September 10, 2022

From Gerald R. Lucas

Ultron 28 Sample & Caio, 67

20220909-flower.jpeg

The M8 is delayed a bit, but I did receive the Ultron 2/28 today. It’s much smaller than I thought, reminding me of the quite small Nokton Classic 1.4/40 I sold a little while ago.[1] I put it on the Leica SL and took this sample picture.

I know, it’s nothing too remarkable—a poorly composed flower pict under an overcast sky, but check the sharpness and falloff. Yeah, this lens should work nicely on the Leica M8. I’m jazzed to try it.

Speaking of cameras, the Pentax 67 sold yesterday. I had just listed it on Craigslist and eBay, and of course the buyer used the latter. The good news is I got my full asking price; the bad news is that fucking eBay took 15% immediately and will now hold my money for a fucking month. Indeed, eBay gets shittier every time I use it, and I pay more for them to treat me like a criminal. Well, I have some Portra 400 in the 67 with three or four shots left, so I have to take those this weekend to ship the camera on Monday. Maybe later today. I so wish this camera wasn’t such a beast. I loved the photos it produced, but carrying it around was just comical. I will miss having a medium-format camera, so I might just keep my eyes open for a replacement down the line, like a Pentax 645. I’m keeping the Olympus OM-2N as a 35mm film camera, and I might collect a few more lenses for that system. Still, maybe I should dump that too and just save for a Leica M6...

What I got for the 67 bundle will almost cover the cost of the M8. I plan on selling some M42-mount lenses to supplement the cost of the Ultron 28, specifically the Jupiter-9 2/85, the Hexanon 1.8/40, and the Helios 44m-4 2/58. Maybe today, though I should be working.



note

  1. I still regret doing that, and it was only because the back element got some filth muck on it making the resulting images seem hazy. I thought it was a “vintage” quality of the lens, though I never remember it having that glow even when I used it more regularly. So, I listed it on eBay and sold it pretty quickly. When packing it to ship, I noticed that rear element was quite dirty. I’m not sure how that happened, as I take good care of my lenses. Well, after cleaning, it was back to its former glory. Oh well. It‘s not an expensive lens, if I wanted to replace it at some point. They also make a 35mm version which would be another nice lens on the M8.