Fuji XF 16mm F1.4 R Lens Review Coming Soon:

I’ve had a very busy start to the summer, which I guess is a good thing.  It’s better to have more to do than nothing at all, right?  I’ve been reacquainting myself with old friends and meeting new ones.  I’ve been doing a lot of fishing and archery.  I’ve been going out a lot lately, and photographic wise, I’ve been having a blast with the Hasselblad 503CW.  I have to say, I am quite obsessed with medium format film right now.  I sent some film out for process and scanning, so I should have more photos to post here soon.  The good thing about this obsession is it’s actually gotten me to pick up my Leica M6 again.  Lastly, I’ve been testing the Fuji XF 16mm F1.4 R lens and while my review is not ready yet, I have to say that this is one killer lens. [continue reading…]

Leica 21mm Summilux ASPH Review Up Very Soon:

I spent last weekend working on my Leica 21mm Summilux review, so that’s why there hasn’t been new content in the past few days on my site.  I should be done soon (maybe even by tomorrow), and I would’ve finished earlier but it turns out that it has become larger than I originally planned.  It will be one of the bigger reviews with plenty of photos to accompany it.  I guess this review is great timing too because there’s a newly announce Leica Monochrom Typ 246 ;).  The 21mm Summilux ASPH would make a great lens for the Monochrom Typ 246.

While I’ve been working hard on my 21mm Summilux review, I did take a couple of breaks to shoot with my recently purchased Hasselblad 503CW and I have to say, it’s been quite fun to use.  To me, film is not better than digital.  I personally love digital photography but I think both mediums are important to photography.  Film is just different but a nice change from the faster pace of digital, and sometimes I feel like I need that.

I definitely haven’t taken any great photos with the Hasselblad yet :).  I’m still testing out the camera to make sure it works properly and to experiment in general, since the last time I shot medium format film was probably 20 years ago.  But even when I don’t take a great photo, I’m super happy with just going through the process of creating that photo.  The slower pace of film is nice.  There’s a lot of satisfaction in just taking that one shot because even a mediocre photo takes some sort of effort and planning, especially since there are only 12 shots per roll.  Plus, the camera does have some unique quirks that let’s just say, take some getting used to ;).  I plan to post some scans up soon but I’m waiting to shoot a few rolls first, so I can send them all out at once for processing.  So, it may take a while before I get any of those scans up on my site but I will definitely keep you all updated.

Anyway, this post was actually to talk about my upcoming Leica 21mm Summilux review but I guess I drifted off into a completely different topic ;).  So, yes my 21mm Lux review will be coming out sometime this week for those who are interested in Leica gear.  Thanks for stopping by!

 Hasselblad 503CW Millennium Camera:

I’m sure I mentioned several times here (I know I’ve spoken to a few of you through email) that I used to shoot with a Mamiya 6 and 6MF and how much I missed them.  There is just something about medium format film that I love and no matter how technologically advanced digital gets over the years, I still can’t seem to shake the medium format film bug.  I don’t necessarily think one is better than the other; I just think that each format or/and medium are unique and should be equally appreciated for their qualities and strengths.  Well, I finally couldn’t take it anymore, so I “bit the bullet” as they say; for those who are not on my Instagram account, I bought an absolutely mint condition Hasselblad 503CW Millennium camera with matching 80mm CFE Planar lens. [continue reading…]

Photo Gear I’m Bringing With Me to Japan:

In a few hours, I will be on a plane to Japan.  I haven’t been there in over a decade, so I’m interested to see what’s new, and I can’t wait to see what has changed.  I also can’t wait to eat the food there because it is quite good.  Lastly, I will definitely be checking out the camera stores just to see some of those old film collectibles.  I will be taking a lot of pictures when I’m there but I also want to enjoy my visit.  I know I will be doing a lot of walking, so I don’t want to be burdened with too much gear. [continue reading…]