Rumors and Truths

Next week could be very interesting for Nikon watchers. For about a week now the Internet has been abuzz with speculation, rumors and cell phone images of Nikon’s latest full-frame (FX) DSLR, the D700. I won’t bother to reprint the images or summarize the details. Suffice it to say that if you Google “D700” you’ll find them yourself. D700 or not, no less a Nikon personage than Thom Hogan has confirmed “the first in a series of new product rollouts next week”. Could be very interesting, indeed.

On the truthiness side of things, WBTL has been added to Jason Moore’s P&P Blogroll. After an arduous application and review process, Jason was kind enough to add yours truly to this fine resource. Thanks Jason!

On The Horizon

Now that the Summer solstice has passed, the season of warmth promises the introduction of some very hot products. I know you say you won’t, but you probably will. If you do, look at these.

The only product photo you can trust.

Pentax DA 17-70mm f/4
This wide angle zoom lens offers a broad range of focal lengths and a consistent f/4 across all of them. Pentax is making some of the world’s finest lenses at very reasonable prices and this promises to be one of them. Read more here. Available in July.

Sony ά900
This is Sony’s flagship professional DSLR and its first entry into the full frame arena. Rumored at 24-25 megapixels, the ά900 will feature Live View (an industry leader) and Super SteadyShot. Rumored to be available in September.

Nikon D700
In the last few days the Internet has been alive with rumors about the new D700. This DSLR is D3 Light and shares many of the features of Nikon’s flagship camera. If true, this is the most interesting offering that I have heard about. I love the D3, but I hate its size and weight. Before you go running out to get your name on a waiting list, consider that Nikon has the weakest line up of full frame glass and no lens release to correct that problem in sight. Catch up on the rumors here and here.

Nikon Lenses
Speaking of Nikon lenses, rumor has it the Nikon will release two more PC (Perspective Control) lenses, making a total of four. At least one of these two new lenses is expected to be a 45 mm f/2.8. According to Outdoor Photographer, these tilt and shift lenses let you shoot like Ansel Adams, but are pretty darned expensive.

Canon 7D/5D Mark II

Last, but not least is Canon’s replacement for the 5D. With the introduction of the D700, the pressure will be on for Canon to come up with something really special. Stay tuned pardner.

A Good Word

I have been working on a long article about the low-light performance of the Pentax K20D and the Nikon D3, hence the current posting drought. Oh yes, and I’ve been watching Euro 2008. In any event, I wanted to take a moment to put in a good word for B+H Photo + Video. For several years now I have bought a lot of equipment through B+H and I have never once had a problem with them. Their prices are very competitive, their return policy is appropriate and their customer service is second to none. Recently, I had to return a lens for my K20D. I called for an RMA number and got the usual great customer service rep. He filled out the RMA form and emailed it to me with a pre-printed mailing label. No muss, no fuss. I can’t say enough good things about B+H and they don’t pay me to. If you’re still fearful of buying equipment over the Internet, get over it and give B+H a try.

Weegee

Photographer Arthur Fellig, better known as Weegee, is the subject of this excellent New York Times article. Around my father’s studio Weegee was a legend and I remember hearing about him fondly. I am starting to think that the New York Times might just well be the best photography magazine of them all.

Leica Goes To War (Again)

Photo by Michael Kamber

When I first got my Leica M8 I was very confused and upset by my inability to make consistently good photographs. I was certain that it was result of my inadequate skills as a photographer. I was also dismayed by its questionable ergonomics and build quality. After struggling with it for several months and experiencing a myriad of difficulties, I finally gave up and traded it in on a Nikon D3. Nevertheless, I always wondered if it was the camera or me.

Now long-time photojournalist, Michael Kamber, who is presently in Iraq has written a lengthy review of the M8 which has dispelled any notion that this camera’s bad behavior is anything other than the result of poor design. In his sometimes scathing review, Mr. Kamber details nearly everything that plagued me and then some. He ultimately concludes that the Leica M8 is “unusable” for “a working photojournalist in a combat situation”.

If you’re even thinking of spending $5,000 on this seriously flawed piece of equipment, you must read his review here. A shame really.

Is Nikon Up To Something?

I normally don’t like to spread rumors and I have no inside track to confidential information. That said, I noticed something interesting on B&H’s website. I was pricing fast primes and noted that B&H is out of stock on several items, both U.S. and imported. There is no availability on the 50 mm f/1.8, the 50 mm f/1.4, the 24 mm f/2.8 and the 20 mm f/2.8. I know that many commentators (myself included) have been asking Nikon to upgrade their aging line of fast primes. Could it be that they have listened and are selling down their current stock in anticipation of some new lens introductions this Fall? I don’t know, but this looks kinda suspicious. Stay tuned, as they say.

If You’re Going To New York

If you’ll be visiting New York this Summer, there are two exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art you’ll want to be sure and see. Framing a Century: Master Photographers, 1840–1940 tells the story of photography’s first 100 years through the work of key figures, including Gustave Le Gray, Roger Fenton, Carleton Watkins, William Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Nadar, Édouard Baldus, Charles Marville, Eugène Atget, Walker Evans, Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Brassaï. Photography on Photography: Reflections on the Medium since 1960 presents works from the permanent collection. Photogrpahers include William Anastasi, Robert Heinecken, Allen Ruppersberg, Sherrie Levine, Thomas Ruff, Christopher Williams, Roe Ethridge, Liz Deschenes, James Welling and others.

A Quiet Week

To quote a fellow Minnesotan: “Well, it’s been a quiet week …”. Despite battling with some god awful intestinal virus all week, I did manage to complete and publish my article about shooting with film (see below). Otherwise, there’s not much to write about. Over on T.O.P., Mike Johnston continues to publish lists of great photo books that I can’t afford to buy. On Tuesday, Pentax announced its new DA 17-70mm F4 lens which will be available in July for $600. I will be buying that and hope to write about it in August.

This will be a big weekend for sports photographers around the world with the NBA Finals, the Belmont Stakes and the UEFA EURO 2008 soccer championship all taking place. It never ceases to amaze me that Americans have been so sloooow to adopt the world’s most popular sport.

Last, but not least, let’s not forget that today is the anniversary of D-Day. Have a great weekend!

Back To Film

I have always been in love with M mount rangefinders, but I could never afford one back in the days of film. Therefore, when Leica introduced a digital M, I was intrigued and bought one pretty quickly. After my negative experiences with the M8, however, I decided to give up the idea of owning a rangefinder altogether. Or so I thought.

The problem was that I could never shed myself of the idea of all those beautiful M mount lenses out there with nothing to put them on. Then I read Mike Johnston’s review of the Zeiss Ikon rangefinder and I decided to reconsider purchasing a film camera. The issue, I realized, was not a lack of M bodies, but a lack digital M bodies. There were plenty of film M bodies out there for the taking.

In the meantime, I was processing the last of my film from bye-gone days. I discovered that I could wind up with a CD of JPEGs that I could upload to Lightroom and manipulate a bit in Photoshop. Just because it started as a film image didn’t mean it had to stay that way. Then the light bulb went off. Why not get a film rangefinder and use that (and those wonderful lenses) until someone came out with an improved digital M mount? So I did.

In conducting my research I seriously considered the Zeiss Ikon. That said, I have a fascination with Leicas bordering on the unhealthy, so I decided on a Leica M. After looking at M3s, M4s and M6s, I decided to see if I could find a reasonably priced M7, Leica’s latest in film technology. I finally wound up buying a well-used M7 on eBay that was in very good condition mechanically. I had it checked out at a local camera repair shop and found that the shutter was right on and the exposure meter was over about a third of a stop. So far, so good.

When it came to the glass, however, I wanted something new. I had a 35 mm Summicron on the M8 which I found hard to focus. Meanwhile, I saw Mike’s write up of the Zeiss ZM 35mm ƒ/2 Biogon. I checked the price versus the Leica and was sold.

Now, it has been a long, long time since I have used a film camera seriously. I found that it took some getting used to again. Initially, I did not like Leica’s bottom loading design as opposed to a swing-open back, with conventional film loading. The more rolls I loaded, the better I liked it though. And, the more rolls I loaded the better I got at it. I now see the method to Leica’s madness. That doesn’t mean I haven’t made mistakes. The first roll I loaded did not catch on the take-up spool and I shot a whole lot of nothing until I realized it. I had forgotten how easily that can happen and hopefully it won’t happen again.

Then there’s that pesky lens cap. Coming from an SLR – where it’s almost impossible to leave the lens cap on – I found myself blowing some pictures just because I forgot to take the lens cap off. Which leads me to the singular nature of a film camera. I found that the more I slowed down, the fewer mistakes I made and the better my work got. The pace of using a film camera, it seems to me, is slower and more precise than digital. Coming from several years of fast paced digital, I really had to slow myself down. I wound up developing a mental checklist of all the steps required to make an image and going through them step-by-step. It helped and my shooting became more pleasurable.

I few weeks ago a friend of mine and I took a photo expedition to the North Shore of Lake Superior. I was planning on shooting wide angled stuff for my SoFoBoMo book (which I may yet complete). On our first morning in Grand Marais, however, I discovered that the Nikkor 17-35 mm zoom is was going to use had separated at the zoom ring so badly that you could see its innards. Since that is the only wide lens I have for my D3, that meant the D3 was effectively out of commission. That left me with the Leica as my sole camera.

I abandoned the book idea and instead spent the weekend guiding my friend around the area. There’s a lot of interesting possibilities there and we tried to sample a bit of each. My friend is quite fond of photographing found objects and industrial landscapes and the like. I, on the other hand, prefer landscape and nature photography. Nevertheless, when working together I found myself making images that I never would have considered before. Frankly, being limited to one camera and one lens was freeing. I abandoned concerns about cameras and lenses and wound up paying more attention to process. It got the creative juices really flowing.

As for the M7, I won’t attempt a review. Let’s just say it is a wonderfully made, legendary camera and once you get used to it, a joy to use. I particularly liked the soft sound of the shutter. A simple, quiet “snick”, that’s all. The more film I ran through it, the better it felt and the more confident I got.
In going back to film from digital there are some things that I missed. I have become very dependent on “chimping” to check composition and exposure. You can’t do that with the M7 and you start doubting your ability to get anything worthwhile at all. I just like that instant feedback. With film you are forced to rely on your skills as a photographer and your self confidence. I also missed the opportunity to correct my mistakes. With film, once the shutter is pressed your most embarrassing errors are forever etched in silver halide.

Conversly, I slowed down my pace, thought more and rediscovered the process of image creation. I also realized how much I had missed some of the ritual and sensual facets of the film photographic process.
As for the image quality, judge for yourself. Be mindful that these have been reduced for the Web. The fact is that you can never have a RAW image if you shoot film. At my local mini-lab the scanned JPEGs are around 2MBs in size. That transtlates to 1824 x 1216, which is pretty small these days and is comparable, at best, to a JPEG fine, small image from a D3. I found that the images would pixelate fairly quickly as they were cropped and enlarged. If you want anyting better you will either have to invest in a scanner or go to a big lab and pay for a higher quality scan for large prints.

While I am too addicted to digital to be able to live with the M7 (or any film camera) as my only tool, it does make a nice addition to my arsenal. It also affords me the opportunity to revisit the old days and get to know a rangefinder. Since good, used film bodies are very reasonably priced right now, it’s something you might want to consider for yourself.