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Category: Gear

October 17, 2020

Lumin8: The Crowd-funding Con

To say I’m a compulsive crowdfunding addict would be putting it lightly. There’s a thrill to backing innovative projects at low pricing, typically substantially better than retail. As with all crowdfunding projects, there is a certain risk of failure during the course of development, and as these platforms will remind you, they are not a store. In this instance, the Lumin8 Full Spectrum was neither developed, nor has it delivered the quality backers were after. Let’s take a dive into their deception…

September 23, 2020

5 Frames with the Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL W-Dreamer

In all honesty, I did not know what to expect from the Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL, the worlds widest fullframe rectilinear lens. Prior to this, I hadn’t gone beyond 15mm (with the Voightlander Super-Wide Heliar III). After the hands-on review of the Tokina SZX Super Tele 400mm Reflex lens, I felt compelled to take things to the extreme opposite end…

September 16, 2020

Grail Cameras: Lust for Leica M

At the end of the day, despite any emotional or sentimental attachment elicited from the potential of creation, a camera is still a tool. After a decade long journey of jumping between brands and unhealthy relapses into the dreaded state of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, I believe the Leica M system retains the essence of stills photography at its simplest form.

August 31, 2020

Hands-On: Tokina SZX Super Tele 400mm F8 Reflex MF Review

I’ll admit it. I love primes. Specifically, lightweight prime lenses that differentiate from contemporary offerings with yesteryear’s quirky (and potentially inherently “flawed”) optical designs. Recently, Tokina introduced an SZX 400mm F8 Reflex lens to their catalogue. Comprised of 6 elements in a mirror arrangement with only a fixed F8 aperture, can something so simple and niche stay relevant in an age of over-engineering and pixel peeping resolution?

August 20, 2020

Throwback Frames- Osaka by Nightlight with the Lensbaby Velvet 56

It’s been a few months into the Coronavirus lockdown with international borders all but shut. The sense of wanderlust has been growing, slowly gnawing away at me as I revisit old sets whilst archiving photos from the past year.

August 12, 2020

5 Frames with the Hasselblad Zeiss Sonnar 150mm f/4 CF

I recently completed my Hasselblad trinity with the impulse purchase (justified as an eBay score) of a 150mm Sonnar. As with any second-hand acquisition, I was both anxious and eager to test its working condition and image quality.

August 5, 2020

A Long-term Review of the Ricoh GR III

Today I’m celebrating a return to blogging by recounting my experiences detailed in a long-term review of the Ricoh GR III. Any invested photographer will warn you of the perils of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and I definitely am not immune to that…. but that’s a post for another day.

So how did the Ricoh GR III become my most used camera in the past year and a half, despite every other exciting shiny new release and purchase?

December 31, 2011

Technical Obscura: Leica M4-P

Obscura from Latin, the rudimentary definition being: Dark.
Exactly how new toys actually leave most people, even me… in the dark. But the newest addition to my family, the renowned Canadian produced Leica M4-P had a surprisingly easy learning curveRead More

November 22, 2011

Ricoh GXR A12 M-Mount Module Review

For three weeks I was given the opportunity to trial the new Ricoh M-Mount module ahead of its launch at FotoRiesel. Not being a Ricoh user myself, I was also supplied with the GXR body and electronic viewfinder. Here are my impressions:Read More

October 24, 2011

A Blast From The Past: My Date With A Mail Order Russian Camera.

My most recent acquisition from glorious ~~Russia~~ Ukraine was a Kiev 88 manufactured in 1987, unopened and unused since then. Knowing that this is a bit of a gamble due to horror stories and notorious quality control at that period, this is still a direct Hasselblad copy and hence I gave into temptation. Read More

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