The MS-Optics 28mm 2.0 Apoqualia must be a bit of a fan favorite, as it has been rereleased – and the mechanical design improved – several times over the years, making it the first MS-Optics lens available in a Mark III version. I will be having a look how it all started though by reviewing a first generation Mark I version provided by a long-time reader.
Lens is being tested on 42mp Sony A7rII (UT) and 24mp Leica M10
The Kodak Portra 400 is Kodak’s midspeed film from the Portra series sitting inbetween the Portra 160 and Portra 800. It is also the more expensive ISO 400 color negative film in the Kodak lineup, the cheapter alternative being the Ultramax 400.
Processing (C-41) and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany.
Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 21: Kodak Portra 400
It is astonishing how many lens manufacturers there are in China these days. Meike is one of them and around since roughly 2017, but just lately they started producing fullframe lenses and this 50mm 1.2 is one of their first, so let’s have a closer look!
In 2023 there are plenty of lens manufacturers originating from China speaking to various different target audiences. While some are the Primark of the lens industry – simply trying to offer cheaper alternatives to the reknown manufacturers of lower quality – others have become the actual innovators in the photography lens business.
Having used more than 80 of those lenses from 15 different manufacturers I thought it is a good time to highlight the best ones I came across.
Update September 2025: many new lenses added
This Leica Summilux-M 50mm 1.4 Asph is definitely among Leica’s most famous M-mount lenses. When it had been released in 2004 there was nothing quite like it. A compact fast 50mm rangefinder lens with aspherical element and floating elements design? You could not find this anywhere else.
But – maybe unlike some of the Nocitlux lenses – this wasn’t just a showcase of engineering technology, it actually proved to be a useful and capable lens cherished by many to this day.
Leica kept this in their portfolio – with unchanged optics – for 20 years, so how does it stack up against its younger and significantly cheaper competitors in 2023, especially the Voigtländer VM 50mm 1.5 Nokton MC and the TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 Asph? Let’s find out in this review.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
