Submitted by Double Negative on August 12, 2011 - 8:59am
Heliopan has announced the new Vario ND filter, a variable neutral-density filter. This is great news as some of the other options available currently are just not usable. Unfortunately, at least for now - the available sizes of the new filter run from 52-82mm. List price ranges from €140-220,- (incl. 19% MwSt.). However, there are still some lenses that can use it, such as the Cosina/Voigtländer 35mm f/1.2 (52mm) and 50mm f/1.1 (58mm) Noktons and of course, the Leica Noctiluxes (with step-up rings). Here's the press release:
The second article of the series, this one delves into the creative aspects of a lens. Using focus and depth of field, perspective and even "signature" in creative ways.
Submitted by Double Negative on August 7, 2011 - 7:46pm
For those of you that missed the first, limited run of 1,000 of the Leica Compendium by Irwin Puts... And got your pre-orders in for the updated second edition - they're ready! Irwin posts on his blog:
First a simple announcement: the new print of the Leica compendium has been arrived at the distributors in Europe and I will start shipping the books from tomorrow (August 8). Past experience shows that it will take three weeks to arrive in USA, Canada, Australia and Far East.
Submitted by Double Negative on August 7, 2011 - 9:56am
Exposure lock. Available on the M7, M8 and M9. With a half-press of the shutter button, it's much faster to use for one-off shots than fiddling with exposure compensation. If your scene meters too dark/bright, just frame an appropriately brighter/darker area of the scene and lock the exposure; keep the shutter button depressed halfway as you recompose and shoot. Grass makes for a convenient 18% grey card equivalent for metering. You can also use your hand, but add about a stop to the exposure.
Choosing a lens involves a lot of decisions - including cost, optical specifications, lens mount and even its "signature." This article gets into the basic parameters of a lens and will be followed by a more in-depth article as part of a series. Call it "Lens 101."
Submitted by Double Negative on August 2, 2011 - 10:12am
Some of you may remember the Noktor 50mm f/0.95 lens for the Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-mount formats from Noktor about a year ago. Seems that after some organizational changes (SLR Magic bought Noktor) - the new team is set to release this lens in an M mount - due to be announced soon. It will also be 6-bit coded, which should be interesting to see how they got around the issue that Cosina/Voigtländer and Zeiss don't seem to be able to.