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Meyer Optik Görlitz 58mm f/1.5 Biotar II (The New Version) Review

By / March 11, 2023 / Lenses / 5 Comments

This review of the Meyer Optik Görlitz 58mm f/1.5 Biotar II will be the 5th I have written about these new lenses from OPC Optics, the German company that own the Meyer Optik Görlitz brand. I have enjoyed shooting them all so far, and this new 58mm f/1.5 Biotar is no exception to that, not least because of its provenance as a lens formula. That said, I have changed my approach slightly with this review. Unlike the other Meyer lenses which, as manual focus lenses, I have shot exclusively in manual focus, with this lens, for most of my testing at least, I chose to mount it to my Sony with the Techart Pro LM-EA9 and so shot it almost entirely as if it were an autofocus lens.

Quick Thoughts on Eight of the Nikkor Nifty Fifties – by David Hume

By / February 1, 2023 / Gear Theory / 42 Comments

Several months ago I wrote a piece on my newly acquired Nikon Df. The piece was OK, but I’ve thought since then that I didn’t really do the camera justice. My thoughts on the camera continue to evolve, as does the way I use it. But I guess what interests me most is how I …

Quick Thoughts on Eight of the Nikkor Nifty Fifties – by David Hume Read More

Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f2 SL II for Pentax K Review – By Aivaras

By / January 30, 2023 / Lenses / 12 Comments

I promised to get back with more “exotic” stories from the Pentax film world, and here I am! I’d like to share my experience with the Voigtlander 40mm lens in Pentax K mount. Most of the time I’ll be talking about shooting it on film, but there will be a few bonus frames shot with the Fuji GFX medium format digital body at the end.

Pentax 50mm f/1.2 SMC lens on Film with a Pentax LX – by Aivaras

By / October 5, 2022 / Lenses, SLRs / 11 Comments

This wouldn’t be review of camera body or lens, there are plenty written. What I’ll share is my personal story of how I come to this set. One more aspect why I’m writing this is that when I was considering the Pentax 50mm f/1.2 lens I found there to be a lack of proper film photos within shared results. So what to expect from it? For those who will be exploring the idea of buying this same glass, hopefully, this piece of writing might be useful.

I just had to come to this particular “corner“; a combination of lens and camera body, that most of film Pentaxians should confess they think about.

Skopagon lens on an Ultramatic camera

Voigtänder Skopagon 40mm f2 – a Vintage Lens with Modern Performance – By Oliver Toth

By / September 15, 2022 / Lenses / 5 Comments

For most people, the choice of lens comes down to a choice between vintage and modern. Modern lenses with aspherical elements and modern coating tend to produce very sharp images without failures and aberrations, which is, however, perceived by many people as a too “sterile” and “clinical” rendering. Vintage lenses, by contrast, tend to have less perfect rendering, which most people find aesthetically pleasing; these lenses are said to have “character”. In this review, I am going to talk about a lens that unites the best of both worlds: it renders perfectly like a modern lens, but without the clinical and sterile look associated with lenses that have aspherical elements. Let me introduce the Voigtänder Skopagon 40mm f2 lens from 1961!

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