“Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.” Sally Mann

Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100mm ZE

My Carl Zeiss Distagon 2/35 ZE – Shot with Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100mm ZE.

Sold my Canon lenses except a 50mm 1,4 that comes in handy with paid jobs for local newspapers etc where I just sometimes need to shoot fast and dont have the luxury to manual focus.  That 50mm f1.4 is small, fast, lightweight and stays in my camera bag with a small flash for same reason. It’s a workhorse of a lens and never seems to fail me.

Sold my Canon 300 L F4 IS after only a couple of weeks owning it. Regret selling the 300 L.

Also sold my Carl Zeiss Planar T* 85mm 1.4 ZE. The Makro-Planar T* 2/100mm ZE covers about same focal lenght and also needed to free up some cash, so the 85mm had to go.  That said, the Zeiss Planar 85 was a great lens that gave me many sharp portraits with great color and bokeh. For me it’s now Makro-Planar 100 f2 that are going to be my portrait lens .

April 20
Bought some ND filters. Did go for the Cokin Z system because it’s pretty good quality at a low price.  Did some test shots with ND filters, just for fun and learing. The reason I needed the ND filters is some sunny mid day f2 portraits outdoors. I’m not much into landscape, but they are useful for that too.

These was shot with Zeiss 35/2 + ND 4.  All shot’s wide open at f2. Last one mid day in the sun. Looks like ND4 is going to work fine for sunny f2 portraits. When shooting fast lenses wide open in the sun the problem is the camera’s max shutter speed is exceeded. Adding a ND filter get the shutterspeed down and give me creative opportunities on sunny days.

Orchid in window light.

Photoshoot, model is Julia GB . Makeup and hair getting done. Carl Zeiss

Test shots I took while Julia was testing the X100 and Stine was testing light.

April 11 :Sold my Ricoh GR compact camera and bought a used Fuji X100 Black Limited Edition, with the original box and all the extras.  Got a really good offer and it is in mint condition. Love the Fuji X100 colors so for that low price it was a no brainer to buy. Only attached my Gordy strap and is charging the battery for now.
Going to post some first shots from it tomorrow.  Going to test it play with it all day.

Fuji X100

Fuji X100
Couple of my first shots with my ‘new’ X100.   I think this camera performs very well. Long time since I tried the X100. It’s a good camera to use.  Nice quality feel about it, heavy and solid. With a fast pro memorycard and shooting jpg and not raw it feels fast enough  – it’s an good street camera. Have also tried the newer X100s and I think it lacks the original x100 magic rendering and colors in low light.  That said of course X100s is a better camera, faster and improved in every way…but I feel the ‘magic’ is gone with the s.  If I ever buy one i’ll may change my mind when I get to know it better. The X100 is a little soft at f2 but pretty sharp at f2.8 and higher.

Have sold my Canon lenses. Newer used them much anyway. So maybe this month I am going to buy a used Carl Zeiss 100/2 Makro-Planar lens. My dream is the Otus 55/1,4 but that is way too expensive for me. Anyway, the Distagon and Planar are really good and serve me well. If a good deal for a second hand Makro-Planar turns up I’ll buy it.

Sometimes with MF lenses you just miss. Either you or the model(s) move and with no AF that moment is gone. That said, for me I would never dragged my camera around so much if I not enjoyed the h**l out of my Carl Zeiss lenses. One trick to get a sharp image is to shoot 4-5 pictures in a burst. I do this often with moving people and animals. Chances are good of one or two razor sharp shots. This one, slightly missed is still a keeper for me. And that’s all that matter in the end. Shot with Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f2 ZE.

Self portrait, my wounds in the face are healing fast. My upper lip have almost invisible scars now. Strange to know it was cut open not long ago. 55 sewn stitches in the face. Going to have scars on my nose for the rest of my life – anyway I was lucky. A guardian angel must be watching over me.

All pictures is Copyright © Ulf Greger.