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.