What I learned from shooting nothing but a $25 lens on my a7II for a month

March 7, 2017 Phillip Reeve 40 Comments

When I decided to use only my 45-years-old Minolta MC 1.7/55 in February I had only one basic idea: I wanted to get out of my comfort zone because I know that I improve my skills much faster in anything if I can’t rely on my routines. And I guess I was also curious how I would fare without all the fancy gear I normally use.

My lens cabinet with most but not all my lenses. I think I can safely say that I am a gear head.

During the project I tried to take pictures everyday and I also created additional challenges for myself: One day I only allowed myself to take 5 pictures and on another I had to photograph in conditions I had little experience in.

1. It was much easier than I anticipated

Continue reading What I learned from shooting nothing but a $25 lens on my a7II for a month →

Comparison, Leica M, lenses, Review, Sony E-mount

35mm Comparison: Voigtlander VM 1.7, Zeiss Loxia 2.0 and ZM 1.4, Leica FLE 1.4

March 5, 2017 BastianK 69 Comments

Introduction

Leica Summilux-M 35mm 1.4 Asph FLE | Zeiss Distagon ZM 35mm 1.4 T* | Voigtlander Ultron 35mm 1.7 Asph | Zeiss Loxia 35mm 2.0

We managed to gather the three most recent fast rangefinder 35mm wide angle lenses from Leica, Zeiss and Voigtlander, threw in the Zeiss Loxia and put them up against each other on the 42mp A7rII. So in case you are looking for a small modern high quality 35mm manual focus lens: read on!

Continue reading 35mm Comparison: Voigtlander VM 1.7, Zeiss Loxia 2.0 and ZM 1.4, Leica FLE 1.4 →

lenses, Minolta SR mount, Review

Review: Minolta MC Rokkor 1:1.7 55mm on Sony a7

February 26, 2017 Phillip Reeve 77 Comments

The Minolta MC 1:1.7 55mm is 50 years old but none the less it is one of my favorite normal lenses to use on the Sony a7. In this review I will tell you why.

Sample Images

Continue reading Review: Minolta MC Rokkor 1:1.7 55mm on Sony a7 →

photography, Projects

Project: $1500 camera with just one $25 lens for one month – updated

February 7, 2017 Phillip Reeve 40 Comments

I am a gear head. How do I know? Because I own about a dozen normal lenses.

Usually I enjoy the choice I have but I was asking myself what would happen if I had no choice and could use only one lens for a whole month? There is only one way to find out and so I decided that I would limit myself to the Minolta MC Rokkor 1:1.7 55mm which is 45-years-old and cost me $25.

When I started the project I was curious how it would affect my photography. I have always progressed the fastest when I was outside of my comfort zone and I expected that this project would give me many experiences outside my comfort zone.

In this post I will recapitulate my experience so far.

Day 1: Black and White

On day one I decided that the lens alone wouldn’t push me outside of my comfort zone enough so I decided to give myself additional challenges each day which would make the project more interesting.

For day one this was photographing in black and white only because color is usually essential for my pictures. I think it worked quite well as did using 55mm for zoo images.

Day 2: Unknown territory

Continue reading Project: $1500 camera with just one $25 lens for one month – updated →

Canon FD-Mount, lenses, Review

Review: Canon FD 85mm 1:1.2 S.S.C. Aspherical

February 2, 2017 Phillip Reeve 29 Comments

The Canon 1.2/85 is a legend of a lens and in this review I put it’s earliest incarnation to the test on my Sony a7II.

Specifications

Diameter	81 mm
Length	72 mm
Filter Thread	72 mm
Weight	756 g
Max. Magnification	0.1
Close Focusing Distance from the sensor	1 m
Number of aperture blades	9
Elements/ Groups	8/6, floating elements

The Canon FD 1.2/85 Aspherical usually sells for around $600 used at ebay.com (affiliate link).
In Germany you can buy it used for around 650€ at ebay.de (affiliate link).