And now for something a little different. I tried some splash photography over the weekend to build up relevant samples for the Zeiss 100mm f2 Macro (for Canon mounts) I’m trying out. This type of work is not a forte for me but I knew enough to take a decent crack at it. This is all manual so it takes a lot of patience (and an appalling hit rate) to get right. If I recall, ISO was up in the ISO 2000ish range with shutter speeds at 1/1000 and f/10 …

A few weeks ago I tried a technique called Painting with Light. It kinda worked for me but not liked I hoped so last night I made another attempt, armed with a little hindsight and a bit more planning. The process is quite time consuming as exposures take somewhere between 15 and 30s. Here’s three shots I’d like to share. These were all taken with a Canon 5D Mark II and Zeiss 100mm f2 macro.

Zeiss Ikon is a storied name in photographic history. Originally a company formed in the 1920′s out of four optical German manufacturers, Zeiss Ikon AG went on to create a series of great 35mm rangefinders. The company shut up shop in the 70′s but with the recent resurgence of the Zeiss brand, a modern era Zeiss Ikon film rangefinder was announced in 2004.
For the past month I’ve been shooting with the Zeiss Ikon. This is my hands on review which will detail how this modern film camera fares in a …

I have a copy of the above lens for review… It’s Zeiss’ new and highly regarded macro lens for the Canon mount. I don’t have the Canon macro on hand to compare it to so will be writing a standalone review of it in the next two weeks (as used with my 5D Mark II). Let me know if any special requests, things you want me to cover, otherwise it’ll be the usual real world review with plenty of high quality image samples, etc.

The name Zeiss needs no introduction in the field of lenses & optics, having been a cornerstone of the industry for countless decades. Recently however, Zeiss have stepped up its efforts for the DSLR market and last year announced a couple of fast (f/1.4) lenses for the popular 50mm and 85mm / normal telephoto range. I was given the Zeiss 85mm f1.4 for a couple of weeks to try on my Canon 5D Mark II and here are my findings.
Intro
I’ve used a lot of Zeiss glass in the past, both …

Hi all – will be offline for a couple of days recharging and having fun shooting and writing. Will be photographing exclusively with film this week, in particular with the new Zeiss Ikon that I have on loan. Will start posting again before Christmas – follow me on facebook or twitter for any minor updates in the meantime. Have a great break everyone.

(A shot from my first roll of film with the Zeiss Ikon. Shot with Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar on Kodak Ektar. Post processed to BW after scanning)