All hail the new speed king!

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1 + Leica M6, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Yup. The new Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1 is finally out!

Due to geographic proximity, Chii Fei was the first to get it outside of Japan and I'm sure this lens will be a hot seller for sometime.

The initial impression was that it seems slightly smaller (but loads lighter) than Leica's Noctilux 50mm f/1.0, but bigger than Canon's 50mm f/1.2 LTM. I'm not sure what the form factor for the new Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 ASPH will be like, but I doubt it will be as compact.

A screw on hood is supplied, together with a 58mm pinch cap. I would have prefered a push on cap like the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.2. However, the pinch cap can be used on the lens without the hood, which makes it slightly more compact. You win some, you lose some.

Overall built quality seems quite good. Focusing is smooth and aperture click stops are crispy. The black finishing is decent, like the lighter Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 LTM. The absence of an infinity lock is not an issue for a lens of this size. Besides, some folks absolutely hate it!

By the way, there's an even bigger vented hood available for those who like their gear to be visually imposing. I'm sure the hood will intrude into most of the cameras viewfinder, especially those with lifesize magnification.

Image quality is usually subjective, especially when there are legions of Leica diehards defending the reputation of the Noctilux in their collection. In any case, as a modern lens, this lens produce sharp and contrasty images of good resolution. Color film/slide users will surely like the output from this lens. Although I think the out of focus redition is great, but I shall not go into bokeh discussions. It's either you like it or you don't.

Being the only other fast 50mm rangefinder lens in production besides the Leica Noctilux and at only a fraction of the price, Cosina really have a winner on their hands. Whilst the Fujinon 50mm f/1.2 LTM, Zunow 50mm f/1.1 LTM and the Nikkor 5cm f/1.1 may not lose any value due to their cult/collector status, the desirability of the Canon 50mm f/1.2 LTM, Konica Hexanon 50mm f/1.2 M may be impacted with the availability of the new speed king.

Cheers,

I know what you did last night....

I know what you did last night...., originally uploaded by benny ng.

Well.... I wasn't taking a picture of anyone in particular, but was struggling with the lighting condition on the platform with the strong natural on the right. The knee jerk reaction from this Caucasian man attracted my attention. He must have mistaken that I was trying to get a picture of him and his very young female Thai companion in tight jeans and skimpy tank top. Camera shy for obvious reasons, he shook off the girl's hand and tried to use the back of his torso to prevent any compromising images.

What he doesn't know is that I was shooting the structure before he got there and have pictures of both him and his companion hand in hand from the earlier shots as they walked into my frame. Out of respect for his privacy, I'll not be showing those pictures.

Bangkok is full of camera toting tourists everywhere. If you value your privacy, you should take a Taxi or travel without the evidence of your amorous union from last night hanging on your arms.

Cheers,

Traffic!

Traffic!, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Got a chance to spend a few days in Bangkok, a city which I never get tired of visitng. Friendly people, great food, and there's always something happening.

This is a typical traffic situation in Bangkok during peak hours. It's choc a block and almost impossible to get anywhere in a jiffy. We learned this the hard way as we wanted to go watch the sunset from one of the sky lounges that's peppered the Bangkok cityscape recently. We were trying to get from Siam Square to Breeze, which is located the Lebua at State Tower. Normally, this journey should take no more than 20 to 30 minutes by cab, but that will be in the middle of the night.

Obviously, we watched the bits of the setting sun in between buildings as our transport was crawling there. So... moral of the story is to plan ahead and give plenty of time or to avoid travelling during the peak hours.

Anyway, although we missed the sunset, the view was still spectacular.

Bangkok Skyline, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Cheers,

It's such a hassle sometimes...

London Heathrow Terminal 3, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Whilst Britian is a great place to visit, entering or leaving the UK is always such a hassle. As the first and last contact point for tourists and business travelers, the airport experience certainly drops the UK experience by quite a few notches. I wonder why they spend bucket loads of money promoting UK as a great destination instead of upgrading the facilities at the airports. Strange....

In addition, photographers are treated with less respect and often with suspicion by the security staff. If there's a load of folks with happy snappies shooting away in a public place and one chap with an SLR/DSLR, this chap will probably be the one who gets questioned. Photography in public places has become such a difficult and unpleasant experience. I should think that if terrorists are really trying to get pictures, they will be as inconspicious as possible. And these days, even the smaller compact camera or mobile phone can produce great pictures.

I was led to believe that in UK, photogrphers have less rights that those in the US.

I suppose if you leave the camera at home or just bring a small compact like the Panasonic LX3, you'll still have a great time.

Cheers,

My gosh!! It sure is big and long alright!

Canon IIB Rangefinder + Serenar f/4 100mm, originally uploaded by benny ng.

The Canon IIB is one of the earlier models amongst those I have.

Whilst I was organizing the mess with the addition of the 2 new dry cabinets, I thought I'll take this one out for a happy snappy. Mated with with the Serenar f/4 100mm lens and it sure is heavy!! Add the camera holder and it makes a brick seem so much lighter.

The camera holder is really a weird accessory. Although the camera itself has an off center tripod screw, this accessory allows for the camera to be mounted both horizontally and vertically, in the center of the lens axis. There is also a spirit level included as well. I suppose this is for panoramic landscape pictures more than anything else.

I would hate to imagine what a vintage leather bag, with 2 cameras, 3 to 5 lens and their respective finders, the camera holder and loads of film, would weigh.....

Don't you just love the vintage look!

Cheers,

The Serenar 5cm f/2.0 LTM!!!

Chiif X Canon IIF2 X Serenar 5cm f/2.0 LTM, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Chiif X Canon IIF2 X Serenar 5cm f/2.0 LTM

Chi Fei came by for coffee and so I showed him part of the stuff that landed the week before. Amongst the stash was the Canon IIF2 rangefinder camera. It's one of the last few type of bottom loading version and this particular model has less than 3000 pieces ever made.

What is of interest is the lens, which is the Serenar 5cm f/2.0 LTM. This particular variant is one of less than 350 produced! Finally, I'm now down to one last lens for the LTM line up.

Now let's focus on finding the black Canon 85mm f/1.9.

Cheers,

The top gadget of all time!

Leica M3 + Leitz Elmar 5cm f/3.5, originally uploaded by benny ng.

Leica M3 + Leitz Collapsible Elmar 5cm f/3.5 lens.

This is one all time classic that just goes on ticking and ticking. Although there's more than a million units out there, it's just nice to own a piece of photographic history that part of the 35mm photography revolution.

On November 20th, 2006 the Leica M3 was even voted "the top gadget of all time" by ebay.co.uk and Stuff Magazine! Quoting David Bell, Leica UK's Managing director:

"Leica is very proud that the original Leica M3, the oldest gadget in the running, beat more modern day gadget wonders such as the Apple iPod, Sony Walkman and the Game Boy — a true testament to Leica's longevity and iconic status."

So... here's my user copy of the all time classic, together with a matching lens and a quirky soft release!

Cheers,