Photokina 2008

[LucisPictor]

OK, guys. Here we go...

I left our home at 8 am and arrived in Cologne at about 10 am.
The trip was nice and there wasn't too much traffic - an advantage when you can go there during the week. It will be bad tomorrow and on Sunday.

Since I had got the free ticket from Sigma, I could go in without waiting in the queue.

The first big stand I saw was Sigma's. They were really friendly and very generous as far as lens testing was concerned.


Sigma 2.8/200-500 !!!

And here are some shots with it @500mm!!

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Sigma 8mm Fisheye

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Sigma 12-24 (also usable at full frame!)

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Sigma 1.8/20

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Now this 20mm definitely is an interesting lens. As the fastest 20mm (f1.8!) you can get, it can be a nice prime for crop cam users. And it seems to be much better than some tests claim.


I then moved on to Ricoh, because I was interested in the GR Digital and the GX200.


Ricoh GX200

Ricoh GR Digital 2

These two little cams are pretty impressive, very compact and still they resemble film cams somehow.

I went to Tamron to have a look at the superzoom lenses and the new Tamron 10-24 which will be a tough competitor for the EF 10-22 and my Tokina 12-24. I was really impressed by either performance, the 10-24 is a really great lens and the Tamron 18-250 is much better than I have expected!

Tamron 10-24 @10mm


Tamron 10-24 @24mm


Tamron 18-250 @18mm

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Tamron 18-250 @250mm (from the same position)

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They had very friendly staff there as well.

Shot with the brand new stabilized Tamron 18-270.


Next, I went to Tokina and tested the 16-50. They had a small stand and were not very friendly.

Tokina 16-50 @18mm


Tokina 16-50 @50mm

This seems to be a nice lens.


Then I came to one of the biggest stand of all: Sony. My target here was the Alpha900. When I had shot some pics with it, I thought: "Wow! What a fantastic cam!" It really feels like a pro cam and the viewfinder is amazing, absolutely amazing! I think it seems brighter than the one of the 5D. And putting a Zeiss 1.8/135 on this cam really gave me the shivers.
What a set!






Today, when I had a look at the Alpha shots, I was put back to reality: the ISO1000 performance of the copy I had is not as good as I have expected from a full frame cam. The Zeiss lens is excellent without discussion, though.

ISO1000 example

Insane 24 MPix here!

Now, it was time for a short lunch break. I had a sausage with a bread roll and a bottle of water. Guys, guess how much I had to pay for this:

An impertinent € 5,80!!! Man, I have bought lenses for that money!
OK, it's the Photokina. What was I to expect?

After this "lunch" I went on to the big players: Nikon and Canon.

I first came to Nikon. Friendly guys there. I was able to shoot with the new D700 a little. Compared to the Sony Alpha900 it felt a bit more semi-pro, but the results at ISO3200 just blew me away!! Much, I mean MUCH better than the Alpha900!

D700 w/ 24-120 @ ISO3200 !!!

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D700 w/ 24-120 @ ISO400

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OK, now to Canon. The stand was so crowded that I did not get the opportunity to play around with the new 5D.

But I took the chance and put my CF card into a 1D with an EF 2.8/400 mounted. Boy, that is a fantastic lens! It really is! I am sorry to admit. This AF lens is the best I have ever used.



Two shots @ f2.8!!!

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After that I went to Olympus and Panasonic. The E3 was fun to play with and I really liked the lens (12-60).

ISO160

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ISO640

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ISO640

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At the Pansonic stand, I was mostly interested in the new Lumix G. A nice cam, very small and a fascinating concept with exchangable lenses, but actually not really my taste. The viewfinder is too slow to convey a real SLR feeling. It is comparable to my old Minolta DiMage 7. I hope that Olympus will show a better solution with their µ4/3 model.
Don't understand me wrong, the Lumix G surely is a great cam and it seems to perform well (I was not able to use my own card!) but it is no reason for me to leave the SLR system.





OK, so much for part I. More (and the really interestung stuff will follow...)

[LucisPictor]

Which lenses did I have in my bag? Well, I finally decided for:

- Nikkor-N.C 2.8/24
- Leica Elmarit-R 2.8/35
- Olympus Zuiko 1.4/50
- Volna-3 2.8/80

- Tokina AT-X Pro 4/12-24 (for the real wide angle)
- Canon EF-S 17-85 IS (because of the IS)

I have used the 12-24, the 17-85, the Elmarit 35 and the Volna (as a tele for portrait shots). I have not used the Nikkor and the Zuiko. I simply did not need them that day.

Here are some snaps, some impressions that perhaps show the atmosphere there...





























OK, let's move on...

[Attila]

Many, many thanks for this very informative report. I feel myself there!
I miss only old Manual Focus Lenses stands

[LucisPictor]

The next station was LensBaby.

Not really my gear, I guess.

Then Alpa. Wow!

(Sorry! Camera shake.) But far beyond my financial limits.

The "gentlemen" at the Leica stand were ... well ... arrogant! If you didn't come with an M-Leica (or a similar equipment) you did not have a chance.
So, no pictures there. All the gear behind glass anyway.

And the big final was this:

ZEISS!!

And Zeiss on 40D!!!

Planar 1.4/50 ZE @f1.4

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Planar 1.4/50 ZE @f2.0

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Planar 1.4/50 ZE @f3.2

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Planar 1.4/85 ZE @f2.5

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Theses lenses are so well built, they are heavy and feel so great. I want to have them!!!
The only problem (apart from the price) is that the DoF is so insanely narrow that it is very difficult to focus correctly, even with the focus "beep".

I have met a gentleman who is a senior scientist at Zeiss with whom I had a nice and very interesting conversation. Who knows? I might even be able to start some kind of co-operation between Zeiss and MFLenses. We'll see...

[lahnet]

What an excellent report. Thank you very much.

[LucisPictor]

By the way, there were not only beautiful lenses at the fair.









All shot with the Volna-3 on the 350D.

[Attila]

Leica ? Zeiss ? Surelly ZEISS!!

[A G Photography]

I want to start a collaboration with the ladies in the first and last shot Who cares of Zeiss scientist?

[LucisPictor]

[bob955i]

What a fantastic report Carsten.

[peterqd]

[maddog10]

MFLenses in the field reporter - Carsten!

Excellent work. Must of been nice to play with all of that gear!

[koji]

Holy Cow. Quite nice photos, Carsten.

Thank you for showing us all those nice scene, especially that saxisophonist.

[Katastrofo]

Carsten, you could be a photojournalist, excellent job! The saxophonist is
playing what looks like a Mark VI Selmer, Parisien-made, very nice! The
metal mouthpiece affords lots of projection and edge to the sound, bet he
filled the room!

Thanks for sharing, Carsten!

Bill

[F16SUNSHINE]

Wow Carsten!
What a beautiful report. Seriously you have brought us right into the '08 Photokina. Thank you so much!
So the snobs from Solmes had no charming sales "persons". It is a shame, they have a product that is so very charming.
I'm happy you tried the Zeiss Ef mounts. Did it seem strange to have a MF lens that has no Aperture ring?

[naplam]

Carsten you're now the official mflenses reporter! seriously, this is much better than the typical reports in blogs and so on. The view of a photographer is much better than that of the typical "tech guys". ZE lenses, i'm envious!

[Richard_D]

Great report

[Orio]

Carsten:
your report was 10 times better than any report I ever read on magazines that ask 7-8 euros cover price.
Thanks very much !

[lulalake]

I agree with the posts already made. Thanks very much Carsten.

Cheers

Jules

[Schnauzer]

That was an excellent report. I felt like I was there.

[LucisPictor]

Guys, you're flattering me! Thanks very much for your kind words.
I wish I had more time and could write some more about my impressions.

I forgot to mention that I shot some pics with the Samsung GX20 - nothing that impressed me. And I did not cover Pentax since I did not go there. I would have needed at least two days to see all the interesting things.

After a couple of hours, you start to become really tired (and your feet hurt). And since I had to drive back for two hours on a busy "Autobahn", I preferred to leave in time.

[LucisPictor]

[LucisPictor]

Ah, one more thing:


If you ever get the chance (and the money) to buy this cam, go for it!
I have never seen such an excellent and bright viewfinder (and I have used a Leica M3 and M6TTL once).

With this Zeiss RF, I had the impression that the view through the viewfinder was brighter than the real view I had!

[Orio]

It is my dream camera (the Zeiss Ikon)

[LucisPictor]