Q&A

Poll update: CCD-based Leica M?

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

Poll - Leica back to CCD? Prosophos

–

So far, after 125 votes, I’m surprised to see the overwhelming majority of you do want a CCD sensor in a future Leica M.

(By the way, you may still vote.)

Most of the internet fora discussions would have you believe that opinion is evenly split, or perhaps favours the new Leica M(240) and its CMOS sensor.

I know that the sample size of this poll is extremely small, and there may be selection bias at play (i.e., those who follow this blog may be biased towards favouring CCD sensors) — which makes the results tenuous at best — but the results are intriguing.

Perhaps things will equalize as more votes are cast.

—Peter.

Poll: Should Leica bring back the CCD sensor?

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

CCD Poll - Prosophos

As most of you know, I’ve been very vocal about my preference for CCD vs. CMOS sensors…

…but it looks like the Leica M9/M-E and Monochrom are the end-of-the-line models for 36 x 24mm CCD sensor technology.

Nonetheless, I thought it would be fun to conduct a poll about this, here on Prosophos.com.

Essentially, I’d like to know whether YOU would like to see Leica bring back a new CCD sensor in a future M camera, optimized with whatever current technology exists.

Please vote and voice your opinion, but remember this is just for fun.

—Peter.

–

Voigtlander Color Skopar F2.5/35mm Pancake II.

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point, Voigtländer 35mm f/2.5 Color Skopar Pancake II, Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4 Nokton

Voigtlander Color Skopar F2.5:35mm P II

Introducing the Voigtländer Color Skopar F2.5/35mm P II.

I’ve been experimenting with this lens for the last 24 hrs and, so far, I like it.  Small, sharp, smooth.  Its strength is in daylight shooting, not just because it is limited to a maximum aperture of f/2.5, but because of the way it holds highlights.

Images will follow — maybe in a few days — so you can judge for yourself.

Voigtländer always delivers great lenses, so I shouldn’t be surprised at the results.

In the meantime, feel free to re-visit my report on one of my favourite lenses, the Voigtländer Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

—Peter.

And the winner is…

Film, Inspiration, Q&A

I am pleased to announce that Kevin Ng is the winner of the Prosophos Film Contest.

Mr. Ng created this beautiful image using a Mamiya 645AFD II loaded with Tri-X 400 120 film:

Prosophos Film Contest 3

–

Kevin, I can post mail you the 50 rolls of Tri-X 400, or I can deliver them in person (Toronto) with a cup of coffee :), as promised.

Congratulations!

A sincere thank you to everybody who participated, and congratulations again to the Top 10 Finalists.

—Peter.

The most popular post this month on Prosophos.com?

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

Leica M9 vs. M240 (CCD vs. CMOS)

–

I was surprised to see that above is still the most popular post on Prosophos.com, given I posted it three months ago.

Leica M9 vs. M240

Yes my friends, I guess the CCD vs. CMOS sensor debate rages on… for many.

Not for me though.

—Peter.

–

_______

Related posts:

M240: More Thoughts

Leica M240: Final Verdict

Leica M9 sharpness vs. Sony RX1R, Nikon D800E, Fuji X100s

645.

Inspiration, Q&A, Teaching point

Recently, I asked the question:  How large a print can you make from a Leica M9 file?

For my purposes (portraiture and simple element scenes), the answer turns out to be 36 x 24 inches:

–

36 x 24 comparison

–

I thought about this some more, and realized that it would be interesting to see how much of a magnification over the Leica M9 sensor those prints above represent.  If you want to skip the math below, the answer turns out to be 645!

Here’s the math:

The Leica contains a so-called “full frame” sensor that is exactly 36 x 24 mm in size (that’s where the 36 x 24 comes from).

The area of this sensor

= 36 x 24 mm

= 864 mm2

 –

The prints I made were 36 x 24 inches.

In the equivalent (metric) mm, this translates to

= 914 x 609.6 mm

=557, 174.4 mm2

 –

The magnification of print-over-sensor area, therefore

= 557,174.4/864

= 645

–

This is remarkable when you think about it.  The digital sensor (about the size of a stamp — remember those?) produces an image which is then magnified 645 times to produce the prints you see above.

Proportionally, this is what is going on:

645 Times

All of the above underscores the importance of technique, lens quality, etc., when photographing with the aim of producing large prints: any “error” will be magnified 645 times!

Of course, you always have the option of turning to the much larger and more forgiving medium format sensors, but that’s another story…

—Peter.

Prosophos Images on display at the Stephen Bartels Gallery!

Inspiration, Q&A

I am very pleased to announce that my work is now being featured at the Stephen Bartels Gallery in London, England.

It is an honour to be part of the distinguished group of photographers Stephen has pulled together under the auspices of the SBG.

If you find yourself in London, please drop by Stephen’s fine gallery and have a look at the amazing images on display.  And, if you happen to spot my humble contributions, please feel free to take a picture and send it my way ;).

—Peter.

–

prosophos-at-stephen-bartels-gallery

36 x 24.

Inspiration, Leica 24mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Leica 50mm Noctilux f/0.95, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point

How large a print can you make from an M9 file?

Well, the largest I’ve printed for clients is 36 x 24 inches:

24 x 36 M9 50 Summilux

Even at this large a size, the detail from the M9 and the 50mm Summilux combo used to create the image above is impressive.

However, yesterday I tried doing this for the first time with two other lenses:  the 24mm Summilux (f/1.4) and and the 50mm Noctilux (f/0.95).  Truth be told, I wasn’t expecting anything near as good as what I get from the technically brilliant 50 Summilux ASPH.

We’ll I’m happy to report that I was wrong.  They not only did well, they did exceptionally well — I was astounded to see how much detail the 24 Summilux and 50 Noctilux produce at their widest apertures.

But in the age of phone and tablet image viewing, most people will never encounter an actual print, let alone a 36 x 24 print.  So what does 36 x 24 actually look like?  I thought I’d show you with a little demonstration:

(please click on the image to view at MAXIMUM size and detail)

24 x 36 size demo

—Peter.

The Prosophos Film Contest.

Inspiration, Leica 24mm Summilux ASPH f/1.4, Q&A

Yes, that’s right, I’m running a contest.

(it’s summer and I’m happy)

The Prosophos Film Contest

–

–

The purpose:

I’m giving away 50 rolls of 35mm Kodak Tri-X 400 B&W film (36 frames/roll) to the person who can show me – in a single image – why he/she loves film.

This of course is open to wide interpretation.  In essence, I’m looking for an image that emotionally moves me, because you were inspired by the medium (as well as the subject matter) when you created it.

–

The rules:

  1. Submissions may be made only after you contact me first via the contact form below (Reason: I don’t want to get spammed by publishing my email address).
  2. Each submitted image must be web-sized – approx (800 – 1100) x (500 – 750) pixels.
  3. The image must have been created by you (it doesn’t matter when – no time restriction).
  4. The image should be shot using film (B&W or colour).

–

That’s it!

Now, you may have noticed that in the contest image above (taken on my driveway this morning ;)) there are ten rolls to a pack, and there are ten packs, so that should equal 100 rolls of film.  However, 50 of them will automatically be given to my friend  Mark Ewanchuk — just for being a good guy :).

–

The fine print.

  1. I will have permission to post the winning image on Prosophos.com, but you will get full credit and maintain 100% ownership of your image.
  2. The deadline for submissions is at midnight (Toronto time) on September 5, 2013.
  3. Only one submission per contestant.
  4. I will be the judge, and my decision is final.
  5. Offensive images will be disqualified.  What’s offensive?  I will decide.

–

How to collect your prize.

I’ll send it to you via post mail, anywhere in the world.  Or, if you can make your way down to Toronto, I’ll hand-deliver it to you and buy you a cup of coffee 🙂

–

Let me know if there are any questions, otherwise, let the games begin!

–

Contact me for permission to send an image:

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

 

The Sony RX1R… is gone.

Inspiration, Q&A, Sony RX1R, Teaching point

Prosophos Sony RX1R

In summary:

The Sony RX1R has great image quality, but is not so great at capturing the “decisive” moment.  Too slow.  Too many button presses in manual mode.  Too much of a clunky computer, not enough of a camera.

If you’re into static scenes, posed shots, or letting your camera do the work for you in auto mode however, it just might be your ticket.

Although I created many images with the RX1R, I’m only posting one or two more.

—Peter.

Compared to the Leica M9, the Sony RX1R…

Inspiration, Q&A, Sony RX1R, Teaching point

…feels like a toy.

…is not an extension of my hands and eyes.

…is slower.

…is equipped with a Zeiss lens-CMOS sensor combination that produces files that are not as sharp (or microcontrast-y) as the M9 with top Leica glass  (the dpreview tests I posted last week were correct).

…is equipped with a Zeiss lens that cannot handle back-lighting as well as modern Leica lenses.

On the positive side, the RX1R:

…is lighter and smaller.

…produces nicer B&W conversions.

…has more dynamic range.

…is equipped with a Zeiss lens that produces smoother bokeh vs. the Leica 35mm Summicron (or Summilux FLE).

…is equipped with a Zeiss lens that focuses closer than the Leica lens equivalents.

.

.

.

These are my initial thoughts.

—Peter.