Leica M9 traded for the new Leica M, new Fuji X-Pro1 M-Mount Adapter:

I finally did it…I finally went to my camera dealer, and traded (well, actually put on consignment) my Leica M9 in order to purchase the new Leica M.  It was bittersweet: I love the M9 but at the same time, I really want the new Leica M (a silver chrome one this time 🙂 ).  I was thinking about selling my M9 on Ebay or Craigslist but with something that expensive, I just felt safer if it went into dealer hands.  Since I was there, I also purchased something for my X-Pro1 :).

What did I purchase?  I got to play with a lot of other stuff, and ended up purchasing the Fuji X-Pro1 M-mount lens adapter.  I was never really that intrigued by it until I was playing around with it at my camera dealer.  I was afraid the manual focusing would be kind of difficult but it’s actually not that bad.  Now I can use some of my Leica M lenses on my X-Pro1!  So far, I’ve tried the 35 Summicron ASPH, and my lovely 75 Summilux.  The 75 Lux produced amazing results!  Maybe I can borrow some Zeiss or Voigtlander lenses, and do some reviews with them on the X-Pro1 in the future.  Those lenses would also make great alternatives to the Fuji line of lenses, and they’re not as expensive as Leica lenses.

I’m going to try, and squeeze out a review/my impressions of the Fuji X-Pro1 M-mount lens adapter soon.  Fall has been quite busy for me but hopefully it will get better in November, especially when I finally get my hands on the new Fuji X-E1 :).  I hope everyone is having a great Fall, and preparing for some nasty weather coming soon from Hurricane Sandy.  Take care!

Photo of The Day: Sunset at Roosevelt Island With My Fuji X100:

Hey everyone.  This is a photo I shot with my Fuji X100 taken at F4.  I used 200 ISO.  This was a RAW file with very little tweaking, and no filters added.  I was doing a little more exploring around Roosevelt Island, and I manage to take a quick shot of the sunset before it quickly vanished, which was beautiful btw.  The calmness of the water, the slight mistiness of the atmosphere, and the nice overall glow kind of reminded me of one of my early morning days fishing during Spring.  It was a very rainy day but I guess it ended pretty good :).

As some of you know, these are going to be some of my last shots with the Fuji X100 because I’m selling it to help fund a new Fuji X-E1.  It’s almost hard to believe but in many ways, I’m looking forward to the new X-E1 even more so than my pre-order for the new Leica M, which is kind of weird because I’m a huge Leica fan.  I have no doubt that the Leica M will be phenomenal!  But the X-E1 is $1000!  Plus it has the same sensor as the X-Pro1, which I completely love (you can check out my X-Pro1 review).  I’ve been reading a lot of great things about the X-E1, and while the X100 definitely still has a place in the Fuji X-Series lineup, I think I would just have more use for the X-E1.

I’m thinking that I will be very productive on FindingRange.com this Fall with so much to write about, and so many photos to take :)!  Only a few more weeks before the release of the Fuji X-E1 in the U.S., and a few more months until Leica releases the sucessor to the M9: the Leica M.  I can’t wait!  Take care everyone!

Panorama Shots With The Fuji X100:

I’ve been using my Fuji X100 quite a bit for these past few weeks mainly because I’m about to sell it in order to help purchase a Fuji X-E1.  I put up an ad for it recently, and I was actually quite surprised at how many responses I got for the X100.  It made me second guess my decision for a bit but in the end, I really want an X-E1, and there is no point in keeping the X100 if I get one.  Since I don’t have to worry about whether someone will buy it, I have decided to take the ad down, enjoy the X100 a bit more, and sell it after or near the release of the X-E1. [continue reading…]

Photo of The Day: More Film Shot With a Leica M3:

I hope everyone has been doing well.  Here is another shot I actually took when I was a lot younger…in high school actually :).  I always liked this photo, and I thought I might as well scan it.  In fact, I’ve been scanning a lot of my older photos into my computer just for the heck of it.  It’s been really fun…I’ve been going scanning crazy lately :).  I plan on processing my next roll of Kodak Ektar this week so stay tuned for that.  This photo was taken with a Leica M3, 50 Summicron and Fujicolor Superia 800.

I’ve been having a blast shooting film!  It’s weird because when I went digital, I thought that I would never look back.  But film has proved to be both rewarding and very challenging.  I am definitely more aware of what I’m shooting because I only have 36 exposures per roll lol.  Man, I can’t believe I even shot with medium format back in the day, which only has 12 to 10 exposures per roll.  I still want to improve on scanning the film but I guess that just takes practice, little experimentation, and a bit of patience.

I plan on taking my Leica M3 out again soon.  I still think it’s absolutely the best Leica out there, and if you’re a 50mm guy, it’s probably the best M for you since it has a 0.91x magnification.  It’s just a bit harder to use now because my hand held meter died from years of storage, and my guessing isn’t as good as it use to be since I’ve been relying on modern technology to do the work for me.  Well, I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Thanks for stopping by!