Category Archives: Leica

Review: Leica 50mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph

June 5, 2023 BastianK 26 Comments

Introduction

leica 50mm 1.4 summilux-m summilux asph asph. aspherical review leica m10 m10r m11 42mp sony a7rv a7riv a7 contrast sharpness resolution bokeh vignetting — Leica 50mm 1.4 Summilux-M Asph on Leica M10

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.

Sample Images

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Analogue, Contax G-Mount, Leica, Leica M, MS-Optics, photography, Zeiss

Analogue Adventures – Part 19: Fuji Superia X-Tra 400 ECN-2 processed

May 18, 2023 BastianK 9 Comments

Any film is hard to get these days, but the Fuji films are even harder to get than the Kodak ones here in Germay. Therefore I developed the habit of buying any type of color negative film I haven’t used before for this series – even when it means paying 20€ for just this one roll of Fuji Superia X-Tra 400.
Processing (ECN-2) and scanning was done at Silbersalz35 in Germany.

hologon leica m contax-g 16mm 8.0 8/16 center filter review sharpness leica m10 m11 sony e-mount adapter conversion sharpness distortion carl zeiss germany — Leica M6 | Hologon 16mm 8.0 | Fuji Superia X-tra 400 ECN-2

fuji fujifilm x-tra xtra 400 superior review m6 leica analogue analog — Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 | f/8.0 | Fuji X-Tra 400 ECN-2

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Analogue, Leica, Leica M, Voigtlander

Analogue Adventures – Part 18: Choosing a secondary Camera

May 4, 2023 BastianK 25 Comments

Introduction

If you followed my Analogue Adventures over the past year you probably noticed I have been shooting quite a bit of 35mm film lately. Doing that, I discovered things I like as well as things I don’t like. Either way, I decided to continue with these Analogue Adventures as I think there is still a lot to be learned for me, but I also decided to get a second analogue camera with M-mount for doing that.

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Analogue, Leica, Leica M, MS-Optics, Projects

Analogue Adventures – Part 15: Kodak Ultramax 400

March 4, 2023 BastianK 12 Comments

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.

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Analogue, Leica, Leica M, MS-Optics

Analogue Adventures – Part 11: Kodak Tmax 3200

January 2, 2023 BastianK 12 Comments

Kodak tmax 3200 analogue leica m6 contax canon fd olympus om — Kodak Tmax 3200

An ISO 3200 black and white film is pretty much the fastest film you can get these days. As I like to shoot in dimly lit environments of course I had to give it a try.
Processing and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany.