What to have (VIII)

The world smallest M mount lens ever made, Sadoyasu Miazaki's custom made Super Triplet Perar 28mm f4. Or the 35mm f3.5 of the same maker, which is the smallest M mount 35mm lens.

Ever heard of a cinemagraph?

It's a GIF that presents itself as a photo but shows only some subtle details in motion. Few seconds, frozen in time, waiting for the right director to transform them into the shortest short movie in history. Which, btw, is going to be my next art project.

Until then, this is next best thing: I took some of Kevin Burgs' cinematographs, added one, and rearranged them in order to make a short story out of it. It's called "The fastest man"...

The other Mondrian

One of my all time favorites: the portret of Igor Stravinsky, as seen by Arnold Newman. Here's a nice post about him, via wayneford's posterous.

kids pro quo

If you love the SX-70, you definitely have something to share with some very talented kids from Ghana.

Holy Grail (The miniature version)

The Compass Camera was manufactured by the Swiss watch-makers Le Coultre et Cie for the Compass Cameras Ltd., based in London. It was conceived and designed by Noel Pemberton Billing, an airman and Member of Parliament. The camera was launched in March 1937, and it was at least available in London until 1941.

‘Compass: the embodiment of scientific system in miniature cameras. Built like a watch – as simple to use.’
- Advertisement, 1938

The other way of looking

Go ahead, have it all. Why bother focusing? Just take the picture and decide later what should be in focus and what shoudn't. Check out another revolutionary camera that promises to deliver a different way of looking at things: the new Lytro. 

It's here

The best 50mm on the planet: the Summicron f2.

Robert Longo

A picture from his excelent series Yingxiong (Heroes).
More here.

The Empire Strikes Back

This is a smart move that will probably stay in the history of photography: Polaroid makes a comeback with Z340, the digital instant photography system.The camera uses 3x4 Zink inkless film that prints in full color in under a minute and a 14 megapixel sensor. More here.

Jane Bown

Jane Bown, 60 years of portraits.
More here.

Steve McCurry: a retrospective

Holy Grail

"...In the mid-1930s, a legendary soft-focus lens, the Thambar 90mm f2.2 was designed, and made in small numbers between 1935 and 1949, no more than 3000 units. It is a rare collector's item today."

Why should you use film

Damn good news

Ricoh's GXR, one of the most versatile systems out there just got better. The company just announced a M-Mount module ($649) that houses a 12 megapixel APS-C size sensor and of course, a Leica M-Mount to attach your favorite Leica glass. To complement the manual nature of Leica-style shooting, they've added various new features including a focus-assist function for increased manual shooting accuracy. Available this September. 

What does it mean, in the long run? That Fuji, along with other competitors, will do the same and most probably will have to do it quite quickly. We should get prepared for a Fuji X200 / X300 for Christmas, I reckon.