It took me a long time to figure out which gear I’d bring on my six months adventure through Scandinavia. Most of the time we’d be paddling. And shooting from a canoe is a hard thing to do. Not because it’s a technical challenge, but moreover because the position you can take as a photographer is limited to one. I just sit. That’s it. In order to be able to show something of the environment, I wanted a wide lens. Having tested the CV 15/4.5 v1, I decided to get the latest version of this interesting lens. And man, it is good. It doesn’t suffer from any discoloration, no vignetting and the only distortion I see is very normal for a 15mm lens.
It has grown a bit since the previous versions, but it’s still very small and lightweight. The lens comes with a fixed hood which works very well in preventing ghost and flare. Sharpness wise: you couldn’t wish for more.
Without spoiling too much for the review I’m planning, I’d just share a few pics that I took with the Leica M240 and this lens. Stay tuned!
I’ve worked a lot the last few years. I’ve covered many weddings and other events. And I’m happy to see an increase in the number of workshops that I give. I love my work, absolutely, but one year ago I started planning for something else…
The next sixt months my wife Anita and I will canoe and hike at least 2016 km through Norway, Sweden and Finland. We’ll sleep in a tent, drink water from lakes, paddle for hours, cross rivers and lakes, climb mountains and hills. Why? I started my career as a photographer and writer in the Alps and in Scandinavia. I missed a lot of summer trips the last few years because of the weddings and now it’s time to get back in pace with nature.
We’re not just in this for ourselves. We’re raising money for WWFs ‘Saving the Arctic’ project and I hope you’ll join us in supporting this good cause. You’ll find more information on our website.
I’ll keep posting lots of Leica stuff on this site, just like you’re used to. Leica Netherlands was kind enough to give me the Leica X-U for an extended test drive and I can already tell you that I absolutely adore this camera. I brought a few lenses that I haven’t reviewed yet and I might do this in between trips. In the meantime, you’ll find more than enough pictures. No weddings this time, but unspoiled nature and snapshots of the adventures that we’re so happy to enjoy.
This week is the last Leica workshop in a series of four workshops. In case you still have time for friday 22nd this week, you can still sign up. A few weeks ago Leica Netherland organised the first workshop and we all had a great time. Some people used the opportunity to try the Leica M for the first time. Others wanted to improve their skills with the M. One of the participants was interested in buying the Q, so he spend most of the time trying to figure out if this camera would work for him.
Here’s a few images of the Leica Q-rious (I might want to arrange copyrights for that one…) shooter: André Roodhuizen.
A few weeks ago I posted a review on the Lomo Minitar-1 32/2.8 lens. Though this lens is even smaller than a lens back-cover, it does suffer from a few drawbacks, cyan corners being one of them. Being a Lomo lens, I suspected this lens would deliver better quality on (less critical than digital) film. Last week I got my files back from the lab (thanks Madri!) and I thought I’d show you. As far as I’m concerned, this lens does work better on film…
There’s a new range of lenses available for the Leica M mount. You remember Zenit, the Russian producer of cameras and lenses? Well, they’re back, this time in collaboration with Lomo. Yes, the brand that produces plastic cameras for hipsters. But this time, they’ll be selling lenses for probably the pickiest photographers on earth: the Leica M users.
The Lomo 32 is hardly bigger than a regular mount cover…
Before you read on, you might want to hear this heads up. The Lomo LC-A Minitar-1 32/2.8 lens – you’ll have to breathe at least twice while saying this – is NOT the sharpest lens, nor the best engineered lens. It is probably the smallest and lightest lens ever made for the M mount, except for a pinhole lens (which is not a real lens) and the MS Optics lenses (which are considerably more expensive). It’s also a funny lens, with a distinct look and character. It’s cheap-ish at 349 Euros, but not that much cheaper than the 469 Euros Voigtländer 35/2.5 color-skopar pancake lens. Which is an optically and mechanically much better lens.
Build quality and ergonomics
So here we go. Yes, it’s tiny. It could fit twice in the back lens cover if there weren’t any threads in it. It’s also incredibly light. You could fit this lens in the pocket of the tightest skinny jeans you’d never buy and still not notice you’re actually carrying a lens with you. Mechanically, it feels flimsy. It doesn’t have a proper focus ring, nor a proper aperture ring. Focussing is done by turning a lever on the side, which is preset for 4 settings: infinity, 3 meters, 1.5 meters and 0.8 meters. You can also set the distance in between these settings. Surprisingly, the 32/2.8 is rangefinder coupled, which makes focusing easier. The aperture can be set by turning the inner part of the front element. It’s easy and straightforward.
Ergonomically, I did miss a proper focus ring. You don’t get the same feeling of involvement with your lens as you get with a regular lens with a focusing ring. On the other hand, if you get used to this system with presets, you can probably manage to focus very fast. The 32mm triggers the 35mm framelines in your Leica M, so composing can be done quite precise.
Shooting with a white background you’ll notice cyan and blue corners.
Sharpness, bokeh and rendering
If you expect sharp images without any optical errors, this is not your lens. The Lomo 32/2.8 isn’t really sharp, nor free from optical errors. Using it close-up, sharpness decreases even more, but it might also be that I had a mediocre sample. It does vignet quite a bit, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s part of the fun. The same thing goes for saturation: this lens doesn’t render neutral. Colors are far easier saturated than with, let’s say, a Leica lens. But again, that’s part of the fun.
Less fun is the fact that this lens produces cyan corners and sides which we all know from older wide-ange lenses and our M cameras. You can correct this in post, but I suspect this lens works better with a film camera than it does with a (high resolution) digital camera. I have shot a few frames with my M6, so stay tuned for an update.
Bokeh wise: well, there’s nothing much in the bokeh department with a 32/2.8 lens that focuses up to 0.8 meters. And rendering, like I said, that’s what you buy this lens for: a vignetted, satured, unpredictable and unique image is what you’ll always get.
The rendering test for all the lenses that I use. Even without the crop you can see sharpness isn’t the best part of this lens.And here’s the crop. I suspect I had a mediocre sample for the review, so yours might be better.
Conclusion
Would I buy this lens? No. While I’m a big fan of lenses with a unique rendering (like the 50 lux V2) I’m also a pro photographer with an obligation towards my clients. I can’t get away with delivering images with a sub-optimal image quality, that is, a technical image quality. As an entry level lens for a photographer who is new to rangefinder cameras, I’d recommend trying another lens, like the Voigtländer 35/2.5. While this lens doens’t have a distinct character like the Lomo 32, it is fully capable of rendering beautifully taken razor sharp landscape images. The 32/2.8 shines as a very small and light lens for hip street shooters who love the rendering of this Russian classic.
Cool rendering, velvia like colors, this is just crazy!Rendering in black and white is pretty nice!
And a 30 seconds exposure in the middle of the night at the beach.
Shot against the light, the sharpness holds up quite well, but notice the cyan corners/sides. This lens is better suited for film photography.And of course, a selfie
When the Leica X-U was announced, one of the things that was said repeatedly on all the gear forums was ‘they won’t sell many of those’. After one week of playing with the Leica X-U I can state this is probably the best camera you can buy for serious outdoor activities. Not just for underwater stuff, but any situation that involves moist, sand, dust and impact.
The Leica X-U shines under any circumstance where you’d normally use a camera bag…
I know what I’m talking about. I learned to shoot in the Alps where it was cold, hot, wet, dry and where dropping a camera meant the end of your shoot. In those days, I worked with the Minolta XD series, because I trusted these cameras. They never let me down, but that was partly caused by the fact that I took care of them, simply by storing them in a camera bag. And that is where the Leica X-U shines. You never, ever need to store the X-U in a bag, because it doesn’t need one. Anyone who has ever climbed, hiked, biked or canoed knows that opening even the most conveniently designed camera bag, reduces the amount of shots you take. Opening that zipper, taking out the camera and pressing the shutter is just too much effort when you’re in a quick assault for the summit, or a difficult white water passage. Wearing a waterproof and shockproof camera around your neck means you eliminate a big part of this annoying routine and voilá: more pictures you wouldn’t have made otherwise.
A solid, beefy design with lots of grip, even with gloves, even when wet.Don’t try this with your M…
I think the Leica X-U should have been called the Leica X-O: the Leica X Outdoor, because the ‘U’ suggests that the camera is designed for underwater photography. If you check out the official Leica website, it says ‘Leica X-U, simply Unstoppable’. In fact, one of the employees from Leica Netherlands told me that the ‘U’ doesn’t stand for underwater, which I also thought it would stand for. Long story short: the Leica X-U is NOT an underwater camera per se. It is very capable of shooting underwater though, but it’s designed for anyone who wants to shoot in challenging conditions and wants to get the best image quality.
The buttons feel firm and solid, slighty stiff, but very responsive.
But this was going to be a short review, so here we go. Is the Leica X-U any good? Yes, handling wise, it doesn’t differ much from the ‘normal’ X-series. The buttons are slightly stiffer, because they’re rubberized and the overall feel is somewhat beefier and more solid. There’s no option for an electronic viewfinder, which is quite understandable in a waterproof camera. You do have the option to slide an optical viewfinder on top, for framing without the screen. I’d recommend if battery life is crucial on your trip – which it quite often is on outdoor trips – but otherwise, the screen is good and bright enough to use even in sunlight. If you’re looking for an optical viewfinder, bear in mind that all regular viewfinders aren’t waterproof. Nikonos makes waterproof viewfinders, but you could also try to find a very simple viewfinder without any glass.
Anyone with a canoe, kayak or raft will love the X-U.
Autofocus is fast and reliable and the manual focus works intuitively as well. Same as the X type 113. The biggest difference, the waterproof housing not considered, is the fact that the X-U is equipped with a flash on the upper part of the lens. I’m not a flash photographer, but it can be extremely useful on a camera for the outdoors. I can’t help but think that it would have been better with a tiny ring flash, but that was probably not possible.
I once ruined a Canon 70-200 lens on a beach. With the X-U sand is no problem at all.
IQ wise: well, this is the X type 113 in a neat waterproof package, so yes, IQ is great. The lens is sharp and in combination with the sensor delivers the typical Leica X look. Steve Huff has written a lot about this look, so check out his X reviews. The lens has a maximum aperture of 1.7, but this won’t work for close-up. Here the camera will automatically stop down to 2.8. Again, there’s enough information about this lens elsewhere.
As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one downside about this camera: I would have preferred a slower lens with a lower weight. Most of the outdoor shooters will use this camera in reasonable light but often in situations where weight is a big issue. A 2.8 lens is fast enough for that and would have made a considerable lighter camera. On the other hand, many, many X1 and X2 users wanted a faster lens. Leica finally made that happen in the X 113 and of course, they probably wanted their best X in a waterproof housing. Also, for photographers using the X-U underwater, the extra 1,5 stop does make a difference.
I’m excited about the Leica X-U. Not because I’m a diver -I’m not -, but because I’m a canoeist, a cyclist and being outdoors is the thing I love most. Now, there is finally a camera that you can take with you in any situation, without having to put it in a bag. It sounds like a minor detail, but in reality, it does make a huge difference.
Bokeh is nice, even though the camera won’t let you shoot at full aperture in close up situations.The camera doesn’t fit in a cycling jersey, but you could wear it around your shoulder and not notice it at all.Lovely flare and great IQ for soft daylight portraits.35mm is a great all round focal length.
So this is what you get when you submerge the X-U and shoot through the water.
A night exposure at the beach: 30 seconds.
And, of course, shooting your wife while she’s having a shower is also possible with the X-U. Don’t do this with people you don’t know…And just to proof it does work underwater: this is the water where we train our canoeing skills. It’s kind of…green…
Holy smoke! I’ve never, never, ever taken a Leica into the shower. But today, I did. Not my M, but the brand new Leica X-U. It’s so new, there’s no strap yet and my menu says the firmware is version 1.0. I’ll post a short review next week, but the big test will come later this year when I’m taking this fishy camera with me in a canoe to Scandinavia for six months.
This week I had a meeting with one of the founders of Lomography Neterlands. Now that Zenit has reintroduced three lenses for the Lomography Art Lens line up, I’ve been asked to shoot these lenses to give them a try. They came to me for a reason, because these lenses are made for the Leica screw mount and Leica M mount. Anyway, I’ve got the Russar + 20/5.6 and the Minitar-1 32/2.8 in my bag and they seem like fun lenses. The 32/2.8 has a heavy vignetting and an interesting retro look that can be interesting for Lomo shooters.
Within a few weeks, I’ll also send the New Jupiter 3+ and that might be a killer of a lens.
Winter is a relatively quiet time for me. It’s also the time that I’m working on my hand made albums. Making an album means re-editing the pictures for optimal performance in the printing process, but during the editing I also get the chance to reflect on a year that has gone by. While I like my work, there are some weddings I’ll probably never forget. This is one of these weddings, where during the reception everybody danced, even though it wasn’t planned at all. Just before dinner, the groom danced with his daughter and lifted her sky high. Such a lovely, lovely wedding…
Ice skating is one of my favorite ways to work out. Once you’ve found a steady pace it’s an almost trance like experience. With my SL review, I forgot to mention the macro mode setting on the 24-90, but as you can see, it’s pretty good. It’s not 1:1 ‘real’ macro, but more then good enough for product shots and pictures of details. I have to say: that lens is quite versatile.
