Street | Urban | Travel | Photography by Marcus Puschmann
Spring has finally arrived with sunshine and warmer temperatures. No doubt The Significant Other insisted we go on a hike through the Franconian countryside outside Nuremberg. I didn’t argue at all, as this was a great first opportunity to screw (literally) a 50 year old “Nifty Fifty” on my Nikon Zf for a first test of its legendary optics – the Pentax Asahi SMC Takumar 1.4/50. Join me on a Sunday walk with a vintage lens….
Continue reading “Sunday Walk with a Vintage Lens”
Ok – this is not the prettiest of street photographs. But it shows a couple of things from putting my new baby, the Nikon Zf, through some initial tests on the streets of Genoa. The 24.5-megapixel full-frame BSI CMOS sensor combined with the EXPEED 7 image processor produces awesome results, delivering beautifully rendered images with a high dynamic range.
But what an autofocus the Zf has. It was already getting dark in the alleys of Genoa’s Old Town. I dialed in ISO 6400 (which produces absolutely usable images with little noise) and the max aperture of f/2 to shoot wide open. This resulted in a shutter speed of 1/8000 sec, enough to freeze any action.
I dialed in wide-area autofocus with eye/face detection. It totally amazed me how easily the camera picked out the faces of oncoming people and nailed the focus on their eyes. I walked towards the also quite fast walking oncoming ladies and pressed the shutter. E voilà, a sharp image. The Leica SL2-S could never ever have done this.
I took this street photograph with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 40mm 1:2 SE. It is a jpg out of the camera using the Zf’s default black & white mode. I could quick-select this mode by turning a dial on top of the camera. This is another awesome feature of this amazing camera. Stay tuned for more feature reviews as I continue to discover and learn my new camera.
So far, I can only rave about the Zf and say that I’m truly glad I replaced the Leica SL2-S with the Nikon. I’m also amazed at how superior the Nikon is compared to the much more expensive “high-end” Leica. Especially, the autofocus simply blows the SL2-S away. I have found my perfect street photography camera.
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Have a great Friday!
Marcus
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Yashica Auto Yashinon-DX 1:2 50mm
After my tumultuous journey with the Leica SL2-S, marked by repeated hardware failures and frustrating customer service experiences, I had decided to move on. Prerequisite was to get another full frame camera, as the larger sensors ensure better low light capabilities, greater dynamic range and more depth-of-field-separation (bokeh) when shooting wide open. And I was looking for a camera that is (like the Leica from its design and haptics doubtless also was) a joy to pick up and makes me want to go out and shoot. Only reliable.
Going through all the current full frame models on the market, I quickly set my eyes on a particular model. The brand I knew well from my early DSLR shooting days. These cameras never failed me and were reliable work horses. I knew I needed to look no further. There was a camera I instantly fell in love with. Enter the Nikon Zf – a retro beauty with modern power….and my new baby since a couple of weeks now….
Continue reading “Nikon Zf – A Retro Beauty with Modern Power”
Finally an image in the familiar 3×2 full frame aspect ratio. The Leica is back. Fixed and cleaned. And I got a free new battery with it (100$ retail value). I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. Probably both. Glad to have the camera back. Because the SL2-S can do things for me that my other cameras can’t do. Like shooting with manual M-Mount lenses with a 0.95 aperture. On the other hand I’m still disappointed by their service and handling of the matter, after my brand new Leica failed me 3 days into our Israel trip with a mechanical shutter defect. I picked it up yesterday and took it for a spin around the Old Town, shooting with the beautiful TTArtisan 50mm .95 lens.
Continue reading “The Leica is back”
Having had the opportunity to test a Leica SL2-S full frame mirrorless system over the weekend, I have asked Big Girl to pose for an impromptu indoor portrait session. I wanted to do another test of the high ISO capability of the camera and find out how usable the files are in terms of noise when shooting at higher ISO. And, I have to say, the Leica performed admirably. But see for yourself…
Continue reading “Impromptu Indoor Portrait Session”
Last Sunday, despite the wet and wintery weather, The Significant Other and I headed into the local woods to catch some fresh air. For me an opportunity to bring along my old Leica M (Type 240) and the vintage Yashica Auto Yashinon-DX 1:2 50mm lens I have on loan from a friend.
Continue reading “Yashica Auto Yashinon-DX 1:2 50mm”
A good way to spend the first Sunday afternoon of 2022 is paying a visit to a friend who is a likeminded photographer. To drink some coffee and talk some serious photography shop. His passion is to acquire vintage lenses from the era of film cameras. This means high quality glass that performs admirably when attached to today’s modern DSLRs or System Cameras via an adapter. For very, very little money.
Continue reading “Vintage Lenses”
I was very much looking forward to this, shooting with a 60 year old lens. My Dad gave me a vintage 90mm Leica Summicron F/2 for Christmas (thanks, Dad, for the awesome present). The beauty of the Leica M system is that you can attach any lens from the Leica (M)esssucher (=rangefinder) system introduced back in 1954 to modern Leica digital cameras with an M-Mount. And as I have acquired a (for digital camera standards also vintage) used Leica M (Type 240) about a year ago, the 90mm is a great addition to my small collection of Leica prime lenses.
Continue reading “Shooting with a 60 year old lens”
Who would have seen that coming, the Oly fan-boy venturing out in neighbor’s garden. Even I myself never thought I might be exploring another camera system. But it has really happened. I bought a Fuji….
Continue reading “I bought a Fuji”
One of the great features of my new Olympus OM-D E-M1X is the ability to use sensor shift technology to increase the image resolution by combining multiple shots. This function is called High Resolution Photo (also referred to as High Res Shot or HRS). The camera takes 8 (in handheld mode 16) consecutive images and moves the sensor by half a pixel between each shot. The 8 pictures are then composited to create the final output. The resolution is 80MP for RAW and 50MP for JPG (when using a tripod) or 50MP for both RAW and JPG when shooting handheld.
Continue reading “OM-D E-M1X High Res Shot”
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