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The Bokeh-Beast – Mitakon 35mm F0.95 II on Fuji X
Shut it! Before you even say anything, I know, bokeh beast on a crop sensor – what the hell dude? And sure of course, full frame gives you more blurry goodness way easier…but there is the thing. Unless you wanna spend a kidneys worth on a Leica with quality lenses you are shit out of luck to find a rangefinder like my beloved X-Pro 2. So now you might tell me that your oh so amazing Sony Alpha A-whatdoiknow-R has the better sensor and better autofocus and that you get your knickers in a twist over how anybody can not realise how Sony reigns supreme. And you probably would be right about that. But what is the biggest aperture you will possibly get on that platform? 1.4? Maybe adapt a 1.2 Lens from Canon? Ha, pathetic!
What if I told you, that a random Lens from a almost completely unknown chinese brand could deliver an actually functioning lens with a whopping F0.95. Read that again. Zero point fucking nine-five. So you will realise how nobody gives a damn about full-frame anymore. Fuji already has way more than decent ISO-performance. And this lens is full manual anyway, so the question about autofocus is out of question. Fujis excellent focus-peaking system makes the hassle of manual focussing actually really enjoyable. So shush, you Sony fanboys!
But back to the actual lens now! I stumbled over the existence of this piece by mere accident and was more than skeptical. Chinese-made, apperture nobody else could offer, full manual…would it really be worth actually spending money on this? So I looked up some reviews. Not many of those are around, but those that are where overwelmingly positive up to the point where my curiosity overtook and smashed that Order-button like Chris Brown did with Rih…okay lets not go there maybe.
When the lense finally arrived the first surprise came before even unboxing it. Unless any other lens by the more publicly approved brands, this one comes in a really nice, if maybe a bit overdone, (faux)-leather box. Point to Mitakon there! So I proceeded to take it out and…woah, this fucker is heavy! No plastic or such here, this lens is a beast of steel and glass. Which odly enough makes it really satisfying to screw onto the metal Fuji-body and therefore make it very well balanced! So far no signs of cheap china crap!
First shots were taken and I immediately realised how difficult it will be to nail focus on F0.95. And thats where you wanna shoot! Move just slightly – you miss. Subject moves a tad – you muss. I dare say without focus peaking it would almost be impossible to constantly achieve useable results when shooting with a moving model.
The results though when you do hit a bullseye are amazing. Even on fully open aperture you get decent sharpness, at least in the centre. Stop it just slightly and it gets even better. I feel like this is the moment to mention that pretty much all pictures in this article were shot between 0.95 and 1.4. Rarely do I feel the need to stop it down further. The focus- as well as the aperture ring move buttery smooth and a bit firmer than known from Fuji-lenses, however the aperture ring is completely stopless. A ‘feature’ to get used too!
So, sharpness is decent, usability is all set…what else is to say? Oh yeah, the bokeh! Thats why you are here, aren’t you? Well, it has amazing depth and contrast to it, produces lovely blurs that make the images incredibly moody. The whole rendering of the lense is purely fascinating and like nothing I have really ever seen in the sector of what is affordable for the mere mortal! Of course a Noctilux-Leica lens will be superior in any way you could think off. But it also costs 20 times as much. So for most people that is not really an option and this Mitakon lens comes closer than I would ever have expected!
In short, my mind is made up! I simply adore this lens and it won’t leave my camera so quickly!
Quick-Review: Gobe UV Filter
Hello there!
General Keno…wait, this is not a meme! This is a blog and I may have gotten this confused since I did not post anything in half a year. My bad!
But to get in the rhythm of posting more content again I am going to start off today with a quick little review of the Gobe UV filter for my Fuji 56 1.2.
My new favorite lens!
After my recent switch from Canon to Fujifilm I also decided to go back to prime lenses again. So instead of the 24-70 zoom lense I wanted to cover the trinity of 35/50/85mm again.
About shooting film…or not!
Should you shoot with film? Put your fancy digital camera away for once and bust out the old reliable?
Quick Tip: About Chiaroscuro
Today it’s gonna be a quick one about using Chiaroscuro in portraiture and photography in general. Being the italian word for light-dark describes a stylistic device with it roots in paintings of the late renaissance which consisted of intensive light and dark contrasts.
Shooting Studio-Fashion with the Fuji X-Pro 2
Hello there and sorry for not writing something for a few days.
Today I finally want to tell you about my first shooting experience after the switch from Canon to the Fuji X-Pro2.
Why I sold all my Canon gear.
No, I am not insane. Well maybe a little bit. But that has nothing to do with me selling my huge full-frame Canon and the hubble-like lenses.
Why I fucking love black & white!
As you probably already saw, a lot of stuff on this blog is black and white. And there is a reason for that: I fucking love it and you should too!
What is some artsy fartsy feature for the majority of snapping dslr owners out there is actually a key point in defining characteristics of an image. The reduced colors make you actually watch out for what makes an image. How often did you see some bright and colorful images with flashy bokeh that gained thousands of instagram likes. Quite often I recon, but the problem is: There is no message in this immage, no reason for it to exit other than being flashy. If thats what you want for your artistic work then fine, you’ve made it.
But if you actually want to develop your style I can only recommend to start shooting in black and white! Yes, SHOOT in black and white, not translate in in post. Set your camera to monochrome and go bananas! Experiment with natural light and studio light. You will quickly see how you become more aware of lighting and its effects since colors wont distract you anymore.
Shooting monochrome will make your images get more connected to its subject, you can capture emotion and moods more effectively and on a personal level. I think black and white photography has a grave importance in the future art world because it not only helps the artist to focus on the images main elements, it also helps the viewer see what is important. Only if we can guide our viewers to what we want to tell and express we can actually gain any interest in our works.
My favorite lighting-setups!
Light, thats pretty much all that photography is about, right? Well maybe everything, but it certainly is damn important. So important that its quite worthwhile to learn how to use and control it. So today I’ll be showing you some of my favorite lighting styles and setups, most of which are pretty easy to build.
About jobs that limit your creativity.
So yeah, the freelance photographer floating through life like a rainy cloud will now talk to you about not liking your job. But before I continue a quick disclaimer. Don’t quit your day job or decline everything that not fits your thinking a hundred percent just yet. You’ll probably go bankrupt before you can wallow in your new found freedom.
Find your own style!
What to do when it’s thirty-fucking-five degrees celsius and you don’t know what to do?
Why you should start printing your works…RIGHT NOW!
I recently got a hold of my printed Portfolio and it made me realize how damn important it is to print your works. Be it photography or if you’re a writer the plain and simple written word.
My Portfoliobook
Today I want to introduce you to my printed portfolio.
For a while now I had the idea in my mind of having my portfolio printed to have something to show in client- and agency-meetings or to show it to friends.
(more on the topic of why it is important to print your works in the near future)
New beginnings – an introduction.
Well hello there!
Finally I can start and share my new blog-project with the world.
Not only will this be a platform for my own works of photography, I also aim to publish some of my writing, as well as book-reviews, artist-features and general rants about stuff I love…or hate, here.