Looking Back …. Leica SL (typ601) Test drive

     It was June 21, 2016. I was at Samy's Camera (LA) picking up the recently released Leica SL. The evaluation copy had been organized by Tibor(RIP old friend) through Ebi our regional Leica rep. The SL came with an f/2.8-4.0 24-90 Vario-Elmarit lens, a good range, however quite heavy. I had the use of the camera for a week. At the time was looking to move away from Canon, they were late in the mirrorless move. One major consideration besides cost itself, since I was shooting pro boxing, was service … more on this later. The body and lens total with sales tax was around $15k … I had to sign a voucher for full value. At the time I was not only shooting Canon, but also Leica M (typ 240) and Leica MM (typ 246).
Putting the camera through its paces. I shot a range of situations as well as some boxing training in the gym. Although the output is color, I convert to b&w, my preference as to how I show my work. Here are 16 shots from that test drive. I left 2 shots in the native color.

My very first shot....since I spend a great deal of time at the beach, 

it seemed like a good starting point.

As mentioned color shots are a rarity.

Next up, boxing. A young Oscar Valdez was traing while 2 other fighters were sparing at The Rock.

Oscar on the heavy bag.

Then down to Little Saigon. Iced vietnamese coffee, with iced tea chaser.

A Buddhist nun at Chua Hue Quang. One of the many Buddhist temples in the area.

Sunken City in San Pedro, Fermin Point, perfect for landscape & seascape.

Walker's Cafe, unfortunately did not survive the Covid Lockdown.

A final shot, San Pedro looking towards Terminal Island.

    In a 5 day period, numerous locations and 391 shot, I put the camera through its paces. The full gamut of my photo needs. I was left with a very positive impression. Interestedly enough, a week after this test shoot I started another TV series. The file was put aside, actually forgotten. I just very recently resurrected it, and felt I needed to do the test drive justice with this post.

As always all images are copyrighted, ©PeterPolitanoff, and may not be reproduced without explicit consent. You are more than welcome however to point to or mention this page.

    

Shooting With A Found Camera, Flares And Light Leaks (this may be wordy)

 Although I shoot mostly digital, I also love film. Film can be more experimental and less predictable. One feature, and also a drawback, of digital is that you always know what you are getting. Looking through the EVF viewfinder, or previewing on the screen, pretty much guarantees your results. With film it is another matter, whether incorrect exposure, light leaks, or flares, or worse case scenario forgetting to remove the lens caps, your results may not be what was anticipated.

That brings us to film. Why the title? Besides shooting with my Hasselblad, or film Leicas, I have always enjoyed vintage cameras. The variables are even greater. For my last trip to East Asia, I decided rather than bringing a film camera (in addition to my Leica M10 & Sony a7c), I would buy an old 6x6 camera in Tokyo. Well easier said than done. Although eBay is loaded with vintage cameras for sale … apparently they are all warehoused. I scoured almost every camera store in Shinjuku, until I finally found a Mamiya 6. Shutter seemed to work, camera a little rough. However it fit the criteria of being ‘a found camera’. The Mamiya 6 is heavy, consequently only shot about 6 rolls. Didn’t bring it to China with me, simply left it in the one suitcase I left behind in Japan. Not only was I concerned about shutter accuracy, but also flares lacking a lens hood. Upon returning home, I found my worries were unfounded. Shutter was fine, and since I took care by blocking the sun with a card. No flares.

Decided I needed a lens hood, simply to facilitate shooting. Bought a odd one on eBay. Modified it to fit the lens. Decided to test it in very bright sunlight. Not wanting to waste a good roll of film, I used my last remaining roll of Fomapan 200. Fomapan 200 is by far my least favorite film. Seems all midtones, lacks contrast. Perfect for a test to see if the hood interferes with the image. Processed in Rodinal. The results were surprising. The hood did not interfere with the image however there were flares galore. 

Here are 2 images of the camera, and 3 results.

Originally the 3 images below were flat and lifeless, thanks to Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom, and Nik SilverEfex, I was able to rescue them. 

As alway, all images are copyright ©PeterPolitanoff, and may not be reproduced without explicit consent. You are more than welcome to point to, or,  link to this page.

 Brandt's Cormorant Breeding Season ... La Jolla Cove.

Currently (2024.05.01) the cliffs at La Jolla Cove are filled with nests. It is breeding season for the Brandt's Cormorant. The cliffs are active with nests, hatchlings, and adults. The throat pouch of the birds turns bright blue during this period, normally black matching the birds feathers. Both adults not only care for and feed the hatchlings, they are also constantly primping them.

Here are eight images from the other morning.

 Just a small area of the cliffs, white with bird dung. 

As noted the Throat pouch turns bright blue. 

A male performs a ritual to attract his female and warn off other males. 

An adult sitting on the eggs. I noticed the bird moved around occasionally, so I patiently waited until I could get a shot with an egg visible.

Below are 3 shots of adults with hatchings, ranging from newly hatched to almost mature.

All shots were with Sony a7iv and Sony 100-400 GM OSS lens.

As always, all images are ©PeterPolitanoff and may not be reproduced without explicit permission.

You are more than welcome to share this link.

peterdesigns@mac.com

Oops ___ Underexposed by 2.5 stops , "I'll fix it in post"

       

    Test shots of a new film body, turned into... How do I fix this?? 

I inadvertently shot a roll of film +2.5. Yes underexposed by 2.5 stops. How? Well just received my second Leica R 9 from Japan. Quickly set up the camera, however failed to notice that there was an exposure compensation. I was essentially testing the shutter speeds, felt Long Beach Harbor and Port would give me good opportunities. When I processed the film I thought my Xtol was was to old. Until I noticed the exp comp of +2.5. Well as an exercise I scanned the negs anyway. Here are several resulting images after a fair amount of work in Lightroom. A note, tried using AI but the grain and lack of detail were well beyond its scope. Leica R9 w/ Leica 80-200 lens and CatLabs 320 film. Shot in Long Beach, on the sand and in the harbor. As the saying goes "I'll fix it in post"

As you can seeing,  the images are not a total loss. The Lighthouse in particular has a wonderful Pointillist quality. While the ships at sea seem enveloped in a fog.

As always all images are ©Peter Politanoff and may not be reproduced without explicit consent.

Leica iiif and Rollei RPX 25 on a stormy day.

 It was Dec. 29, the surf forecast was 8'-12' at Huntington Beach. High surf with poor visibility. One would think that choosing my Leica iiif and loading it with a low sensitivity film was a bad choice. However since I was shooting digital as well, to catch the action, I chose Rollei RPX 25 to capture the 'vibe'.

I can count on my Sony a7iv for crisp clean action shots, but I was also looking for more. Chose the Leica iiif over my M3 or M6 for the image quality my 1951 Elmar 5cm f/3.5 lens would give me. In view of the fact that it was early morning, I anticipated shooting the lens wide open. This was also the first time shooting Rollei RPX 25 stock.

For the record. I processed the film in Rodinal 1:25 for 6.5 minutes. 

Here are the images from Huntington Beach on Dec. 29, 2023.

As I arrived, very high tide, poor visibility.

The pier gets lots in the fog.

Surfer waiting to paddle out.

High tide backing me up further under the pier.

The feeling I was looking for!

Large crowd out to see the waves and high surf.

The next day, Dec. 30, also had a promising forecast. I opted this time to shoot at the Manhattan Beach Pier (my old stomping ground). Forecast also called for 8'-12', but visibility was much clearer. Consequently the image quality is slightly different.

Waves pound the pier, which was closed. Unlike like Huntington which is very large and tall. The waves will break over the pier creating a potentially dangerous condition.

Another photographer on the beach, north side of the pier. The skies were starting to clear and the sun breaking through. Volleyball practice getting ready to start on the south side.

As I mentioned, these are all images shot with Rollei RPX 25 on my Leica iiif. The results... better than I expected.

As always: all images are copyrighted ©PeterPolitanoff and may not be reproduced without expressed consent.

Fomapan 200 - I didn't like the first roll I shot!

Fomapan 200 initially was not a favorite film stock of mine. I use Fomapan 100 on a regular basis, thought I would give 200 a try. My initial shots were boring, lifeless, lacking contrast. Since I still had a roll left I thought I would play with it. 

Although rated at 200, I decided to shoot at iso 400. There were no specific developing times for 400,  so I interpolated. Loaded the roll into my Hasselblad 203 FE and headed down to Los Angeles Harbor & Cabrillo Beach. 

Here are the resulting 5 images. Specifics are listed below.

Although the results are interesting, seemingly sort of hit and miss, I'm not sure how often I might shoot this film stock.

Hasselblad 203 fe. Zeiss T* 2.8/150 lens. Fomapan 200 shot @ iso 400. Developed in Kodak Xtol ... interpolated the devoting time + 25%. Sepia Toning. Cabrillo Beach and LA Harbor.

As always... all images are Copyrighted '©Peter Politanoff', and may not be reproduced without specific consent. You are more then welcome however to share the link.

First Day Of Summer  - El Porto Beach

Well, It was the first 'official' day of summer. Stopped at El Porto Beach on my way back from Marina del Rey. Leica R9 w/ Leica 35-70 f/4 zoom lens, and only 2 rolls of film in my bag,  CatLabs 320, and Rollei Retro 400S. In reality both film stocks are actually rebranded Agfa Aviphot 200 . 

Trying to shoot out the CatLabs 320, when I noticed a family of 6 making their way to waters edge. I watched as they struggled unfolding the beach chairs, finding the ideal spot on the beach, and finally settling in. There were only 5 frames left on the Catlabs 320. Managed to shoot 2 useable images. Then switched to the Rollei Retro 400S to capture the final shot.

I shot the Catlabs 320 at ISO 200.. this is actually my preferred setting for the Aviphot 200 film stock. While I shot the Rollei Retro 400S at the designated 400 ISO. In processing I developed the CatLabs roll w/ Xytol at a 1:1 dilution, and the Rollei with Rodinal (which has always been my goto developer) at a 1:25. I have to admit the reason for 2 different film stocks was simply my last rolls of both CatLabs 320 and Rollei Retro 400.

Here are the resulting 3 images... #1 & #2 Catlabs, #3 Rollei.

As they arrived, they struggled, group effort, to unfold and attempt to assemble the beach chairs,

The mother points to the preferred spot on the beach.

All set up and enjoying the view, while the eldest daughter reads in the shade.

As you can see the the image quality, although different developers & developing time, is very similar. Midtones I feel are better when the film is shot at ISO 200. Both are very usable approaches to using what is the same film stock... Agfa Aviphot 200.

Hopefully my next post will be a comparison with Fomapan 200.

As always .... all photos are copyright Peter Politanoff.. ©PeterPolitanoff, and cannot be reproduced w/o explicit written permission.