Another Three Arrows In Your Mirror-less Quiver

The advent of the Olympus and Panasonic mirror-less cameras - the micro 4/3 system - has seen some amazing lens performance from the two manufacturers. Each have unique focal length and aperture combinations as well as shared equipment. There are special features abounding , yet there is one thing in common between them - a common mount and operation.

Now there is a third alternative - another exclusively Japanese manufacturer has taken options on the mount design and operations - Sigma is in the game.

And in a good way. Sigma is making three micro 4/3 lenses in prime form that are proving to be superb in terms of resolution and colour performance. The new " Art " design for the barrels is very smooth and sleek and they all have the feel of quality in the focussing.

We've tested them here on our cameras and our Olympus expert, Gavin, has had a chance to go head-to-head with equivalent Olympus lenses. Even he is impressed.

I am hoping that they also take up options for Fuji X mount and fill in with these focal lengths. I use a Sigma currently on an APS-C DSLR and am more than happy with the performance.

Houston -The Dot Has Landed - And Taken Off Again

Well the Leica T is pretty much here - we had a product launch last night with Daniel from Leica showing the camera, lenses, and accessories.

If you want to see it today...you can't. He took it away again. HOWEVER...he and Saul promised that the whole shooting match will be back here in the shop on the 28th of May, in stock, supplies for sale - you bring money, you get camera.

The whole shooting match includes a range of accessories - two lenses are to be made with the T mount right now and more are coming. There is an adapter to let you use Leica M mount lenses on the camera. There are four fitted plastic cases and a leather model. There will be system cases. There is an electronic viewfinder with GPS in it. There will be a new flash. There is the best camera neck strap in the universe available for it and some pretty snazzy coloured wrist straps. The batteries are to be colour-coded for the camera colour - because they feature a metal plate at the end that forms part of the external surface of the camera.

The device itself is elegantly designed and uniquely manufactured. Only two buttons  -shutter and video start/stop. The rest of the commands go through the very large touch screen.

You are not overwhelmed when you turn the screen on - you pick the criteria that you wish to deal with and cache them in your own interface screen. If you are a steady customer you just need a few controls. If you are the type who jitters around a lot you can have a lot of things to fiddle with. Your choice.

As with many modern devices, it Wi's and Fi's and you can control it from your electronic ear warmer, pocket warmer, or lap warmer. If you wish to put it on the end of a pole and wave it over the wall you can fire it from the ground. Do not laugh - someone will.

The strap that we alluded to earlier is the best in the place because it plugs into the camera body with a minimum of fuss - you get to keep your fingernails - and it is a tough, smooth neoprene rubber. Entirely in keeping with the style of the camera.

The " Leica Enthusiast " who worries whether the company has done a good thing can rest assured. They have. It's an elegant but not as expensive option to the big 'ol M camera. It will develop its own line of lenses and followers. The geeks on forums who cannot afford to buy it will bat the idea of it about like they always do, but the people who can afford to buy it will have a wonderful instrument that takes wonderful pictures.

Buy Two While They Are Cheap - Hasselblad Make All Your Lens Dreams Come True

Hasselblad would like you to buy one of their new H5D-40 digital cameras. Now, please. If you have space in the car, buy two - saves coming back later when you discover that the kids have taken yours. And got marmalade on the lens.

To reward you for this purchase they are are proposing to sell you some of the razor-sharp Hasselblad lenses for remarkably reduced prices - in some cases you can save up to 50%. The lenses that are offering are:

HC 2.1/100mm
HC Macro 4/120mm
HC 3.2/150mm
HC 4/210mm

The reasons for buying the Hasselblad H5D-40 actually do extend a little further than just saving money on the lenses. The camera is the top of the medium format digital world with 40 megapixel sensor, Phocus 2.8 software, and the unique True Focus AF system that maintains correct focus even when you recompose your composition.

Please check out their website now. The images that Hasselblad feature to showcase their own equipment are excellent, but I would also go to Alexia Sinclair's website to see what more can be done. I saw these presented on a big screen a couple of years ago and thought them the best of the profession.

Show Me The Money - With Nikon Cashback

If you ever wanted to get a new lens for your Nikon camera, now is the time. Nikon have announced a whole raft of cashback payments for purchasers of their lenses during this month.

The offer extends from April 1st - and I'm not fooling - to the 30th of April.

Money parcels that you can get back range from $ 25 to $ 150 depending upon which lens you buy - there is quite a wide variety of lenses that have been included on this list.

To find out more or to claim your cashback, go to the Nikon website:

mynikonlife.com.au/cashback

Nikon lenses are superb in any case, and a perfect match for the Nikon DSLR bodies. Now you can get money in hand quite independent from and deal in the shop.

Go. Go now.

New Lens From Sigma Shows A Real Flair For Design

Using the word flair in a header to announce a lens is a little dangerous - but as long as I spell it right, the correct message is there. And I am a whiz at coreckt spelinge...

The introduction of a new barrel style by the Sigma corporation with their 35mm, 16-35mm, 24-105mm, and now 18-200 and 50mm was a good move. I looked at the older style barrels with their strange crackle coating and wondered if it was all a design mistake. I knew the glass  and operation was fine...I spent my own money to buy the 8-16mm lens and have never regretted it...but the wear and tear on that crackle finish made them look sad.

The new barrels are metal - and smooth, and sleek. The weight has been increased, the feel of the focus ring improved, and the overall style greatly advanced. These lenses look every bit as good - and in some cases a lot better - than the dedicated lenses from the two major manufacturers. You can consider getting Body A or Body B and putting a Sigma on for preference.

The first reports that have come from the current CES show reveal a new 50mm f:1.4 mount and a compact 18-200 mount. The former is portrait territory and the latter may very well best the kit lenses that everyone gets. Consider getting bodies A or B and this one for a universal travel kit.

I'll show examples of these then they reach our shop.

Uncle Dick

Yule Be Sorry To Miss Out

Christmas time has come, By Golly
Scourge the kids with boughs of holly.
Pie the mince and tree the balls,
Here comes Microsoft scamming calls.

Nose to tail along the Freeway
South or North it matters not
Honk your horn and raise your finger
It's still and dead and bright and hot.

Xmas lunch with all the rellies
Hoping for prawns? You joke my dear -
The kids have eaten all the good bits
Content yourself with bread and beer.

Back again at end of even,
Bloated, sleepy, red, and sore.
New Year's Eve looms like perdition -
Then we do it one time more.

You can fight against Christmas ennui by buying yourself a gift - you'll see a CE special advertisement somewhere on your computer soon. Don't stint yourself - the prices have come down and you can treat yourself to something to make up for the ties, potholders, and shapeless sweaters that will be under the tree.

None of this will make up for the trip on the freeway to see your relatives but at least you'll be able to take good pictures over the summer holiday. If you get a camera like the Fuji X-series you can take wonderful selfies on New Years Eve before the fights break out.

Otus

I have been puzzling about the new Zeiss lens that has just arrived in the shop - it is the 55mm f:1.4 Otus lens. It is a magnificent thing and the write-ups from the world's photographic press seem to say that t is the uncompromising best for this focal length and the Full-frame cameras it will serve. The example I photographed for the blog is the ZF 2 mount for Nikon.

It is a big lens - no doubt about that. See the coin placed for scale beside it - that is a 5¢ piece. The weight is commensurate with he size. The focus ring movement is perfect - smooth and evenly damped. The engraved markings are a little bit startling as the bulk of the operational ones are in bright yellow. It is, of course, T* coated.

We have not had a chance to shoot with it, but will try to do so at the earliest opportunity to check out performance.

But back to the puzzle - why on earth would the Zeiss people name a large standard lens after HMS OTUS - an "O" class submarine? is it a leftover from the U-boat days? Is there a naval enthusiast in the marketing department? If we buy more of them will we have a wolf pack?

Another View Of Art - A New Sigma Lens

It is a bit bold to attach the term " Art " to a product. Of course if the product is a tube of oil paint or a brush or a chisel and mallet, you can see the connection. Yet...you can use oil paint to do the walls of the bathroom and a mallet and chisel to split a jaw, and there are no awards given for either achievement.

Still, Sigma have applied it to their new 24-105 lens and signalled it with a silver "A" plate on the side of the lens. Call it what you will, the lens is another addition to the new mount style that indicates their best products. You will have seen the mount style with their 35mm f:1.4 lenses and the 16-35 f:1.8 - solid, smooth, and heavy. Remember as well that the 16-35 is a star performer according to DP Review - the whole darn test chart seemed to be blue...the highest resolution and lowest chromatic aberration. Let us wait for the DP results on this one...

Steam in pretty quick to have a look at it - it is likely to go out the door in the rush up to Christmas. It will, of course, have the two-year warranty that Sigma are proud of.

NIKON - A New Landscape

 The shop is in a turmoil. This is not new - we import turmoils and sell them at good prices. We can service turmoils. We trade in secondhand turmoils and give three month's warranty on them.

Major changes to the cabinetry - and Nikon is the first off the blocks with a new display. Please look at the images - these cabinets are super sophisticated and wonderful to play with. You can open them without a crowbar. Or drawing pentangles on the floor...one day they are going to get stuck and we won't be able to get them open - I'm just hoping none that none of the staff are in there at the time. It will be like watching a dove in a Bell jar...

No - there are good things in there - look at the new binocular selection from Nikon - and look at the new Nikon 1 system camera on display. And there will be more to come as time passes.

The All-Time Undisputed Best Lens In the World

We have just received a shipment of the all-time undisputed best lens in the world - acclaimed by international superstar mentors and multi-award winning iconic ambassadors. This lens is so good that federal law prohibits allowing any other lens in the same camera bag - there are stiff gaol sentences for people who contravene this.

The lens is so sharp that it has been constructed without a filter thread on the front - lest anyone be tempted to degrade it with another layer of glass. Some of them are made without a camera mount on the back incase the user selects an inferior camera. It is a pure lens for pure photographers who take pure photographs.

This is a lens so good that Ken Rockwell has liked it for longer than a week.

Most lenses have an aperture system inside them. This on has four. One to take the picture and two to make sure that the first one is doing the right job. And one spare in case it is needed.

When you use this lens you immediately are accepted into Magnum, The MOMA, and the Tate gallery. Portraits taken with this lens are so good that the Tate throws out their Constables and Whistlers to make room for the prints. Some of the pictures have been worshipped by cults.

Chuck Norris wants one of these lenses but his application for ownership is still pending...

People don't ring us up about these lenses - we ring you. If you haven't had the phone call yet...you never will.

And there is a MkII model coming out in January. Be the first on your block to lose sleep about not being able to afford it.

Channelling Fred Spira - The Clear Lens Cap

A free clear lens cap to the first person who comes up to Uncle Dick and correctly identifies Fred Spira.

The rest of you will have to buy your own, but the cost won't be onerous. We have a whole rack of extremely useful clear lens caps in our Frugal Foto Fun section. They range from 62  mm to 77 mm. and have good solid mounting rings. They are uncoated optical glass that will protect your valuable lens.

If you have ever missed a snap shot in the confusion of trying to take off a conventional cap and screw on a lens hood...well, just keep one of the Emolux clear lens caps on and shoot as fast as you can. UFO's and costume malfunctions wait for no-one!

And they're only $ 10 each.

Smoking Hot Fresh From The Rumour Mill

Never mind the Canon rumours. Never mind the Nikon rumours. Never mind the Fuji, or Olympus, or anyone else's rumours. They are nothing, now that the Flapoflex Rumour mill is up and running.

Flapoflex goes far beyond speculation about a retro-styled camera - Flapoflex cameras are retro all the way through, from the glass-like substance used for the lens to the sensor overlain on genuine mahogany, harvested while the Philippines were still Spanish. Style that ravished them in the Gay Nineties can still set hearts aflame. Flapoflex remembers the look! Flapoflex remembers the feel! Flapoflex remembers the MAINE!

There is no portion of the rumour market that Flapoflex does not serve, from the persons who want more supposed bokeh than their brother-in-law to the tourist who may or may not be going to Asia, Africa, and Alaska in two days time. If you want the latest fantasy, before anyone else gets it, un-touched by human hands, at a price that is less than the internet, look to Flapoflex. At Flapoflex we invent the future...we just never bother to file the patent application.

Now a lot of kill-joys point out on the other rumour sites that their respective companies experience delays and setbacks in camera production. Tidal waves, Allied bombing, roach infestations...these have all been cited as reasons why people cannot have what they want when they want it. Sometimes we suspect that these epidemics and devastations are nothing but a made-up excuse for lack of management expertise. I mean, how hard is it to organise a new camera in a cloud of radioactive dust? I mean, really...

Flapoflex adopt a different attitude. We refuse to supply what you want but we do not hide behind the weather or the economic situation. You don't get what you want because WE SAY SO. It is good for your character. And it is good for us, too. If we keep you continuously dangling on the line with hints and mock-ups and mysterious advertisements, you will be far more receptive to the next model of the Flapoflex that we bring out with the LCD screen that is 0.2 mm larger on the diagonal and hinged to the right to catch you in the eye. 

Hey. That's a rumour. Are ya hungry, boy? Are ya? Sit up and beg...

Vignette Is As Vignette Does

I was shocked this morning when I decided to take a streetscape photo . I pulled out my trusty Fuji x-10 and set the lens to wide angle. You won't believe the vignetting...see the heading image. I would have taken more to analyse the problem but the bus came along the road and I had to pack the camera away.

Concerned about this, I retested it here in the shop on a grey table top - at f:11 the problem seems to have cleared up. I am a little baffled at this sort of intermittent problem. Might be best to have Ernest strip the entire chassis and hammer on it for a while to correct it...

On a brighter note have a look at what this sort of small camera is capable of in the super-macro mode. The ISO is 2000 to cope with the dull daylight - the white balance is set on Auto. As with most of the super-macro work the problem is always to supply good light at a good angle.

I think it might be a good idea to invest in a Promaster Flexible Arm Macro Light. I'll hook it onto the hot shoe, curve the gooseneck arms, and fire the light in at the tiny subjects from two shallow angles. I'm not sure how long the flat button batteries go for but the LED lights are pretty bright. I assume that Auto white balance will be the go.

Tiny studio - Yay! As soon as Ernest looks at that vignetting problem. Funny - never seems to bother me when I drive to work.

Might be a good idea to get inoculated against Yellow Fever too - or drain the Camera Electronic swamp.

Back In Black - And Better For It

A month or so ago I reported on a chrome version of the Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f:1.5 lens that was passing through the shop stock. I am ashamed to say that I made fun of it for looking like a refugee from a the set of  "Metropolis". The lens is a good performer but I considered the aesthetics over the top.

Two more examples of this lens have come in - these are in black. The appearance is greatly improved, and should you elect to take it out with your Leica or Voigtlander or Fuji  or Ricoh ( with adapter ), you will have a wonderful street shooting lens. Discrete where the other was garish.

Build quality? Superb metal finish and  smooth operation. Aspherical formula.

Stereoscopic Low-Light Lenses - Newest Development

News just in from Rochester about the development of new lenses for stereoscopic work.

Apparently they have developed small lenses with a focal length of about 22mm that can be remotely controlled to change their shape to focus on close objects. An electrical signal is fed into the lens and the actual curvature of the lens can be changed. This will eliminate the need for manual focussing helixes or stepping motors in the application.

The lenses are currently limited in their aperture range from about f:2.1 to f:8.3, though one researcher says that the maximum aperture is closer to f:3. The lenses are being paired with dual-element sensors that can be dialled up to a considerable ISO. Unfortunately when the ISO approaches the maximum the colour information is switched off. So far the maximum resolution of the experimental sensor is only 5 megapixels but this may be increased  - it is understood that funding is being sought from private investors to do this.

Up until now the maximum shutter speed of the test rig has been about 1/50 of a second.

Apparently there is a 20-stop dynamic range with the sensor, but the monochrome limit applies at the lowest light levels.

One interesting thing I saw in the photos of the test rig was the automatic tracking mechanism that allows the cameras to go from a straight lock for infinity to a slight inward tilt for closeup objects. This can give a sort of three-D effect.

So far these lenses and sensors are in a developmental stage but already the marketing boys are adding their input - the iris diaphragms come in grey, green, blue, and brown.

Note: apparently they are also thinking of equipping each lens/ sensor assembly with automatic covers that close over them for about 8 hours out of 24.

March To The Sound Of The Canon

You might wonder how much noise a Canon can make - in the world of motor sport, a very big noise indeed. We found out yesterday when we attended the Camera Electronic Canon workshop at Barbagallo raceway in Wanneroo.

The track is well-provided for the actual racers - we were there on a Motorcycle Club practice and tuning day. There is a function room at the start of the main straight with trackside seating - McCracken House - and we use it for a lecture theater and lunch venue.

Mark Horsburgh lectured us last year on basic race car photography but this year he added new discoveries in lighting with the Canon 600 speedlights. His work has a really new and sparkling look with these portable lights and it takes on very much of the studio illustration aspect even when taken out in the field. The ability to control three groups of flashes with radio transmissions rather than infrared is the thing...you can send the signal even in bright sunlight or around corners. My camera system uses the IR system and I am so jealous of Canon users...

Of course each year from Canon brings new lenses and bodies. The Canon reps bring some along and the troops get to fire them off out on the track. Mark mentioned trying something new each year himself - even to using tilt/shift and fisheye lenses in his work. Most of the motorcycle shots were taken using different types of telephotos but I did get some good views using a wide angle.

On the subject of the business of motorsport photography, Mark was quite candid about the time pressures and stress that are put on the shooters by the event organisers and the editors of various publications. It would appear to be a fertile field for experimentation but don't expect to eat regular...

Anyway, I took some views of the activities, including a very lovely model and an almost equally lovely set of photographers wearing fluoro vests. It was a great day and the results that the photographers got from the Canon lenses means that a number of them will be coming to talk to us over the shop counter.

Scrub That Sucker Clean, Baby!

Those of you old enough to remember the 1970's may remember where - that - line comes from.

The real reason we are featuring lens cleaning products is that we have so many of them and you all need them. This town is full of dirty glass, as any day at our or repair counter will attest. The wise people have dirty filters on clean lenses and the foolish people have dirty lenses, but that is another tale - today it is the question of cleaning glass.

Firstly - do not get it dirty. Use a lens caps and keep your fingers out of the lens hood -and if you are subject to environments that are dusty, brush or blow it off the glass with a blower or a soft brush. If the environment includes oil, fingerprints, dog nose prints, or fragments of egg-salad sandwich with mayonnaise, you will have to go on to the active cleaning.

Look at the head and tail images. These products are all designed to get after those heavier contaminants. You'll see three packets of dry lens tissue - soft one-use paper that can be safely wiped over glass. I would recommend that you either use a commercial eyeglass spray cleaner to wet one of these, followed by a dry wipe with a second tissue, or resort to the good old el-cheapo alternative of one drop of washing-up liquid in a glass of distilled water. Do not use drinking alcohol to wipe over the glass surface, particularly do not use Midori or Advocaat.

A packet of these dry tissues are a good partner to a couple of the Hama Feuchtreinigungstuchen. Say that late at night and see what materialises in the dark....

If you are caught out in the field, away from the washing-up liquid, he best cleaners are the Hoodman Lens Cleanse packets. They are a wet then dry combo and can remove anything organic. Highly recommended by Ernest, the fussy technician.

Last on the list are the microfibre cloths - these are available from several manufacturers, including one with our shop logo emblazoned on it. Use them to keep the small bits of oily smear at bay - they can also be washed out when they become fouled.

Nikon Deals - Buy A Newspaper Now!

If you are in Western Australia today, buy a WEST AUSTRALIAN newspaper. If you are in one of the eastern states, look on our website. If you are accessing this blog from somewhere else in the world, apply to emigrate to Australia, fly in, say hello to the friendly beagle dog at Perth Airport, then go to the news stand and buy a copy of the paper. If the friendly beagle seems to want to spend a good deal of time with you, expect to make other new friends...

But back to the newspaper. In about 15 pages is a full-page advertisement for the dale of NIKON cameras,lenses, and flashes here at the shop. The savings over the rrp are truly amazing - the Nikon people have a new emphasis on shopping for their products locally, and we are fully supportive of this.

You'll see a great selection of bodies - both DX and FX, and a good spread of prices to match entry, enthusiast, and pro level. The flashes are a screaming woot woot steal of a bargain - I use two of them myself - -and there are some gems amongst the lenses.

We're racing to the end of the financial year - an occasion when even the staid accountant will relax and  tell you to go out and spend. This is a good chance to get real value for your...or someone else's...money. I have found Nikon equipment to be a sound trouble-free investment over the years and good glass like this is never out of photographic fashion.

PS: Those of you Sherlockians who correctly observe the leading image will be able to tell me the name of the ship. Go on - this is an intellectual challenge...

A Special Treat For You, My Dear - Care To Try One?

With apologies to Uncle Walt for the leading image...here is a report on three new lenses on the Camera Electronic shelves.

Rokinon is not a name that has cropped up here in the shop before. We got to see some of their DSLR lenses recently and were mightily impressed. So much so that we ordered some to test out - both in Nikon and Canon mounting.

The first is the longest - the Rokinon 85mm f:1.4 lens. It would appear to be full-frame, and is available in either mount. The lens is purely manual focus with a well-damped action on the focusing ring. It is marked as focusing as close as 1 metre and the infinity mark is floating to cope with variation. The lens mount is metal, finely machined, and since the lens is MF anyway, suitable for darn near any Nikon DSLR or film SLR.

Aperture is click-stopped to f:22. The lens barrel is very finely finished and I note that the basic barrel structure is cold metal. A lens hood, and F/R caps are supplied.

The 24mm lens by Rokinon is F:1.4 - that is exciting as it is. Very similar construction to the 85mm but with a petal lens hood and a red trim ring. Closest focus is 25 cm. (!). It is a weighty lens - there is a good barrel and a lot of glass in there. Not an inconsiderable thing to carry. Remember that it too is purely manual focus.

Shortest of the lenses is the 14mm f:2.8 Aspherical. It is an extremely wide-angle experience for Nikon users and is a little daunting with the forward bulge of glass. You can't detach the petal lens hood, and filters might be problematical, but it will certainly gather in all you want from an interior or landscape shot. I count 13 elements on the lens diagram.

Best news of all is that photographers can experiment with these lenses without risking the bank account - the 85mm is $ 399 - the 14mm is $ 499 and the 24mm is $ 749. That is as cheap as chips and chips aren't multicoated...unless you count the salt.

And in case you are wondering, the model is Amanda and in real life she is the sweetest person in Perth - nothing at all like the wicked queen.

More Than Just A Change Of Clothes - New Sigma

I have been watching the Sigma range of lenses over the last five years - not just as a salesperson, but as a user of their wide angle 8-16mm lens on my Nikon camera. As I explained before, I spent my own money to buy one, use it in the studio and at weddings and car shows*, and amdelighted with the results.

In examining the lenses, I have noted a constant change in the presentation of them. of course the mounts - whether Nikon, Canon, Pentax, etc - remain constant, but the barrel finish and control rings seem to change quite a lot. I've seen smooth aluminium anodising, matt plastic surface, crinkled paint surface, and any number of patterns for the rubber rings. Some of these seem to be more successful than others in resisting the grubbiness of he fingers that grip them.

What intrigued me today in looking for a blog topic was a comparison between the 30mm f:1.4 lens of six months ago with the current new 30mm f:1.4 Art lens. The barrel finish is different - sure - and the mounts are the same - sure - but the big surprise comes in looking at the front element.

I had expected to see the same glass in each mount. No way - the filter thread is 62ø in each case but the front element size in the new Art lens is half the area of the older lens. Both are coated, of course. If they are both f:1.4, and the exit pupil of each lens is roughly the same,  how the heck can one be half the size of the other?

Different lens formulation is my guess - so we are not just getting the old wine in a new bottle. As the 30mm focal length is perfect for my DX-sized camera...equating to 45mm in the old film camera speak...I think it is time to do some real personal studio tests on the new Art lens to see what it produces. I shall report.

Uncle Dick