Elmarit-TL 18mm
Leica CL + Leica Elmarit-TL 18mm f2.8
Prior to these test shots, I had not used a wide angle lens {not counting the i-phone} in… at least two years. And I had not used an autofocus lens in over a decade. The Elmarit 18mm is both, and to be honest it is not a lens I would have ever bought for myself. But it came with the camera body, and while I waited for the adapters I ordered to arrive {which would allow me to use other lenses} I photographed with this one exclusively.
These photos were the first shots out of the camera, taken before I switched to manual focus {or learned the White Balance settings}. All taken at f2.8.
The autofocus isn’t bad, either from the standpoint of accuracy or user experience. On both fronts, I ultimately prefer to focus manually, but it was interesting to try this feature after such a long time of not relying on it.
{The light changed completely in the minutes between when the first and the second photo were taken. I have not messed with the colour balance in post-processing and these are the colours out of the camera on Auto White Balance.}
I should mention also that we had our two year old daughter with us on this walk. She was tugging at my leg as I took most of these photos, so there might be some camera shake at play.
Back to the bright dappled sunlight.
Gary thinks I tend to under-expose, but I don’t know - I kind of like them dark? This is what the experience of being in the forest felt like on that day, and the photo looks the way it felt.
{Which is one thing I began to notice about using the new camera setup. Things look the way they feel.}
As mentioned already, I had not used a wide angle lens in a few years prior to these test shots, and it was an entertaining novelty to experiment with the distortive effects. I am almost exclusively a 50mm shooter, and wide angle portraits are not my cup of tea. But it was fun to do something different.
I set myself a challenge to take some non-conehead portraits. It’s not easy!
The light went completely here. For context, we are in the north west of Ireland and it is not unusual for lighting conditions to change dramatically every few minutes.
So far I think the camera handles this well; better than my usual setup for sure. The reds are particularly tricky to photograph under these conditions.
{This was before I figured out how to activate the grid and horizon leveller feature on my screen.}
Crazy light changes again. And Mousey running away. Not sure I would use it for much else, but as a toddler-chasing tool I admit the autofocus is helpful.
A shot like this one seemed obligatory to conclude the photo walk. Autumn is lasting an unusually long time this year and it was nice to capture it with the CL.
Not sure what role the wide angle lens will ultimately play in my process, but I do not need to decide that just yet.
