All about Leica
My friends from Degreeff & Partner informed me that the Billingham Hadley Digital, Hadley Small and Hadley Pro will be available in selected stores in the colour Neon Red.
Maybe not your cup of tea if you’re a street shooter, but for the hipsters that don’t like khaki, this might be good news. As you know, I have a Billingham Hadley Pro in blue and I absolutely love it.
Long before I took the jump and invested 10K in my Noctilux, I was searching for a perfect fast 50mm that was more affordable than the Noctilux. First, let me explain why I need a fast 50. First, my main lenses, a 35 and 50, are always backed up by a second lens on my weddings. A lens is easily dropped and that’s why I always carry two lenses of these focal lengths. Next, these back-up lenses have another function: they’re faster than the ‘main’ lenses. So, while my 35 cron is my main 35, it is backed up by the faster CV35/1.2. My 50 cron is backed up by another fast 50 and for a short while, this has been the Voigtländer 50/1.5 Nokton.
I’ll be honest with you: my lens had a slight front focus issue and that’s why I didn’t use it much in action. Also, I wanted the black one, but that was not available. I just went with the heavier and more expensive chrome version and gave it a try.
Build quality and ergonomics
The 50/1.5 Nokton feels quite solid and with 293 grams (in chrome) I wouldn’t call it light. It focusses up to 70 centimeters and that makes it quite useful for portraits and shots of details. The focus throw is long enough for me (I don’t like lenses with a short focus throw) but I don’t like the focus ring. I know its design is based on the classic 50/1.5 with its screw mount, but sometimes new technology improves a product. I much prefer the focus ring on the CV35/1.2 with is smooth and easy to use. I don’t like the aperture ring neither. Though it clicks firmly, the numbers on the scale are small and in black. Unlike many Leica users, I have young and good eyes, but I just can’t read them when light is dim. You can always count clicks, but I prefer to keep things as simple as possible. Next, the hood that comes with this lens is free, but could have been a little bigger AND would have been much nicer in chrome as well.
Sharpness, bokeh and rendering
Sharpness of this lens is good wide open, at least in the middle of the frame. Sharpness increases with stopping down, especially in the corners. Even the shot above shows plenty of sharpness when shot straight against the sun. As you can see, there is some flaring, but it is very acceptable. The purple fringing is not so acceptable though. Fast lenses often suffer from this problem and the 50 Nokton is no exception. Fortunately, it is very easy to get rid off in Lightroom or Photoshop. Not a deal breaker for me. Bokeh is nice: soft and classical, sometimes a bit unpredictable. Not a bokeh king, but good enough. Rendering is good: classical, but sharper than the really old fast vintage lenses.
Conclusion
Most people that consider getting a 50 Nokton want a cheaper alternative for the 50 Summilux. I haven’t had that lens yet, but I know that many people – including the better reviewers – claim that the 50 nokton delivers 90% of the Summilux quality for 25% of the price. With a black one, it is even less than 25%. I had some bad luck with the front focussing and didn’t have much shooting time with it. However, I could have traded the lens for one that would focus better, but I didn’t. Why? Well, I’m not really a big fan of the ergonomics, but most of all: it’s not fast enough to be an interesting back-up for my 50 cron. I wanted something at least 1.2 and 1.5 of course isn’t. If 1.5 is fast enough for you, you like the ergonomics and you can find yourself a 50 Nokton that is adjusted properly, I would definitely recommend this lens. Shortly after buying the 50/1.5, I found an interesting 58/1.2 which I absolutely love, but only works with the quirky live view of the M240. I never liked the Voigtlander 50/1.1 much either – tried it for a couple of weeks – so in the end, I ended up with my Noctilux after all.
The 50mm is my favorite focal length. It resembles the way we see the world and it gives me the opportunity to isolate subjects from the background, yet without the disturbing effects of a long telephoto lens. However, I do need other lenses too. My clients expect me to deliver a package of photos that cover the wedding day, with enough variation in the images to keep it interesting. That’s why I also carry a 28, 35 and 75 in my bag.
The 28mm has become part of my street kit as well however. And there’s a very simple reason for it: the power of perspective. Sometimes a 50mm just doesn’t work. Let me illustrate that statement with an example. Recently I was in Prague and on our last day we just walked along the river, watching for interesting things to happen. Suddenly, we came across two men, feeding the seagulls. I had the 50mm on my camera and took a few shots. It didn’t show the grandeur of the situation though, while my wife, who had the 28mm on her camera, took a few shots that I liked better. It’s just more dramatic and in my memory, the shots with the 28mm resemble reality more closely than those shots taken with the 50mm.
Want to add drama? Use a 28mm lens…
I always used to say that my two lens kit would consist of a 35 and a 50. For my documentary wedding photography that still works, but for traveling, a 28mm is a pretty interesting focal length to carry around. Maybe not instead of a 35, but as an extra. We’ll see.
When the sun sets and the countryside turns completely dark, cities become interesting places with contrasting lights. In winter, we spend most of our ‘street time’ in the dark. So why wouldn’t we shoot in the dark? Yes, light is more challenging and completely different compared to regular daylight, but the dark opens up new possibilities for photographers.
This is what you’ll learn:
Rates
295 Euros, including tax. The rent for the M is included, if needed.
Where
In Nootdorp, the Netherlands. From there we’ll go to Delft or The Hague.
When
From November 1st until February 15th. All workshops are one-on-one, unless requested otherwise.
Level
You know the basics: ISO, shutter speed and aperture.
2014 has been a great year for me with lots of interesting workshops, the launch of my ebook and many weddings. Moreover, last year has been the year where I could share some inspiration with my readers and that’s exactly what I want to continue in 2015: more inspiration for photographers and more technique, gear reviews and interesting stuff. I thank you for visiting my website and hope to see you again in 2015.
Leica M9-P with 50/0.95 noctilux
Now that Steve Huff was kind enough to publish my article on sixty weddings with a Leica M240, I got several emails from rangefinder shooters asking how to improve their focussing skills. Most of you might already know the answer, but the key is practice. Not a little bit, but a lot. In fact, even though I shoot almost every day for my work, I also keep practicing in between. I’ve developed an effective method for doing so. More than a thousand rangefinder shooters bought my e-book in which I present this method and I’ve received many emails from happy customers. Just give it a try. Here’s the link.
It’s funny how the lack of light can make us more creative. Sometimes I hear people complaining about these dark days in december (for the readers on the northern part of the globe). They tell me it’s useless to go outside and take pictures. For me, working with concentrated light from windows, it makes me even more aware of the quality and quantity of light. Contrasts can be high and one needs to be able to ‘guesstimate’ light very fast, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s rewarding and it makes you a better shooter. Just try it for yourself.
Leica M9 with 35 cron, ISO 1600 f2, 1/90th.
When I tell people what I do for a living they usually say: “Wow, so you get to see a lot of the world, don’t you?” Well, yes, I do, but I also spend quite a few hours in my office. Not just for post processing, but also for designing and making albums. I’m one of the few wedding photographers that still makes albums by hand. I have my artwork darkroom printed, I cut it by hand, and glue it to the pages manually. After that, I mount the pages one by one and after a few last checks, it’s finally done. It takes me two days to complete one album. I try to organise my work so that I can make these albums in the days I don’t have to shoot and usually that works. For me the challenge is to make each album as perfect as it can be. And my clients love them.
The Noctilux is slowly growing on me. For assignments where I have time to ‘play around’, I bring the Nocti and take some shots with it, after I know I got my shots with the lenses I always work with. And of course when I go out I try to bring it as often as I can, just to get a feel for the focus, its character and its usability in the field. Man, it is a heavy piece of equipment. I knew it, but every time I pick it up, it just feels incredibly heavy. A grip and thumbs-up is definitely recommended.
Anyway, friday night I went for dinner to Delft, a lovely, very old city near my place. The city is ready for christmas with many small lights on the canals. While we walked to our restaurant, I saw this bike under a street light and I liked the scene. I snapped a quick shot with my M9-P on ISO 800 at 1/60th wide open. The Nocti is so fast that my M9 has regained some shooting time over the M240 again and with the M9, I can’t ‘cheat’ with live view. It’s way too early for a decent review, but so far, I’m enjoying the ride.
Sometimes people ask how on earth I focus my camera with moving subjects. Well, I have trained a lot to get there, but in some situations you don’t need any training at all and will still be faster than the quickest AF-camera in the world.
This image was shot on Cuba, while I was having a good time with my wife after four months of traveling. We took a walk on the beach, Cuba Libre in one hand, M9 in the other. Suddenly we heard a noise that was getting louder and louder. A plane was coming our way and it was flying very low. My exposure was already set, since I was shooting the sunset. My focus was set to infinity, as it always is, and all I had to do was raise the camera, compose and shoot. Easy does it.
