Leica M Summilux 75mm f1.4

October 2, 2019 Nehemiah 49 Comments

The Leica 75 Summilux (75 Lux) is legendary. It’s a compact, fast, short telephoto rangefinder lens designed for portrait and shallow depth-of-field photography. Prices and praise for the 75 Lux haven’t lessened over the years, and it’s said to be one of Walter Mandler’s favorites works. You’ll be hard pressed to find a clean copy for under 3.5k. Let’s dig deeper.

Click here to see all 75 Lux review photos and others at larger resolution on my flickr album.

Note 1: Throughout the review, FE or Sony 85 means the 85 f1.8, GM 85 refers to the GM 85 f1.4, and the Samyang is the manual focus version unless specified.

Note 2: For a more extensive look at the finer distinctions between the 75 and 80 Summilux, read this.

Specifications

Focal Length:	75mm
F-stop:	1.4-16
Weight:	600g
Aperture Blades:	10 (unrounded)
Hood:	Permanent (retractable)
Mount:	Leica M
Internal focus:	No
Filter Size:	60mm
MFD:	0.8 (will focus closer)
Environmental Sealing:	None
Years Produced:	1980-2007

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Review, Sony E-mount

Review: Viltrox 85 mm f/1.8 STM AF PFU RBMH

September 30, 2019 JuriaanM 38 Comments

Viltrox PFU RBMH 85 mm f/1.8 STM AF

The Viltrox PFU RBMH 85mm f/1.8 STM is cheap and offers AF. Is it the best bang for your buck 1.8/85 for Sony E-mount at this moment?

Sample Images

Viltrox PFU RBMH 85 mm f/1.8 STM AF — Viltrox 1.8/85 | f/1.8

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camera, lenses, Sony Alpha, Sony Alpha 7

Beginner’s Guide to Manual Lenses on the Sony a7

September 28, 2019 Phillip Reeve 363 Comments

Okay, everybody is talking about how manual lenses work so well on the Sony a7 series but how does it actually work? And which results can you expect? Read on if you want to know.

Manual Lenses on the Sony a7/a7II/a7III

Why should I use manual lenses?

- They can be very cheap, you can get a great 1.4/50 lens for $50. For most applications such a lens will give you 90% of the performance of a $1000 Zeiss 1.8/55 FE. For the $1000 you would have to pay for that Zeiss you can buy an excellent set of five lenses from 20 to 300mm.
- You have a huge choice between thousands of lenses ranging from exotic ones with lots of “character” to some of the very best lenses available.
- There are 30-year-old primes with better image quality than many modern lenses. Of course progress has happened in recent years but still affordable primes are often sharper than very expensive modern zooms.
- Old lenses are usually beautifully built from nothing but metal and glass which makes it a joy to handle them. They can last a lot longer than modern lenses which are full of electronics and very complex designs, both of which make them more likely to fail.
- They also hold their value much better than modern lenses. With some patience you can sell most manual lenses without a loss but with new lenses you can expect to lose 30% in the first year.
- Manual focusing can be very enjoyable. This certainly depends on application but personally I enjoy working with fully manual lenses a lot more than with any AF lens and I would choose a good manual focus lens over an AF lens (almost) any time. Check out our manual photographers series to read other photographers stories who feel similar about this.

Why shouldn’t I use manual lenses?

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Accessories, The Team's favorites

A look into Phillip’s camera bag – September 2019 Edition

September 23, 2019 Phillip Reeve 30 Comments

After the favorite lenses series fell dormant I thought it would be interesting to give an update on our current gear which has changed a bit and change the format a bit at the same time. So feel invited to have a look into my camera bags.

If you purchase the lens through one of the affiliate-links in this article I get a small compensation with no additional cost to you.

The Bag

I use a Think Tank Turnstyle 10 V2. The bag fits a camera and 3 medium sized lenses.The biggest argument for a shoulder bag to me is quick access and that it is more ergonomic to carry than a messenger bag. The bag works really well for not that long hikes without a backpack and when I am on my bike. I have carried it besides a daypack on longer hikes and that is anything but enjoyable. A Mindshift Gear 180° Panorama Backpack would be a much better solution but those are expensive.

The bag just feels like a very well made, well engineered product from a company which knows how to make good bags. After nearly two years of constant use it shows few signs of wear. Even though I forgot to close the zip several times I never lost a lens thanks to its clever design which keeps lenses from falling out. It also comes with a waist strap you can easily stow away in one of the many pockets. The strap is a big help when I am on a bike. The bag comes with a cape for bad weather and has many smaller pockets so packing away accessories is easy.

amazon.de | amazon.com (affiliate links)

The Camera

I am still using my good old Sony a7II which I bought in July 2016. I know that a a7rIII would be a much nicer camera but that doesn’t make the a7II a bad camera for my needs. I rarely actually feel limited by it so spending 1500€ to upgrade doesn’t seem to be that smart an idea. That doesn’t mean that I am tempted to upgrade.