photography

LEICA M10 Review & Hands On with Sample Photos / January 19, 2017 by Benjamin Traves

THE NEW LEICA M10 HAS ARRIVED!

I'm very excited to finally be able to talk about the newest Leica M camera, the M10. It keeps all the things I liked about the M typ 240 and fixes many things I didn't like. It might just be the perfect camera for me.

UPDATES -

HANDS ON: Finally! So glad to try it out, and it really is as good as I hoped. I'm not just saying that. It is VERY, VERY GOOD!

Yes, it's that good. Think SL image quality in a slim M body with only the features essential to real photography. I'm very excited about this. Looking forward to posting some of my own images soon but for now please enjoy the beautiful product photos by Leica Camera AG.

IMAGE QUALITY: Fantastic, of course, but does seem to be a bit different than the SL and Q sensor output. I've shot both of those quite a bit as well, and this is definitely something different.

Note: This is a "rolling review" meaning I will first post the product photos provided by Leica and later put all of my own images from the M10.

** PRE-ORDERS: I'm happy to say you can now speak to me directly about ordering your new M10. That's why there are no ads on my website, because I work for an official LEICA Dealer which means you can actually talk to me and buy directly from me. For inquiries, please CONTACT ME and we can discuss important issues like whether you want your Leica M10 in silver or black. In all seriousness, I do not bias my reviews to sell cameras. I merely ask that if you have independently decided to purchase a Leica, please do so with me as it helps me out and I'd love to continue posting more good content with zero ads and clutter. My position at a major camera store (and authorized dealer for most camera brands) allows me to sell cameras and lenses from all the popular brands, not just Leica. I am able to discuss nearly any other camera available today with relative familiarity. Sony, Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Zeiss, Hasselblad, Phase One, and also lighting companies such as Broncolor and Profoto. If you have a camera question, I can help.

"Official" Leica press images, followed by my own assessments of the new camera.

SAMPLE PHOTOS - Taken by me - ©2017, Benjamin Traves

Here are the first sample photos taken with the M10. For now, I'm stuck shooting out of a window until I get the OK to take this baby outside.

Many more sample images will be posted soon...

LOW LIGHT / HIGH ISO

Here's the first low-light "Max ISO" test at 50,000 with NO noise reduction applied to the raw file in Lightroom. This is the "worst" it will get at maximum ISO, which of course you shouldn't ever use anyway, on any camera. But people will ask me, so here it is:

Here's one shot at ISO 25,000 handheld, out a window, at night, with the 90mm Summicron at f/2

HASSELBLAD X1D - Review & Sample Images / December 6, 2016 by Benjamin Traves

HASSELBLAD X1D - Review and Sample Images

Hasselblad X1D image via Hasselblad's website

The Hasselblad X1D is revolutionary. Though it has been built around an existing Hasselblad 50 megapixel sensor, almost everything else is brand new. No more Sony Baloney from them. This is an actual new product. It's also a new product category, really, because it's technically "medium format mirrorless" which (other than in the film days) has not been done. In the hand, you can see they borrowed a bit from the design of the Leica T, but they've improved on the grip of that camera by making it rubber and also adding a nice "thumb bump" on the back.

It fits in the hand perfectly. It's relatively light. It's medium format. What's not to like?

Well, the interface is a bit odd and clunky. Keep in mind, I'm only using a pre-production (not final) version of the camera so I imagine they will iron out the quirks by the time you get one. That being said, I'll update this review once I'm able to use a finished version. Firmware will be an important part of this camera's success or failure.

The hardware seems great. If they can just get the software to work properly then this ought to be a great little camera.

Limited lens selection right now, and don't even think of putting Hasselblad's huge H series lenses on this camera, that defeats the purpose of it.

* If you are interested in ordering one, let me know. I work for an authorized Hasselblad dealer. There are no ads on my website because I am in professional camera sales, meaning I personally can handle any purchases you'd like to make. If you would like to speak on the phone or via email about what camera / lenses to get, simply Contact Me and we can talk.

This is a rolling review, as are most of the ones I publish. I work on them and add to them when I have time. More samples coming soon!

Quick snapshot out the window when I first picked up the camera.

** I apologize for the delay in posting more sample images. Unfortunately my access to the prototype has been limited lately. More photos will be posted as soon as I can get my hands on the camera **

These are samples from the Hasselblad 50c digital back, but not from the X1D... Still, it's the same sensor so I thought I'd include these for reference:

* IMPORTANT: If you think you may want to buy an X1D once it is released, feel free to contact me and I'll add you to the waiting list at an authorized Hasselblad dealer (where I work). Yes, it helps me if you choose to give me your business but I still provide my honest opinions on the cameras and lenses I review. Thank you for your support!

Sony A7R II Review and Sample Images / August 5, 2015 by Benjamin Traves

My review of the Sony A7R II is here! (Well, a rolling review which I will be constantly updating)

So, the elephant in the room, which every review will address: It has a 42 megapixel sensor. Yes, that is a ton of pixels. Last month I tested out Phase One's newest beast (the IQ3 digital back with the new XF camera body) which has 80 megapixels. And of course Canon now has over 50 megapixels with the 5Ds/R so it's really not that crazy for Sony to go with 42 for their flagship shooter.

I am curious to see how this new A7R II compares with the Sony A7 II and Sony RX1 as well as my Canon 5D Mk III. A friend of mine has a ton of Sony gear so I should be able to test it with a wide variety of lenses to really see which ones are best for it. Honestly, there isn't much similar to this camera in terms of a fair comparison because it's just so unusual. No mirror, full frame, interchangeable lenses (and adapters for almost any other brand of lens you might want to put on it), plus it's weather sealed so you can go outside and play. Oh, and by the way, it shoots 4K video and can record it internally, unlike the A7S.

The 42 megapixel sensor is certainly interesting, though really not a huge difference in terms of image size from the previous generation of 36 megapixel sensors. I think the real key difference will be in dynamic range and low-light performance. That, and the ability to crop with an APS-C factor, which still leaves you with a very usable 18 megapixels.

** OK, so probably the most interesting thing about the new Sony A7R II that I've noticed so far is that, unlike with most other cameras, this one seems to have files that look much better on the computer than they did on the camera LCD screen. Usually, when you go out and take some pictures, you look at them on the camera and they seem great, then maybe just ok once you put them on the computer. Not so with this new Sony. It reminds me of the medium format Hasselblad and Phase One cameras I've used in the past, because on those the picture is barely even worth looking at on the rear LCD (which is why most pros shoot tethered to a laptop when using medium format digital backs like those) but once you see them on the computer the images are mind-blowing and incredibly detailed with outstanding colors and quality.

I will be working on this review and posting more text soon, but in the mean time you can check out some quick sample images below:

Pretty impressed with the little Sony/Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 and I'm looking forward to testing the new Zeiss Batis lenses soon. I'm a long-time Canon L user and the bokeh from the 50mm f/1.2 L glass is a bit smoother, although this Sony/Zeiss lens is far sharper wide open.

The colors from this sensor are phenomenal, with no adjustments needed.

I also tested the APS-C crop mode, which gives you the look of a longer lens (although it is not the same optically). Still, if you are using a fixed focal length and you don't have anything else with you (like me when I happened to see this peacock wandering around) it's nice to make the 55mm into an effective 82.5mm lens with the APS-C mode (multiply your focal length by 1.5x to figure out the conversion, i.e. a 35mm lens becomes a 52.5mm and so on).

Crop of the photo above this one. This was a "Normal" quality JPEG (I didn't remember to switch to RAW+JPEG until right after this, sadly)

And another quick crop test, this one was taken by my friend with his Sony 70-200mm f/4 (through a window, from his apartment on the 15th floor) while we were testing out the gear:

See the rectangle? That's approximately a 100% crop...

And here's the cropped image. I did not make an effort to recover the highlights. The boat is only over exposed due to the darkness of the water around it, which is most of the original image. Anyway, if this is your boat, be sure to say hi in the c… — And here's the cropped image. I did not make an effort to recover the highlights. The boat is only over exposed due to the darkness of the water around it, which is most of the original image. Anyway, if this is your boat, be sure to say hi in the comments :)

Now, for a high-ISO test... this next one is ISO 4000 at f/4.5 and 1/250th

Another shot at ISO 4000 (and keep in mind I set Noise Reduction to Low in camera and also sharpened this to +50 in Lightroom) — Another shot at ISO 4000 (and keep in mind I set Noise Reduction to Low in camera and also sharpened this to *+50* in Lightroom)

This one was shot with the relatively new Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 mounted on the Sony A7R II

The capabilities of this camera are truly astounding. I'm looking forward to doing much more shooting in the next few days, and of course I will be posting more images as well as my thoughts and impressions of this beast.

More images coming soon!

Also testing out the 4K video...