Happy New Year to all! I appreciate all who come here, so thank you!

December 31, 2015 News 35

Happy New Year to all! I appreciate all who come here, so thank you!

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Hello to all! Here we are, New Years Eve 2015. Another great year has flown by and another amazing year is on the way. It’s funny but in 2015 I took some time off of this site to work on other projects in my life and this site did better than ever in 2015. Crazy! Without all of you here every day I would not be here, so it is YOU, ALL OF YOU who make this site a success and a joy for me to work on each and every day.

It seems many new shooters found my site this year, so welcome! Also, in 2015 this site brought in some new site sponsors such as JB DESIGNS, TENBA BAGS, 4 SHINY BUTTONS, WOTANCRAFT and HOLD FAST GEAR. Long time sponsors are still here as well…Ken Hansen, PopFlash.com, CameraQuest.com and LensRentals.com.  So thank you to all sponsors as well! Without them, I would not be able to pay for  this site every month to keep it live.

I also want to give a HUGE personal thank you to those here who have used my links to B&H Photo or Amazon this year. By using my B&H Link HERE or my Amazon link HERE when you buy something, ANYTHING (even paper towels) I get a few cents on each dollar that also helps to maintain this site.

In case some of you were unaware, this site has been my full-time career for 7 years now. It is what I do. All I do to earn a living. When you see me using new cameras every month or two or three it is because I review them 😉 If at anytime you are curious as to what I use for my personal gear at this time, check out the MY GEAR page HERE. This is what I use for my personal photography day in and day out. Right now it is the Leica SL (used to be an M 240) and Sony A7RII as my main go to cameras. I also use my Olympus E-M5 II with the 8mm fisheye and 7-14 pro quite often. Lovely cameras, all of them.

But today there really are no wrong choices when it comes to what camera YOU will buy. Any enthusiast or pro model will be amazing. Most cameras sold today are superb regardless of price but the upper end gets you more resolution, better IQ, better build, features, etc. All one needs to do is look at what is available and go with what speaks to them in their price range. If you love the camera you shoot, it does not matter what anyone else thinks of it. 😉 Remember that.

I get asked all the time if constantly shooting new cameras for review kills my passion for the craft..well, sometimes it does but it never lasts longer than a week. I get in slumps as we all do but always break out of it and get re-motivated to shoot. This weekend I will be out shooting with my good friend Ashwin Rao, who many of you know from his own work, website and this site as he has been writing for me for years and years. Kurt Kamka who many of you may know will also be with us. My passion is alive and well, and I look forward to any shooting time I can get in.

Lately I have been stuck in my house every day due to some remodeling and construction I have to oversee but with all of that now completed, which is why the last couple of posts have shows comparison images of my dogs, yard, etc. I will be heading on full forge in January with new posts, new reviews and some new surprises. So expect this site to grow even more in 2016. Funny as this site started as a hobby using an Apple iWeb site. Shows what can happen when you have a passion and stick to it, regardless if you make a dollar or not, and believe me, I made practically nothing for 4-5 years! But it was all worth it as this site is still my baby, my pride and joy and it is nice to know that even when I am dead and gone I will make sure all of my reviews, posts and articles will always remain online. Yes, this site will never die, even when I do 😉 I look forward to being 80 years old and writing my thoughts on whatever image making device we have available, even if by then I have an audience of 10 or 1 million. SO yes, this is my passion and will always remain just as it has my entire life.

Site Stats: Over 120 MILLION views and 123,879 comments since the 1st post on this version II site which started in 2009, a year after the original site which is now gone. 

I HAVE YOU TO THANK FOR THIS SO THANK YOU ALL!!! I promise to do my best in 2016 to deliver honest, exciting and thorough real world reviews and reports! Around 20 million visitors per year, or an average of 1.6 million per month since November of 2009. Wonder what my 1st post ever on this site was? See it HERE or check out the INDEX of EVERY POST ever HERE. 

Coming in January 2016: A fresh look at the Jupiter 8 and 9 lenses, as used on the Leica SL and Sony A7 series. Without the RF focus issues of these Jupiter lenses, they perform amazingly well on newer EVF cameras such as the SL and A7RII or A7SII. Take a look below at a shot from the cheap Jupiter 9, which is an 85mm lens that I bought for $50-$70 or so if I remember correctly. Sure, its from my yard again but as stated, I have been stuck in all week!

The Jupiter 9 on the SL CAN BE quite nice. It has a rounded rendering but also has some bite to it with the SL sensor. I paid around $70 for this lens. It has a stiff sticky focus ring, is beat to hell and looks like crap but it works 😉 

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Debby with the Jupiter 9 at f/2 on the SL – click it for more details

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The Jupiter 8 which is the 50 f/2 model (that costs me $30) also does very nice on the SL  – click it for sharper version, same as above. 

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The Jupiter 8 on the SL

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Also coming in January, a new look at the Zeiss 50 1.5 Sonnar ZM lens on the SL and A7RII. I will also look at the Voigtlander 35 1.2 M lens, a classic on both cameras as well. Always nice to see some old fave lenses on new bodies to see how they hold up as each camera will render images differently, even with the same lenses! Going  to be fun. I will also be reviewing the ICE LIGHT 2 (overpriced) and a super cool Wotancraft Watch band for the Apple Watch. I love it.

Wotancraft not only makes amazing bags, they make amazing leather watch bands. Here is one they made me for my Apple Watch. You can browse their watch band collection HERE. If you want an Apple Watch band, you can email them a request for any band they make. (Apple Watch bands are not yet up on their website).

See wotancraft.com here

In addition there will always be amazing guest posts, news tidbits and the daily inspiration series (which is never really daily but spread out to 3-4 per week). I want to once again thank all visitors, all guest contributors, all sponsors and all who have shared links, posts and all of that good stuff. I even thank the trolls here as you provided some ridiculous entertainment through the year for me. I may ban you and delete the troll comments but they are so silly I always get a laugh out of them. My fave from this year? “I guess Sony missed this month’s payoff to you, now you like the Leica“.. That made me laugh as NO CAMERA COMPANY pays me to write reviews or say good things. In fact, most of them tell me”BE HONEST” which is in their best interest. It is also why some cameras are not reviewed here as if I do not like them, I would rather not waste my time or week reviewing them. I like to review what I love, and I hate negativity in life, in any form, so if you do not see a mirrorless camera reviewed here it is simply because I did not like it when I tried it, and I try them all. Easy 🙂

ANYWAY….

I hope ALL of you had a great 2015 and I am spreading good vibes for all of you to have an even better 2016. I do not know why but I think 2016 is going to be the best ever for STEVEHUFFPHOTO.COM!

Be safe tonight if you head out for New Years Eve festivities! I will be spending it with family and friends in my home and will most likely be taking tomorrow and the weekend off, so see ya next week! BE SAFE!!!!

Steve

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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35 Comments

  1. Happy New Year Steve! Would you mind explaining the details of the fireworks photo in this post? it looks like it may be a composite image, but I’m not certain. In any case, I’m interested to know your settings and how you captured the shot.

    Thanks!

  2. Steve, Happy New Year.

    I agree absolutely with Karim.
    I am an occasional visitor to your site and would enter a plea that your correspondents are a bit nicer to each other in 2016! It seems to me that a lot of them are a pretty impolite bunch either with regard to camera or professional envy/criticism. It often depresses me to see what petty and rude things people say to each other.
    Criticise each other’s work and the cameras we use of course but let’s make a resolution to do it in a more respectful way in 2016.
    Kind regards
    David

  3. Hello Steve,

    Happy new year to you and the persons who are precious to you. Thank you for being an inspiration in the world of photography and your honest way of communicating.

    Kind regards, Robert

  4. Hope you and your family had a good New Year, appreciate all the work you put in with your website and videos.
    I enjoy reading your views on equipment, and photography in general, as well as the views from all those who comment and post images here.
    Thanks.

  5. Happy New Year, Steve, and thank you for such an informative and entertaining site.

    I’m glad you persevered all those years. Some people might have just given up. But if you keep going with something you love, it pays off, one way or another. 🙂

    It would be nice if we got no antagonism at all, but sadly now and then we get some people – usually more indignant than mean-spirited – who temporarily kill the buzz. Even then, it doesn’t matter. Thank goodness we – and our cameras – are not all the same!

  6. Thank you for your great site and a Happy New Year to you and your family, looking forward to this site in 2016.

  8. Happy new year to you and Debby. You deserve the success! You have created something unique, all based on your own interests and values. It’s an invaluable resource for many, including myself!

  9. Happy new year to you and everyone! Love this site as I always drop by almost everyday to see if there is something new to read. I can’t imagine the time you spend keeping this site alive.

  11. Keep up the amazing work man. You made me love my Sony a6000 even more, buy an RX1r (even 2 years after it came out), sell it again to buy the Leica Q .. I hunted the Leica Q in whole Europe as its always hard to get and a company from Germany brought it to me to Vienna in person .. kind of an effort … you kinda stressed me out with all this, but you know what? It was totally worth it! Thanks to you I finally have “my” camera!

    Keep doing what you are doing, love life, avoid negativity and have a wonderful 2016!

  12. My very best wishes to Steve, Brandon and everybody in the community. I hope that we all can enjoy our gear to the fullest in 2016 and that we can have more interesting articles and healthy and respectful exchanges of views!

  13. Happy New Year, Steve! Thank you for doing this great job (would love to earn my living from testing cameras 🙂 This site distinguishes itself from the lots of others by real practical experience / reviews rather than all the laboratory tests (which are intersting, but only so much…). I like your enthusiasm about the cameras you choose to review, although that is not helping GAS… I thought I was beyond GAS, when I got my A7R a couple of years ago. Then you reviewed the A7RII and I got thinking. Then you reviewed the Leica SL and I was thinking again. With your advice and actual hands-on view at my trusted local dealer (who luckily has both Leica and Sony on stock) I decided for the A7RII just after Christmas. (whilst the SL felt great, it didn’t feel right for me, irrespective of the 4400€ price difference, which it would have cost me including M-Adapter and spare batteries) Of what I have seen since then with my set of Voigtländer, Leica and Zeiss M lenses is fantastic… maybe I am cured now (for the next couple of years)…

    …anyway thank you for creating this intersting and entertaining site. Happy New Year to you, your wife, Brandon and all your loved ones!

  15. Great site! Always a pleasure to stop by and read something interesting or take a look at a great picture!

  19. I only click on 2 sites everyday and your’s is one of them. I’ve followed since the old site, when I look at the index page and click on any of the old reviews, I read them and remember them like they were yesterday, sometimes crossing off the days, I remember waiting for the M240 and now i guess it’s waiting for the new M. You, Debbie and your family, we’re watched them growth up, it’s a privalige to be let in. Thank you very much, I only wish I had then same enthusiasm for my day job!, your a lucky Bas**** for that, but behind the luck is a lot of talent for photography and telling the story of whatever product your reviewing at the time. Happy new year to you all.

  22. I have you to thank for all the fun I have had with my M8. Still using it today.Great to see you still have that passion you showed then .
    Happy new year

  25. Hi Steve!

    Thx for your efforts and time taken in 2015 to review all those great cameras
    in the (almost) past year.

    Wish you good health to read your reviews up to your 80s.
    🙂

  30. Steve
    Great reviews as always.
    I bought all cameras and lens after seeing your review for the last 3 years and never visit any camera stores. Again, I try to pre-order SL from Ken. Wish you and family Happy New Year!

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