I dropped by the HRC at UT for a second look at the ancient books show.
I had forgotten that the first floor gallery is closed on Mondays.
But the restrooms are really nice.
Part one: What are these mysterious cameras and lenses?
I took a step or two backwards, tossed all my full frame and medium format cameras into their storage places and started to reacquaint myself with a pair of pretty much perfect Leica CL cameras. The CL is an APS-C format camera that was on the market for six or seven years. It's small, light and easy to use. The colors coming out of the camera look great to me and, for the most part, I'm happy using it in the Jpeg mode, with a few tweaks to the in camera settings (higher contrast, higher sharpness). I have two because cameras should always travel in pairs. Same batteries. Same menu structure. Same lenses. Having two makes photographic life easier.
When it comes to lenses I ducked out of the Leica cult for this system and embraced my practical side. I have tons of full frame lenses that fit on these L mount cameras, and most of the lenses I've been collecting are very good. From time to time I use the Sigma 24mm f3.5, the 45mm f2.8 and even the 90mm f2.8 on these cameras and get fine images. But I wanted some lenses that were small and light but also fast and high performing. I didn't want to drop Leica Cash for what is my secondary, playing around system so I looked into the Sigma Contemporary lenses that were designed specifically for the cropped format. They are all fast and are all good performers. I have the 16mm f1.4, the 30mm f1.4, the 56mm f1.4 (currently my favorite of the Sigmas) and also the 18-50mm f2.8 zoom.
The most recent purchase was the 16mm lens and I haven't given it nearly enough of a workout yet. So, yesterday I decided to ratchet back a bit and go out for an exploratory adventure with a smaller subset. At first I intended to bring along only the 16mm and one body but I'm skittish about wide angles (this one is a 24mm equivalent to full frame...) so I brought along a second CL body and the 56mm.
I draped one body on a neck strap around my neck and let the camera (with the 56mm) hang down, mid-chest. I put the second body, also on a neck strap, on my left shoulder. At first I felt a bit self-conscious wearing two cameras but I quickly got used to the set up and decided that no one was going to pay attention to what I was doing anyway. Most people are absorbed by their own daily concerns, traumas and triumphs in spite of what we might think. They are not spending a lot of time tracking your every move...
Part two: Here is what the 16mm produces. At least in my hands.
The 16mm turned out to be a fun experiment and from my general observation it's a good-to-great performer at all the usual apertures. The CL is a better camera than I remembered. The meter is pretty accurate and since I never try to use anything besides S-AF and Manual focusing, the focusing speed is fine with me.
The following photos were all done with the 16mm and the CL over the last two days. Processed from Jpegs in Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Part three: The other lens. The 56mm (85mm equiv.)
Turns out the 56mm f1.4 lens is spectacular. Sharp wide open. Small and light. No discernible flaws such as excessive vignetting or soft corners. Just good performance across the frame in a very low profile package. I could use this lens for almost anything and be very happy. In fact, I am tempted to put it on the Leica SL2 and see how it performs with a 22 megapixel files from the APS-C crop in camera. I worked with the lens yesterday and today and was very pleased with the files. Some Jpegs and then today some Jpegs and raw files. All good. And I do have to say that it's pleasant to walk around with two cameras that add up to about one full frame camera in overall weight. Also, the lenses are smaller and lighter too. Nope --- they won't fit on the M cameras. And if they did it wouldn't be so great because they have no rangefinder cams for focusing. And since all the Sigma contemporaries are "fly-by-wire" without a camera that supplies an electrical signal to the lens you can't even manually focus them. Ah well. At least the M lenses can be used on the CLs with an adapter. And all the L lenses work too.
These two lenses are a nice pair but I think the 16mm is a bit wide for most of what I like to shoot. For really "low impact" shooting the 18-50mm zoom is just about perfect for a day of street photography.
All of the images below were done with the 56mm lens on a CL body. Yesterday and today. While everyone else was out doing laundry...
Converted from color with a preset in LRC
Seems like the people who exercise have no issues managing their weight...
A reflection in Shoal Creek.
Caution: Mannequin photos!!
The top portrait (the one at the beginning of this blog) was from today. The one
just above is from yesterday. Fun with mirrors....
"It's gorgeous. It's gotta be from a monochrom only camera!!!"
Nope. Just an older APS-C full color body and one click in post.
Take my workshops! Buy my presets!!! Oh wait. These presets
come for free with Lightroom.....and I don't "teach" workshops. Oh well.
Yes. Austin now has In-N-Out Burger locations.
We have nearly completed our California-fication.
We just need to start driving around with surfboards on the roofs of our cars.
Resist the lure and implied guilt of the Top Ten Lists.
I'm betting you'd look pretty swank driving around with a surfboard on top of your Subaru.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble with the 56mm to start, I think I just had it set to 1.4 permanently, almost became like a different lens once I put it in auto, I got that 16-50 as well, putting it on the x-t5 has been on my todo list for a while, I tend to leave lenses on for a long time, and the black friday voigtlander has jumped the queue, the vignetting on the sigma 16-50 put me off a bit (there are a lot of used ones for sale), I've switched over to darktable now which has better correction than the software I used before, I could just take another look at the raw files, I do like the lens, used it for a long time on the x-t30 which has the 56mm on it at present
ReplyDeletethose roman columns look very kind of definite, seems like an isometric view almost from the short telephoto
Kirk, I know that you're generally not super comfortable with the ultra-wides, but I'm loving some of those 16mm shots. Like the converging power lines into the backdrop of the office building, pretty cool shot.
ReplyDeleteNice. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteBob
Love number 7!
ReplyDeleteEric
love #7, A reflection in Shoal Creek., and the mannequin hand 2 photos after ARISC! thank you thank you thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have such a hard time wrapping my head around shooting really wide. I think my brain is just permanently wired for portrait focal lengths. Love some of your wide shots; wish I were able to do the same. Maybe someday I’ll crack that nut.
ReplyDeleteRegarding “Seems like the people who exercise have no issues managing their weight...” - chicken and egg problem. As someone who will have back issues the rest of my life courtesy of cancer surgery, my ability to exercise is greatly limited, and thus I struggle with weight. It’s neither laziness nor lack of motivation, yet I think you’d look at me and assume I have issues with either or both.
I applaud your decision to open up about some past trauma in a post awhile back. That took guts. Maybe my decision to mention mine will prompt some reflection on the fact that we don’t and can’t understand everyone’s struggles.
- Travis
What an odd design choice for some of those mannequins, they didn't put eyes or a nose on them but leave the vestige of a mouth and ears. I've see some with no heads at all, but I've also seen them with gender-accurate heads (more or less). Somewhere there is someone whose job it is to decide these things.
ReplyDeleteIt strikes me as a fun for laughs project to make a stop-motion video using mannequins. The rigid bodies would make some things difficult to shoot. I wonder if anyone makes a model with limb and head articulation at a reasonable cost.
I call it Californication.
ReplyDeleteYour work with ultra-wides is excellent, Kirk. Embrace being out of your comfort zone. And, as an aside, if you ever decide to put a surfboard on top of your Subaru, I suggest trading in the Forester for an Outback.
ReplyDeleteHi Biro, I wonder if a short board would fit on the BRZ I'm planning to buy?
ReplyDelete