This week’s news includes stories about three world-famous photographers. The Leica Gallery in London is exhibiting the work of Elliott Erwitt, who died last year. The US Postal Service has announced a spectacular special edition of Ansel Adams stamps. And, you can meet a renowned living photographer, Phil Penman, signing his latest book. In addition, we have news of new Voigtländer lenses, The L-Mount Alliance powering ahead, and that exciting new camera from Fuji. There’s a lot going on out there.
Elliott Erwitt exhibition at Leica Gallery London
Among world-famous photographers, Elliot Erwitt is remembered fondly for his humour. Leica Gallery London will show a selection of his best-known photographs between March 15 and May 12 this year. They are part of the touring exhibition, “Personal Best”. The gallery is holding the exhibition just four months after the photographer’s death in New York, at the age of 95.
The legendary Magnum photographer documented politicians, presidents, and celebrities. He also captured the absurd, intimate and humorous moments of both people and, famously, dogs. In 2023, Elliott Erwitt was the thirteenth recipient of the Leica Hall of Fame Award in Wetzlar for his contribution to photography. He was already considered to be among the pantheon of world-famous photographers. During his career, he published more than 25 books and, over a span of 45 years, captured virtually every international award possible.
The exhibition will take place at Leica Gallery London, 64-66 Duke Street, Mayfair, and all works on show will be for sale.
Phil Penman book signing at Red Dot Cameras
Speaking of world-famous photographers, Macfilos readers have the opportunity to meet and greet Phil Penman, at Red Dot Cameras in London from 7 to 9 pm next Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Born in Dorset, England, Phil Penman has been photographing the streets of New York for well over two decades. He is known, among other things, for his photographs of celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Bill Gates. When the World Trade Centre tragedy hit the city in 2001, Penman was on the spot and created unique footage of the events.
At the Red Dot evening, Penman will be signing copies of his book, “New York Street Diaries”, an impressive coffee table tome for all fans of the Big Apple. Penman knows how to capture the city impressively in its most sensitive moments. He catches intimate moments in his black-and-white photographs and shows the people and streets of New York City far away from the hustle and bustle. The city life of the metropolis is presented so closely that some pictures inevitably evoke a smile in the viewer. Penman literally catapults his viewer into the scene with a refreshing directness and the feeling of really being present.
Phil Penman tours the world teaching workshops on photography for the Leica Akademie. He was recently named among the “52 Most Influential Street Photographers” alongside such legends as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Delgado, Diane Arbus, and Gary Winogrand. His first book, “Street”, published in 2019, became a bestseller and was featured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Admission is free, but please reserve your spot here.
US Postal Service releases Ansel Adams stamp collection
What greater honour could be bestowed on a photographer than having their images featured on a postage stamp issue? That’s the accolade Ansel Adams is receiving, posthumously, from the United States Postal Service in May. The sixteen-stamp special issue features black and white images from Adam’s collection. It includes several of his most famous, such as a snow-covered ‘Half-Dome’ in Yosemite Valley.
Known for his beautifully composed, razor-sharp images of the American West, Adams is one of the few world-famous photographers photographers whose name is recognised by the general public. In some ways, it is surprising that it is only now, forty-years after his death, that this collection is being issued.
The stamps are categorised as ‘Forever’. For readers outside the United States, this means that letter-sized envelopes bearing that stamp will always be accepted as having the correct postage for delivery within the United States. So, US-based photographers can look forward to receiving an item of mail bearing one of these magnificent stamps, this year and for many years beyond. It will be yet another way to marvel at Ansel Adam’s photographic genius.
Fujifilm X100VI: In the footsteps of the Leica Q3
The new Fujifilm X100VI camera is slowly percolating into the market. And for Fujifilm and the dealers, the story begins with model number six exactly as it had ended with model five. A few lucky, certainly very good, customers have received their beautiful APS-C, fixed 35mm equivalent lens, optical/electronic hybrid viewfinder camera. The first experiences with the 40MP sensor, IBIS technology and many old Fujifilm virtues are promising. However, spreading the word might things even worse. Dealers have long waiting lists, and I hear have rather to hope to get a delivery than being able to plan.
The Fujifilm X100 series vs. Leica Q series comparison game is old, but one parallel is really striking, and that’s the waiting list phenomenon. It speaks both for the camera and the dedication of the (future) owners. And, with a small nod to Wetzlar, the APS-C market is interesting. After all, there are quite a few Leica owners who also have a Fujifilm X100 in their line-up. And this for good reason. If you are going places where a €6000 camera would be inappropriate or if you know that a fill-in flash (and Fujifilm’s is excellent) might be necessary, the €1800 X100VI in an excellent choice.
Read here our first thoughts on this camera
Voigtländer’s innovation machine is running like clockwork
We have no idea what they are giving the research and development people at Cosina for lunch. But they have been doing a terrific job for some years now. And even if we try our very best to keep pace here at Macfilos – not the least with respect to the M Files which we want to futher develop into the authoritative collection of reviews of non-Leica M-Mount lenses – this pace is too much for us. Voigtländer have announced three new lenses within a few weeks, and they are filling interesting gaps.
The Nokton 28/1.5 is a remarkably compact and yet fast wide-angle lens. The 28mm focal length might be a bit controversial. But on most rangefinder cameras, it is a sensible choice. That’s because it is as wide as it gets without external viewfinders or composing via the display. Voigtländer announced the Nokton on January 9, and received very favourable reviews. This one is already on sale from €1049. The lighter of the two versions has only 250g, which makes this 28mm very attractive for travel photography.
Yet more Voigtländer lenses for M-Mount
Not even two months later, two more VM (Voigtländer M-Mount) lenses whet our appetite. A 50mm f/2.2 lens follows in the footsteps of Leica’s sadly discontinued Summarit line. This new lens seems to be compact, light-weight, with reasonable speed and most likely with a moderate price tag. That’s what Color Skopar designation usually stands for. Even more surprising is the other new 50mm lens. It proudly has APO in its name, offers a maximum aperture of just f/3.5 – but it is super small and collapsible. This could be an Elmar on steroids! Technical specifications can be found on Cosina’s Japanese website for both new lenses.
As mentioned, such innovation fireworks are a challenge for our small team. And if we are doing reviews, we spend rather months than weeks with a lens before we issue a verdict. So, please have a bit of patience. Meanwhile, the other M Files episodes provide you with information about many cameras and dozens of lenses.
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The L-Mount powers forward
As regular readers know, we at Macfilos are enthusiastic supporters of the L-Mount Alliance, established initially by Leica, Panasonic, and Sigma. The L-Mount ecosystem has grown steadily since its inception and now offers a wide range of interoperable cameras and lenses. Recently, PetaPixel published a comprehensive and informative review of the Alliance’s progress during 2023.
Their conclusion was that it had been a highly successful year for the system, but more so for lenses than cameras.
In fact, the only new camera models to join the system were the Panasonic Lumix S5II and S5IIx. These full-frame, mirrorless cameras are successors to the Panasonic Lumix S5, which when launched offered a very attractive entry point to the system. We have covered both S5 and S5II models extensively on Macfilos. The most significant upgrade featured in the S5II and S5IIx has been phase-detection autofocus, or PDA. This is widely regarded as the current state-of-the-art in autofocus technology.
Although there were no new L-Mount camera introductions from Leica or Sigma in 2023, we are expecting that situation to change soon in 2024. All eyes are on Leica, which is poised to announce a new SL-model, the SL3. Macfilos will, of course, be bringing you all the latest news and reviews of this new camera.
A good year for L-Mount lenses
Although 2023 was a quiet year for L-Mount camera introductions, we saw a plethora of new L-Mount lenses hit the shelves. All three founding members introduced new glass, covering just about the entire focal-length range. These included both prime and zoom lenses.
At the short end of the range was the Sigma 14mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, named PetaPixel’s prime lens of the year. Sigma also took the prize for the longest focal length option, the 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG DN OS zoom. In between were many excellent options for L-Mount shooters.
PetaPixel’s assessment was ‘A strong showing’ for the alliance. With more new camera and fast telephoto prime lens introductions scheduled for 2024, the L-Mount ecosystem appears to be powering forward.
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I highly recommend the Phil Penman book mentioned above. After reading this Macfilos story I went onto the Amazon Australia website and much to my surprise it was already in stock down here. I ordered it and it arrived the next day. It is excellent.
Perhaps even more surprising is that my favourite Leica dealer in Adelaide, South Australia already has the SL3 in stock. I’m not tempted.