Tag: Gear

My Leica failed me

Leica SL2-S broken
Broken | Jerusalem | 2022

Sometimes the worst case happens. You are on vacation, bringing your best gear to capture all the magic of the places you visit. And then disaster strikes. My Leica failed me. My brand new SL2-S decided to stop working while we visited Jesus’ baptism site on the River Jordan this morning. “System Error” was the bright orange message on the display. Switching on and off, removing and re-inserting battery, changing SD cards and lenses. All the tips I googled in the Leica forum, nothing helped.

I send a message to the Leica store where I purchased the camera, pointing out that I was three days into a once in a lifetime vacation and I needed help to reset the camera (the SL2-S seemingly has no hard reset) or with whatever trick they have up there sleeves to somehow overcome the failure.

Well…I even got a return message two hours later. They wrote that they talked to Leica Service and they indicated it most likely is a shutter failure and they need to resend the camera to the factory for repairs.

Leica, in case you read this: My Nikons never ever failed me like this. My Olympus workhorses never ever failed me like this, whatever I did to them. This Leica SL2-S is a brand new camera that costs triple what I payed for these other cameras. And it simply stopped working, without warning, being handled and operated with care. Shutter Failure. Are you kidding me? And I’m simply being told I will have to send in the camera for repairs. No apologies, no nothing. A suggestion that I might want to look for a retailer in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv that maybe can take a look. Not even sending me addresses or phone numbers. Not even a simple sorry for having a new high end 5000 Euro camera fail on vacation.

Leica, your customer experience sucks! I would have at least expected some kind of “sorry”. Or a proactive suggestion how I could get it looked at here in Israel. And even when I get this thing repaired within warranty…how can I ever confidently take this camera on vacation again or use it on a wedding gig? So disappointed…so disappointed….

Now the old M240 and my iPhone 12 will have to cover the rest of the vacation. At least I brought a 10 year old backup and some vintage primes. And the iPhone camera is also quite capable. I’m looking forward to the challenge to get the best of the failed SL2-S luxury camera. To still capture all the memories of our trip to beautiful Israel.

Thanks for nothing, Leica!

Marcus

62

Shooting with a 60 year old lens

Winter Portrait of a Lady
1/125 sec | f/4 | ISO 1600

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” →
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Smartphone or entry level camera?

Portofino
Portofino

I get asked a lot for advice on a low-budget entry level camera. I usually respond by asking for what kind of photography it is intended to be used. Because, frankly speaking, if people want to spend 300€ on a simple entry level camera for just some basic snapping of the usual holiday / people / travel photos, they should stay away and just use their smart phone. Because smart phones these days are also really good cameras, and one that you always carry with you….so the question is: Smartphone or entry level camera?

Continue reading “Smartphone or entry level camera?” →
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OM-D E-M1X High Res Shot

Nuremberg Old Town and Pegnitz River
Riverside | Nuremberg | 2019

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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Keep warm !

Beauty and the Beast

Winter is here for good in the streets of Nuremberg. Temperatures have dropped below freezing and yesterday we had the first snow flurries of the season, even though it didn’t last very long.

But for sure it’s getting a bit uncomfortable when roaming the streets with the camera in my hands. And as the pretty lady with her lap dog in the photo above (taken with my Olympus PEN-F and the mZuiko 25mm F/2 prime lens, specs are 1/180 sec @ f/2 and ISO 200), I’m using gloves to keep my hands warm. The thing is, regular gloves are not very handy when it comes to operating the camera with all the little dials and buttons. And I’m not a big fan of wearing fingerless gloves (what is the sense of having those, when your fingertips are freezing off). But there is something like a hybrid model. A real photographers glove.  A glove with which one can simply fold the tips of thumb and index finger to the side.

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I found those somewhere on the web last year (searching for photographers gloves), and they are the real thing, after testing them the rest of last winter. The crests are foldable on both gloves, by the way. It is super easy to use, so maximum you have the tips of thumb and index finger cold when leaving them exposed to operate the cam. An essential piece of gear for winter photography, not only for the street shooter.

If you look for tips and inspirations around photography, check out my free Learning Center.

Wish you a great Wednesday – and stay warm!

Marcus

Related Posts:

A Winter Dream

Backup!!! Your!!! Data!!!

My Photography Equipment Checklist

Finding your photographic style

21

StoNur goes Sub Sea

Diving Boy
Sparkling Blu | Isola d’Elba | 2016

The Streets of Nuremberg go sub sea this time. I wanted to share some images I took while snorkeling with my kids on the Spiaggia del Relitto, the Relict Beach, near the village of Pomonte on the Italian Island of Elba. To read more about our little wreck diving adventure and how I took the photos continue reading after the jump…

Continue reading “StoNur goes Sub Sea” →

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Off Topic – Studio Anywhere

Portrait of Teenager Daniel
Daniel | Porto Ferraio | 2016
With today’s post I’m venturing far away from my usual posts around Street- and Travel Photography. But vacation time is not only time for intensified photography around documenting our family trip to Italy.

Holidays means also having finally time for a lot of (photography) related reading of books, blogs and websites to get fresh doses of inspiration. And also having time to try out a few things off your usual beaten paths.

In this case I decided to do some portrait photography with my (more or less willing) family. First victim up was my son Daniel. To see more and learn how this studio-like portrait was taken without help of any flash on a 1m stretch of white wall inside our rented apartment’s bedroom continue reading after the jump.

Continue reading “Off Topic – Studio Anywhere” →

6

Little woes of a traveling photographer

Stortorget
Stortorget | Stockholm | 2016

You have been looking forward to this weekend trip to a fancy city  that you always wanted to see. Time is limited, you only have a couple of days. You are travelling with your partner who is not all that much into photography.  You don’t want to spoil the getaway by constantly logging behind, hunting for that perfect photo opportunity, that better angle, fumbling with your gear to change to the more appropriate lens.

And besides taking the marquee shots of well-known attractions (and that everybody back home expects from you)  you are looking for those special shots that you expect from yourself, because after all your are not after the tourist snap shots, for you are a photographer.

You arrive at your destination, it is great to be there, the sights and sounds are awesome, the food tastes great, you take the “must-have” shots, but photographically you just don’t get into the right groove, into your creative flow. And somehow this frustrates you because your own expectations towards yourself are otherwise and you know you won’t have a chance to get back to this city anytime soon when the photographic circumstances might be better. Sounds familiar? Continue reading after the jump. Continue reading “Little woes of a traveling photographer” →

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StoNur on the Road – Porsche Museum

Porsche Museum
Porsche Museum | Stuttgart | 2016

Photographing cars is not exactly related to Street Photography, but at least they drive on streets and are integral part of our daily life. Last weekend I had the chance to attend a workshop with Olympus Visionary Thomas Adorff in the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, a perk that came with my purchase of an Olympus PEN-F earlier in the year.

So last Saturday I drove over to Stuttgart (90 minute drive from Nuremberg) and met Thomas Adorff and a bunch of Olympus enthusiasts for a day in the Porsche Museum. More about the event and more photos after the jump. Continue reading “StoNur on the Road – Porsche Museum” →

6

Gear Talk – Ring light on a budget

On this blog I also want to talk about the gear I use. Typically a ring light is not something needed for Street Photography. But besides my focus areas of Street / Urban / Travel I also do some portrait shooting for family and friends.

For her upcoming high school graduation ceremony my daughter was asking for some portraits all dressed up. For that occasion I decided to look for a ring flash to evenly light the face of the model and get some nice round catch lights in the eyes.

After  looking around on the web I decided on a real budget solution that still should provide great results. Instead of investing in a real ring flash (and here you talk really big bucks) I found an attachable round light softbox with a donut shaped form that can be attached to the on camera speed light and lens.

I found two providers, the original Round Flash (close to 100 € / $) or a low-cost version from Neewer for one-third of the price. Read my review after the jump. Continue reading “Gear Talk – Ring light on a budget” →

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My Photography Equipment Checklist

I’m sure you’ve experienced that before: You are out shooting and them discover that something critical piece of equipment is missing. You run out of battery and have no spare with you, all of a sudden the memory card is full and you have the choice to either start deleting individual shots from this on the card to create space for some extra photos or you stop shooting for the day. You are missing a particular lense that you intended to bring and need right now to take that dream shot or complete the job for the customer. Or you pack out your ND grad filter to balance sky and ground and discover the filter-holder is back home. This is even worse when you are traveling and find out at your destination that you left a needed piece of equipment at home.

All of this happened to me a couple of times and this is when I created my photography equipment checklist that I quickly run through before I leave the house.  Continue reading “My Photography Equipment Checklist” →

8

The New Girl in Town

There’s a new girl in town. She is a star, a classic beauty. My heart skipped a beat when I first saw her. Was it love at first sight? Must be, I still can feel the butterflies, day and night. Can’t really stop thinking about her, she’s constantly on my mind. I started stalking her, collecting all information I could find, looking at these awesome pictures of her. Front, back, profile, perfection everywhere. Late in the evening I ventured out in the web, visited forums, read all reports of those that were already fortunate enough to lay their hands on her. By all accounts she really seems to be that perfect girl that I envision in her. Continue reading “The New Girl in Town” →

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