Tag Archives: m43

Battle of some Portrait Primes. Full Frame vs m4/3, Zeiss vs Leica, let the pissing contest commence…

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

battle

Well hi there!  Been a while.  Yes, I’ve been focused largely on launching the Nauti Straps stuff (utterly shameless plug, of which it will not be the last, surely) which has been going smashingly thus far, so thank you to everyone who’s supported me in that venture.  That said and done, I’ve been long wanting to compare these two premier portrait focal length prime lenses for the two formats I shoot in concert in the Sony FE and micro 4/3 systems.  

Enter the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 Sonnar FE mount lens for Sony E mount cameras, and the Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 DG Nocticron lens for micro 4/3 system shooters.

(*I’m selling off my Zeiss Sonnar 85mm f/1.8 FE Lens.  Check it, and other gear out HERE!)

C’mon in for comparisons, pixel peeping galore and my thoughts as someone who has been shooting these two lenses for the better part of the last year.

Continue reading →

*ZY Optics, Zhong Yi Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95 lens for Micro 4/3 user review

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

ZY Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95

Small, sharp, fast, relatively light and comparably inexpensive.  All things I love in a lens.  ZY Optics has produced yet another ultra fast option for micro 4/3 shooters, but a first option available in a dedicated mount, faster than f/1.4, new for under $400. 

The question now stands, how does this fit in with all the other standard/normal lens offerings within the micro 4/3 landscape?  Well, more easily than you might think.  While not perfect, it definitely has enough going for it to justify a look.  C’mon in for my thoughts and some tests against the Pana-Leica 25mm f/1.4 Summilux…

Continue reading →

*Using the Kipon EF to m4/3, smart adapter. Things are getting interesting w/ @adorama

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

kipon ef to m4/3 af adapter

The Kipon EF Lens to Micro 4/3 mount smart adapter is a fairly big deal.  Not just because it enables aperture adjustment for the electronically controlled EF line of lenses when adapted to a micro 4/3 camera body, but it has also bridged the proprietary technology to gain the use of full auto focus and lens based image stabilization capabilities.  Having followed a fairly similar path into the micro 4/3 world as I would imagine many others, I came from a long standing investment in the Canon system.  I still shoot my Canon full framers, and have compiled some very nice glass over the years that tends to sit on the shelf more often now that I shoot the micro 4/3 system.  I’ve been waiting for a solution to merge my two beloved systems, and Kipon has produced it.

Enter the new, Kipon EF>m4/3 Smart Adapter. Come on in for some insight and my experience over the last month…

Continue reading →

*Panasonic GM1 Reviewed – Say hello to my little friend

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 51 Comments

gm1 and friends

I have spent the better part of the last month shooting with this camera almost exclusively.  I wanted to really get a feel for this tiny machine, its ins and outs, before I wrote up any type of review.  While being the smallest interchangeable lens system camera body currently available, it certainly has some ergonomic drawbacks, but that begs the question, who is this camera for, and can it be a compliment or even replacement for another of the micro 4/3 system cameras, even {gasp} a larger system camera?  Well…

Continue reading →

*OM-D E-M5 vs G3… what’s this about a new sensor?

by in Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

The Micro 4/3 system has really grown up in the last year. Sensor tech has taken a substantial step forward and the lens lineup has rounded itself out very nicely. Much has been eluded to regarding the origins of the OM-D E-M5 sensor, is it a reworked Panasonic sensor, a Sony sensor, an inhouse super secret sensor??? Oly came out and admitted that Sony is the manufacturer of the sensor in the OM-D E-M5 quelling the rumor mill, and of course, the G3/GX1 (and quite possibly the soon to be G5) sensor, built by Panasonic, is in fact different. That all said, I really wanted to see how these two sensors compared to one another as I have been very impressed by the G3. C’mon in and we’ll take a closer look at a few files.

Continue reading →

*Lumix G3 vs the mighty might GF1, or why I chose to upgrade my MILC.

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 58 Comments


When it came time to upgrade my beloved GF1, I waited for its true successor to be revealed.  The GX1, not the GF2 nor GF3, is seen by most GF1 users as the camera that has had the GF1’s torch passed to it.  I’ve spent two solid years with the GF1 and have finally felt that the current crop of mirrorless system cameras out there have upped the game enough for me to trade it in.  I surprised even myself when I decided on the G3 over the GX1, NEX5n, EP3 or NEX7.  A budget conscious option which I feel punches well above its weight.  I’ve got some low light test shots, size comparison shots and the like.  C’mon in and I’ll explain why I feel the G3 was the best option for a shooter like me…

Continue reading →

*Lensbaby Scout!

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

image © Lensbaby Inc. 2010

My blog may seem as if I’ve become nothing but a Lensbaby honk of late.  Let me say, I’ve been lucky enough to have made friends with the fine folks at Lensbaby.  That, and they’re my local, hometown lens manufacturer right here in Portland.  I am a softy when it comes to supporting the local folks, so in a word, yes, I like seeing a local, forward thinking optical company do well.  They are also very cool people making very unique, affordable optics, and they asked me if I would play around with this new lens.  I love all things photography, so I was excited to get my hands on yet another brand new Lensbaby product to play around with.  As if the recently released Tilt Transformer wasn’t enough, Lensbaby has developed the Scout to further diversify their optical offerings.  More after the jump…

Continue reading →

*Micro 4/3 and Sony NEX Lensbaby Tilt Transformer is HERE!

by in General ramblings, Photography gear and tagged , , , , , , | 30 Comments

*image used courtesy of Lensbaby

 

As announcement after announcement come in, excitement in the photographic industry rarely hits the pitch that it does when Photokina rolls around.  Lensbaby has used this stage to announce their first micro 4/3 and Sony NEX dedicated offerings in the form of a combined Tilt Transformer and Composer for each of the subsequent mounts.  Being that I do not have, nor have access to a NEX 3 or 5, I’ll be writing about my experience with the micro 4/3 mount Lensbaby Tilt Transformer/Composer combo.  Combining the optical playground that is the Lensbaby Composer with the ability to replace the composer element and mount any Nikon F mount lens to gain a multitude of tilt-able options is just what we’ve needed to see in a micro 4/3 mount, a versatile, affordable, different and really, really fun option.  Read on for a few test shots and examples…

Continue reading →