The storm we just lived through is destined to take too much of my time in remediation and too much of my budget for tree services. We have some big branches that have snapped but not fallen and one big one is hanging right over my neighbor's driveway. I'd try to wrangle it but it's probably multiple hundreds of pounds of dead (or deadly) weight and it's about forty feet up in the air. I do know my limitations and that kind of daredevil tree trimming it outside my wheelhouse. The real issue is not so much the money but just being able to get a tree service in the near future. Nearly every home owner and business owner who has trees on their property is lining up to try to schedule.
So, after getting a reasonable estimate for one service (that doesn't climb trees) to come and pick up the monstrous piles of dead branches I've pulled together in the side yard I took a breather and went out with that lens I've been talking about for the last few days. It's the Leica Vario-Elmar 35-70mm f4.0 and it's supposed to be pretty darn cool. I thought I'd take it for a spin on the front of a Leica SL camera body and see how the whole rig handles.
Here are my sample from an hour long walk through my urban "office." The camera is wonderful. And the lens gives me just the right set of features for good street photography; including being able (mostly at 35mm) to set an aperture and a distance and do grab shots without stopping to focus. Or at least not very often.
So far I am impressed. Not much wrong here. I used a Novoflex R to L adapter, shot at my "Erwin Puts" mandated faster shutter speed of 1/250th and higher. Tried to stay close to f5.6 which is purported to be the optimum aperture and let Auto-ISO guide me through the exposure triangle. It's a great way to work. Fast and sure. And the "punch-in-ability" of the SL is perfect for fine focusing manual focus lenses with great accuracy. I love the focal length range and I especially appreciate the lens being less than half the weight of the Leica 24-90mm f2.8-4.0 lens. Zooms can be quite cool. A small kit with this lens as the primary, all day long tool, supplemented by something like the Zeiss 50mm f1.4 for evening, interior and night shooting. Not exactly a kit for professional work but certainly for a resourceful amateur or a true lover of photography.
Here are my favorite images from the outdoor shooting today. Shot raw and lightly processed in Lightroom. :
I saw them together and loved their look. I asked them to pose for me and
they patiently waited while I manually focused and then, true to my professional training, proceeded to shoot a bunch of frames. I liked this one the best. I hope they do as well..
No lights. Just open shade.
A quick grab shot using hyperfocal distance coupled with a pleasant, non-threatening smile.
Same. Love the red. Wow!
Everyone was enjoying the sunshine. Cabin fever was pandemic in Austin last week.
Layer upon layer. Shot at 70mm with f5.6.
Here's what the camera package looks like. I got a ripped professional model to hold the camera for me and pose. Looks almost authentic... right? which watch is that?
She's back.... but only so you can compare "oranges to oranges" with my photos of her
from a range of other cameras. I'm worried about her thumb though. I hope she doesn't
mess it up any worse. I'd hate to have to bring her to my dermatologist's office and
sit with her in the waiting room. Jeez. I hope she has insurance.
That just about does it for a quick test in good light.
Jury is currently on hiatus. should I buy it?
Let's see what this tree devastation correction is going to cost me first.
Austin prices....detached from reality.
