Transitioning from Film to Digital as a Leica M Photographer
Film prices have been on the rise, it’s no secret. For some, the prices they are reaching can still be seen as justifiable. But for many others, it isn’t always that simple.
Film prices have been on the rise, it’s no secret. For some, the prices they are reaching can still be seen as justifiable. But for many others, it isn’t always that simple.
Techart has released its second generation Leica M to Nikon Z autofocus adapter that it says has become advanced enough to support full autofocus during video recording.
Leica. The name conjures notions of luxury, history, quality, and precision. This especially applies to Leica’s M-mount lenses. While some of Leica’s latest camera bodies like the M11 have gathered praise, the lenses have set the industry gold standard.
The Meyer Optik Görlitz 35mm f/2.8 Trioplan II is a unique lens that performs its best when the bokeh is specifically integrated into a shot and not just a coincidence of the defocus area. That means it's not for everyone, but it has its place.
In a reveal of a previously "hidden project," Xiaomi says that while it was developing the 12S Ultra, it was working on something else that was far more ambitious: a smartphone that can accept full-size Leica M-mount lenses.
Film isn’t dead yet. That’s the obvious message behind Leica digging up its roots and reimagining its storied M6 rangefinder film camera from 1984 and releasing a brand new variant in 2022.
Leica is going all in on the revival of classics. In addition to restarting production of its M6 film rangefinder, the company is also bringing back the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 originally released in 1961.
Leica fans can add a little more flair to their wardrobe today as lens manufacturer Funleader has released a 925 Sterling Silver Leica M3 Replica Shutter Speed Dial pin.
Venus Optics has announced the 12-24mm f/5.6 compact zoom lens for full-frame cameras. The $650 fixed-aperture, manual focus lens is available for Canon RF, Sony E, Nikon Z, and Leica M mounts.
Polina Washington spent years only shooting and printing black and white film before adapting powerful and vibrant color to tell a story in her photos.
I believe in a happy medium, somewhere between too little and too much. Aristotle defended this view with his Golden Mean, the middle ground between excess and deficiency. Apply it to the pleasures of life, to your emotions, to your decision-making, and it makes practical sense. Even digital photography follows Aristotle’s wisdom.
Venus Optics has announced that the Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO it launched last year for Nikon Z, Canon RF, Sony E, and Leica M mounts is being released for Leica L-Mount.
Vintage lenses are more popular than ever, thanks in large part to the mirrorless revolution as well as affordable, high-quality cinema and hybrid video cameras. These lenses are regularly “cine modded” for video use due to their unique character and less clinical rendering, (sometimes) affordable prices compared to cine lenses, helicoid-driven focus with hard stops, and physical aperture rings (which are often de-clicked).
As an art form and a technology, photography’s youth is only matched by its blisteringly rapid advancement. This creates something of a paradox for us as enthusiasts and professionals, where the history of the medium we so love can feel both short and overstuffed. Neither condition is conducive to any one camera gaining, let alone maintaining, a sense of permanence or constancy.
Zhong Yi Optics has announced the Mitakon Speedmaster 90mm f/1.5 manual focus portrait lens for full-frame Leica M, Canon RF, Sony FE, and Nikon Z mounts.
Venus Optics has announced the Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO, a lens it claims is the smallest 2x macro for any full-frame camera. It is available for Nikon Z, Canon RF, Sony E, and Leica M mounts.
Omnar is a new lens manufacturer based in the United Kingdom that recently teased that it was producing a new lens using a custom design and repurposed Canon AF-10 optical elements. The lens can now be pre-ordered and will begin shipping in December.
Two self-described rangefinder lens geeks -- Hamish Gill and Chris Andreyo -- have teamed up to create a new lens manufacturer, Omnar Lenses. The company's first product is the Omnar CN26-6, a 26mm f/6 fixed-aperture M-mount lens which is constructed using repurposed Canon AF-10 optical elements.
Leica is the butt of many photography jokes for making some of the most expensive cameras and lenses on the market. So if cameras are just tools, why would anyone shoot on Leica with so many other options available?
We all love interesting and perhaps somewhat obscure facts and anyone reading this site has at least a moderate interest in cameras -- and hopefully, their history. Part of that history includes the unique, weird, one-of-a-kind, and (you guessed it) extremely expensive cameras which have, in one way or another, played a role in paving the way to where we are today.
According to his Facebook profile, 16-year-old Tyler B. of Detroit, Michigan is into BMX, snowboarding and tennis. Soon, he may be into photography also. And who wouldn't be, after scoring a complete Leica M outfit, that is considered a dream camera rig, for just $15?
Voigtlander has announced the 28mm f/2 Ultron Vintage Line lens for Leica M-mount, combining a classic lens exterior with modern optics. The new lens will be available in three different colors.
A rare, collapsible version of the Meyer Primoplan 5cm f/1.9 LTM Leica M39 mm RF -- valued at $50,000 -- was listed for less than a day before the seller received a private offer to purchase it. Just a few months before, it was scooped up at a flea market for just $10.
The Leitz Photographica Auction will present a 2013 prototype model of a Leica camera designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson at auction in June. The camera is a one-off prototype produced during the creation of the Leica M for (RED) camera, which sold at a charity auction for $1.8 million in 2013.
Meyer Optik Görlitz has announced the 58mm f/1.9 II for multiple camera mounts and promises a lens that shares the characteristics of the original but manufactured with modern production processes and high-quality materials.
TTArtisan has unveiled a limited edition version of its 50mm f/0.96 lens for Leica M-Mount cameras that features a striking red finish to celebrate the Year of the Ox according to the Chinese Zodiac.
In the eyes of many, 35mm film photography was snuffed out in the early 2000s. But a small, dedicated fan base has continued to smolder. For all intents and purposes, Leica launched the 35mm camera. And it seems that nearly a century later, they are still committed to fanning the flames that they themselves ignited.
The Chinese camera lens manufacturer 7Artisans has released a new golden 35mm f/5.6 full-frame manual-focus lens for Leica M cameras.
A rare Leica lens has sold for more than some people will pay for a house. The Vario-Elmar-M 3.5-5.6/28-75mm ASPH. prototype was initially estimated to sell for between €60,000 and €80,000 (~$72,430 and ~$96,570), but blew past those projections easily, closing at €240,000 (~290,000).
Cosina has announced the Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 50mm f/2 Aspherical lens for Leica M-Mount cameras based on the E-Mount version the company released last year. The apochromat design is touted as able to produce "ultimate performance" of resolution and contrast.
If someone would ask me what digital camera brand is the most different from all the others, I would definitely answer Leica. A couple of weeks ago I bought my first Leica rangefinder, after using virtually every other camera brand on the market.
Chinese lens brands aren't generally associated with the idea of luxury, but TTArtisan looks to be trying to change that. The company just unveiled a new limited edition 35mm f/1.4 lens for Leica M rangefinders that's covered in 24K gold.
If you love both Leica and LEGO, today is your lucky day: Leica Store Miami has started selling Leica M camera LEGO kits that you build yourself. The resulting creations look like Leica's revered rangefinder line.
Good photos have become commonplace. Smartphones have demystified camera technicalities in the past decade, and its pervasive adoption has democratized photography for mass consumers. Since the first known photograph was made in 1820, camera functions evolved significantly to compensate for human error.
There are about 1,200 moving parts inside a Leica M rangefinder. In this 3.5-minute video, Tamarkin Camera in Chicago disassembles a Leica M give show what goes on inside the famous red dot cameras.
Leica today announced the new Leica Noctilux-M 75mm f/1.25 ASPH, a lens that delivers a "hair-thin depth of focus" that "isolates subjects with extreme precision."
Have you ever heard the argument that digital just doesn’t have the same look as film? Well, let’s put that argument to rest. I have painstakingly made my own Lightroom preset that I believe is 96% the same as my favorite film, Kodak Tri-X 400.
A word of advice: if you don’t intend on buying a Leica, don’t play with one. The feeling of shooting with one can be quite compelling, and before you know it you'll do what I did.
I am one of the lucky few to have grown up with Leica. It is weird to critically think about the irrational purchase of such an expensive camera as new digital models are released, but if you grew up with a Leica in your life it is very hard to let go of the brand.
Calling something 10.2mm thick is a bit of an oxymoron. The better way to describe MS Optics' new Perar Ultra-Wide 17mm f/4.5 Retrofocus lens would be as 10.2mm thin. Either way, this ultra-light, ultra-thin lens for Leica M shooters is impressively tiny.