Thank you to the following donators:

Inspiration, Q&A

Matteo*

Karen*

Andreas*

Thrustur*

Henry*

Gregory*

Cam*

Andrew*

George*

Harsha*

Michael*

Katharine*

張*

Steven*

Laurent*

Fin*

Warren*

Jens*

James*

Rino*

GH*

[Addendum July 14, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Patrick*

Manus*

Roel*

John*

Aaron*

Ali*

Dirk*

Ta-Chen*

Karim*

[Addendum July 15, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Ashwin*

Aivaras*

Lemuel*

Dalal*

Peter*

Gage*

[Addendum July 16, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Dhananjay*

Luis*

Morten*

Mikael*

[Addendum July 17, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

George*

Laurent*

David*

Alexandra*

[Addendum July 18, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Gavin*

Alberto*

Arize*

[Addendum July 19, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Guillermo*

Laurent*

David*

Kenneth*

[Addendum July 20, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Cuong*

Israel*

Larry*

[Addendum July 21, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Steve*

[Addendum July 22, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Jason*

Devereaux*

[Addendum July 23, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Mika*

[Addendum July 24, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Amnon*

Lucy*

Mariusz*

[Addendum July 25, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Reingard*

[Addendum July 26, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Bijan*

Sean*

Paul*

Jesse*

Kevin*

[Addendum July 27, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Paul*

[Addendum July 29, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Joseph*

[Addendum August 8, 2015 — Additional Donators:]

Nick

Alexis

Jordan

Shawn

I’m sincerely touched.

A few of you were quite generous, and a few others have also contributed in the past.  You’ve basically subsidized the site for the thousands who view it daily.  It doesn’t seem quite fair does it?

I therefore want to thank you in this additional way:

I will reveal the identity of the “undisclosed” 55-yr-old lens that I’ve been shooting with recently, so that if you’re interested in finding one, you have a good chance of getting a great copy at a very reasonable price (it currently can be found for less than the price of a Leica lens hood).

I know once I reveal the identify of the lens on this site the price will shoot up, so you have a head-start.

Starting this week, I will send a personal email to one [EDIT: several] of you, each day — in the order listed above.  Matteo will find out first.

Sincerely,

—Peter.

* = donators who have been informed of the identify of my undisclosed lens.

Summer.

2015, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica M Monochrom (CCD Lives!), Portrait, Q&A, Undisclosed Lens #1

Background info:

The focus ring on my 55-year-old inexpensive mystery lens seized up yesterday morning and no longer turns (maybe that’s why it was priced so low).

I spent the whole day moving myself backwards and forwards to achieve focus at the the precise distance where the focus ring is stuck.  I’m glad I did that for this shot.

I’ll post a few more images in the next few days.

In the interim, I need to make a decision:  do I return the lens, or do I send it somewhere for adjustment?

—Peter.

Summer

Dandelion (100% crop).

2015, Favourite, Inspiration, Leica M Monochrom (CCD Lives!), Print, Q&A, Undisclosed Lens #1

100% centre crop from a 55-year-old lens that costs less than a Leica lens filter!

(the focus point is right at the centre of the dandelion, and this was shot wide open… I kid you not.)

Dandelion 100% crop

And here is the original image (ISO = 1250, 1/180 sec, aperture = I’m not telling):

Dandelion

Pretty cool, eh?

This is a lens that most Leica shooters would likely never consider.

My guess is that it’s due for a massive price adjustment.

—Peter.

New CCD sensor from Leica?

Inspiration, Leica M Monochrom (CCD Lives!), Leica M9(P)/M-E (CCD Lives!), Q&A, Teaching point

M9 Sensor - Prosophos.

Wow, this is amazing — I have to give Leica full credit for following through on this.

For those who haven’t seen the announcement, here is the link:

Latest information on the CCD sensors of the Leica M9 / M9-P / M Monochrom and M-E camera models.

CCD sensor lovers, rejoice!

—Peter.

Related:  An Open Letter to Leica