TGIF…it’s been a crazy week here and I know I posted some fun links on Monday but I wanted to get back on track and post my links on Friday again! Also, Q&A Wednesday will be back on Wednesday next week! I will have a couple of new reviews next week along with some cool posts, some awesome daily inspirations, and even maybe a surprise or two 🙂 For now, here are some links I would like to share…
50 Summitar Images & Ebay Deal!
One of the readers of this site sent me a link to her blog which features a bunch of images taken with the amazing and classic Leica 50 Summitar. I LOVE this lens and since my last review of it I noticed that most of the deals on e-bay have vanished. To check out the 50 Summitar images from Emily Godwin, click HERE.
Speaking of the 50 Summitar, One did just pop up on e-bay from a seller in New Zealand. Bid is up to .99 cents!
More M9…
For all of you seeking more M9 images and info, my friend Thorsten Overgaard has updated his Leica M9 pages with info and images from his recent New York trip/seminar. You can see that page here but be warned, if you do not have an M9 it will only add to the lust for one 🙂 Also, remember his extension course is there if you are interested in improving your photography!
The Leica X1…
More X1’s have been shipping and they are now in the hands of quite a few photographers. Here is a site with some cool X1 images…
Miscelaneous…
How about this? I may be able to get one of these setups in a couple of weeks for my long road trip from Chicago to Arizona (along with some other Leica goodies to review). I will be out in the desert for a few days and I think this would be pretty interesting to try out. You can see some images taken with the above set up at the Leica Birding Blog. Very cool stuff. The image above is from that blog and is a Leica D-Lux 4 attached to a Leica APO-Televid 82. What is cool is that you can get some amazing images AND video with this setup.
With my “wedding with an M9” post last week (see it here) I had a few e-mails from a few brides to be asking if I would shoot their wedding. I have not shot one in a while (yes, I have done weddings before as a pro) and the one I did last week was actually fun. I also had a few e-mails from some wedding pros who have ordered an M9 to add to their wedding kit. I think this is a great idea. If you are a DSLR shooter you can also get a few shots with the M9 as I think it excels for candids and personally, I work faster and more accurately with an M9 than a DSLR but this comes from daily rangefinder use. The point of this post though is that if you are going to shoot a wedding, do not shoot them like this.
Fast Primes are bitchin’…
Someone who loves fast primes as much as I do!
The Ipad cometh!
Apple is now taking orders for the Ipad!
Hot cameras, lenses used deals.. IN STOCK….
Well, if you want one..go get it. Yep, the Leica S2 is IN STOCK at B&H photo. The last one they had sold out in a day or two. Let’s see how long this one lasts.
B&H Photo just listed a Leica 21 Elmarit ASPH, used, in a 9 out of 10 condition. $2499 – Go get it. They also have the older non-asph version (which I prefer) for $1,899.
I saw the blue Olympus E-PL1 the other day and really liked its look and feel. If I were to buy one, I think I would get this color. The E-PL1 is the Olympus answer to the Panasonic GF1 and at only $599 it’s a really great price for this camera. If you want to get in on m4/3, this may be the model to go with!
One other camera that has been raising alot of eyebrows recently is the Ricoh GXR. This interchangeable lens/sensor is a very unique camera system and there are some amazing possibilities with it in the future. I hope to be getting one of these for review in the next week or so and I may be keeping it if it is as good as I hear. I am looking for a new compact for my bag and it will be between the GXR, Leica X1 and Olympus E-PL1. Not sure which will win but I have a feeling the Ricoh may win me over with its build and versatilty. I have also seen rumors of a Leica M module which would allow you to mount your M lenses. That would be pretty freaking cool!
Amazon is selling the whole GXR line…
Ricoh A12 50mm f/2.5 Macro GR Lens with APS-C 12.3 MP CMOS Sensor – $830
Ricoh VF-2 External Viewfinder for GXR Camera System – $257
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Hope you enjoyed the links! If you have a cool site, blog or just know of some cool links, feel free to submit them to me HERE!
FWIW I have an Apo Televid 77 and an the optical adapter that directly mounts an SLR body to the scope. It’s not a digiscoping adapter because it replaces the eyepiece. I don’t have it handy but recall it turns the scope into something like an 800/f:9 lens.
Ah, found it here:
http://www.companyseven.com/leica/televcam.html
With this adapter and a camera body one uses the scope’s focusing system (which is pretty responsive, with separate coarse and fine focus wheels). I don’t use it much because it doesn’t balance well with a fairly heavy slr body and it’s a very dim view in the finder–not condusive to accurate focusing! I suspect that when I spring for a µ4/3 body it will work much better, maybe ideal. The combo will be much quicker (more responsive) than waiting for a compact digicam to acquire a focus through the eyepiece.
I do have an LX3 but don’t feel like springing for the adapter when for just a bit more I can get a µ4/3 body and t-mount adapter. That seems like a much better path.
re. The Rockwell quote above, I see he never bothered reading the LX3 manual, huh? Something about getting page views being more important than being useful.
Hey Hugo, I just prefer the rendering of it. I used to own it when I had the M8 and enjoyed it. The ASPH version was a but more contrasty so I preferred the NON ASPH.
Steve, why do you prefer the non-ASPH 21mm to the newer ASPH? I’m looking at that lens atm to buy.
Ken Rockwell is so wrong on the S90. The D-Lux 4/LX3 blows it away in almost every category. Build, IQ, versatility. Maybe if he actually used a D-Lux 4 he would see that. The LX3 or D-Lux 4 can be used with the Televid.
Boy, ain’t I persistent!
Ken Rockwell favors the Canon S 90 over LX3/D-LUX 4, arguing as follows:
“the Leica D-Lux 4 (Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3K) lacks the emancipating direct control rings of the S90. Sure, the Leicasonic has a control switch around the lens for cropping, but no ability to control anything useful around the lens as does a real camera or the S90.
“This lack of direct control, and the suffocatingly complex menu system of the Leicasonic that replaces the direct controls of the S90, relegates the Leicasonic to the consumer electronics aisle, not the photography aisle.”
What’s a good counter-argument ? And if one decided on a Canon S 90, would it be easily usable with an APO-televid 82 ?
Another question:
Am I right to suppose the Panasonic LX3 can replace the D-LUX 4 with no adaptation on the APO-televid 82 ?
I might be tempted into the market for the latter and one of the former, because I would love to capture images of birds and other wild creatures.
Hey Frank, I am not sure about using the M9 with the televid due to it being a rangefinder. How would you focus and frame the shot? You do not see through the lens with an M9. With an X1 and D-Lux 4 you would be able to use the LCD to frame the shot, and with the d-lux 4, even take video.
Thx
There’s a an entry on Leica Camera Forum which claims that the X1 camera needs a generic adaptor to be used with a APO-televid 82, but that once you have that adaptor the scope gives better results with the X1 than with the D-LUX 4. What about the M9 ?
Hi, Steve and to all your wonderful readers. I’ve only read about the Leica APO-televid being used with D-LUX 4 and or some other compact point & shoot type. What about larger (but still small) cameras with more IQ, such as the M9? Would there be any insurmountable problem or nerve-wracking pain in the ass?
Steve, reading some of your posts is akin to torture 🙂 I’m planning to go to New York within the year because I haven’t been since 2000 and I want to go mad with my D-Lux 4! Thorsten’s post on his course in NYC makes me wanna go right now!! What a wonderful post. I may just have to rent an M9 for a day while I’m there after see Thorsten’s students work.
I got all excited too about the Leica APO-Televid 82 attached to a D-Lux 4 as that’s all I have for the moment, but then noticed that it’s 4 times the price of my camera! 🙂 Look forward to seeing your results though. Does that Leica APO-Televid 82 attach to an M9 as well? (forgive me ignorance).
Hope you’re able to get a GXR for review; I’d really look forward to reading your “real world” opinion of it. My digital compact of choice is a Ricoh GX200, and I love the build quality and interface of Ricoh’s products. Image quality on the GX200 is just okay for a compact, but I’ve heard the S10 module for the GXR is much improved, probably using the same sensor as the Canon S90. And I’ve seen downright amazing pictures using the A12 module at ISO3200.
If someday Ricoh really does manage a GXR module with a full-frame or APS-C sensor that I could use my 50mm Summilux on, I would be sold in a heartbeat!