MISSION:

Snapshot Voyager is about my own personal photography journey. I am always looking to try something new, inquisitive as to how it works, and to the end results I might achieve.

Sunday 27 October 2013

The return of the FE2




There is a rumour on the internet that Nikon will sell a full frame DSLR that is styled similarly to Nikon's excellent FM2 of 30+ years ago.  I've owned both an FE2 (sister camera to the FM2) and an F3 (similar, but a bit more robust), and loved them both.  I liked the relatively light weight, compact size and classic styling.  I will admit that neither got significant use (the convenience of digital does that), but both shot photos I can instantly remember.

Personally, I love classic styling, and the Fuji X100 is the camera that best encapsulates this.  If the pricing is right (ie under $2000) I can see a digital FE2 being a major hit.  I've got my hand up!


Saturday 19 October 2013

Sony A7 and A7r




Aside from perhaps a Leica M 240, the just released Sony A7 and A7r full frame E mount cameras promise to be the ultimate mirror-less camera you can buy.  A compact full frame sounds like a dream, especially for those who like using adapted lenses, even more so for Leica M lens lovers.  

Certainly if I had plenty of spare money and time, this camera would be high up there for me.
Perhaps the main thing I dislike is the exorbitant prices of the Zeiss lenses it has been released with.  I am sure they are excellent, but at 4-5 times the going rate of the equivalent Canon or Nikon, they'd better be exceptional.  In fact the prices are really not far off the equivalent for a Leica M product, and higher than the equivalent Zeiss M mount lenses.  That's going to scare off a lot of enthusiasts, and keep potential volumes low.

There are a couple of questions that really still need to be answered, and for me the biggest is what will the performance be like on wide angle Leica M mount lenses.  Performance on crop bodies for some lenses, especially symmetrical type lenses typified by the small Voigtlander wide angle lenses.
Still, I'm watching this camera closely as I think it will be an excellent product.

Leica CL and Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 Nokton SC