GEAR TALK - August '21 Wrap-Up

MAMIYA 645M 200MM F2.8 APO UPDATE

The August 2018 Gear Talk entry described rigging up a tripod collar for the Mamiya 645M 200mm F2.8 APO. The set-up works well, but the Mamiya 645M 645mm F2.8 APO is a large lens for the small Novoflex ASTAT-NEX Collar, so I decided to try the same with the larger Vello Tripod Collar A. The Vello's clamp is about 3-times wider and the "L" of its base and collar are one piece, so there is less flex. The set-up consists of:

• Novoflex MAM-RING
• Novoflex A-Mount / Leica-M (LEMA)
• Vello Tripod Collar
• Acratech Quick Release Plate

The expensive part is the Novoflex MAM-RING. On the upside, using the MAM-RING with other camera mounts requires just buying the much less expensive Novoflex A-Mount section. Like the previous set-up with the Novoflex ASTAT, the set-up needs a spacer to fill the gap between tripod collar and the A-Mount tube. After several iterations, a new spacer got sorted:

Mamiya 645M 200mm F2.8 APO Tripod Collar Set-Up

The spacer "cups" the Novoflex A-mount adapter and the MAM-RING locks it in place. The rear flange prevents the lens from slipping out of the Vello collar while rotating the lens. The large cut-out allows access to the lens release button on the Leica M10-R. The only downside is having the remove the Vello collar to gain access to the lens release button (on the Leica M body).

The Leica M's shutter shock is a wicked beast with long telephoto lenses, so even with a tripod I keep shutter speeds at 1/2X the focal length. With this new set-up, it looks like shutter speeds as low as 1/90 are viable, so a 2-stop betterment compared to the Novoflex ASTAT set-up. The Vello tripod spacer is available on Shapeways.

LEICA 50MM F.95 NOCTILUX-M ASPH REVIEW UPDATE

Somewhere along the line I said the Leica 50mm F.95 Noctilux-M ASPH would get updated in August. Check. Done. The Noctilux was purchased on June 1, 2021, and since then it has been a very productive. That productivity is a somewhat contrived agenda to finish the update.

Leica 50mm F.95 Noctilux-M ASPH

On the other hand, after 15 years of writing reviews, the goal of generating content for review purposes can often stall or fail. So if nothing else, kudos to the Noctilux for getting the job done. But that's it, no more spoilers, so if you have not read the review and have some spare time, give it a quick read.

LEICA M10-R

Editing the Leica M10-R's color has met with very mixed results. Post processing entails remapping colors for highlights vs mid-tones vs shadows; it is much more complex than a white balance edit or shift of the overall color balance. I suspect the culprit is the new top glass design. Around the 8:00 minute mark in this video interview, Stefan Daniels discusses the M10-R's sensor filter stack. Of course, the implication is that Leica changed something for the better - else why do it? So maybe thinner for better acuity. Or maybe these changes reflect lessons learned from the sensor corrosion problems with the CCD sensors.

I have had the M10-R for around one year, and generally speaking, thus less UV light, the weirder the color. Some the oddest color renditions have been around blue hour with cloudy skies and my back to the set sun. I have other niggles, like the high ISO does seem very good compared to cameras like the Fuji GFX 100 or Sony A1. On the other hand, I give the M10-R very high marks for acuity and perceived sharpness at the pixel level. Overall, the M10-R has been a patchwork of outcomes, lacking cohesiveness in terms of color rendering and toning. I keep hoping for an epiphany on how best to edit the DNGs, but no luck in that so far.