It was my second time in Istanbul and as I already covered many of the “must see” tourist sights the first time I thought it was a good opportunity to shoot some more film this time around. Being less flexible with film it also helped that I already knew what to expect and where to go.
After my experience with the Voigtländer 35mm 1.4 Classic I haven’t exactly been interested in spending any more time with lenses from Cosina’s Classic line (which is not to be mistaken for their Vintage line). That being said the acquisition of a Minolta CLE got me interested in a compact 40mm M-mount lens and this Voigtlander VM 40mm 1.4 Nokton Classic is actually the cheapest option available, so here we are.
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10 as well as some analogue cameras.
The Meyer-Optik Görlitz Domiplan is a very small and compact lens, a classical anastigmatic triplet lens. It was the standard kit lens on EXA II cameras but was also sold as kit with many EXA I & Praktica cameras. Opinions on the Domiplan are very different. Some love it for its sharpness and its bokeh, especially its so-called “Soap Bubble” bokeh, others think it is nothing more than average in performance. In the manufacturer’s brochure of this lens from 1960 you can read:
“With our new Domiplan 2.8/50 mm we have combined the advantages of the modern lens mount and the fully automatic pressure diaphragm with an extremely inexpensive three-lens construction.”
I’ll come back to “the fully automatic pressure diaphragm” later in the review. Also as the first point in a features list in the same brochure you can read:
” – Inexpensive three-lens anastigmat of the proven triplet type”
The underlining is done by me, not in the original text. So it should be clear that we are dealing with a cheap and simple lens. Just to have our expectations at somewhat right levels. Do not despair though! It can produce very nice pictures and is quite cheap too. Continue reading and it might be the next lens you invest in after all. Let’s have a closer look!
Continue reading Review: Meyer-Optik Görlitz Domiplan 50mm 2.8
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