Vintage Leica Lens From 1953, not quite as vintage Phil
This shot of me is taken with a Leica Summicron f=5cm lens attached to my Sony Alpha 6000. The lens was manufactured in 1953, I was manufactured in 1957 !
The lens belonged to my late father and I borrowed it from my Mum a few weeks ago. When I did a google a very informative website told me that the lens was coated with radioactive material which was a little alarming. I did some more research and the general consensus was that it was safe as the levels of radiation were minimal. I still wasn't 100% sure so I contacted Leica UK, who told me it was safe as the levels were tiny and only represented what was already around us in our day to day life.
So I attached it to my Sony A6000 via an adapter and took some pics tonight.
The lens performed really well in good lighting conditions, but did have some issue with bright direct sunlight. It is a manual lens, which meant I shot on aperture priority, controlling the the aperture via the lens aperture ring and focussing manually via the lens focus ring.
I stood with my back to the side gate to our house and took some pics of my wife. I then marked a line on the floor where she was stood and we swapped places. All Jane had to do was click the shutter as I had already set the camera up.
As you can see the lens performed well, I set this at f5.6 to allow a bit of movement. I bumped the ISO up to 640 (I would normally shoot at ISO 400 with my Sony 50mm)
Edited in Rawtherapee and GIMP.
More vintage lens shots to follow over the next few days. These won't be include a vintage Phil :)
I love to read your clear explanation about how to get the most out of "our" camera. I wish I had the incentive to learn as you have done, but I acknowledged from the start that I was interested in the camera as a vehicle for capturing an interesting subject. Therefore I put it on the auto plus feature and snap away.
I think you did a great job here. Please give my compliments to Jane!
@allie912 Allison thanks for reading the detailed narrative . Using auto plus is fine as the camera software in your Sony is really clever and besides you have a great photostream, do it works for you. I had to shoot manual with the vintage lens as thete is no autofocus nor can you adjust the aperture in camera. Very much an " old school " feel to the technique but retaining great quality in the photo via the Leica glass 😀
Fabulous self-portrait, Phil. Looks like the lens works perfectly. I got a few old lenses - not as old as yours - after you showed some shots with old lenses and bought an adapter online from the U.S. My old lenses are not as sharp as this shot, or maybe it is my fault.
I think you did a great job here. Please give my compliments to Jane!
@suzanne234 thanks Suzanne, I only glow after a glass of Red wine :)
@quietpurplehaze thanks haze, it was quite a cool experiment