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Shooting Through the Wormhole

By Egor · Comments (0)
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

For the last several years, various mid-20th century sources have exerted a profound influence on my own photography: “golden age” photojournalists of the 1930s and 1940s; post-war photo essays from the 1950s; and John Szarkowski’s New Documentarian leanings of the 1960s.

I wasn’t always this anachronistic. Rather, I used to be even more so, and once drew inspiration from the pictorialists, surrealists and Czech avant-garde.

Lately, I seem to be backsliding into my old, early-20th century “pictsurrealist” habits, and my tool of choice is the humble pinhole. Shooting through a pinhole is like shooting through a wormhole. It’s a shortcut through time.

In this, my thirteenth article for Leica Camera, I talk about the aesthetics and mechanics of looking through this wormhole, and illustrate what might be looking back. The full content of this post is available on The Leica Camera Blog until February 17th — at which point I’ll make it available here on the ULTRAsomething site.

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©2012 grEGORy simpson

ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: All photos accompanying this article were taken with a pinhole rather than an actual lens — some pinholes were store bought, and some were homemade.

If you find these photos enjoyable or the blog beneficial, please consider DONATING to this site’s continuing evolution. At the very least, please leave a comment and let the ULTRAsomething community know your thoughts.

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Categories : f/Egor (Leica Blog)

The January Effect

By Egor · Comments (0)
Sunday, January 8th, 2012

I always found the idea of making New Year’s resolutions somewhat curious. Why must one wait until January before resolving to rectify all the mistakes of a squandered and miserable existence? If you have an epiphany on June 29th, what good does it do to wait six months to act upon it? Wouldn’t right this moment be more appropriate?

Normally, I wouldn’t be too concerned with the New Year’s resolutions of others, except they always seem to affect me in some way. Take, for example, the ever-popular diet resolution. For eleven-and-a-half months each year, I can belly right up to my grocer’s salad bar, build a big beautiful salad, and be eating it within minutes. But in January, the crowd around the salad bar makes Christmas shopping at the mall look like a hike in the wilderness. If people would simply begin to eat properly the moment they acknowledge their cookie and peppermint white chocolate mocha lunch habit might be a problem, then I wouldn’t be forced to forgo salad for the first two weeks of every year.

Although the collateral damage from other people’s resolutions is mostly disadvantageous, there is actually one New Year’s resolution that always delighted and amused me. I dubbed it, “The January Effect.”

Each January (usually around the 3rd or 4th of the month, after the population had sobered up), I would begin to garner quite a bit of attention from the fairer sex. Nothing extreme — just the little smiles, looks, touches, hair flips and mild flirtations women use to signal interest. Mind you, I’m not (nor was I) what the average female would consider to be a platinum catch. In my heyday, I would have generously applied a grade of “B-” to my physical desirability. I was not so desirable that I could attract a woman’s attention from across a crowded room, but was desirable enough to hold the attention of the women I met. For 11 months each year, these were the rules of attraction with which I complied — but each January, my mojo would seemingly and suddenly shift into overdrive.

It actually took me a couple of years to realize I hadn’t suddenly and miraculously become handsome over the holidays. In fact, my new found desirability had nothing whatsoever to do with me. Instead, it had everything to do with the women themselves. I came to realize that I was their New Year’s resolution. I had become the personification of the salad bar. Each January, weary from the previous eleven months spent pursuing the unattainably handsome, dangerously seductive or tantalizingly rich, women would resolve to lower their standards. This, they decided, would be the year they would “smarten up,” drop into a lower league, and thus land a more respectable guy. Apparently, I fit that mold.

I won’t lie. I loved the January Effect and began to anxiously await its arrival each and every year. Even though I eventually married a woman so far out of my league that I needed a telescope just to see her, I (and my ego) still enjoyed my annual illusion of desirability. It felt good to be the desire-ee rather than the desire-er.

Sadly, about a half dozen years ago, the January Effect began to diminish precipitously. My daily reception of carnivorous glances became weekly glances. The next year, I received a grand total of one.

The year after that, none. Thanks to a combination of age and gravity, I had dropped below the female threshold of “good enough,” and entered the realm of “not if you were the last man on earth.” I am now enveloped in my fifth January without personally experiencing the January Effect.

With the demise of the January Effect came the end of “good things” happening as a result of others’ resolutions. So, in that vein, I’d like to take this opportunity to suggest a few resolutions that others might make that would benefit me.

For example, I would like The Vancouver Canucks hockey team to resolve to win this years’ Stanley Cup. I really don’t want to see the opposing team hoist the cup and flaunt it on Vancouver ice again. However, should the Canucks fail to win the cup this year, I would alternately like to request that inebriated, under-aged men from the suburbs resolve not to try and burn down my city.

 

But I realize I can’t control other people’s resolutions. So to counter any potentially negative effects resulting from the resolutions of others, I should probably just consider making my own. But what to resolve? I searched high and low for the answer, and gave it some serious thought.

 

Eventually I decided to seek a resolution from within my own photography. Are there things I’m doing wrong? Buds to nip? Bad habits to break? I dug into last year’s Lightroom library to see what I could learn. One of my first discoveries was the sheer preponderance of pigeon photos I had taken. What was that all about? What was the point? Maybe I should resolve to stop, but why? If I happen to see a particularly photogenic pigeon, what good would come from a resolution to not take its photo?

I mean, if I really feel the urge to stop photographing some segment of our flighted friends, maybe I should resolve to cut down on photos of crows feeding on the carcasses of drowned rats.

Digging deeper, I noticed that I took precious few photos of people who stared directly into the camera. I don’t know whether the dearth of direct portraits was a stylistic choice, or simply one born of fear. But it did start me flirting with the idea of going all Diane Arbus. The idea of actually getting to know people before I take their photo has a certain appeal, but I think such a drastic change in both my personality and style is a bit too much heavy lifting for a little ‘throw away’ New Year’s resolution.

On the opposite end of the quantity scale, I noticed that I photograph a lot of kids. Yet, even though they’re great subjects, I frequently choose not to publish them. Maybe it’s because I fear the wrath of angry parents? If so, then perhaps I should resolve to stop. But frankly, every kid I photograph is ridiculously cute. So maybe I’m actually doing something good — providing ample evidence that not every person who photographs a child is a pedophile. So, no — I’m not going to stop photographing kids just yet.

Then there’s my never-ending obsession with taking softly focused photographs of people whose body language intrigues me. Because I’m more interested in the shapes of the bodies than the details upon them, I will often shoot these out-of-focus. These are some of the most divisive photos in my portfolio — some folks love them, some hate them. Some might view this schism as a negative thing, and resolve to reduce (or even eliminate) these photos from their repertoire. But I’m thinking the opposite: In any art form, controversy is good. So I’m standing behind the “focus, schmocus” quote I first published in my Bartlett’s Rejects article.

 

Other observations flitted by. I saw my Lightroom library contained a lot of shots from a lot of odd and old cameras. I certainly see no reason to give that up for a New Year’s resolution. If anything, I’d like to do more of it, but cost factors prevent this from becoming a bona fide resolution.

Further perusal of my photo library reveals a rather unnatural attraction to signage — whether for reasons of whimsy or incongruity. Sure these signage shots are cheap and easy, but my pavlovian instinct to keep shooting them is not a monkey I’m ready to exorcise. Besides, I’m hoping they’ll have some kind of historical significance long after I’m gone. I’d like to think they’ll make my offspring rich, but I don’t have kids. So maybe they’ll help British Columbia pay its bills in the late 21st century.

 

Darkness continues to fascinate me. As I discussed in The Geometry of Night, I really consider the night to be one of the few untapped, unappreciated avenues open to photographers. Unfortunately, that article had the fewest readers of any article I ever wrote for Leica. My own warped logic tells me this implies that I’m actually on to something good! So I’m sticking with it. But I don’t think it really counts as a New Year’s resolution when you say, “I resolve to keep doing exactly what I have been doing.”

As a self-proclaimed documentary photographer, I suppose I should resolve to make more of an effort to figure out what the heck it is I’m actually documenting. But really, scenes like the following are just so much more interesting when one hasn’t a clue.

I finally concluded that any resolution I make must be simple in concept and focused in intent. For example, I enjoy dabbling now and then with lens flare, so maybe I should resolve to do it more? But the problem with this approach is that lens flare either works for a subject or it doesn’t — to overindulge thoughtlessly would be a reckless resolution.

Eventually, on about my fourth pass through last year’s Lightroom library, I found my New Year’s resolution: take more photos with a 50mm lens! To my surprise, I shot less with a 50mm than with any other focal length. For something that’s supposedly a “standard” lens, I was surprised to learn that I used it so little. I was even more surprised to find that, in spite of its limited use, so many 50mm images managed to find their way into my narrowed collection of “good” shots. So why didn’t I use it more? I don’t rightly know. But I resolve to find out. So this year, I’m declaring in full view of the world that I resolve to take more photos with a 50mm lens. It’s a pure, simple and doable resolution. And, best of all, it’ll distract me from the emptiness of another year passed without benefit of the January Effect.

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©2012 grEGORy simpson

ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: Astute readers will recognize the deft and surreptitious way in which this article satisfies one of my ongoing resolutions — to occasionally purge my library of unpublished photos through an otherwise pointless article. Here, then, are the gory technical details surrounding these photos: “Another Guy Gets the Look” was shot with a Leica M6 TTL and a Voigltander 50mm f/1.1 Nokton lens using Delta 3200 exposed at ISO 1600 and developed in Ilfotec DD-X. “Blowing the Final Frame” and “Problem Solved” were shot with a Rollei 35T using Tri-X at ISO 400 and developed in Ilfotec DD-X. “Thomas Hoists the Cup” and “Riot, Dusk”  were both shot with a Leica M9 and a Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Color-Heliar lens. “Looker,” “Thinkers,” “Bent Pigeon” and “Granville Room” were all shot with a Leica M9 and a 35mm f/2 (v4) Summilux lens. “Dining on Drowned Rat” was shot with a Pentax K-5 and a Pentax-M 120mm f2.8 SMC lens. “Pillars,” “Donair” and “Regal” were shot with a Leica M9 and a 28mm f/2 Summicron lens. “Cooler Now Than I Will Ever Be” and “Flare Flair” were shot with a Ricoh GXR using a Ricoh 28mm f/2.5 A12 lens/sensor module. ”Cellular” was shot with a Leica M9 and a Voigtlander 50mm f/1.1 Nokton lens. “Marine Building Lobby, Vancouver” was shot with a Widelux F7 using Delta 400 film exposed at ISO 400 and developed in Ilfotec DD-X. “Duck!” was shot with a Leica M2 and a Voigtlander 50mm f/1.1 Nokton lens using Tri-X exposed at ISO 400 and developed in Ilfotec DD-X.

If you find these photos enjoyable or the blog beneficial, please consider DONATING to this site’s continuing evolution. At the very least, please leave a comment and let the ULTRAsomething community know your thoughts.

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Categories : Musings
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T

By Egor · Comments (0)
Monday, December 19th, 2011

This article (along with many of its associated comments) first appeared December 19, 2011 in my f/Egor column for the Leica Camera Blog. Below is a reprint of the article.

I photograph people. On the streets and in public places, my eye and my camera keep a vigilant lookout for the little nuances that help define what it means to be human. Because of this somewhat curious behaviour, I’ve been cursed at, chased and threatened, yet I don’t resent when these street confrontations occur. They’re merely a response to our mistrustful times and to an over-abundance of poorly conceived street photography on the internet. But unlike those in the dSLR brigade who shoot from across the street with their long safari lenses, my wide angles make me much easier to catch and berate. Which is fine — it gives me an opportunity to explain what I’m doing and why. Rarely, however does dropping such names as W. Eugene Smith, Robert Frank or Garry Winogrand result in any sort of deeper understanding from my admonishers, but it does help diffuse the situation long enough that I can make a quick escape.

I am very conscious of the fact that photographing people in a public place is a privilege, not a right. One needs only to look at the clampdown on photography in various countries to realize how easy it is to lose that privilege. So I never take photos with the intent of being exploitative or disrespectful of my subject.

The problem, of course, is that different people have different ideas of what might be considered disrespectful. The hardest thing about being a humanistic photographer is not finding the intriguing shot, it’s not timing the shot, it’s not focusing, exposing, framing or even post-processing the shot. The hardest thing about being a humanistic photographer is deciding whether or not I should actually publish a particular shot.

The fact is, I don’t know the people I photograph. In general, I photograph only those with whom I feel some intangible connection, friendship, camaraderie, empathy or attraction. If I feel a sense of dislike for a person or their actions, I usually don’t photograph them. Unfortunately, even though my photographic intentions are honorable, I can never truly say whether or not my subjects might be offended by a particular photo. All I can do is to look at each photo and ask myself whether or not I would take offense if this were a photo of me. Granted, I have far less shame than the average person, so I try to err on the conservative side.

Unfortunately, not all photographers show their subjects the respect they deserve. So let me make a simple suggestion to any photographer who shoots on the street. Ask yourself two simple questions before you trip that shutter. First ask, “What is my purpose for taking this person’s photo?” Then ask, “Would I still take this photo if I were two meters from my subject and not 20?” If the answer to the first question is, “to disrespect this person” or the answer to the second is “no,” then maybe it’s not a photo that should be taken — nor is it one that should be published.

I believe in freedom of speech. I believe in freedom of expression. But I also believe in compassion and respect. At times, these can be conflicting values. It’s exactly why I have such a hard time deciding which photos to publish and why my hard drive is full of some rather good images that will never see the light of day. Freedom doesn’t just mean “the freedom to photograph and publish everything you want.” Freedom also means “the freedom to choose which photos you don’t publish.”

Street shooting is a privilege. Empathize with your subjects. Like your subjects. Respect your subjects.

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©2011 grEGORy simpson

If you find these photos enjoyable or the blog beneficial, please consider DONATING to this site’s continuing evolution. At the very least, please leave a comment and let the ULTRAsomething community know your thoughts.

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Categories : f/Egor (Leica Blog)
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Black & White Colors

By Egor · Comments (2)
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

A couple years ago, when flappers were dancing the Charleston and ULTRAsomething was still published on newsprint, I would sometimes write about various photographic challenges and how I approached their resolution. Apparently I enjoyed these articles more than my readers did, because they’re amongst the least popular posts ever published on ULTRAsomething.

Although I began to write less frequently about these challenges, I never stopped creating new ones for myself. One of the great things about photography — unlike endeavors such as athletics or underwear modeling — is that you actually improve with age. But you can’t improve if you don’t push yourself, and that’s why I’m always inventing new, self-imposed photo challenges to coax me from my comfort zone.

Last month, I gave myself a new assignment: take a photo that screams “autumn!”

Simple, right? It would have been, had I not stipulated that the photo be shot in black & white. And just to make it tough on myself, I imposed a few additional requirements: I would use neither chicanery nor metaphor. Nor would I allow myself to invoke the transitive property of geometry: “if it’s North America and it’s a photo of a Jack o’ Lantern, then it’s obviously autumn!”

Nope. I wanted a nice “typical” photograph of autumn foliage that, in spite of the fact it was black & white, would still convey “autumn.”

My first attempts all involved scenes that contained a cacophony of colors — red leaves, yellow leaves, orange leaves and green leaves. I knew that careful color filtering would reveal the tonal contrasts between trees, since leaves of different colors would render in different shades of grey. And what was the end result? A bunch of grey trees! I will neither bore you, nor embarrass myself, by posting the pitiful results.

So I simplified the concept, and chose to work with only the basic computer graphic colors: red, green and blue. With a bit of color filtration, I knew these colors would resolve into three distinct tonal shades: white, grey and black. It wasn’t hard to find a scene that contained all the elements: red leaves, green leaves, blue sky and water.

As a test, I photographed the rather banal vista shown below, and applied some red filtering in post production. As expected, the red trees turned white, the blue sky turned black, and the green trees remained grey.

There’s just one problem: This photo bears a striking resemblance to an infrared photograph. Anyone who’s ever seen an infrared photo knows that leaves turn to white and the sky turns black. So in the previous photo, there’s nothing that makes this shot say “autumn” instead of “infrared.” Sure there are a few grey (green) trees in the left of the frame, but even that’s to be expected with infrared photography.

So I rejected this method too, and I wandered around for another month — tempted to either quit or cheat. I just couldn’t figure out how to take a black & white photo of brightly colored foliage, yet make it say “autumn.”

Then last week, with fall waning and winter bearing down, I saw a pair of trees on a hillside — each resplendently adorned with a radiant mixture of yellow and green leaves. It was the sort of scene that color photographers get giddy over. I stared at this scene for a good five minutes. I knew that, somewhere beneath all this color, there must be a black & white shot.

As I walked beneath the trees and looked upward into the complex labyrnth of branches, I heard the fallen leaves rustle beneath my feet. So I looked down — and that’s when I saw the shot shown at the top of this article.

I’d spent so long shooting tree tops, it never occurred to me to shoot tree bottoms. When else, other than autumn, would we see a brightly colored mix of leaves at the base of a tree? And because the leaves are so much whiter than the tree trunk (which, instinctively, we know is brown) we automatically intuit that the leaves must be brightly colored. Consequently, I think this photo succeeds — not necessarily by being a great (or even particularly interesting) shot, but by fully satisfying the dictates of my self-assigned challenge.

Come to think of it, this is probably the reason I stopped publishing articles about overcoming difficult photographic situations — it’s because, by definition, these articles force me to display failure and mediocrity.

Considering the state of today’s photographic job market, this doesn’t seem like an overly wise career move.

But then, prospective employers don’t really read this site — photographers do. So here’s a little tip to my fellow photographers: give yourself assignments. Hard ones. Because the more you push yourself, the more you’ll learn to really see the world around you, and the better your photos will be. And in your twilight years, while your buddies all lament their faded physiques and reminisce about past glories on the playing field, you’ll know (as a photographer) that your better days are still to come.

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©2011 grEGORy simpson

ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: “Autumn” was shot with a Pentax K-5 fronted with an old Pentax-M 120mm f/2.8 lens. “Red or Infrared?” was photographed with a Leica M9 and a 35mm version 4 Summicron lens.

If you find these photos enjoyable or the blog beneficial, please consider DONATING to this site’s continuing evolution. At the very least, please leave a comment and let the ULTRAsomething community know your thoughts.

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Categories : Techniques
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Rainy Days and Mondays

By Egor · Comments (4)
Monday, November 28th, 2011

I never could relate to that song by The Carpenters. While I’ll willfully agree that Mondays usually do seem to suck chalk, what’s so bad about the rain? Why did it take a combination of both rainy days and Mondays to get Karen Carpenter down? Wasn’t the fact that it was Monday justification enough for her melancholia?

Personally, I love the rain. It’s refreshing, cleansing and invigorating, and it puts a nice thick veil between me and that nasty old sun. As a rain lover, I live in the perfect place: Vancouver Canada. Winters here could send any Carpenters fan scurrying for a lithium prescription — even on a Thursday. But as much as I enjoy being out in the rain, there is one minor snafu: I’m a photographer. And modern digital cameras aren’t nearly as receptive to precipitation as I am.

In the past, I’ve taken several approaches to the problem of photographing Vancouver in the winter. For many years, I simply ignored the challenge completely and defined “winter photography” as “time to practice my studio lighting techniques.” But as the years passed and my photographic obsessions grew more vernacular, the winter rains became aggravating. I wanted to be outside, not holed up in the studio with a rickety assemblage of artificial lights and contrived tableaux. I needed to feel the drops sting my face, and witness the frantic scurrying of passersby dodge and weave their way through an umbrella labyrinth.

In short, I needed a weather-sealed camera. So every autumn I’d look at the camera industry’s latest offerings, and every autumn I’d reject them — or rather they’d reject me. Weatherproof cameras were built for one of two “camps,” but I resided in a third. These cameras were either 1) small point-and-shoots with limited ergonomics and dubious optical quality designed for summer beach and pool amusement, or 2) large, full-bodied dSLRs designed for shooting professional sports, tracking elusive Connecticut Warblers, or impressing young ladies on Model Mayhem. My camp desired a camera right smack in the middle of these two extremes — a location bypassed annually by modern camera developers.

So for the last few years, I’ve circumvented the winter camera problem by employing decidedly non-modern cameras — mechanical film cameras, to be precise. They’re inexpensive, durable and readily available. With no electronic components, there’s nothing to “short out” should a little rain or snow invade their bodies. With no batteries, there’s no power source to rapidly deplete in cold weather. Plus, I just like inventing good excuses to shoot film.

Still, as much as I enjoy working with mechanical film cameras, I’m neither rich enough nor famous enough to shoot 100% of my winter photos on Tri-X. So this autumn, I did what I do every autumn — peruse the digital weatherproof camera landscape. From my usual campsite, I gazed toward the western horizon at the little Fuji Finepix XP’s, Olympus Tough’s and Panasonic TS’s. I looked to the eastern horizon at the Canon 1D’s and the Nikon D3′s. And as I turned to walk back toward my collection of beloved film cameras, I tripped over a newfangled digital weather-resistant camera sitting right here in my own camp — the Pentax K-5.

I saw several advantages to the Pentax. To start with, it was the first weather-sealed camera that delivered a higher than expected image quality for a lower than expected price. Second, it was small (for an SLR). I need a camera that enables me to carry it all day in one hand, while dancing betwixt and pirouetting around my scurrying subjects. Third, there exists a wealth of inexpensive old legacy lenses for the Pentax mount; really inexpensive lenses. I mean, there are old Pentax lenses out there that I can purchase for less than I’d spend shooting and developing a day’s worth of Tri-X.

Recently flush with the proceeds of several equipment sales, I had just enough cash for the now heavily-discounted K-5 body

with its 18-55 weather-sealed kit lens. For a few pennies more, I also added an old manual focus Pentax-M 120mm f/2.8.

I now had my inclement weather camera — the one I could use in a monsoon, in a hale storm, a sandstorm or a blizzard. I couldn’t wait to go get drenched. And as fate would have it, for three days subsequent to the purchase, Vancouver basked in absolutely glorious weather.

Monday arrived and brought along its friend, the rain. I was still not fully-certified on the intricacies of the K-5, so I avoided the downtown throngs and wandered along the shores of English Bay. Its plethora of static subjects afforded me the time to experiment with various settings, and to learn the system’s quirks — paramount among them the irksome way Pentax lenses focus in the opposite direction of Leica’s. The few times I did try to photograph people, I spent so long wrapping my head around the ‘backward’ focusing, metering stratagems and numerous modes and buttons, that my subjects had often passed me by.

Although I’m still a couple weeks away from having complete instinctual control over the K-5, the very fact I could fumble about with it while standing in the driving rain was most liberating. Never before could I (or would I) risk spending hours walking in a deluge while shooting with a digital camera.

Of course I was always mindful that the K-5 is marketed as “weather resistant” and not “waterproof.” The camera is obviously not meant for submersion or merciless abuse. Unfortunately, Pentax (nor any other camera manufacturer) makes any effort to quantify exactly what they mean by “weather resistant.” There exists a perfectly good international standard (called an “IP rating”) that specifies exactly how impervious a particular device is to dust and water. But camera manufacturers are reticent to publish these IP numbers — preferring to forgo something meaningful like: “this camera features an IP64 rating,” in favor of something meaningless like: “this camera features 77 weather seals.”

Suffice to say, in spite of the weather resistant claims, I don’t do anything too stupid with the K-5. I wipe it down frequently with a small rag and, should I be standing for an extended period with the camera exposed to the elements, I’ll drape the rag over its top. Why tempt fate? If Pentax doesn’t feel comfortable giving the K-5 a meaningful water-resistance rating, why should I rely solely on marketing puffery and trade show parlor tricks?

Still, I’m (mostly) human. And so I have, on occasion, yielded to the temptation to stick this camera in places I’d never consider sticking any of my other digital cameras, just to see what sort of photo I might get…

Speaking of temptation, I feel a strong urge to address a few additional K-5 curiosities. But I’ll stop here before this article deteriorates into another tedious camera review (though it’s likely I’ll foist such tedium on you in the future). The only real point of this article is to share the joy and liberation I feel being able to shoot on some of Vancouver’s more heinous winter days; and to remind my fellow photographers that, thanks to the Pentax K-5, neither rainy days nor Mondays ever need get you down.

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©2011 grEGORy simpson

ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: In spite of appearances, the Pentax K-5 (with which I took all these photos) does not create an image with a 2.5 x 1 aspect ratio. That’s merely the result of my futzing around with cropping. “Winter. Monday. Vancouver. #1″, “Winter. Monday. Vancouver. #3″ and “The Day Before” were all shot using a Pentax-M 120mm f/2.8 lens. “Winter. Monday. Vancouver. #2″ was shot with a Pentax-DA SMC 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR, and “Splash” saw the K-5 mounted with a super-cheap Takumar-A 28mm f/2.8 lens while sitting only a few centimeters away from the crashing surf.

If you find these photos enjoyable or the blog beneficial, please consider DONATING to this site’s continuing evolution. At the very least, please leave a comment and let the ULTRAsomething community know your thoughts.

Comments (4)
Categories : Gear Talk, Musings
Tags : , , , ,

The Leica 21mm Super-Elmar-M

By Egor · Comments (2)
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

This article (along with many of its associated comments) first appeared November 23, 2011 in my f/Egor column for the Leica Camera Blog. Below is a reprint of the article.

Many people assume that writing product reviews is all ice cream and pony rides. After all, who among us wouldn’t desire free use of the latest, shiniest wonder-widget for a week or two? So when I tell you that Leica lent me their new 21mm Super-Elmar-M f/3.4 ASPH for review purposes, you’re excused for concluding that my preparations involved clearing out extra freezer space and ordering up a fresh bale of hay.

In actuality, reviewing products is work. In the case of camera lenses, a good review requires the photographer to carefully, painstakingly and rigidly control the shooting environment — locking the camera to a tripod and minimizing all extraneous sources of variance or error. Good reviewers also spend long hours photographing test scenes, test targets and test walls. A true product review is objectively clinical rather than subjectively instinctual. Yes indeed, product reviews are laborious. And that’s exactly why I don’t write reviews — I write “impressions.” Writing impressions enables me to spend my precious few days using a product the way I would if I owned it, rather than descending into the laboratory and running measurements. A photographer’s “impressions” may not benefit an interested buyer as much as a full-on review (like the sort crafted by Sean Reid, for example), but it does help those who may share that photographer’s inclinations. And, best of all, it lets me at least pet the pony and have a taste of that delicious ice cream.

A 21mm Allure

I don’t believe in pigeonholing lenses — each lens’ use is limited only by the imagination of the photographer who shoots it. So the photographs included with this article should, in no way, suggest these are the only types of photos at which this lens might excel. Instead, these photographs suggest the way I, personally, might use this particular lens. For me, the 21mm focal length is an ideal match for several subjects, but none more significant than its value as a street and documentary lens.

Because 21mm lenses have extensive depth-of-field, they’re “deep” lenses as well as “wide” lenses. The benefit of this, for documentary-style photography, is that they allow you to photograph your subject in context with its surroundings. I discussed this at some length in an old ULTRAsomething article called “The Contextual Lens” should you wish to read more.

Consider the shot above. If you wanted to photograph a pigeon for a birding book or encyclopedia, then you’d use a long lens to isolate a single specimen from its environment. However if you wanted to show the social interaction between pigeons, between pigeons and humans, and between pigeons and their environment, then you’re going to need a lens with some width (and “depth”).

In a similar vein, consider the following photo — the subjects of which were only 2-3 meters away from me. Had I photographed this grouping with a “standard” lens, the curious context would have been completely lost. I would have been able to photograph only a subset of the group — perhaps the amiably disposed policeman, or the seemingly happy moustachioed man, or the thoroughly disinterested fellow with the cap, or the handcuffed gentleman in the Hawaiian shirt. Each, as an individual subject, is not that interesting. Together they provide a story — even if I can’t figure out what that story might be.

In my short time with Leica’s new 21mm Super-Elmar-M, I found nothing (affordability aside) that would discourage me from purchasing it for “street” or documentary photography. It’s impeccably built and has a focus ring that’s both smooth and tight. At first, the tightness caused me some mild distress, but I’ve come to recognize this as a benefit. On the streets, I’ll frequently scale-focus a 21mm lens by setting it to a pre-determined distance, which enables me to shoot rapidly without having to re-focus. The tightness of the ring insures that the focus remains exactly where I set it and doesn’t drift.

The lens is reasonably petit and, sans hood, is roughly the same size as my naked 28mm Summicron. However, that 28mm Summicron’s cartoonishly large plastic monstrosity of a hood nearly doubles the size of the lens and can actually be seen from outer space. In contrast, the 21mm Super-Elmar-M’s hood is made of metal, is delightfully lilliputian, and barely increases either the length or width of the lens. In fact, even with the hood screwed onto the front, the lens intrudes only the tiniest amount into the frame of my external 21mm Leica viewfinder.

While so-called “street” photography is my prime motivation for owning a 21mm lens, I also employ this focal length for architectural, landscape and abstract photography purposes.

This is where the benefits of the Super-Elmar-M really unveil themselves. The lens is sharp. Crazy sharp. “Shoot-a-vast-landscape-yet-still-see-the-larva-on-a-single-maple-leaf” sharp. Poetically sharp.

In the tightly-controlled conditions of architectural and landscape photography, the performance of this lens stunned me. I’m in utter disbelief at the level of microscopic detail made visible by the combination of the Leica M9 and the 21mm Super-Elmar-M. If sharpness is your bag, then the 21mm Super-Elmar-M is your lens.

Under the Microscope

As I mentioned earlier, whenever I write about a particular piece of equipment, I give my impressions of its capabilities within my own limited spheres of use. I apply lenses, I don’t test them. So, commensurate with this practice, I dodged, burned and processed all the previous “test” photos as I saw fit, and I mostly shot the 21mm Super-Elmar-M hand-held (often zone-focusing) exactly as I would do if I owned it myself. For example, consider the photo shown here (called “Dressed to Kill”). To shoot it, I held the camera high above my head while I executed a clumsy sort of vertical leap and pirouette — blindly releasing the shutter at the jump’s apex. Astute readers will likely recognize this isn’t exactly what one might consider a “controlled” technique. Normally, such a photo would have no place in a lens review. However it’s perfectly at home in an “impressions” article — particularly since it happens to be one of my favorite images that I took with this lens.

Of course I’m aware that many potential purchasers will scan the internet looking for “sample” images. And for a lens that’s designed to appeal to perfectionists, I know my own artsy-fartsy proclivities and oft-ambivalent attitude toward technically perfect renderings does not do Leica any favors. So the following discussions will all be accompanied by more pedantic photographic offerings that are designed to illustrate a particular optical topic, rather than exist as a stand-alone photo of merit.

[21 Super-Elmar-M f/3.4 ASPH vs All Other 21's]: The truth is, I can only compare this lens directly with one other 21mm lens — my own 1995 Leica Elmar-M f/2.8 Pre-ASPH. The pre-ASPH has the dubious distinction of being once dissed by Leica lens expert Erwin Puts, which makes it actually affordable on the used market. Last year, right when I’d finally decided to purchase a Voigtlander 21mm f/4, my dealer called to tell me he’d just received a Leica 21mm pre-ASPH on consignment. When I did an A/B comparison between the 1995 Leica and the new Voigtlander, the Leica smacked it in every conceivable way. I don’t know if this was a particularly bad copy of the Voigtlander 21 or if this was a particularly good copy of the pre-ASPH, but there was no doubt which was the better lens. And I’ve been very happy with that 1995 pre-ASPH… until Leica sent me the Super-Elmar-M to review. Have a look:

and…

The 21mm Super-Elmar-M outperforms my old 21mm Elmarit in nearly every measurable way. It’s impressively sharp across its entire aperture range and also from corner-to-corner. It is contrasty (not always ideal for my own use, but universally regarded as ‘desirable’) and it resolves heretofore unimaginable levels of micro-detail. The only technical point to favor my old pre-ASPH is its f/2.8 maximum aperture — though at only a half-stop faster than the 21mm Super-Elmar-M, it provides little practical benefit (given my particular requirements for a 21mm lens).

[Chromatic Aberration]: No one likes chromatic aberration — the thick purple border that appears along edges of maximum contrast such as you might see when photographing tree branches against a bright sky. Heck, I shoot black and white, and I still hate chromatic aberration (since it tends to soften edges or produce weird halos in B&W photos). One of the first things I photographed with this lens was a tree top against a bright sky. I saw no sign of chromatic aberration, so I photographed another… and another… and another. Wide open (which, admittedly, isn’t exactly “wide” at f/3.4), I found it nearly impossible to take a photo that contained anything more than the tiniest smidgeon of chromatic aberration. And I tried. I really tried. Even specular highlights remain free of fringing. This lens is simply remarkable in this regard, furthering its desirability for both landscapes and architectural work.

[Flare]: I did not actually test this lens for flare because I never actually saw any — even when shooting directly into the sun in my futile attempts to force chromatic aberrations.

[Barrel Distortion]: One thing I expect to see in wide angle lenses is barrel distortion. But after several days of shooting the 21mm Super-Elmar-M, I suddenly realized that I hadn’t ever felt the need to correct for it in Lightroom. Intrigued, I looked back through two weeks worth of ‘contact sheets’ in search of barrel distortion. When I thought I saw some (which wasn’t often), I was able to correct it with a single tick of the distortion parameter in Lightroom’s Lens Correction tab. Below, on the left, is an example of an uncorrected image. To the right is the image after I applied “correction.” There is almost no discernible difference between the original shot and my ‘corrected’ shot. And, honestly, I’m not even 100% certain whether the corrected shot is better or worse. Suffice to say, barrel distortion (other than the relative lack of it) will not be something people mention when they discuss this lens.

[Color Rendering]: I hesitate to even mention this lens’ color capabilities, since color photography is not my forte and I have little clue how to assess a lens’ color rendering. So I’ll keep my comments ignorantly simple and state only this: Normally I have terrible trouble wrestling my color photos into something I find “appealing” — even though I always shoot critical shots with an X-rite color chart, create custom RAW camera presets for a particular scene, and have an entirely color-calibrated workflow. But with the 21mm Super-Elmar-M, I have no such color problems. I was pleased with the colors as interpreted by Adobe Lightroom and, surprisingly, I was also pleased by the colors no matter how much I shifted and manipulated their hues. Bottom line: This is one of the few lenses I’ve used that actually makes me consider making a deeper exploration of color photography.

[Bokeh Quality]: Anyone purchasing a 21mm lens isn’t likely to be overly concerned with bokeh quality. First of all, massive depth-of-field is one of the main reasons for purchasing such a lens and secondly, f/3.4 doesn’t exactly scream “bokeh!” Still, in order to ward off inquiries from the internet bokeh police, I opted to perform a couple tests. Below is an example in which I focused on an object .7 meters away, opened the aperture to f/3.4, and made sure to include plenty of infinity subject in the shot. As you can see by the 100% crops, the lens defocusses very smoothly. Obviously, the background doesn’t ‘melt’ away (this is a 21mm lens after all), but it’s perfectly free of weird swirly anomalies or any other freakish artifacts that would deter me from using it at 3.4. Even more encouraging is that focus is so sharp at f/3.4.

[Focus Shift]: What focus shift? Given the fact that 21mm lenses have such extensive depth of field, I neither expected nor noticed any focus shift. Still, I did due diligence and ran a series of tests to confirm my practical findings. As expected, the intended subject was scintillatingly sharp at all apertures, and there wasn’t even a hint of focus shift. For this reason, I have not bothered to include the actual focus test photos with this article. One thing the photos did reveal, however, is that the lens seems to achieve maximum sharpness at f/5.6, softening a barely discernible hair at f/8, then f/11, then f/16.

[Vignetting]: I don’t know if it’s the lens design or a function of the lens correction algorithm in the M9, but I saw very little noticeable vignetting. Admittedly, I never bothered to photograph a blank white wall to verify this as gospel.

However, the fact remains that vignetting was never a problem in my photos. In fact, for many street-type photos, I found myself having to add some vignetting in Lightroom in order to get the sort of look I like. But in architectural work, the lack of vignetting is a nice thing. By contrast, my old 21mm 2.8 pre-ASPH shows significant vignetting even with the appropriate M9 lens profile applied. Speaking of lens profiles, I noticed that M9 firmware version 1.162 did not list the 21 f/3.4 lens amongst the list of manual lens choices. However, if I chose “Auto” lens detection then the appropriate profile was applied. Ideally, I would like to be able to manually select the 21 f/3.4 lens from the Lens Detection menu. Most of my lenses are older and therefore not digitally coded, which prevents me from relying on Auto detection to identify a lens.

[Options]: One of the wonderful things about investing in the Leica M system is the sheer number of options with which photographers may avail themselves. For example, although the majority of my test shots were conducted with the Leica M9 digital camera (which I knew would reveal the optical advantages of this particular lens), I was also able to shoot it on my 1959 Leica M2 film camera, and on a Panasonic DMC-GH2 Micro Four-Thirds camera (via a Novoflex lens adapter). Several photos from the M2 are sprinkled throughout this article, and I was extremely happy with the Super-Elmar-M’s performance on this 52 year old camera — in spite of the fact I coupled that decidedly ‘new school’ lens with a distinctly ‘old school’ Plus-X 125 film, and developed it in a slightly inappropriate developer (Ilford DD-X). On the GH2, the 2x crop factor inhibits the 21mm field-of-view to one commensurate with a 42mm lens, giving the Super-Elmar-M an entirely new career path. As with all M-mount lenses on Micro Four-Thirds bodies, there is some pronounced softening in the corners, but center sharpness remains intact (as illustrated by the following gratuitous nod to modern lens reviews).

Conclusion

In my experience, there are only two possible downsides to reviewing demo products: Either you like a product so much that you develop a serious case of gear acquisition syndrome; or you dislike a product and are forced to either write a negative review or politely decline to write ANY review.

Before the lens arrived, I felt confident that neither of these possible downsides would occur. Leica M-mount lenses are of notoriously high optical and build quality, so it would be unlikely I’d dislike the product. On the other side of the coin, I already own an excellent copy of a Leica 21mm f/2.8 Elmarit pre-ASPH, which I absolutely love. So it would be highly unlikely that Leica’s new 21mm would be so much better than my old pre-ASPH that I’d suffer any gear lust…

… but gear lust I have. The Leica 21mm Super-Elmar-M is one of the most stunning lenses I’ve yet mounted on any camera. From the very moment I began to shoot with this lens, I dreaded the day I would return it. I own many Leica lenses, and all but one are at least a generation or two removed from the current model. As a man who tries to earn a living through photographic endeavors, I simply can’t afford new Leica lenses. Because of this, I’ve successfully convinced myself that I prefer the way old lenses render, and have often downplayed the emphasis many people place on lens sharpness. But the 21mm Super-Elmar-M has cast some serious doubt on my rationalization efforts.

If I didn’t already own the old Leica 21mm pre-ASPH, I would gladly fund a new Super-Elmar-M by offering my services as a human guinea pig to the local medical community. It’s just that good. Fortunately, given my propensity for “street” and documentary photography, I am well-served by my existing lens, since many of the new Super-Elmar-M’s optical advantages would be lost on my herky-jerky, blurry “context” shots. If, however, I ever returned to landscape or architectural photography I wouldn’t hesitate to upgrade to the Super-Elmar-M. It would inevitably “wow” my clients as much as it continues to “wow” me.

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©2011 grEGORy simpson ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: All photos were shot with a pre-production Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH lens. A Leica M9 digital camera was used for all photos with the exception of “One for Lee Friedlander,” “Pigeon Way,” “Cathedral Place” and “Vancouver Public Library,” which were all shot with a 1959 Leica M2 using Plus-X 125 film and developed in Ilfotec DD-X 1:4; and “Panasonic GH2 Wall,” which was shot with the 21mm lens mounted to a Panasonic DMC-GH2 with a Novoflex adapter. If you find these photos enjoyable or the blog beneficial, please consider DONATING to this site’s continuing evolution.

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Wag the Blog

By Egor · Comments (8)
Monday, November 7th, 2011

Once every three months I slip away from all the limelight, tinsel and glamor of the blogging world, and I take a good long look at ULTRAsomething. Why do I publish articles? Who do they benefit? Who reads them? Is there any tangible reason to keep writing them? Should I actually write more of them?

Sometimes, when I ask these questions, I even try to answer them myself…

Why do I publish articles? I suppose it’s because I care about the things I write, and because I’m genuinely concerned about the future of photography. It’s not that I fear an end to still photography, it’s that I fear an end to what once made still photography so meaningful. I fear that both viewer and photographer are losing the ability to see beyond a photograph’s façade and into its soul. Ultimately, I write because I’m selfish — I enjoy seeing good photography. I enjoy photography with heart, with passion, with meaning and with purpose. That’s why so many of my articles are designed to remind photographers that their ultimate self-satisfaction will not come from following populist dictates, but from exploring their own motives, techniques and personal vision.

Who benefits from these articles? I’m not sure. Certainly not me. They have no value in marketing my photographic services since they’re voiced more for the benefit of other photographers than for clients. I once hoped they would entice paying publications to commission my writing services — but I soon learned that no one is actually willing to pay for content anymore. And if I really am writing these articles to benefit other photographers, then do they? Judging from the majority of landscape, editorial and portrait photography I see published, I would have to say “No.” Photography is continuing to devolve unabated into the domain of  ”illustration” and a competent, though ultimately dull, sameness.

Who reads these articles? ULTRAsomething attracts many thousands of readers every month. Web stats tell me that of my 25 most-read articles, 22 of them are about photographic equipment. I find this both encouraging and discouraging. It’s encouraging because it means photographers are reading ULTRAsomething in hopes of finding a way to improve their photography. It’s discouraging because it means most photographers believe that the path to better photography lies in buying more gear.

Is there any tangible reason to keep writing these articles? I struggle with this question at least once every three months. If these articles make me no money, then why bother? If these articles bring no new business, then why bother? If people skip the crux of this site — the philosophical articles — and read only the equipment reviews, then why bother? So once every three months, I resolve to pull the plug on ULTRAsomething. And once every three months, I break that resolution. Maybe I’m just a masochist. Or maybe I truly believe that, even if people come for the ‘gear reviews,’ they might just hang around long enough to read a few of the more contemplative articles.

Should I consider writing more frequently? Curiously, every time I wrestle with shuttering ULTRAsomething, I begin to flirt with the alternative — writing more articles. Perhaps the problem with ULTRAsomething is that it’s not a blog, but a collection of occasionally published articles on a variety of topics. To build both a loyal and large readership would require that I write all the time — even when I don’t have anything compelling to say. And this has always been my problem with most blogs — the sheer amount of banality, re-blogging, linking and aggregating that’s required to create daily posts. Is that really a good thing? Maybe. Maybe not. But to tackle such an endeavour and infuse each post with at least a modicum of quality would require that I turn ULTRAsomething into a full time job. That means it needs to generate income…

Give the People What they Want

It occurs to me that I cannot answer all these questions alone. My web stats indicate that over half the people who visit ULTRAsomething are repeat readers, so this implies I must have some sort of “fan base.” Some of you even check in with comments now and then, which I really and truly appreciate. Others choose to contact me via email, which is fine (though commenting on an article does have the added benefit of generating more online conversation).

Maybe, instead of trying to decide what I want to publish, I should ask what you want to read?

I have but two goals for ULTRAsomething — one altruistic, and one the opposite:

1. I would like the site to provide value beyond answering “which camera should I buy this month?” I want the site to help photographers think a bit more about what they photograph and why — to become more in touch with their own vision and to worry less about satisfying the fickle demands of the latest Flickr fads.

2. I would like the site to generate income. I will never turn ULTRAsomething into a subscription site, but I do need to pay for its existence and the time I spend developing it. This means something somewhere must be sold to somebody. Whether I sell workshops to readers or eyeballs to advertisers, ULTRAsomething needs to develop a commercial element.

So what do you want to see from ULTRAsomething? A greater emphasis on technique? Maybe more actual photojournalism and less talk about photojournalism? Book reviews? Software evaluations? An increase in the attention given to alternative gear, techniques and methodologies? Or maybe the opposite — more prominence given to the modern? Perhaps you want more architectural photography? Landscape photos? Nudes? Puppies in a basket? Puppies in a basket with a nude? How about guest posts? Workshops? Interviews? Longer articles? Shorter articles? More frequent articles? What about off-topic articles, like a detailed account of my ongoing battle with the incompetent nincompoops at my cellular company who have yet to send me the iPhone I ordered on announcement day?

ULTRAsomething is only half mine — I just write it and photograph for it. The other half belongs to you — since you’re the ones who read it and view it. So what is it you’d like to read and see? I genuinely want to know. Because the more viewers I get, the better my chances of attracting sponsorship, and the better able I am to serve up more of what you want to consume.

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©2011 grEGORy simpson

ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: A few months ago, I stumbled across the misguided souls in “No. 9 Nightmare,” who were all participating in some sort of ‘street photography’ workshop. It nearly depressed the life right out of me. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to raise my Leica M9 with 28mm f/2 Summicron lens, and take the shot as a reminder of how not to host a workshop. “Another Fringe Event” was also shot with a Leica M9 and a 28mm f/2 Summicron lens, and depicts Granville Street the afternoon before the Fringe television show shot its Season 3 finale. Do not be confused by the Brooklyn Philharmonic sign — many of the locations you see in TV and movies are actually Vancouver masquerading as somewhere else.

“Contemplation” was shot just a few days ago, while I was out taking a stroll with my Ricoh GXR and a Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 lens mounted to Ricoh’s new GXR Mount A12 module.

If you find these photos enjoyable or the blog beneficial, please consider DONATING to this site’s continuing evolution. At the very least, please leave a comment and let the ULTRAsomething community know your thoughts.

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Riffing in the Key of Ricoh

By Egor · Comments (5)
Thursday, October 13th, 2011

A single camera review will deliver more eyeballs to a photography blog than every other article type combined. So for someone who writes a photography blog, I have a particularly self-destructive character anomaly — I tend to avoid writing camera reviews.

Many will point to my recent discussions of the Lomography Spinner 360, Widelux F7, Rollei 35T, Leica M6 TTL and Yashica-Mat TLR as “evidence” that my avoidance skills aren’t particularly well honed, but I offer the following defense: all of those are film cameras. And with the exception of the Spinner 360, each is long out of production. So maybe I should rephrase the nature of my self-destructive tendency: I tend to avoid writing reviews of current digital cameras.

Long time readers and data archeologists will likely unearth that I have, indeed, discussed digital cameras — but it’s been two and a half years since I’ve done so. It’s not that I don’t like digital cameras (I do). It’s not that I don’t shoot with them (75% of this year’s shots are digital). It’s just that the world is drowning in digital camera blogs. Everybody blogs about the latest digital cameras. Everybody’s uncle, niece, cousin, brother-in-law, best-friend, co-worker and ex-boyfriend also blogs about the latest digital cameras. Every month, some manufacturer releases some new flavor of digital camera and a blogosphere feeding frenzy ensues. A million sycophantic camera bloggers log on to WordPress and begin to regurgitate product brochures and spec sheets while quoting, aggregating and plagiarizing each other in a never-ending quest for a handful of Amazon.com referrals — enough, perhaps, to buy them a (small) cup of coffee. It’s a merry-go-round of manic mediocrity that benefits no one.

Which is why I chose to skip that ride…

Even though I once wrote my impressions of the Panasonic DMC-G1, I never bothered to discuss the model with which I replaced it — the DMC-GH2. That’s because my “review” of the G1 was not so much a review of the specific camera, but an examination of the form factor and the reasons for choosing micro four thirds. Once I reviewed the form factor, there really wasn’t much reason to dwell on model refinements.

Similarly, I once wrote about the Leica M8 but never bothered to discuss the model with which I replaced it — the Leica M9. Again, the M8 “review” was mostly an examination of form factor. Any one of a million camera blogs will tell you why the M9 is an improvement on

the M8. But as far as I’m concerned, once I made the critical choice (choosing a rangefinder instead of an SLR for the bulk of my photographic work), model numbers just weren’t as important. That’s why, instead of writing a review of the Leica M9, I chose to write a detailed but generic review of rangefinder cameras.

Honestly, I just don’t see why I should add to the digital camera din. Canon or Nikon? Does it really matter all that much? They’re both SLRs. If an SLR is right for your photography, then you can’t go wrong with either brand — choose the one you bond with, not the one some blogging fanboy waxes ecstatic over. Olympus or Panasonic? They’re both micro four thirds format. Read the spec sheets and figure out which best fits your needs and budget. Try one out and buy the one you like. You don’t need ULTRAsomething to tell you what to think. If you did, more of you would be clicking that DONATE link at the bottom of every post…

This is why, when I do discuss cameras, I tend to gravitate toward those that provide photographers with a real alternative, and not some artificial marketing differentiator. The Spinner 360? Come on, the camera rotates and captures a 360 degree field of view! Try buying another camera that does that. The Widelux F7? It features a rotating lens of excellent quality that quietly and discreetly records a 120 degree field of view without bowing vertical lines. Surely that’s a more compelling alternative to the Olympus E-PL2 than a new E-PL3?! The Rollei 35T? Well, it has the most ergonomically perfect manual exposure settings of any camera I’ve ever used. The more people who are aware of its unique form factor, the greater the chance of enticing modern digital camera designers to copy it. The Leica M6? I keep reading of people who want to own a rangefinder but “can’t afford one.” Just because you can’t afford an M9 doesn’t mean you’re stuck shooting a dSLR or one of the new “mirrorless” systems. I suspect at least 90% of my all-time favorite photographs were shot with some variant of Leica M rangefinder film camera. Maybe more photographers should consider film as an M9 alternative, rather than choosing an entirely different format of camera! Yashica TLR? There’s a reason TLRs were once extremely popular, and maybe my article will entice some of the more soulful photographers to try one out — particularly since the ratio of image quality to camera cost is off the charts in the photographer’s favor!

So why now, after this overly lengthy preamble, am I going to do the unthinkable and use the remainder of this article to discuss the Ricoh GXR — a current digital camera? Because the Ricoh is every bit as unique, liberating and useful as all those other cameras I’ve just discussed.

The Ricoh GXR

This article is not, in any way, a “review” of the Ricoh GXR. Should you wish to read a thorough, detailed and objective review of the Ricoh GXR, I suggest either Luminous Landscape or Reid Reviews (a pay site that’s worth well more than its subscription fee for any Leica-curious photographer). Me? I write impressions. Subjective impressions. Impressions that are probably only of value to candid, “street” or documentary style photographers. And, truth be told, when Ricoh released the GXR in late 2009, my impression was one of disinterest. Although I found the idea intriguing (a user replaceable sensor), I didn’t much care for the execution — I simply had no need for any of the camera’s available lens modules.

When Ricoh released a 28mm (equivalent) lens module for the GXR series nearly a year later, I was surprised to hear the system still existed. Modern “wisdom” suggests year-old digital cameras are “outdated” and destined for the landfill. Yet Ricoh was again bucking the trend by adding to their camera system and its capabilities, rather than obsoleting it. I was intrigued, but still didn’t bite…

In actuality, my interest wasn’t fully aroused until a second year passed and Ricoh released yet another new module for the GXR — one with a new sensor designed specifically to take advantage of M-mount lenses. For the past three years, I’ve been backing up my M-series cameras with micro four thirds (µFT), but I was anxious for an alternative. I was never happy with the edge performance of M lenses when adapted to µFT, and I’d grown disillusioned by the direction µFT camera bodies had taken. My needs and the product choices made by developers had diverged to the point that divorce was the only inevitable outcome.

It was finally time to check out the Ricoh GXR. So I jumped in the car, and a mere six hours later I stood before my nearest Ricoh dealer. As soon as he handed me the GXR, I felt that wave of temptation. The body is small but ergonomic; heavy for its size but comfortable in the hand. It’s solid, metal, rugged and utilitarian — a camera designed more for the perils facing a photojournalist than for those facing a parent photographing their child’s birthday party. The camera meant business.

I unboxed the dealer’s brand new M-mount A12 module, pulled a Leica 28mm Summicron lens from my bag, snapped it on the A12 module and affixed the whole contraption to the GXR. The camera recognized the new sensor and automatically updated its internal firmware. Cool. Without even connecting to the internet, I had updated the dealer’s GXR camera.

I scanned through the updated menu options and enabled Ricoh’s new “MODE 1″ focus assist feature, which turns on “focus peaking.” This is a concept borrowed from the video world, in which the camera adds a colored outline around in-focus objects, giving them a ‘shimmering’ effect. I opened the Summicron to f/2, pointed the camera at the nearest hapless customer and rotated the lens’ focus ring. Various objects in the display “shimmered” as I rotated the ring. When the poor customer’s eye shimmered, I snapped the shutter and reviewed the image. Beautiful! Focus was right on the eye — right where it should be. I turned the GXR toward a wall of cameras, rotated the focus ring until they all started shimmering, then snapped off a shot. Outstanding! Again, the focus was precise and the image was sharp from edge-to-edge and from corner-to-corner. In an instant, I knew my relationship with µFT had come to an end.

I’ve now been shooting with this camera for only about two weeks, but can already draw some bold conclusions. Excluding Leica’s digital M’s (the M8 and M9), the Ricoh GXR just might be my favorite digital camera ever — and I’ve had dozens, including such illustrious models as the original 5D and the 5DII, the GH2 and many other once (or still) desirable bodies. I am, of course, biased toward small cameras that can deliver high quality prints. The Ricoh is certainly small — particularly when compared to, say, a dSLR. Print quality? Not only is its custom-crafted M-mount sensor happily free of anti-aliasing filters, but it’s fitted with micro lenses to help gather and focus all those pristine light rays blowing through that expensive Leica glass.

I can also see why, at least in North America, the camera isn’t anywhere close to being as popular as other “mirrorless interchangeable lens” cameras like the Sony NEX system or the Panasonic/Olympus µFT system — and that’s because the GXR was designed for photographers, not consumers. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not denigrating people who fail to suffer from obsessive photographic tendencies or who shop for cameras at big box appliance stores. I’m just saying that their requirements are often more varied and less incontrovertible than a photographer with a specific vision and exacting requirements. I guess that’s why I had to drive six hours to a real camera store in order to try one out.

Although I bought the system to perform primarily as a digital backup to my M9, I always like my backup cameras to give me a little something “extra” — something I discussed in-depth in my article, Don’t Feed the Ostrich. In the case of the Ricoh, that something “extra” comes mostly from the 28mm A12 module, which I also acquired. This module converts the GXR into a solid, auto-focus point-and shoot camera that’s small enough to tuck into a jacket pocket, yet delivers impressive image quality commensurate with the best semi-pro cropped-sensor dSLRs. Essentially, this configuration gives me the digital equivalent of a Ricoh GR1 — a camera I’ve desired for over a decade and continue to desire even today. It even borrows the GR1′s clever Snap Mode feature, which is ideal for us photographers who like to scale focus. Snap Mode allows you to bypass the camera’s auto-focus mechanism and take a photo at a preset distance. On the streets, I often pre-focus my Leicas to either 1.5 or 2 meters, then look for photo opportunities within that distance. Snap Mode on the Ricoh lets me work exactly this way. I can autofocus normally, but if I see something 1.5 or 2m away from me, I can plunge the shutter (without stopping half-way to focus), and the camera will respond instantly — automatically setting the focus to my selected “snap mode” distance.

A Few Foibles

As much as I like the Ricoh GXR, it shares a problem that’s common to every camera ever made — it isn’t perfect. Specifically:

  • I’d like to see a weather-sealed body and a weather-sealed lens module or two. That way, I could head out with the Ricoh M-mount module and a couple of Leica lenses, but if the weather turned bad, I could pop on one of Ricoh’s weather-sealed modules and continue to shoot.
  • I’d like to see the pointless pop-up flash go away, perhaps replaced by an actual sync port.
  • I’d like a higher resolution EVF (particularly for critical focusing using the ‘peaking’ feature) and, while I’m at it, I’d consider putting the engineering team to work on some kind of optical/electronic hybrid viewfinder.
  • I’d like the ability to custom-assign more than four parameters to the ADJ lever — there’s certainly plenty of space on the LCD for more than 4 instantly accessible parameters.
  • I’d like Ricoh to expand the list of parameters that photographers can custom-assign to certain buttons. For example, the camera has three dedicated customizable shooting modes (which Ricoh calls MY1, MY2 and MY3). Normally, I just set a camera to manual exposure and ignore shooting modes. But on the GXR, these modes become tremendously useful. Because of the camera’s modular nature, you’ll likely configure it very differently depending on whether you’re using a Leica M-mount manual focus lens, a Ricoh auto-focus prime lens module, or a Ricoh auto-focus zoom lens module. The problem with using a MY shooting mode is that you then lose the ability to quickly switch between aperture priority, shutter priority, or manual exposure via the shooting mode dial. Ricoh compensated by adding a menu item that lets you switch between shooting modes in MY mode, but they do not offer photographers any way to assign this important function to a button. So if you’re shooting in one of the MY modes, twelve button presses are required  in order to simply switch from Manual exposure to Aperture Priority:
    • Press MENU/OK.
    • Press Up Cursor seven times to highlight “Switch Shooting Mode.”
    • Press Right Cursor to open the “Switch Shooting Mode” options.
    • Press Up Cursor twice to select Aperture Priority Mode.
    • Press MENU/OK to make the selection and close the menu.
  • I’d like to see a new body that contains both better video and more video control. Although I’m not personally all that interested in video, I’d be much more likely to use this feature if Ricoh at least gave me some control over video settings. I can’t even set the shutter speed myself! The GXR relegates video to the Scene mode menu, where it has equal importance with such cheesy features as “sports” mode, “soft focus” mode and “Toy Camera” mode. In the next generation body, video needs its own dedicated spot on the mode dial.
  • And finally, I’d really really like to be able to set shutter speed directly, without using the LCD. Unlike many of today’s more consumer-oriented offerings, the GXR is a “real” camera. As such, it needs a real shutter speed dial.

Ideally, were I to design this camera, I’d eliminate the flash and move the mode select dial over to where the flash is now; I’d nudge the hotshoe over so it sat directly above the lens (exactly where an optical/electronic hybrid viewfinder should sit), and I’d put a dedicated shutter speed dial where the current model’s mode switch sits. I know it sounds like I want an awful lot, but I really like the direction Ricoh has taken with their latest GXR concepts, and I genuinely hope they continue to improve the firmware and expand the product line to include not just lens modules, but bodies as well.

Conclusions

With Ricoh’s introduction of the M-Mount A12 module, they’ve essentially made the GXR a “must have” purchase for any serious photographer with a significant collection of M-mount lenses. Even for someone like me, who owns several M-mount rangefinders (both digital and analog), the GXR gives me something different — through-the-lens viewing and a uniquely different focus method. And, even though I could easily adapt M-lenses to my Micro Four Thirds (µFT) cameras to explore these same differences, µFT’s adapted lens optical quality isn’t anywhere close to that of the Ricoh. And isn’t optical quality one of the main reasons we own all those Leica M-mount lenses?

If you don’t already own a number of M-mount lenses, then the benefits of the Ricoh GXR are no longer so unequivocal. There are far fewer dedicated system lenses for the GXR than for Micro Four Thirds, and the GXR’s video capabilities are barely adequate. But if you do have a few M-mount lenses lying around, or if Ricoh’s current lens module offerings correspond with your own required focal lengths, then you really should go to the trouble of tracking down a GXR. You just might end up selling off your Micro Four Thirds system. I did.

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©2011 grEGORy simpson

ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: In no way should these photos be considered indicative of any sort of Ricoh GXR “look.” They illustrate nothing. They argue nothing. They prove nothing. Heck, other than the first one, they don’t even prove I can take photos. They’re merely some shots I took during the last couple of weeks while I learned my way around the GXR and the various module/lens combinations. “Approaching Winter” was shot with a Ricoh GXR using the GXR Mount A12 module and a v5 Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron lens. “A Gathering of Gawkers” was shot with a Ricoh GXR using the Ricoh GR A12 28mm f/2.5 lens module. “Convergence Cliche” and “Love Letter” were shot with a Ricoh GXR using the GXR Mount A12 module and a v4 Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron lens. “False Creek Ferries” and “Big Yellow Taxi” (yes, the title is a riddle) were both shot with a Ricoh GXR using the GXR Mount A12 module and a Voigtlander 15mm Super Wide-Heliar f/4.5 lens.

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