Archive for the ‘leica’ tag
SLR Magic: Why Leica Might Have To Pull Their Socks Up
The new SLR Magic 50mm T0.95
Those who have been closely following the announcements on the regular rumors channels in recent months might be aware that a Hong Kong based lens developer called “SLR Magic”, so far best known for their cheap and cheerful “toy lenses” for Micro Four Thirds, is about to introduce a new über-fast 50mm lens for Leica M mount. And from the looks of it, this lens could mean serious competition for Leica’s world-class low-light lens, the highly-regarded and insanely pricey Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95.
Fiscal Reports: Leica Going Uphill, Olympus Going Downhill
The planned new Leica production facility in Wetzlar, Germany
While Leica Camera AG reports a sales high of € 81.9 million (US-$ 108m) for the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal year, Olympus reports a loss of an estimated ¥ 32 bn. (US-$ 412m) until the end of the fiscal year in March. Where Leica experiences an ongoing streak of success, Olympus suffers a continuing streak of bad luck that shows no sign of breaking off. And while the past fiscal year has been extremely fortunate for Leica, it was extremely unfortunate for Olympus. Read more after the jump.
The Tiniest M-Mount Lens Ever Looks Like a Body Cap
The MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 28mm f4. Picture by Japan Camera Hunter
MS Optical, a Japanese one-man business best known for their lens conversions, are about to introduce what is probably the tiniest lens ever made for Leica M-mount: the Super Triplet Perar 28mm f4. Successor to the very popular and critically acclaimed Super Triplet Perar 35mm f3.5, the new Perar 4/28 manages to beat its already minute predecessor in terms of size and weight. Coming in at only 45 g (1.58 oz), the lens is based on a triplet design comprising only three lens elements. To make the optical formula even more compact, the lens’ aperture is placed before the front element. More details after the jump.
A Second Chance with the Leica M9 (and 50mm and 35mm Summilux Lenses)
Though I’ve reviewed the Leica M9 and M9-P before, I only recently had the pleasure of trying the Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux and Leica 35mm f1.4
Summilux on the new digital bodies in real world use and street photography (I’ve used the former with a film body before). As readers of this site may know, I like the cameras; but have a major problem with their metering methods. Additionally, I tend to liken the images from the camera to chrome film in that one needs to nail the exposure perfectly and there isn’t a tremendous amount of versatility in the post-production process, though there is some.
So with all that aside, how do the lenses perform on the camera body?
Review: Leica V-LUX 3 (Panasonic FZ-150)
When Leica announced their new V-LUX 3 (or VLUX3) digital camera, I had thought to myself that the camera perhaps incorporates all of the standard changes that their Panasonic clones have. For those of you that are confused, when Leica clones a Panasonic camera (in this case, the Panasonic FZ-150), they usually update the firmware, menu system and lens coatings to differentiate it a bit. Otherwise though, the camera functions and acts the same. This time around though, there seems to be absolutely no change except for the outside cosmetic appearance.
So does this superzoom camera meet your standards?
The Leica X1 from a Foodie’s Perspective
Leica is a company I have a great respect for, especially because of the Leica M9. So when I got the offer to take the Leica X1 out for a spin, I immediately said yes. The X1′s APS-C size sensor, like the one in my Nikon D90, really grabbed my attention. Since we already reviewed the X1 once here, I chose to use it for something near and dear to me, food and coffee photography. This would be a pleasant change from shooting with DSLR’s like the Nikon D90 and the Canon 7D, which I was using at the time.
