Q. Oliver - Photographer

Tea for two

So last night I promised a “digital vs film” post but before we get into that, I want to reiterate that this is not intended to determine which is better than the other but this may help determine which is better for YOU. And of course, I decided to use a model for the test ^_^

In comparing the two mediums, I used three cameras:

Film - Leica M6 TTL with Leica Summicron 50mm f/2 Leica

Digital - Leica M8 with Leica 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit ASPH.

***Film - Rolleiflex 2.8D (Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Leica M8, the M8 was Leica’s very first digital rangefinder. It uses a 10.3 megapixel CCD sensor from Kodak. The sensor has a crop factor of 1.3 which, to keep things simple, means that on this camera a 28mm lens is equal to a 35mm lens and a 35mm lens is equal to a 50mm on a normal full frame or 35mm camera (which is why I chose to use the lenses that I did). I decided to throw in the Rolleiflex for fun as well. The Rollei uses 120 or medium format film and makes a negative about 3x the size of 35mm film. It’s 80mm lens is equal to that of a 50mm lens on a 35mm or full frame camera.

Alright, so now that we’ve got all of the technical BS out of the way, lets take a look at the photos. The first photo was made with the Rolleiflex. I’m going to go ahead and be bias here- Rollei wins, hands down haha.

As for the rest of the photos, the pictures on the left were made with the M8 and the ones on the right, the M6. Right away, you notice that the M8 gives much more saturated colors and very clean, sharp results. The Leica 28mm Elmarit ASPH. is a phenominally sharp little lens and despite it’s tiny size, renders enormous detail on the M8. If you look closely, you’ll notice an almost 3D look to the photos!

The M6 with 50mm Summicron has a noticeably classic look with slightly muted tones in the Ektar 100 film. To my eye, while the M8 photos are obviously more saturated, the film photographs seem more true to life. I’d also go as far as to say they have much more depth to them. With black and white film (Ilford FP4) The Summicron seems to really shine at f/8 with nice smooth transitions between tones. I’d reach for this combo over digital any day… but that’s just me :-)

What do you all think?

Marina (Part 2)
Photographed by Q. Oliver
Photo 1 - Nikon F100 + Nikon 50mm f/1.8D + Kodak Portra 800
Photos 2 & 3 - Leica M6 TTL + Carl Zeiss 35mm C Biogon f/2.8 + Ilford Pan F Plus

Some women are just born to be photographed. Hudabiya is one of those women. After months of scheduling conflicts and other issues, we finally made it happen- And to be completely honest, I’m glad it took so long. I just acquired my Rolleiflex SL66 and I don’t think I could have photograph her with any other camera. Beauty like her’s should only be captured through the finest glass :-). Not only is she strikingly beautiful but she’s down to earth and an absolute joy to work with! I’ve still got a two more rolls to develop but I just couldn’t resist posting a couple now! I’m head over heels in love with the way the SL66 and Zeiss lens draw in light and if the thing weren’t so damn big, I swear I’d take it with me EVERYWHERE. Stay tuned for the color photos!

Model - Hudabiya
Photographer - Q. Oliver
Rolleiflex SL66 + Carl Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 + Ilford Pan F Plus (pulled to ASA 25)

What happens when a photo shoot takes on a mind of its own?

Some of you may recognize Qat from my infamous Skittles Photo (still can’t for the life of my figure out why THAT photo is so popular… Took it three years ago at an anime con just for fun) Anyway, She, Wait and I hung out the other day and of course, I had my camera at my side.

Sidenote- I also used this as an opportunity to experiment with some Ilford Delta 400 (pushed to asa 800) I like the results. I think I’m going to play around with pushing and pulling this film more often ^_^