If you saw my last blog post on using the Zeiss Otus on the Nikon Df, you’ll know just how excited I am about this beast of a lens. Since writing my first impressions, there have been many questions as to whether this lens is as good as I say it is.......
Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon First Impressions Review on Nikon Df
You know the saying “Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it”…..well Zeiss listened and delivered…in size!
Enter the Zeiss Otus. A 55mm lens with a f/1.4 maximum aperture designed with next to no compromises. Many would mention price, which sounds high, but trust me, this is lens is actually a bargain at it’s US$4,000 price – but more on that later.......
Nikon Df 'First Impressions' Review
It’s not often I feel compelled to take the time to share my impressions of camera gear. In fact, as of lately I’ve been less than excited about cameras and lenses because there’s something new out every week, followed by countless positive reviews about how amazing they are, followed by many enthusiasts buying them in hope of better pictures. This never-ending cycle is something I used to be very caught up in, and luckily, I’m over it now – or maybe not.
Leica M (type 240) behind the scenes at Australian Fashion Week
Just a short video I made while back with the Leica M240 at Australian Fashion Week. Keep in mind backstage light is mixed with various light sources all emitting different color temperatures. All pictures were color corrected as well as possible, but when light is mixed, it is impossible to achieve perfect colors. This is what happens when one light source is not overpowering the exposure than other. They end up blending together, It's just physics, and often what photographers encounter in such situations.
.....I took the new Leica M (type240) for a test drive, using the Leica Summarit 50/2.5 and Voigtländer Nokton 35/1.2 II lenses. All pictures were shot using natural light, and sometimes lit using the Ice Light and Nikon SB-910 speedlight on the SC-29 cable. Files were captured in DNG and edited in Lightroom 4.4. No photo manipulation was used.
I intended to spend a lot of time capturing the best quality pictures I could over the week, but I had obligations to shoot runway for many of the designers, so my time backstage was very limited to a period of 2 hours. The Leica M was fantastic to use. The battery life was great, new frame lines made framing and composition much easier and the the quieter shutter (as used in this video) made the camera even more discreet.
Hope you enjoy the video.
Kristian Dowling
Interview with Leica Camera CEO, Alfred Schopf
Today at The Digital Show 2013 I was fortunate to meet with Leica Camera CEO, Alfred Schopf and Leica Camera Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Sunil Kaul. They were kind enough to not only exhibit 6 of my pictures taken with the Leica M (typ 240) but spare some time for a few questions.
PHOTO FEATURE: A day living with the dead
Last month I had the unique opportunity to visit the Philippines with a good friend of mine, photographer Suchet Suwanmongkol. We heard of a very unique place in Manila, called the ‘Northern Cemetery’ and decided it was something we had to see. Being over 50 hectares, it’s the largest cemetery in Manila with well over 1 million people buried there. Among those buried, are thousands of people who have made this cemetery their home, most of which are made up of families and many children who take care of the grave sites in return for free rent and a safe place to live......
Feature on Prosophos
Going back in a time a little, here is an interview with me, and feature on the Prosphos Blog. Click HERE to discover the article.
Clash of the Titans! The Ultimate Leica M Super Fast 50/60 lens battle!
While Greek mythology brought us the Titans, it was the Germans who applied the Titan qualities to their cars and cameras. Like any good battle, the Japanese also made their presence known with their own version of Samurai. Fast lenses are like fast cars, and when considering both, they share the same kinds of adjectives like ‘exotic, alluring, superlative, amazing, glamorous, extraordinary, unique and unusual’. Both fast cars and fast lenses have an appeal for their ability to give its operator more speed, control and power. To photographers wanting to express their vision through shallow depth of field, the ultra fast lens is a valuable tool, as it enables you to narrow the vision to the exact precise focus position within a frame. But there is much more than subject isolation to think about when analyzing a fast lens. Different lenses exhibit different and unique characters in the way they draw both the focused and defocused areas, and there is no better way to explore this area than by comparing the world’s top Titans.
Book Review | The Suffering of Light by ALEX WEBB
There are endless amounts of photography books available these days, and an endless line of photographers behind them. Amongst those are some of the elite photographers, and once in a while they create a body of work that leaves you absolutely speechless. One of those photographers (at least for me) is Alex Webb.
Leica M (type 240) Rangefinder Unboxing
I'm going backwards in time because my blog wasn't running at the time I made this video, but in case you haven't seen it, here's my unboxing of the Leica M (typ 240).