The SOUNDIMAGEPLUS blog

Leica X Vario - why I bought it - Part 1

2013-06-18T00:00:00.000+01:00

Some companies are legends, some companies are camera manufacturers. Leica gave us 35mm film and created cameras that freed photographers like Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson to document the world in a fluid, fast-moving way. They have been around for years making premium quality cameras, lenses, binoculars and telescopes. They showed in the second world war what kind of a company they are and they have continued to believe in the quality of the image as paramount.

Despite brushes with bankrupcy, they continue to stick to their standards and are currently producing cameras that people want again. Which is a problem, since they can't fulfill demand. Current waiting list for an M TYP 240 is a year.

Their cameras are responsible for some of the greatest images of the 20th. C. and they revolutionised where photographers could go and what they could take pictures of. They continue to hand assemble and check their cameras in Germany, despite being able to, if they wished, farm production out to cheaper options in the far east. They sponsor photographic awards and exhibitions and continue to be at the forefront of the prestige camera market.

Panasonic make nose hair trimmers.

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Leica X Vario Typ 107 Video - Really rather good.

2013-06-17T16:51:00.003+01:00

Manual Focus + Manual exposure

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Leica X Vario Typ 107 - Sample images - raw (DNG) and out of camera jpg.

2013-06-17T13:06:00.000+01:00

18mm and 46mm samples - Raw .DNG files for download. Click HERE for link to zip file on Google Drive.

ISO samples - Raw .DNG and OOC jpgs.for download. Click HERE for link to zip file on Google Drive.

More samples, including raw, are available via this LeicaRumors post.

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Leica X Vario Typ 107 - The Camera Porn Post

2013-06-17T11:36:00.002+01:00

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Downtown

2013-06-16T16:36:00.000+01:00

Where

Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, UK

When

Sunday Afternoon. Cloudy.

How

Leica X Vario

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Green

2013-06-16T12:05:00.000+01:00

Where

Valley of the River Arrow. Worcestershire. UK.

When

Sunday morning. Sun and Cloud.

How

Leica X Vario

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Whatever the Weather

2013-06-16T05:49:00.000+01:00

Nikon 1 V1 18.5mm f/1.8 lens

Where

Broadway Village. The Cotswolds. Worcestershire. UK

When

Saturday Afternoon. Sun and Showers

How

Nikon 1 V1 18.5mm f/1.8 lens. Leica X Vario

Nikon 1 V1 18.5mm f/1.8 lens

Leica X Vario

Nikon 1 V1 18.5mm f/1.8 lens

Leica X Vario

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Moratorium

2013-06-15T02:05:00.001+01:00

I'm having a moratorium on writing posts. Firstly because I'm in the middle of some heavy duty editing and secondly because I'm wondering where to take the blog, or indeed whether I want to continue with it. Apart from responding to announcements like the Leica X Vario and posting pictures I've taken, I've been struggling lately to come up with anything that isn't, more or less, a recycling of something I've written previously. I've also been thinking about what I'm doing photographically and my pictures seem to be following the same pattern as the blog posts.

Its all Jono Slacks fault! In his excellent piece on the Leica X Vario he wrote this, which I referred to before.

'.....busy people who are good at photography, but who have better things to do than read 35 page camera reviews. Someone who understands all about shutter speed and aperture, but hasn’t a clue about scene modes, and doesn’t want to know about them either. Someone who has shot film in the past, and would like a comprehensible digital camera which allows them to shoot manually or automatically, .......'
There are elements in there that resonated very strongly with me and its lead me in all sorts of different directions, the synthesis of which might be summed up as -

Taking photographs and the ownership of particular items of photographic equipment shouldn't be 'competitive', but it seems it is and I'm a photographer not a gear reviewer.

I need some time to mull this over along with some other concerns and I'd rather do that privately rather than publicly. I'll be back when I've found some answers and made some decisons as to where to go from here. I have no idea when this might happen or how long it will take so I can't really say when I'll start writing again. It might be a few days, it might be longer, but I feel that I don't wan't to write anything until I've clarified what I want to do and how I want to do it. So I'm taking a break. I will however continue to post pictures.

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Last day of the good weather with Nikon D800E

2013-06-12T22:34:00.000+01:00

All images - Nikon D800E 28mm and 85mm f/1.8G lenses

The pictures above were taken last Sunday on what turned out to be the last day of the sunny dry spell. Just how dry its been you will see from the cracked earth / drought shot I've included. The location is one of my favourite places, the valley of the River Severn, and I can't think of a better place to be with a camera on a warm sunny day.

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Leica X Vario image samples - including raw

2013-06-12T09:50:00.001+01:00

LINK TO WEB PAGE & SAMPLES

There are some samples including 3 raw files at the above links, from a Dutch site. To my eyes they are OK, some of the jpgs. which I presume are out of camera, look good, but there isn't anything special here. The eye-popping colour of the X2 seems not to be there. Ah Well, at least it will save me some money.

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Sometimes I get really fed up with these middling, intermediate, hybrid, mirrorless, neither one thing or the other cameras or DSLR's still rule, OK!

2013-06-12T04:03:00.002+01:00

All images - Fuji X-E1 18-55mm Zoom

There is no doubt that the Fuji X-E1 takes a fine snap. Great colour, sharpness, terrific at high ISO's etc. But in common with lots of mirrorless / E.V.I.L / CSC / Lookaleicas (or indeed Leicas) it suffers from some cost cutting enthusiast / hobbyist compromises which irritate me. In the case of the Fuji the worst is the poor battery life and slowness of response. And in this case one is responsible for the other.

In order to get as many shots as possible out of a battery and to not get caught out with no power when it dies and needs replacing (which of course is just when the great shot appears in front of your lens!) I have power save switched on. Since there is no proper battery power meter, its impossible to know how much is left. Consequently, I have a delay while the camera powers up again. On the day I shot these images, I was working in sunlight that was appearing and disappearing quite quickly through fast moving clouds. I would then miss a shot and have to wait while a large cloud passed by. This is in stark contrast to my Nikon V1, which because it has a decent sized battery and an accurate battery meter, is always ready to take the shot. And of course my Nikon DSLR's have no problems in that regard.

This is a concern I have about the Leica X Vario. A review I read indicated that its not that fast to autofocus and the battery life isn't that great. Since its the same battery as the X1 and X2, that isn't surprising. This is making me think again about buying one. I don't really want a camera that responds like the Fuji, which much as I like it, does often really irritate me. In many ways I do find that the anticipation and preparation I have to go through with the X-E1 when I'm using manually focusing lenses actually means that I'm more likely to get the shot.

This is not a problem with just the X-E1. m4/3 cameras suffer from it too. The Olympus Pens are pretty bad for battery life and until the GH3 so were the Panasonics. NEX cameras are a bit better but none of these are close to either my Nikon DSLR's or the V1's, which are all ready all the time and respond instantly, or as near as dammit.

Some of these hybrids also have these seriously limp shutters. While the almighty clunk from the D800E can wake the dead, it does say loud and clear 'GOT THE SHOT' whereas the Fuji and the m4/3 cameras I've used say 'Well maybe'. The NEX cameras are certainly better for this. I always thought whenever I took a picture with a m4/3 camera that I was using a too slow shutter speed as the sound was similar to that, I've lost count of the number of times I checked to see if that was the case. Electronic shutters are better, as they tend to be quicker responding and that is a great advantage for the V1's. However when I change it to the 'normal' shutter. its just as flaccid as the others.

The final thing about these non-DSLR's that irritate me, is because of their size and the lack of 'real estate' on the cameras, controls, dials and knobs are all smaller and crammed together more and its easier to change something by mistake. And again the V1's aren't immune from this.

All of this contributed to a feeling that I had when I returned home after shooting the above images, that I wanted to stick with DSLR's only. I won't of course, but it is frustrating. And yes I know 'there's no such thing as a free lunch' and there is a trade-off for the small size and lightness of these non-DSLR cameras, but I can always hope!

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Some common sense on the Leica X Vario

2013-06-11T20:11:00.001+01:00

My new Leica camera announcement fever is almost over, and I've administered the antidote of editing a few Nikon D800E files! I would recommend that anyone who is interested in the camera (either negatively or in the seemingly rare case - positively) to read this review by Jonathan Slack, someone who I always have a lot of time for. His comments, by someone who has actually been using the camera for 6 months, are probably worth more than all of the other chatter put together. (Including mine) Do read the whole thing, but there are two bits I felt I had to bring your attention to.

'it seems to me that at the very least Leica have produced an interesting modern take on a popular design strategy.'

'Who Is It For?

Well, it isn’t for those who were hoping and expecting competition for the Sony RX-1. Actually, I suspect it isn’t for anyone who spends much time on internet photo forums.

I think it’s directed at busy people who are good at photography, but who have better things to do than read 35 page camera reviews. Someone who understands all about shutter speed and aperture, but hasn’t a clue about scene modes, and doesn’t want to know about them either. Someone who has shot film in the past, and would like a comprehensible digital camera which allows them to shoot manually or automatically, without having to worry about interchangeable lenses and everything that entails. '

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Leica X Vario - Video from Robert White

2013-06-11T14:25:00.001+01:00

First look from the Robert White Website.

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Leica X Vario - Why the hostility?

2013-06-11T13:23:00.001+01:00

Official announcement is just a few minutes away. 9:00 AM EST, and I've been looking at the reaction to this camera, which is universally hostile. I suspect mostly from people who would never have bought one in the first place no matter what the specifications. My favourite was 'Fuji are the new Leica!' Priceless.

Its a strange thing and it does happen everytime Leica release a camera. It happened with the M8, X1 and X2 and to a slightly lesser extent with the M9 and it seems large groups of internet chatterers can't wait to rubbish it. Its a bit like the rich kid falls over in the playground and everyone gathers around to give him a good kicking. Its an interesting phenomenom that people feel compelled to do this, and it puzzles me as to why.

Leicas are expensive, there is no denying that. But this camera is made in Germany by workers who expect a decent wage and live in a country where the cost of living is higher than many of the far east countries who churn out polycarbonate cameras by the container load. I have no doubt it will be well made and a step up from the X1 and X2, plus if its like other Leicas it comes with a 1-year unconditional guarantee and it has a free copy of Lightroom included. And yes it has the Leica name and the red dot. And that does have prestige and a value and if you buy a Leica, you buy that too. This means that if you resell it you won't loose a huge amount of money. The X2 is currently selling new in the UK for not much less than when I bought mine over a year ago. Everybody knows this and yet its still something to criticise.

The image quality looks stunning from Jono Slacks jpg, samples and yesterday I had a look at my X2 files from last year and they are seriously good. Wonderful colour depth, sharp, clean and great at high ISO's. I expect that the Vario will improve on those. So whats the main criticism? Well it seems the long end of the zoom being f/6.4 is the main cause for complaint for those who aren't going to buy it. (and as I suggested never would anyway) So what exactly is the problem? Leica aren't exactly novices at making lenses, and if they feel the lens needs to be slow at the telephoto end then there is probably a reason for that. Leicas usual reason is to keep the quality of the image as high as possible, so I'm presuming that will be the case. We may get some explanation as to why its happened later today, we may not. But even so, not everybody wants to shoot their cat, their children dribbling food or their dinner in low light. Plus at the wide end its f/3.5, not that slow. I was looking at some shots I took with my X2 this morning inside a dark church, f/3.5 and ISO 1600 and after some raw processing, virtually noiseless. So at the wide end, the Vario will be not so shabby.

My final thought is that if you don't want to buy one, or can't, then why the need to to try and dismiss it as a failure? It won't be, it WILL sell well, because Leica know their market, and they don't make lowest common denominator cameras for people with lowest common denominator brains. They make prestige brand cameras for people who want that and are prepared to pay for it. They are after all a photographic / optical company and not a huge corporation who have to compete with the toaster, microwave and mobile phone divisions. If you buy a Leica you pay a premium for the name and you may buy one for all sorts of reasons, including the fact that it is a luxury, expensive brand. But then that happens with cars, clothes, perfume and all sorts of goods. Paying extra for a name is nothing new and I wonder how many people who rush to rubbish Leica are wearing designer jeans, drive a car with 'go-faster' hubcaps and drink beer that tastes like bat urine just because it comes from an exotic country and is 'cool'. If the official announcement answers a few questions I have about the camera satisfactorily, then I will order one. Lifes to short to bother about whether its value for money or to be sensible, and if it makes me feel good, I can afford it and the quality is everything I expect, then I will buy one without hesitation. And I will enjoy using it, and if people want to criticise then so be it. As far as I'm concerned its their loss.

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Leica X Vario Type 107

2013-06-11T04:26:00.000+01:00

Full PDF HERE

SOURCE - STEVE HUFF

Slow zoom, Magnesium and Aluminium construction (Explains the weight) Video, New Sensor, Free Lightroom, Up to ISO 12,500, Leica claim excellent high ISO performance.

Ships tomorrow.

Everybody will hate it.

I love it.

I'm probably buying one.

I can go back to sleep now!

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Castle and gardens with Nikon D7100

2013-06-10T03:20:00.000+01:00

Location - Kenilworth Castle and restored Elizabethan Gardens
Gear - Nikon D7100, Sigma 12-24mm and Nikon 85mm f/1.8G lenses

I'm always surprised by how some lenses work well with some cameras and not with others. The 12-24mm Sigma zoom I have is OK with my Nikon D800E and V1, soft as blancmange with my Fuji X-E1 and yet my Nikon D7100 absolutely loves it. On that camera it becomes a very sharp lens, whereas on all the other cameras its adequate but certainly nothing special. I noticed this before and it performed the same a couple of days ago when I took it to the above location.

I've been a bit disappointed that it didn't work well with the Fuji, since apart from the 14mm prime there aren't a lot of other options. The 85mm f/1.8G has no such little quirks, it works superbly on any of the cameras I put it on.

As to the D7100, I like the camera more and more. The lack of an AA filter is a somewhat subtle difference to other 24MP APS-C sensors, but it is a positive difference none the less. Plus it has the advantage that its a lighter body than the D800E to use the Sigma on, as its a brutish, heavy combination on the 35mm sensor camera. And for a lot of locations the 12mm end is just too wide. The 1.5 crop of the D7100 worked well for the lens at this castle and gardens location and I was pleased with the results. As you can see the weather helped.

I've got two more sets of images to post from the weekend and hopefully there will be one more sunny day today if the forecast is accurate before the high pressure area thats been giving all this beautiful weather slips away and we return to more 'normal' UK conditions. To be honest I could do with a rest since I've been working for 10 days straight and doing a lot of walking, but in this country you have to make the best of the opportunities that arise.

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Glorious summer day with Nikon 1 V1

2013-06-09T03:23:00.002+01:00

Its very rare in the UK that we get a sustained period of good weather with beautiful blue skies, but that is what we have at the moment. I've been shooting every day for over a week now and there are still a few days left of this fine weather. Its also not excessively hot and the light has been clear. This trip was at three locations a few days ago, one of which I covered by using one of my bikes which happened to be in the car. All pictures - Nikon 1 V1 and 10-100mm and 6.7-13mm zooms.

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Leica Mini M specs. comparison + jpg. samples.

2013-06-07T20:00:00.001+01:00

If the specs. here are correct - Source - PhotoRumors

Leica Mini M - lens included. Weight - 679g. 133x73x95. Presumably with the lens taken into consideraton.

Fuji X-E1 + 18-55mm zoom. Weight - 660g. 129x75x38. With no lens. Add in the zoom and you get 139x82x98

Leica M Typ 240 - Body Only. Weight - 680g. 139x80x42. With no lens.

Leica X2 - Lens included. Weight - 345g. 124x69x52. Lens included.

So as heavy as a Leica M body. Twice as heavy as Leica X2. Slightly heavier, though smaller than a Fuji X-E1 + 18-55mm zoom. Perhaps we can now see why on the Leica teaser ads. they place it between the M series and the X2.

Its certainly not light, and not really that small. I assumed it would be an updated X2, but it seems not. Will the camera have a metal body and lens? It would make sense if those weight specs. are right. Is it more a less an M body minus the rangefinder assembly? which would mean less weight and size.

Whatever turns up on Tuesday, it seems a plastic super compact isn't what's coming, though maybe plastic is getting heavier these days!.

There are now some jpg. samples HERE from Jono Slack who Leica use to shoot test shots. All I would say, since these are jpgs. is that these are significantly better than the jpgs. I got from either the X1 or X2 and there is a shot at ISO 500 that looks like ISO 100 on all my current cameras, and yes that includes the Fuji.

First thing to notice is its an odd ratio, well actually its 40:26. Second thing the specs. say 16.5 MP. 4928 x 3264. A Fuji X-E1 file is 4896 x 3264. A NEX-6 file is 4912 x 3264. So is it a Sony sensor? The X1 and X2 certainly were. But then there are the Leica statements that they intend to source as much as they can from Europe, so is this a Belgian Cmosis sensor? Thirdly, the specs. say battery life is 350 shots, which is not many. But then the final weight spec. says 'inc. batteries' is the plural just a mistake or is there more than one?

So intriguing for some of us not bothered about showing how wise our current purchases are, or finding a way to rubbish the camera unseen, because we can't afford one. As I said before I loved the X1 & X2 apart from the fixed lens, so perhaps I have more interest in the mini (or the Leica X Vario Type 107 as its snappily called!!) than others. All I would say as well is that I've never owned a Leica camera (That they made and not just franchised) that has disappointed me or after taking my tax allowances into consideration has cost me money, so the Type 107 (No, it needs a better name than that!!) may well suit me, if the quality and particularly the colour of the jpgs. are like the final production versions.

However there is one more thing that does puzzle me. A f/3.5-6.4 lens. Now what is that all about? Those are almost compact micro sensor camera specs. Leica know a thing or two about making lenses, so there has to be a reason for the odd apertures and the slowness of the telephoto end of the zoom. All of course will be revealed on Tuesday.

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A question.

2013-06-07T12:43:00.002+01:00

A Question.

Are people always going on about how pocketable a camera is because they like to take pictures of their loose change?

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Why is the Leica Mini M so heavy?

2013-06-07T11:16:00.001+01:00

Source - PhotoRumors

Just something that makes me curious. If these specifications are correct, why is this camera so heavy and almost as big as a Leica M Rangefinder?, - nearly 700g. I assumed this would be similar to the X1 / X2 only with a zoom. However it is almost twice as heavy as both of those. I doubt the lens is responsible for the increase in weight, as again I assumed it would be similar to the X's, though slightly bigger, i.e. some kind of polycarbonate.

Next Tuesdays announcement should be interesting. Some people seem to think this is a 'boring' camera. Not as far as I'm concerned however. I'm somewhat intrigued. I doubt we have the whole story yet.

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Nikon 28mm and 85mm f/1.8G lenses on Fuji X-E1 - Continued again

2013-06-07T09:23:00.001+01:00

Another day. Another set of images with the Fuji X-E1, Nikon 28mm & 85mm f/1.8G combination. With some great weather, I'm in heavy duty shooting, editing, uploading mode, so text might be thin on the ground for a while.

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Nikon 28mm and 85mm f/1.8G lenses on Fuji X-E1 - Continued

2013-06-05T11:27:00.000+01:00

All images - Fuji X-E1 and 28 and 85mm f/1.8G lenses

As in my previous post on this combination - http://soundimageplus.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/nikon-28mm-and-85mm-f18g-lenses-on-fuji.html, I really like the images these two Nikon lenses produce. At the end of that post I wrote that pictures taken with these lenses are the best I've ever got out an X-Trans sensor. Yesterday merely confirmed that. Thats better than the Fuji lenses I've used - 18mm, 35mm, 60mm and 18-55mm. And I have to say it again better than the raw samples I've looked at from the Zeiss Touits.

On Fuji 'selective blindness' its happening again. A lot of Fuji X owners, not all I hasten to say, hype up these cameras as being better than they are and fail to see any faults. This is happening with the Touits as well. Lets just take the 32mm f/1.8. The Nikon 28mm f/1.8 I'm using here is sharper, has better colour rendition and much better bokeh than I saw on the raw samples from the 32mm f/1.8 Touit I've downloaded. See - http://soundimageplus.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/sick-as-touit.html?q=Touit

But as seems usual with this system, they are being described as sensational. Well once again I suggest you see for yourself and see if you think those samples are good. I don't. Maybe the production models will be better. I would hope so for the people who buy them. You can get a clue from some of the reviews. Things like 'The 32mm f/1.8 gives a smoother rendition than the Fuji lenses' Thats code for they are soft, of course.

However moving away from what I think is overpriced, overated, overhyped gear from a lens maker that is living on past glories to one who actually still knows how to make a sharp lens, I'm really pleased at seeing my X-E1 images deliver such great results. These lenses are manual only on the Fuji of course and that will obviously put a lot of people off. But since Nikon are hardly likely to make these lenses in a Fuji X mount I'll just have to put up with that. I have worked out a quick accurate way of focusing with my Kipon adapter so its not so bad and the pictures I've included include people, boats and trains moving just to show that MF and some thought can be used to focus quickly and stop the action.

I would also mention how good the colour is. Once again the Touits seem to have somewhat dull colour rendering. I mentioned in a previous post that this seems to be less important than it was in years past for reviewers. I guess its a different priority now digital and Photoshop is involved to when people were shooting colour transparencies and had to get things right in camera.

I imagine a question some people might ask is why use these lenses on the Fuji when I can use them with AF on my Nikon 7100? The answer to that is the nature of the X-E1 sensor. Firstly, with its excellent medium to high ISO performance, that is better than the D7100, I can use higher ISO settings and therefore higher shutter speeds and narrower apertures. The other is Fuji colour. This sensor does produce remarkably deep rich colours which is just right for the kind of pictures that I sell, and I prefer what the camera produces to the D7100 in this particular comparison. I have to sell pictures from thumbnails and they have to have an impact at that small size, so files with saturated colour are an advantage.

Finally, I've taken a couple of pictures to show you what all three of these Nikon f/1.8G lenses look like on the camera. No beauty contest winners here, and in fact they do look quite ugly. But and its a big but, they handle beautifully for MF lenses and I can focus accurately and change aperture with the camera still to my eye, even with my polaroid sunglasses on.

Incidentally, just to give an idea as to what using the Kipon adapter is like (see below), the two marks I've put on the barrel of the adapter show just how small the amount of movement possible is in selecting the aperture. I'm showing this so that you can see how finding out what aperture I'm using is virtually impossible, and pretty much guesswork. However the system I've come up with is to turn the ring on the adapter all the way to the left, which opens up the lens to f/1.8, focus, since its easier to focus wide open and then start turning the ring all the way to the right so that I end up with a shutter speed that I feel appropriate for what I'm shooting. Sounds fiddly and indeed it is, but with the size of the barrels on these lenses I can manage the whole thing quickly without moving the camera from my eye, and even after a couple of days I've got quite good at it. If things are moving about, it does involve a fair aount of anticipation and moving the adapter before I start composing. And thats where 30 years of taking pictures for a living comes in very handy. But focus peaking would really be a great help here.

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Nikon 28mm, 50mm and 85mm f/1.8 G lenses on Nikon 1 V1

2013-06-04T17:02:00.000+01:00

The great advantage of these lenses on the Nikon 1 system is that I get three telephoto lenses, 75mm, 135mm and 230mm as 35mm approximations, all with the fast f/1.8 aperture. All show somewhat more CA and fringing wide open than 'genuine' Nikon 1 lenses, but with the adapter they are certainly very fast to AF and handle very nicely. Once I add in my 35mm f/1.8 lens I actually have four fast telephotos of varying lengths, so it seemed a bit extravagant to get the 32mm f/1.2 as well. Particularly as I use lenses wide open very rarely. Consequently I have cancelled my pre-order.

The CA and fringing is easily removed in ACR and as you can see the lenses are pretty sharp on the V1 sensor. Nikons F-mount > Nikon 1 adapter is very good and I like it more and certainly use it more than the equivalent one I had for A mount lenses on my Sony NEX cameras. Its smaller, lighter and faster and these G lenses are certainly very at home with it. A good part of the reason why I got the 50mm f/1.8G is that it autofocuses on the V1 whereas the older D model doesn't. These lenses are particularly useful in that I can keep a fast shutter speed when using ISO 100 on the V1, and despite the VR in the NIkon 1 zooms, its always useful to have wider apertures to work with, just in case. The beast in the top picture didn't make a run at me, but if it had I'd probably have been able to get a shot or two just before it savaged me! They are actually very gentle animals, but those horns look painful.

I would have been more enthusiastic about this, but after my experiences with the Fuji X-E1 and these lenses yesterday and again earlier today, that combination has now become my new best friend. I'll post more on that later.

However, I will conclude by saying that these lenses and the V1 provide an extremely useful option both for stills and video and it yet again shows just how versatile Nikon lenses are.

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Nikon 28mm and 85mm f/1.8G lenses on Fuji X-E1

2013-06-03T20:10:00.002+01:00

All images - Fuji X-E1 and Nikon 28mm & 85mm f/1.8 lenses

Now here is a surprise. Totally unexpected and a real bonus. I decided to try two of my new G Nikons on my Fuji X-E1. More because I probably thought I should than anything else. I didn't expect much and was really stunned when I saw just how good the images were. I had taken a few tests round the garden and decided I needed to investigate this further. I therefore drove a few miles from my home to one of my favourite locations to get some shots in the very nice early evening light. Again they were excellent. The X-E1 absolutely loves these lenses. With a Nikon G adapter its difficult even to guess at what the aperture might be, but many of these are close to wide open.

I've been trying to get a pin sharp stock shot of these local trains for ages and to finally achieve it with a MF lens is something I didn't expect. I also really love the shot of these two retired shire horses, the out of focus areas are gorgeous, giving the picture a real large-format camera feel.

The whole look of the images is really pleasing and they process well in both Photoshop and Aperture. Nobody talks much about how lenses render colour, but these create a really nice richness and depth.

The other great thing is that both are the best I've used on a Fuji for focusing. Both have quite stocky barrels and there is quite a lot of play in the focusing ring. Rather than a handicap both of these factors make focusing much easier than with my Voigtlander, for example, which has a narrow barrel and not much play in the focusing ring which makes it easy to pass the point of focus, which slows me down. These Nikons snap into sharp focus on the Fuji EVf so the whole process is therefore much quicker and easier.

Now I've said it before, and yes here it comes again, Nikon are the best lens makers, because rather than make their lenses look sexy (and if you see the 85mm on the Fuji it is nowhere near a thing of beauty) they make their lenses work well when you want to take pictures with them. These pictures are without doubt, the nicest I've got from a Fuji camera, and there is no way that I would have predicted that. I was going to post my experiences with the three G Nikons I've bought on one of my V1's, but that will have to wait until tomorrow now.

There is more sun tomorrow and I know what I'm going to be using because I just have to try these combinations again.

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Nikon 50mm f/1.8G

2013-06-03T15:08:00.000+01:00

All images - Nikon D800E 50mm f/1.8G

First off, from some very hastily conducted tests, there doesn't seem much difference between the D and new G versions of this lens.

Bokeh is pretty nice and the lens is nice and sharp, just like the D.

There's not really a lot to say about this lens. Its main virtue over the D is that it will autofocus on any current Nikon DSLR body, including the cheaper models which have no AF motor in the body. Its nicely put together and just like the D version its an absolute bargain. A great quality lens at a really attractive price. If you own a Nikon DSLR and you haven't got one, why not??

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