Hey dear readers! I produced a video for my YouTube about the black & white ISO 100 films I'm shooting now (2020 & 2021) ... as we analog photographers all know, there's not a huge choice of "standard" films anymore. (I'm not covering all the re-branded old and/or "creative" or Lomo-style film stock out there.)... Continue Reading →
Video review: TT Artisan 35/1.4 for APS-C
Hey there, here's my newest video on my new youtube channel and it's – you blog readers might have guessed – about the new TT Artisan 35mm f/1.4 for APS-C lens: https://youtu.be/Z_ZDtbZV5zc I already posted a two-part review on this blog about that lens: Less than 100 bucks? Gotta be kiddin’! New TT Artisan 35/1.4... Continue Reading →
Cheap & great: New TT Artisan 35/1.4 for APS-C (Review – part 2)
The last weekend I've been busy taking pictures with my new TT Artisan 35/1.4 to continue my review of this lens. Read part 1 hereSee also my video review on youtube I also thought it would be interesting to compare its performance to a true classic lens of (roughly) the same specifications – the Olympus... Continue Reading →
Less than 100 bucks? Gotta be kiddin’! New TT Artisan 35/1.4 for APS-C (Review – part 1)
Hey guys! This is part 1 of my review of the brand-new TT Artisan 35/1.4. This covers all the mechanical aspects and some background info. Also included are some first shots that I took with this lens on my Fuji X-E3. Proceed to part 2 of this reviewSee also my video review on youtube Disclosure:... Continue Reading →
Welcome back for 2021, Fuji!
A bit over a year in my digital photography has passed with just the Sony A7R II at hand. In the meantime – apart from being busy taking photos both for my private pleasure as well as for paying customers – I have just started my own tomscameras YouTube channel, and I've ventured somewhat deeply... Continue Reading →
Video review: Jupiter-9 85/2 – a classic bokeh king!
Hey girls and guys! Another video ... this time about a lens that, in my opinion, features one of the all-time great designs: The KMZ Jupiter-9 85mm f/2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7pxqUMN0DU Many thanks again to Takahiro Oda for filming me. Always a great pleasure!
My first video: Why’s the Voigtländer 35/1.4 my favourite lens?
Hey girls and guys! I just joined youtube vloggers – here's my first video and it's a small review about my current favourite lens: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_kxXqoCXm8 Many thanks to Takahiro Oda for filming me. Was a great pleasure!
A matter of perspective: 12 mm …
This will be one of my shortests blog posts ever. A friend gave me a Voigtländer 12mm f/5.6 lens (the Leica M version) to try out on my A7R II. I came back with these two snapshots of the same wall sticker art: (As usual, these pics were processed in Lightroom. I did not apply... Continue Reading →
Classic optics, new camera: The Jupiter-9 85mm f/2 on the Sony A7R II
Nameless sculpture by Zeljko Rusic, in Cologne. (Jupiter-9 at f/2.8) 1987. Gorbatchev published a manifesto for change – perestroika – and transparency – glasnost – a huge step that led to the end of the Cold War and the transformation of Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukrainia and many other states. 1987. Madonna sings "Open Your Heart",... Continue Reading →
The beauty of brutalism: St. Johannes XXIII. Church in Cologne
This awesome building happens to be just around the corner of my home, close to the center of Cologne. The St. Johannes XXIII. Church was designed by architect Heinz Buchmann and sculptor Josef Rikus in the late 1960s. It was pretty derelict in the early 2000's but thankfully was restored in 2014–2015. From today's perspective... Continue Reading →
Voigtländer FE 35/1.4 – I expected some funky dream lens but got a seriously high-quality one instead!
So I bought the Sony A7R II about a month ago. Coming from the Fuji X-E3 with its really superb 23/2 "Fujicron" I knew I'd have to get a 35mm lens for the Sony and my secret plan was to get a manual focus lens. Slower photography just suits me: My subjects are mostly big... Continue Reading →
Zeiss Contarex Distagon 35/2 on the Sony A7R II
A gem of classic lenses! Zeiss developed some über-lenses for its Contarex SLR system, and the Distagon 35mm f/2 most certainly was one of them. It went on sale in 1965 – a full 54 years ago as I write down these lines, even some years before the Apollo 11 moon landing. I posted about... Continue Reading →
Thanks Fuji, welcome back Sony!
It's August 2019, and I was already suffering bad G.A.S. cause my last camera purchase dates back to November 2017 – yay that is almost two years ago! I was shooting my little Fuji X-E3 all the time, and loved it. I'm not a heavy shooter in terms of shutter count apparently – I apparently... Continue Reading →
Effelsberg radio telescope … science fiction at the countryside
There's this urge for exotic far-away places that some of us often are striving to visit. Cause they're, well, exotic and far away, which adds to their attraction. And then we forget that there are equally exotic places just around the next corner, literally. Like I pass the Cologne Cathedral every morning on my way... Continue Reading →
Photokina 2018 – my very personal show report
Many many folks have been blogging about Photokina and all news and exciting releases have been covered already in great detail. 2018, as you probably all know by now, has been maybe the biggest year of mirrorless systems, seeing that Canon, Nikon and even Panasonic are now entering this future market – finally. I'm a... Continue Reading →