Lumière d’Argent

Hey! That’s complete news to me! When I ordered the TS-E lenses, it was clear in my mind that it was to replace the movements I had with the view camera as well as getting great lenses. It implied using them only on tripod. Well, no. With a TS-E, movements can very easily be used hand-held. That’s a complete new world for me!

Stephane :: Nov.28.2006 :: Gear :: No Comments »

OK, so I sold most of my film cameras and lenses. I kept the Leica M6. I probably always will. Anyway, that returned me a good 5,000 Euro ($6,400) to spend on lenses. Wow! I already have a 50mm and a 28mm I got for almost nothing in a second hand shop. So I first made a list. I had 10 lenses! Ridiculous, I know. The syndrome of wanting everything, I guess. I posted a question on dpreview.com to read about others experiences with the lenses in that list. Of course, it turned into an advice giving. Most were quite good, some excellent. But in the end still had a ridiculously long list of lenses:
First, the 24mm and 45mm TS-E lenses for landscapes. Coming from a view camera it sounded all logical.
For portraiture, I had selected the 85/1.8, 135/2.8 and 200/2.8.
And for ‘tourism’ I had selected the 24/2.8 and 35/2 as complements of the above.
Then, the budget allowing it, I added the 1.4x converter to complement the TS-E nicely and a 20/2.8 for the odd ultra-wide fun.
Right.
When the thread on dpreview came to its conclusion, I sat and thought a bit.
Of course I don’t need all those lenses.
Then I started the other way around. The right way, I dare say. What do I want to do? Well, 3 things: landscapes, portraits and what I’ll call casual tourist-like picture taking.
For portraiture, I most probably won’t use the 200mm very much. I had selected it thinking it would give a nice reach for different occasions, but in the last 5 years, the longest lens I’ve used is equivalent to a 90mm. So, the 135 will be more than enough. I scraped the 200.
Then the ‘tourism’ complement lenses. With a 28 and a 50, plus the 85 I keep in the list, frankly, I’m all set. There go the 24/2.8 and 35/2. I had selected them because they are so cheap while of quite high quality. Since they are cheap, if I really miss them I’ll buy then.
The left the 24 TS-E, 45 TS-E, 85/1.8 and 135/2.8. Plus the 1.4 converter. Much better.
That left a nice part of cash too.
So I decided to finally do what I wanted to do for some time now: get a nice set of studio lighting. And so I ordered a pair of Elinchrom D-Lite 400 and an nice assortment of umbrellas, boxes, reflectors, diffusers and stands. I can’t wait to explore portraiture.

Stephane :: Nov.11.2006 :: Gear :: No Comments »

Not wanting to get religious, here. During my first Canon phase, with the excellent EOS 650, 50 and 3, I used to use zooms. I even had the wonderful 28-70 f/2.8 L. This lens was excellent, I only have good memories of it, save the weight. The bulk attracted too much attention too, but I felt the compromise was good.

Since then, I have moved to a Leica M6, then to a Rollei SL66 and then to a view camera. Of course, none of these cameras take zooms. It did wonders.

I have learned to look, seek and see with defined angles of view. More importantly, I have separated the angle selection from the triggering moment. With the Canon, my shots had most often nothing in it because I consistently missed what was interesting, or relevant or whatever. I was zooming. It really distracted me too much and with the Leica I was concentrating on what was in front of me instead of fiddling with the camera and the zoom.

This has been reinforced by the medium format experience.

I am sure zooms are a great asset for many photographers. I understand they save time to people able to use them well. I was not one of them. I cant see what changed since. But I am not getting any zoom for my new Canon. It might be worth it to try again, but I just don’t want to hold such a heavy thing again. Getting back hand-hold-ability with my main camera, I prefer to keep concentrating on what is in front of me than getting distracted by the weight, the bulk and that extra control that I don’t really need.

Stephane :: Nov.02.2006 :: Gear :: No Comments »