Category Archives: Leica M

Leica M, lenses, Review, Sony E-mount

Review: Syoptic 50mm 1.1

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Introduction

syoptic mr. ding 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh
Syoptic 50mm 1.1 M on Leica M10

The M-System seems to be extremely popular in China, as we still see an increasing amount of manufacturers offering new M-mount lenses from this country. The latest is Syoptic with this 50mm f/1.1, sometimes referred to as “Mr. Ding 50mm lens”. Some of the few samples I found online showed very appealing bokeh rendering, so I ordered one as soon as it was possible in Europe. It took longer than expected, but I finally have it in my hands, so let’s have a closer look.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
Update March 2022: tests of E-mount version added

Update October 2022: An improved version of this lens has been released under the “Mr. Ding Studios” branding. You can find a full review here.

Sample Images

syoptic mr. ding 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh
Sony A7III | Syoptic 50mm 1.1 E | f/1.1
syoptic mr. ding 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh
Sony A7rII | Syoptic 50mm 1.1 E | f/1.1
syoptic mr. ding 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh coma
Leica M10 | Syoptic 50mm 1.1 M | f/1.1
syoptic mr. ding 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh coma
Leica M10 | Syoptic 50mm 1.1 M | f/1.1
syoptic mr. ding 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh
Sony A7III | Syoptic 50mm 1.1 M | f/1.1
syoptic mr. ding 50mm 1.1 noctilux leica nokton voigtländer review m10 42mp 24mp sony a7rii contrast resolution bokeh
Sony A7III | Syoptic 50mm 1.1 M | f/5.6 | pano from 5 shots

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7Artisans, Analogue, Leica, Leica M, photography, Postprocessing, Projects, Voigtlander

Analogue Adventures – Part 2: First Roll of Film

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Introduction

Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.2 III | f/1.2 | Ektar 100 expired | color corrected

In one of my drawers I found two rolls of Ektar 100 from the times a roll was only 8€. Expired 2015. Not exactly properly stored. So a good opportunity to see if the exposure meter works and where I stand with the rangefinder calibration of this camera.
Processing and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany.

What lenses to use?

Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 75mm 1.5 | f/1.5 | Ektar 100 expired | BW conversion

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 2: First Roll of Film →

Leica M, Review, TTArtisan

Review: TTArtisan 28mm 5.6 M

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Introduction

ttartisan 28mm 5.6 m m-mount pancake review smallest leica contrast sharpness resolution
TTArtisan 28mm 5.6 on Leica M10

When people hear TTArtisan many may connect that name to very fast lenses like the 50mm 0.95 or the 90mm 1.25, but today we are looking at something very different: a compact 28mm 5.6 for M-mount.
A maximum aperture of f/5.6 doesn’t sound that exciting, but then tiny lenses are always welcome here, so let’s have a closer look!
The lens is being tested on 24mp Leica M10 and 42mp Sony A7rII.

Sample Images

ttartisan 28mm 5.6 m m-mount pancake review smallest leica contrast sharpness resolution
Leica M10 | TTArtisan 28mm 5.6 | f/5.6
ttartisan 28mm 5.6 m m-mount pancake review smallest leica contrast sharpness resolution
Leica M10 | TTArtisan 28mm 5.6 | f/5.6
ttartisan 28mm 5.6 m m-mount pancake review smallest leica contrast sharpness resolution
Leica M10 | TTArtisan 28mm 5.6 | f/5.6
ttartisan 28mm 5.6 m m-mount pancake review smallest leica contrast sharpness resolution
Leica M10 | TTArtisan 28mm 5.6 | f/5.6
ttartisan 28mm 5.6 m m-mount pancake review smallest leica contrast sharpness resolution
Sony A7III | TTArtisan 28mm 5.6 | f/5.6

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Analogue, camera, Leica, Leica M, photography, Projects

Analogue Adventures – Part 1: Choosing a Camera

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Introduction

Agfa Isolette – roughly worth its weight in strawberries

I shot analogue with two cameras in the past, a Nikon F80 and a Nikon FE2.

The F80 is actually a very modern camera which supports AF, VR, matrix metering and a few other things, but the rubber got sticky and I got rid of most of my Nikon lenses quite some time ago, so I have little incentive to use it these days.

The FE2 was better at giving the “analogue” feeling, but some parts of the mechanics are broken as the film advance doesn’t work properly. So on my first and only roll of film with this camera I ended up with a bunch of useless quadruple exposures.

The adventure of analogue photography ended for me here.

Until the day I was strolling through Stuttgart and discovered a camera store displaying a Nikon FM2, FM3a and F3 – all in mint condition and all – at least to my eyes – beautiful cameras. I got the idea of getting one of those, because: why not shoot some film for a change?

Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 1: Choosing a Camera →

Leica M, Review, Zhong Yi

Review: Zhong Yi 90mm 1.5 M

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Introduction

zhong yi 90mm 1.5 f/1.5 review test comparison leica m m10 m10r m9 sony a7rii 42mp 24mp contrast bokeh sharpness
Zhong Yi 90mm 1.5 via metabones adapter on Sony A7rII

If you thought there weren’t enough super fast portrait lenses in the M-mount world available 2021 may prove to be an interesting year for you: in addition to TTArtisan’s 90mm f/1.25 there is also a (slightly more reasonable?) 90mm f/1.5 lens by Zhong Yi being released. Let us have a look what this lens has in store for us!
Lens is being tested on 42mp Sony A7rII and 24mp Leica M10
Update November 2022: the price has been reduced to $399

Sample Images

zhong yi 90mm 1.5 f/1.5 review test comparison leica m m10 m10r m9 sony a7rii 42mp 24mp contrast bokeh sharpness coma milky way astigmatism
Leica M10 | Zhong Yi 90mm 1.5 | f/1.5
zhong yi 90mm 1.5 f/1.5 review test comparison leica m m10 m10r m9 sony a7rii 42mp 24mp contrast bokeh sharpness coma milky way astigmatism
Leica M10 | Zhong Yi 90mm 1.5 | f/1.5
zhong yi 90mm 1.5 f/1.5 review test comparison leica m m10 m10r m9 sony a7rii 42mp 24mp contrast bokeh sharpness coma milky way astigmatism
Sony A7rII | Zhong Yi 90mm 1.5 | f/1.5

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