The My New Leica M 240 Finally Arrived! Very VERY First Impressions:

Hey everyone!  Great news!  I just came back from Bergen County Camera, and check out what I brought home with me?  It’s the new Leica M or Type 240 as some refer to it.  I am so excited to finally get my copy!  I’ve been driving in traffic all day (Bergen County Camera is in NJ, and I live in NY), and I haven’t even eaten anything yet lol.  First impressions?  It’s a bit bigger than the M9 but also a little heavier, which is nice.  The leather wrapping around the camera is much gripper, and it feels much nicer than the M9-P.  The new screen looks good, and the silver color is awesome…what else is there to say other than…it’s great to have a digital M back in my hands!  It really is…

↑ Here’s a quick snap of the back view of the new Leica M.  Leica finally updated the screen.

I’m currently charging the battery (btw the battery is bigger, which is another plus), and I’m hoping to get out there tonight to do a little shooting.  I haven’t manual focused a lens since I sold my M9 back in October…wonder if I still can do it lol. I really can’t wait to take some photos with my new Leica M.  If I get anything tonight, I’ll post some stuff up, and give you all a better first impression.

So anyway, more maybe later tonight, and definitely tomorrow!  Right now, I’m going to get some food in me…although I must admit that I’m a bit too excited to eat :).  I will definitely be doing a review of the Leica M soon…a mutli-page/multi-post review over my time with the camera.  I think a camera like this deserves a bit more attention :).  Thanks for stopping by!  More later!

X-E1 vs. OM-D E-M5 Part 2: Fuji XF 35mm F1.4 vs. Panasonic 25mm F1.4:

Welcome to part 2 of my Fuji X-E1 vs. Olympus OM-D E-M5 comparison.  For those who did not read part 1, and want to start there, you can check it out.  In part 1, I compare the two camera bodies, whereas in this part, I discuss two of the most popular lenses for these two camera bodies: The Fuji XF 35mm F1.4 R lens, and the Panasonic 25mm F1.4 Summilux.

So just to recap, I had a chance to borrow the OM-D along with a choice of lenses, and I thought to myself, I definitely need to get my hands on that Panasonic 25mm.  First off, I’m a 50mm kind of guy, and second, it’s one of the lenses I always keep hearing about.  Plus, wouldn’t it be cool to compare the Panny with the XF 35mm?  Both are exceptionally sharp, they each have gobs of character, and who doesn’t love a fast aperture lens?

So, I ran a few tests to see what I could come up with.  Obviously, whether one lens is sharper than another doesn’t really matter because it’s not like you could put the Panny onto your X-E1.  Plus, both these are top tier lenses.  So, what I did was spend less time on build quality, image quality etc. because we all know already that these two lenses are awesome, and spent more time on how these two lenses compared with each other in terms of their ability to create a very shallow depth of field.  This comparison is just for fun, so let’s see what we got. [continue reading…]

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 I would like to thank Patrick Leong for inviting me to contribute to FindingRange.com

Me being a Hypocrite with my Leica M3

I am writing this post because I am getting a feeling that photography is becoming more and more about the gear, and less and less about the photographs. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about…

Don’t get me wrong, it’s quite amazing when new cameras come out with never-before-seen features, and they blow everybody’s mind but that’s not really what photography is about, is it?

The first thing you need to do, is look through the viewfinder. If your camera doesn’t have a viewfinder, go and buy a new camera 😉

Looking through the viewfinder and then squeezing the shutter release button at the perfect moment is the only thing you should really be thinking about. Lenses, cameras, sensors, film, tripods, filters, lens hoods, flashes and all the rest are a distant second. 

No amount of gear will make you take better pictures. The only way to improve your photography is to improve yourself as a human being. Develop your imagination, look at images from the masters, read, and most importantly, get out there and shoot! 

 But whatever you do, don’t just shoot…Think!  [continue reading…]

Fuji X-E1 Vs. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Part 1:

The Fuji X-Pro1 has always been compared to the Olympus OM-D with good reason: Along with different cameras from other manufacturers, such as, Sony, they’re at the top of the mirrorless class.  However, the problem with the X-Pro1 was that it was always priced way to high to compete fairly with the OM-D.  To remedy this, Fuji created a camera with similar traits as the X-Pro1 but at a price that was more competitive with the OM-D: enter the Fuji X-E1. [continue reading…]