name for their products, chiefly their line of Bessa M-mount cameras and lenses, SLR lenses and photographic accessories such as viewfinders and lens adapters. Bearing one of the oldest names in the photographic business, the brand is known throughout the world. However, being of German origin, its handling proves somewhat difficult to non-natives.

The name Voigtländer, which was the last name of the company’s founder, relates [...]

Picture | Easter eggs

efix — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:21:39 +0000

Happy Easter, everyone! This picture was taken with the Sigma SD14 DSLR from 2006, which I’ve just got on loan together with two Sigma zoom lenses (18-50/2.8 and 18-200/3.5-6.3). Not quite sure what to think of it yet … you’ll find my hands-on review of the camera and lenses over at The Phoblographer soon.

Sigma SD14 + Sigma 18-200/3.5-6.3 @ 115mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec, ISO 100

News & Articles | April 4th, 2012

efix — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:47:09 +0000

I thought I’d reinstate my irregular News & Articles column, starting with today. I’ve been neglecting this for some time, but I find so many interesting news bits and other kinds of articles during my daily web-crawling routine, that I find I should share at least some of them with you. So, without further ado, here’s a list of recent news and articles for you to digest!

Three Approaches to Shooting a Classic Screwmount Leica

On Steve Huff’s blog, Khoa Tran shares his experience with shooting an old screwmount Leica IIc, and shares some tips about how [...]

Picture | Alte Lahnbrücke

efix — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:25:41 +0000

The “Alte Lahnbrücke” (old bridge over the river Lahn) in Wetzlar, Hessen, Germany. Taken on a recent weekend-trip. The birthplace of the Leica has a beautiful and picturesque historic center that is worth a visit or two. Or three, or four …

Olympus E-P1 + Lumix 20/1.7 @ f/4, 1/2500 sec, ISO 200

Panasonic G1 — first impressions

efix — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:06:59 +0000

For quite some time now I’ve found myself frustrated with manually focusing adapted lenses on my Olympus E-P1. The low-resolving display simply isn’t accurate enough to focus without the magnification loupe. And even with the loupe activated, focusing can still be tricky. Then there is the issue of holding the camera still when you have it at arms length in front of you. So I was contemplating a number of options, chief among which ranked getting an E-P2, E-PL1 or E-P2 with the VF-2 external viewfinder. I would’ve known the interface, the menus, I would’ve gotten those great Olympus [...]

Picture | Kid

efix — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:42:35 +0000

Taken in March, 2011, at the Opel-Zoo in Kronberg/Hessen.

Leica M8 + Nokton 50/1.5 @ f/2, 1/2000 sec, ISO 160