My Voigtlander 35mm f/0.9 lens arrived today. I needed a test frame, so I chose my favorite model. Captured with X-T5, 2026-08-10 13:40:39, 35mm, 1/85sec, f/0.9, ISO-1600, SOOC.
My new-to-me Voigtlander 35mm f/0.9 Nokton arrived Monday. I had to make a test frame just to see.
Voigtlander makes some pretty darned good manual focus lenses. They lean toward the vintage aesthetic, that is, they are not clinically sharp and they render images that look more like vintage lenses than modern.
But they have the modern convenience of talking to the camera body and informing lens focal length, aperture setting, and distance to the subject so that the camera’s processor can provide support. In the case of my X-T5, that means that in-body stabilization works as well as populating the EXIF portion of the image file. These are good things.
I had the Mitakon 35mm f/.095 lens on the X-Pro3 and noticed the light on my friend’s face. I made the capture. Captured with X-Pro3, 2026-07-25 18:49:23, 35mm, 1/550sec, f/0.95, ISO-800, SOOC.
I had a Miticon/Zonghi 35mm f/0.95 lens affixed to the Fuji X-Pro3 last Saturday night. I decided the lens needed to be shot, so I mounted it.
While we chatted over supper, I noticed this light fall across my friends face, so I made a few captures with the camera. All were shot wide open. Focus is a bit of a challenge, but I got it.
I quite like the rendering. I will sell the lens to my buddy, who will enjoy it. I have my eye on a Voigtlander 35mm f/0.9. It has contacts to convey lens settings to the camera. I prefer that.
On walkies with The Girl, I noticed this collection of signs. It reminded me of an old song. Captured with ILCE-7M3, 2026-05-19 11:00:02, Nikon Series E 50mm, 1/3200sec, f/1.8, ISO-100, processed DXO Photolab 7, Velvia 50 film simulation.
I decided to carry the Sony A7iii yesterday when I got The Girl out for a walk. I knew it had a Nikon lens affixed to the body, but did not take time to check the lens before we headed out the door. When I did remove the lens cap, I noticed that my Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8 was attached to the camera.
It is a decent lens, especially given its price point. But it lacks the better coatings of the Nikkor lenses that I have in my collection. I shrugged and decided to use what I brought. (And that was the only lens that I brought.)
So, we walked one of our shorter loops because it was late and I had a couple of appointments to prepare for. Along the way, I noticed this group of signs. Immediately, the classic song Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign filtered in my consciousness, my innate tendency to free associate kicking into gear.
So, we paused for me to make a few captures, then continued our walk.
When we arrived back home, The Girl headed to bed for a nap and I looked through the few captures. I chose this one for posting.
And, although the Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8 is a good enough lens, I have better Nikkors in my collection. The Series E can go to someone else. In fact, when we arrived home, I mounted the Nikkor 50mm f/2 AI on the Sony.
It was a good walk and a good outing. I also remembered a very clever song from long ago. Life is good. I am grateful.
These two little ones appeared in my front yard. Captured with X-T5, 2025-08-05 17:31:22, 70mm, 1/105sec, f/8, ISO-800.
Yesterday afternoon I was working on my folding table in the living room and thought I smelled smoke. It being that time of the year, I stepped to the front door to check. What I found was two fawns grazing on the vegetation in my neighbors’ front yard.
I spoke to them softly, then stepped quickly to pick up my Fuji X-T5 and the Fujinon 70-300mm zoom I had affixed to the camera. Then I carefully stepped out the screen door and made a couple of captures, one at 70mm and the other at 300mm (a head shot I will share later).
I think the lens is a keeper. It provides a useful range of focal lengths in a very compact, if a little slow photographically.
I stepped out the front door and made this capture Saturday evening. Captured with X-T5, 2025-08-02 20:51:09, 300mm, 1/500sec, f/5.6, ISO-500.
After a YouTube video by Dan Bailey and a subsequent discussion in the comments for his video, I rented a Fujinon 70-300mm f/4-f/5.6 zoom lens from Lensrentals. It arrived Wednesday, but I have had little downtime this week.
I made a few captures with it and this one of the first quarter Moon pleases me. I shot it handheld and used the Sunny-16 rule to set the exposure manually. Focus was manual as well.
I did a little editing with Photolab 7 after the capture, but not much.
The capture below was made a few days ago (maybe Wednesday evening) on walkies with The Girl. We had a beautiful sunset, so I made this capture.
I think this lens might be a useful addition to my kit. It is much lighter than the 100-400mm and will fit into my regular bag for the X-T5.
While walking Sera one evening, we had enough clouds to have a nice sunset. Captured with X-T5, 2025-08-01 20:13:22, 70mm, 1/105sec, f/8, ISO-640.
While out for breakfast, I noticed the salt and pepper shakers on my table. Shot with Fuji X-T5 and Voigtlander 27mm f/2 at f/4 and processed in PhotoLab 7.
While out for breakfast a few days ago, I noticed the light on the salt and pepper shakers on my table. This resulted in a grab shot using the X-T5 and the Voigtlander 27mm f/2 lens. I selected an aperture that would give enough depth of field for the shakers but provide a little subject isolation.
For this capture, I used the RAW mode and then post-processed the result in PhotoLab 7. The adjustments were all minor and I used a PhotoLab preset for the black and white conversion.
The little Voigtlander pancake lens can do the job if I do mine.
Breakfast was good. The Girl and I had a nice hike after. She enjoyed the bulk of my bacon.
She clearly wants something, but I do not remember what it was. Captured with Sony A7iii and a Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 wide open. Light post processing with Snapseed in my iPhone to render the image in black and white.
An Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 lens came into my possession a while back. It is in regular rotation whenever I carry the Sony A7iii. While a little soft wide open, that f/1.2 look is highly desirable. The lens deserves some additional testing as well as the other f/1.2 lenses in my inventory. These include legacy lenses from Nikon, Konica, and Canon, as well as the Zuiko.
This is a daily image of an old deadfall shot with the Fuji X-T5 and the Voigtlander 27mm f/2 Ultron at about f/4. The conversion was done with DXO Photolab 7 with a Tri-X film simulation.
One of my favorite lenses is the Voigtlander 27mm f/2 Ultron. It is a manual focus lens manufactured by Cosina. It also has a chip and contacts to transmit EXIF data about the lens settings to the camera to be recorded in the EXIF image data portion of the digital image.
This lens came to mind a couple of days ago when I was watching a video from a favorite content creator, Chris Orange. He was effluvious about a new TTArtisan manual focus lens in the 27mm focal length that he was using on his X-T5 instead of buying a Fujifilm X100vi.
The X100vi is not a terribly expensive camera — not cheap, but not as expensive as some brands. I have had a few people dismiss my X100v (and now my X100vi) as just an expensive point and shoot. But, it is not that simple. It is a capable camera using the same sensor and IBIS as the X-T5 and offering complete controls if that is what one wants. The fit and finish are top shelf and reminiscent of an older fixed lens rangefinder. The Fujinon 23mm f/2 is very good. It is a good focal length for the camera.
The X100vi (and the X100v before it) is my go-to camera when I do not want to think about what lenses to carry, do not want a large(er) or heavy bag, and do not want to fiddle with which lens to mount. And so, when I want to simply have a camera that is far more capable than a phone camera, the X100vi is the one I pick up to carry. It goes into a small Domke bag that was a collaboration between Domke and Fujifilm. There is room for extra batteries and extra SD cards. There is also room for a water bottle.
But, I digress. I have not tested (and probably will not) the TTArtisan 27mm f/2. I have the focal length covered with the Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 and the Voigtlander 27mm f/2. I bought the former before I picked up a used copy of the latter. Although I have not done serious testing of either, the Voigtlander tends to get the nod when I want a simple carry (or that focal length) for my X-T5.
I carried it last Friday on walkies. The frame below was captured with the Fuji X-T5 and Voigtlander 27mm f/2 (at f/8) with post processing in PhotoLab 7. The lens is plenty sharp and I like the rendering. I should carry the Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 along with the Voigtlander and make a few captures of the same setting. I might decide to sell the Fujinon.
Life is good!
A shot of Mt. McLelland using the Fujifilm X-T5 and the Voigtlander 27mm f/2 at f/8. Post processing in PhotoLab 7 to render as Ektachrome 100 VS.
This morning I enjoyed a nice mug of Joe and admired the new-to-me Olympus OM-3. Capture with iPhone 13 Pro Max, SOOC.
It has been a day. The weather turned more wintry last night and I woke to a gray day. I made my first mug of the day using my Aeropress and some Peet’s whole bean dark roast. I sat down at the computer to contemplate the day and enjoy my coffee and noticed the new-to-me Olympus OM-3 sitting on my desk. I decided to make an image to celebrate the arrival of one of my grail cameras.
The OM-3 did not sell in large numbers. It has a mechanical shutter, which I think is highly desirable. It has a sophisticated spot metering system that it shares with the OM-4 (electronic shutter) that is very powerful. The camera will average multiple spot readings to produce a proper exposure. There is a bit of a learning curve, but not bad. I have already figured it out.
My sample has some brassing on the edges and a bit of paint loss on the back. Although these cameras are collectible, my sample is user grade and I will use it.
I have a G.Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 lens in my inventory and I affixed that lens to the body. I ran about a half roll of 36-exposure film through it yesterday and need to finish off the roll. I checked the meter with my Minolta spot meter and the camera’s meter is within a half-stop of the Minolta. That is good enough. After I use it for a while I might send it in for a CLA. I might also replace the light seals.
I have a few Olympus lenses in my inventory. Many of the Olympus lenses are very good and the system is very small. I mean diminutive in stature; not a weak system.
It will be fun to put this camera through its paces. I just want some good light.
Yesterday I noticed that my Microsoft Office 365 installation needed to be updated (on my Mac). So I permitted the updater to do the work. On starting Word, I was greeted with “Welcome to Copilot” and I nearly shat myself. I have no desire to permit any AI on my computers, especially Microsoft’s. This seems like an open door to the software scraping my systems for data to feed the AI monster. NO THANK YOU!
And that is not just a “No!” it is a “Hell No!”
I think this might be the last straw. Big Tech seems to be invading everything now and I want nothing to do with it. In texting with my son and my grandson today, I realize that it is highly unlikely that I will neither be able to completely limit my exposure nor completely disconnect from the grid. But, I can take some steps to make me a harder target such that the ‘bots will tackle the easier targets instead of me.
I installed LibreOffice on my Mac this afternoon. After working with it some, I can decide if I can eliminate the Microsoft virus from my Mac. It is bad enough that Apple is asking me to turn on their AI. (I said no.) It also means that I am looking at Linux again as a possible refuge or at least a minimization of my exposure.
So I will set up a Linux computer and start doing some testing. I wonder what photography post-processing applications I can get running under Linux. I guess I will find out.
The Silver Saddle Ranch compound, viewed from the south of the horse-working paddock. Shot with Sony A7iii and a Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5 macro lens at f/8. Post processed with PhotoLab for black and white conversion and some cleanup.
The Girl and I got out Sunday for our daily walk. With the change in weather, we are walking Silver Saddle Ranch once again. The risk of snakes is abated but there remains a risk of other critters. I sometimes see a large coyote and there was a report of a mountain lion working a sheep ranch nearby.
I am reminded that life is inherently risky. The risk can be mitigated to some extent, but none of us get out alive. There is no such thing as safe. But, I digress.
I found a Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5 macro lens in my inventory. (I actually found a second sample and I have no idea how I got two. They were purchased long ago.) I carried it mounted to the Sony A7iii Saturday and Sunday and came away with a couple frames that are OK, by my estimation.
We had a great walk, except that Goofus, AKA The Girl, had too much energy and ran too hard. She limped around the house Sunday evening and Monday morning. So, I am going to have to mitigate that to some extent. With the coyote I saw yesterday and the mountain lion report, I need to keep her closer in anyway. She can still range out a bit, just not more than a few tens of feet.
The lens is quite good, especially given its age. It is plenty sharp, focuses quite close (and I have the extension that will let it focus to 1:1) without the extension, and the rendering is good. It was built by Tokina. Those lenses built by the Komine and Tokina companies were generally of higher quality than the run of the mill Vivitar glass.
The reputation of the Vivitar is that it produces a very nice background blur (bokeh) and renders an image well. It is useful for general photography when the focal length is appropriate.
So I made a few images as we walked. It is my way of rebuilding after focusing on problem solving. I give my mind a break from the analytical work and feed my soul.
When we came around to the northbound part of our trail, I noticed the scene of the ranch compound. The wave cloud over Mt. McLellan added to the scene. It also begged to be in black and white, at least to me. I made the capture, while The Girl waited impatiently for me.
Because of the traffic, I put her on lead until we passed the compound. When I saw the way was clear, I released her from the lead but kept her close anyway.
As we approached the rig and the end of our outing, the Sun popped out from behind the clouds. I paused to make an image of the entry sign. I am working on a Silver Saddle Ranch gallery and the sign will make a nice theme photo.
When I reviewed the image, I noticed some chromatic aberration along the hard lines of the top of the stone. It is not prominent, but it is there. This is not unusual for vintage glass and is easy to correct in post processing. It also diminishes with an increase in f-number.
It was a good walk. Even with the overcast and cooler weather, I returned home refreshed. The Girl came home tired, and a tired dog is a happy dog.
