I almost bought yet another lens today. I still might follow through. It's such a nice idea for a lens.... Or lenses.

Such a good look for a 70 year old man. Call my publicist!

First of all, I am reprising my "Kirk in Hats" images here to remind myself to always, always cover up when possible if going out in the sun. It's been a full week now since I had a quick bout of surgery to remove a cancerous spot on my left shoulder blade and it's been a lot less fun of a week that it could have been, but at the same time, much better than it might have been. I didn't see the size of the incision when the surgeon finished stitching me up but, damn, it's almost 2.75 inches in length. Since one has to clean, treat and re-bandage this kind of surgical incision daily it's been a logistical pain in the butt. The crappiest part is... no swimming until the 29th. Bah! Humbug.

I did all my own "wound" care for the last bout of surgery but that was on my face. Hard to miss it and easy to treat it. But...not only can I not turn my head around 180° to see this one, I can't effectively reach it either. Which basically means I have to depend on others once per day to keep this recovery rolling.

I hate that. But whatcha gonna do? 

Since I'm not swimming or running I'm participating in what is a favorite pastime for many, many photographers; surfing the web and thinking about buying stuff that looks like a lot of fun but at the same time is stuff I really don't need. Not that this has ever stopped me from making impulsive purchases followed by months and years of looking at stuff I've only used once or twice whenever I open a drawer to get a more useful piece of gear out. So, what are we considering today?

There are two lenses I have halfway convinced myself I might need for some vague, future project. The new Voigtlander 90mm f2 APO lens for M mount and the Thypoch 75mm f1.4 lens, also for M. Each has their own charm --- or at least it seems so when reading the specs, reviews and odds and ends. But here's the rub. There are no more clients and so no lens is really rationizable in the same way it would have been just a year ago. Then there would have been at least the presumption that at some point I might need a specific lens's unique and charming view of the world. Now? Not so much. But that shopping patterns seems hard to break... 

Here's the real problem in both instances: I already have lenses at each of those focal lengths for both the M system and the L mount system. And they are lenses that I haven't historically used as much as I have other lenses. Other focal lengths. 

I am considering the 90mm for the dopamine hit one gets from scoring a lens with "APO" in its name. There is some spot in my brain that lies to me and tells me that it would be beyond cool to have a set of Voigtlander APO lenses ranging from 35mm to 90mm nestled in a small bag, getting chummy with a couple of rangefinder cameras and all of us exploring the great Southwestern United States on an epic but gear efficient road trip. Three lenses to handle everything. The ancient Leica rangefinder trilogy of 35,50, 90. And viewfinders to accommodate all three focal lengths. With nifty frame lines. 

I have both the Voigtlander 35mm f2 APO and the 50mm f2 APO so the 90mm just makes some sort of convoluted common sense. But then there is the mysterious allure of the 75mm f1.4 Thypoch. I could see myself doing some variation of the great adventure with the 28mm, 50mm and 75mm Thypochs. Two  of which I also have sitting here on the desktop. They are only impatiently waiting for the 75mm to join them. All of them being f1.4 lenses is like catnip for an older generation of photographers...

A singular benefit to all these lenses is that M mount lenses can be adapted to any modern mirrorless camera, across brands. If you buy rangefinder lenses because you thought you might leverage the M series cameras to become the next Robert Frank or Henri Cartier-Bresson but have since decided that the whole act of rangefinder focusing doesn't suit you it's nice to know that you can use the lenses, with inexpensive adapters, on Sony, Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Panasonic and Leica L mount cameras instead. 

While you won't look as cool and trendy as you would sporting an M10P or an M11 monochrom you'll still look pretty savvy. And fashionable. Well, unless you use them on a Sony... A conflicting aesthetic and conflicting operational ethos there....

I'm currently leaning toward the 75mm Thypoch because in the swirling mists of the past I owned and used the Leica Summilux 75mm f1.4 on an M6 and loved the focal length. It's also short enough so the finder frame lines are workable. The Thypoch is fast but an added benefit over that older Leica lens is that the Thypoch has a floating element design that preserves its performance even at very close focusing distances. And that's really nice if you end up using it with a Visoflex on your M or with an adapter on something like an SL3. It's also about $100 lens than the Voigtlander 90mm.

I also find 90mm lenses harder to use (composition within smaller frame lines) on my rangefinder cameras without wanting an optical viewfinder in the hot shoe or at least an EVF in the hot shoe. 

I already own and rarely use the Voigtlander 90mm f2.8 APO Ultron lens. It's small and nice but maybe a little too small and dainty when used (with an adapter) on a big camera like the SL2. I've used it so infrequently that it seems to caution me against getting yet another lens in that focal length. But it's this same cautioning that keeps me from immediately ordering the 75mm I talked about above. Because I already have the Voigtlander 75mm f1.9 lens and while it's not the absolute best performer at its minimum focus distance it is small and light and ... already paid for. 

And speaking of duplication we've got a 75mm f2 AF lens for the L mount gear as well as two different 90mm lenses. One AF and one older MF. So, really, shopping is just an addiction for people who, for medical reasons or sloth, can't get out the door and use the cameras they already have. 

Sorry to burden you with this but... That's the nature of this blog. Sometimes it veers into gear talk. 

Stuff comes in waves. So last week it was the surgery and this Sunday, almost instantaneously, I came down with a weird head cold. Runny nose forever which then, on Monday evolved into a hearty cough and now both of those symptoms have mostly subsided and I'm now left feeling a bit ragged. When stuff like this happens the only comfortable thing for me to do is to type and type. And scroll through the B&H website, the Leica Store Miami and KEH. Sad, isn't it?

included as wishful thinking. Someday, someday.

Running on a beach in Vancouver with a black umbrella. It rains in Vancouver. It rains a lot in Vancouver. And it gets chilly in the winter while it's raining a lot. I imagine that's why there are so many good coffee shops and more than a handful of great donut emporia. Gotta have a pastime....