Category Archives: Leica M

Leica M10 – The Camera (?)

Introduction

Leica M10 with MS-Optics 50mm 1.0 ISM

Leica M10. The Camera. Photography reduced to its essentials. This is what Leica says about this camera. If you care what I think of it: keep on reading.

Update: this article is now 3 years old and because of it some Leica fanboys still show up outside (or rather in the comment section) with pitchforks and torches. Joking aside, this is one of the most commented-on articles I ever wrote, reason enough to revisit it and see what happened in the meantime and also tackle some arguments from the comment section.

For many people owning a Leica camera is a dream. But why is that so? Is it simply the high price tag, the Bauhaus look or the huge “Made in Germany” writing, not hidden on a sticker at the bottom of the camera, but easily visible on the back?
It surely isn’t image quality or ease of use. You get more of both, elsewhere, for less. This is why Leica cameras are often perceived as vain men’s luxury items, that happen to be able to take photos from time to time.

leica m10 review rangefinder messsucher comparison vergleich sony a7iii a7rii R2 42mp 24mp wide angle portrait
Leica M10 | 7Artisans 28mm 1.4 FE+ | f/1.4
Leica M10 | Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton | 1.5
Leica M10 | Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 Nokton | 1.5
laowa 9mm 5.6 ultra wide w-dreamer uwa hyper wide heliar 10mm distortion zero-d
Leica M10 | Laowa 9mm 5.6 | f/5.6
voigtlander vm 21mm 3.5 color skopar leica m10 sony a7rii a7riii a7riv 24mp 42mp 61mp sharpness review contrast resolution
Leica M10 | Voigtländer VM 21mm 3.5 | f/3.5
ttartisan 28mm 5.6 m m-mount pancake review smallest leica contrast sharpness resolution
Leica M10 | TTArtisan 28mm 5.6 | f/5.6

Continue reading Leica M10 – The Camera (?)

Analogue Adventures – Part 15: Kodak Ultramax 400

kodak ultramax 400 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Kodak Ultramax 400

The Ultramax 400 is Kodak’s cheaper – hard to use that term in this context – ISO400 color negative film. This is also reflected by the fact that it is available as 24 exposure film. These days it is just as expensive as any other color negative film and whenever I came across it, it had been sold out shortly after. So I should probably consider myself lucky for having seized the moment and bought a roll at the local camera store – for what felt like way too much for a 24 exposure roll…
Processing and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany.
The pictures you see in this article are from 1 roll.

kodak ultramax 400 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f/2.0 | Kodak Ultramax 400
kodak ultramax 400 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f/2.8 | Kodak Ultramax 400
kodak ultramax 400 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f/4.0 | Kodak Ultramax 400
kodak ultramax 400 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f/2.8 | Kodak Ultramax 400

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 15: Kodak Ultramax 400

Review: Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM

Introduction

review canon ltm m39 leica 50mm 1.2 dream lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM on Leica M6

Some of you may not know that before producing FD mount lenses and SLR cameras Canon also manufactured rangefinder lenses and cameras, leading to a line-up of no less than 59 different LTM (Leica Thread Mount also known as M39) lenses between 1946 and 1964. These lenses are fully compatible to Leica M cameras and can be easily adapted to other modern mirrorless cameras as well, so today we will have a look at the Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM, the second fastest lens from this series released in 1956.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.

Sample Images

review canon ltm m39 leica 50mm 1.2 dream lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM | f/1.2
review canon ltm m39 leica 50mm 1.2 dream lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM | f/1.4
^review canon ltm m39 leica 50mm 1.2 dream lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM | f/2.0
review canon ltm m39 leica 50mm 1.2 dream lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM | f/1.2
review canon ltm m39 leica 50mm 1.2 dream lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM | f/1.2
review canon ltm m39 leica 50mm 1.2 dream lens contrast resolution m10 42mp 24mp 61mp m6 analogue contrast bokeh vignetting
Leica M10 | Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM | f/1.4

Continue reading Review: Canon 50mm 1.2 LTM

Analogue Adventures – Part 14: Agfa Vista 200 (expired)

agfa vista expired 200 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film

These days whenever I come across a photo store I check if they have any film stock available, especially some I didn’t use before. In Istanbul I found a store selling these Agfa Vista 200 24+3 which expired 17 years ago. They were cheap enough and for only 2.5 € I could add processing including scanning so I decided to give it a try.
Processing and scanning was done at Karaköy Fotoğrafçı in Istanbul.
Because there were some issues with a few of the scans I had it rescanned by urbanfilmlab in Germany.

agfa vista expired 200 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f/2.8 | Agfa Vista 200
agfa vista expired 200 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f/4.0 | Agfa Vista 200
agfa vista expired 200 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f/2.8 | Agfa Vista 200
agfa vista expired 200 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f/11 | Agfa Vista 200

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 14: Agfa Vista 200 (expired)

Rangefinder wide angle lenses on A7 cameras: problems and solutions

Introduction

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Close up lenses of different strength

In case you have read some of our reviews covering rangefinder wide angle lenses on this very blog you already know there are some limitations to be aware of and you might have also heard of the “Kolari”thin filter mod as a solution. But now, thanks to Fred Miranda forum member HaruhikoT, there is another way to use rangefinder wide angle lenses up to their full potential on A7 series cameras.
Update February 2023: guide to remove the shims on Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.7 Ultron added thanks to reader zhulinke + general update

Continue reading Rangefinder wide angle lenses on A7 cameras: problems and solutions