Vivian - Impromptu Portraits with a Chinese lens

[sometimesmaybe]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

i shot these a few weeks ago, but only got around to looking at them now. these 2 images were taken in a pedestrian tunnel at a construction site in the CBD.

Viv and i were en route to a different location when i noticed how beautiful the light looked. the morning sun was just peering through the clouds and started to bouncing off the sidewalk and spilling into the tunnel.

i asked Viv to face the light and lean against a support girder, while i grabbed my m246. i had my GFX100s + GF110mm (equiv to 90mm in 135) with me, but the location called for the Leica and my cheapo 7Artisans 75mm instead. i can't explain my reasoning, but 'ultimate IQ' just didn't matter to me, because i just wanted the monochrom. go figure that one out 🤷‍♂️

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[sometimesmaybe]

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[stuny]

Excellent, and I'm glad you had the idea

[StS]

Outstanding portraits, which certainly deserve more comments than just Stuarts and mine.

Very charming

Stefan

[fotografr]

No explanation necessary. I love b&w photography and these two images are good examples of why. The IQ looks great to me. 

[benqui]

Really two wonderful portraits! I can not decide which one I like more! Thanx for showing!

[sometimesmaybe]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

13 hours ago, fotografr said:

The IQ looks great to me

there's absolutely nothing wrong with the leica IQ, but some times it's hard to get off the megapixel treadmill - 24mp vs 100mp🤪

[fotografr]

9 hours ago, sometimesmaybe said:

there's absolutely nothing wrong with the leica IQ, but some times it's hard to get off the megapixel treadmill - 24mp vs 100mp🤪

I was actually referring more to the "cheapo 7-Artisans 75mm."  The megapixel race is kind of crazy. I use two Monochrom cameras, the 18 megapixel M9M and the 47 megapixel Q2M and for web viewing and printing up to 11x14 I'm hard pressed to see any significant difference. The M246 is also still a fine camera and quite suitable for most purposes. 

[sometimesmaybe]

6 hours ago, fotografr said:

I was actually referring more to the "cheapo 7-Artisans 75mm."

i'm actually a huge fan of the 7A. i bought it used (around USD$200/$250) initially just to test the 75mm focal length. 

it's not a 'perfect' lens (in terms of sharpness, flare resistance and spherical aberrations), but that's also its charm. i don't shoot it wide open because it's just too wild for my tastes (even for portraits), but IMO between f2 to f4, this lens comes alive and gives:

1.  enough detail without me having to spend all my time in post re-touching facial blemishes (i like to think of it as the auto makeup feature of this lens);
2.  enough glow to add something special to the images; and
3.  enough bokeh to isolate the subject.

obviously just my $0.02 and from the perspective of a portrait shooter 

[fotografr]

40 minutes ago, sometimesmaybe said:

i'm actually a huge fan of the 7A. i bought it used (around USD$200/$250) initially just to test the 75mm focal length. 

it's not a 'perfect' lens (in terms of sharpness, flare resistance and spherical aberrations), but that's also its charm. i don't shoot it wide open because it's just too wild for my tastes (even for portraits), but IMO between f2 to f4, this lens comes alive and gives:

1.  enough detail without me having to spend all my time in post re-touching facial blemishes (i like to think of it as the auto makeup feature of this lens);
2.  enough glow to add something special to the images; and
3.  enough bokeh to isolate the subject.

obviously just my $0.02 and from the perspective of a portrait shooter 

That's a lot of benefit for a small investment. I'm going to have to look into some of their lenses--like the 0.95. I don't do much portrait work anymore but if I did the 75 would be perfect.