I’ve been using for a while a very little known and rare (only 800 were built) Manual Focus lens on the Nikon D2X, that I found at this camera store in Shanghai. It is the Auto-Topcor 58mm f1.4 with Nikon F mount built by Cosina in Japan, which happens to be the same manufacturer that builds all new manual focus lenses for Zeiss. I made several comparisons between it and the Zeiss 50mm f1.4 ZF, but ultimately I chose the Auto-Topcor as it was a little sharper and has smoother mechanics than the Zeiss. It is a very high quality all metal construction lens with very smooth bokeh. I’ll have to make some comparison between the Topcor and the Leica Noctilux, which is about 8 times more expensive. All images in the After Eight gallery have been taken using this lens.
I’ve had a new Leica M8 for about 2 weeks, despite the outcry from early adopters on the official Leica Forum after it was found that the camera has some issues related to high sensitivity to IR (Infrared), resulting in a quite pronounced Magenta cast given certain ambient lighting conditions reacting to mostly synthetic black fabrics, as well as poor White Balance performance and banding. Leica has issued an official statement on their website essentially recalling all the cameras it has sold.
These issues, despite annoying, do not affect too much my type of photography, especially since my intention is to use it primarily for Black and Whilte low light situations. Other than the aforementioned issues, the camera and image quality are superb, in large part due to the legendary Leica lenses and exceptional build quality.
I can’t wait to put this new tool to the test on my next assignment.
Anyone merely interested into photography HAS to visit this relatively new location in the XiJiaHui district. You can find it on the right hand side corner of Xietu Lu and Luban Lu. They also have a website, in Chinese here.
I found it by accident because my regular place next to the Shanghai Main Railway Station has been shut down. Basically all the little stores that populated the old Mall premises have relocated to this new location. As the photograph I am posting illustrates, the new location is a modern building of seven floors crammed with medium to tiny sized stores filled to the gills with every kind of photographic equipment, from the cheapest digicam to the 39MP Medium Format digital back. Imagine a store the size of B&H in NYC, but subdivided into small stores. The place is organized by categories, in the sense that on each floor you get a certain range of equipment.
On the ground floor you can find all new equipment from the big Japanese manufactures, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, Fuji, etc. I have found that they usually have a very wide selection of lenses for Nikon and Canon, pretty much everything with the exception of the most expensive glass which needs to be special ordered, not a big deal since in Shanghai both Nikon and Canon have a very strong presence, not counting the fact that Japan is only a couple of hours away by air. The Second floor is dedicated mostly to Point and Shoot, accessories, camera bags and tripods. There are also 2 book stores that are crammed to the gills with exclusively camera and photography related material. Mostly Chinese editions of foreign books, but also beautiful publications about Chinese photographers.
The third floor is dedicated to printing and acquisition both digital and traditional. You can find any size of Epson, Canon and HP printer units. CIS systems appear to be a big thing, with many Chinese manufactured inks and hardware for the big (44″-24″) printers. There are several companies that offer an incredible variety of printing and scanning services. I am planning to have all my slides and negatives scanned and saved to DVD’s. The best part is that I got quoted for 2RMB ($25c) per each 6×6 slide, and that’s before any kind of price negotiation.
I wouldn’t normally post news of this kind, but I frankly couldn’t resist sharing these snapshots I took while watching the evening news at home in Shanghai.
They were having a piece interviewing a family that owns what it appears to be the fattest cat in China. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it….the poor thing is huge weighing close to 16kg (about 33lbs)! My Chinese is very basic, but I think I understood the cat has some sort of rare hormone dysfunction. Look at his size compared to the other cat as well as his owner. Apparently strangers go visit the family as the cat has become a celebrity around town.
I’ve been adding a few more photographs I have taken recently during a visit around the Wenzhou countryside.
Some are added to the Wenzhou section and a couple in the Portraits portfolio.
I’ve been offline for almost 2 months due to a very hectic schedule and frequent travel. I finally managed to have some bandwidth to update the Shanghai City Life and Shanghai After Eight sections.
