August 26, 2024

Canon + Kodak Film Styles

Fujifilm X cameras are known for their film simulations. Fuji owns and creates several film stocks, so it only makes sense that they build those film emulations into their family of cameras.

As a Kodak film user, however, there’s nothing like Fuji’s film emulations for other cameras – like my own, preferred Canon lineup.

That’s why it was great to learn that Canon’s own Picture Style options can be adapted to loosely match other film stocks out there. With that, I learned Thomas Fransson had created a series of Kodak film styles for Canon cameras. In this case, I downloaded Thomas’s Crowdak film simulation and applied it to a Canon M6 with an EF-M 28mm lense for a quick test.

Some initial thoughts:

With lots of greens and blues on my quick walk during my lunch hour, it was hard to see how the film simulation captured other colors and lighting conditions
Overall, very muted colors – more than I’m used to with my own style
Contrast was almost perfect for my style of shooting

I’m eager to try out Thomas’s other film styles, and several more from Cinescopophilia.

photography canon, film emulation, photography, picture style

December 6, 2022

New Lens Tryout: Canon EOS M 32mm f/1.4

It’s been a while since I purchased a new lens. The truth is, I really have all I need, even though the Canon R system keeps tempting me.

For my mirrorless system, I’m sticking with my trusty Canon M. Forever, I’ve had the EOS M 22mm attached to that camera. I see in cropped 35mm on that camera.

So when Canon had a fire sale on refurbished 32mm f/1.4 prime lenses for Black Friday, I thought, “Now’s the time to get something new.”

(My other plan is to upgrade the camera itself, since my faithful M is almost 10 years old now. But we’ll see what next year brings.)

The 32mm is a 51mm equivalent on the M system. My comfort zone is in that 35-50mm range, but the extra F stop adds the opportunity for some shallow depth of field on a near-portrait fixed lens. All these years, I’ve been limited to a 35mm view on the M. This new lens was my chance to put another option in a camera I use 75% of the time.

And what a lens. It took some time to get used to this new field of view, but after fiddling with the unique focus system, I got the hang of it. When we went Christmas tree shopping this weekend, I saw it as a perfect chance to take the lens for a spin on a chilly, sunny midwestern December day.

As with the other M lenses, the 32mm is tack sharp. It’s stunning what these little, lightweight lenses can do. It does stick out from the front of the camera more than the pancake-style 22mm does, so getting the grip and balance just right took some time. It was also weird not to look through a viewfinder and see that 50mm field of view – the M has a touchscreen and touch-focus system.

These are minor getting-adjusted points. It’s a great lens, and I can see building a truly lightweight, mirrorless system out of this, the 22mm, and maybe a wide-angle M lens paired with a new M camera.

photography 32mm, canon, canon eos m, canon m, lens, photography, review

April 13, 2017

Change of Pace

John Carey at 50 Foot Shadows, after his X-Pro broke, picked up a classic Canon 5D after a long absence.

Funny thing happened in that, I found myself inspired by the change of pace. The original 5D has such a beautiful sensor, it’s like changing film. While I miss flexibility in ISO and dynamic range the photos I get from the 5D are moody, colorful, contrasty, they really have a life of their own, in fact, as some of you already know, the camera defined my style 10+ years ago when I started to shoot with it.

Carey took a look back to when he first put down his 5D. His feeling then matches my own now: “This is a still photo camera. There is no shame in that.”

No shame, indeed. In fact, I see it as a point of pride. When you want to take pictures, you pick up a picture-taking machine.

Gear, photography 5d, 5d classic, canon, gear, photography

December 12, 2016

More Canon 5D Love

From Tom W:

You Don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great image. If your main hope is for fantastic image quality outdoors and if your willing to settle for lower dynamic range or high ISO performance there are a number of fantastic choices for photographers looking to start out in the world of full frame cameras.

A modern classic indeed. Everything old is new again.

(Via Robert-Paul Jansen.)

Gear, photography 5d classic, canon, canon 5d, gear, low-end photography

August 24, 2016

40mm and Go

40mm And Go

Everyone talks about 50mm being the focal length for 35mm photography. And I mostly agree.

But lately, my 40mm pancake lens is getting a lot of use – for good reason.

Five millimeters north of a 35mm lens, and just a hair wider than 50mm, 40mm sits in a sweet spot. It’s wide enough to get landscapes and cityscapes, and yet short enough to do people well, and get details.

I took a chance on my own Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens. Not that it’s not a good lens. It’s a great lens. And very affordable – especially when you buy it refurbished, like I did.

No, I took a chance because I thought, “I so love 50mm, why do I bother with 40mm?” It turns out that because of the lens’s size, weight, and utility, it’s now my most-used lens. It’s almost permanently strapped to my 5D. I just pick it up and go.

The 40mm doesn’t stick out from the camera, making it great for close-up shots of the kids at home, or of people out in the city. It’s a great front-seat lens that goes with me to and from work every day for the random landscape shot. It’s flexible for the kind of shooting I do, and I appreciate it more and more every day.

And now that I’ve had it for about a year, I’m getting to see the world in 40mm – just as I did with 50mm (both are natural, of course, being “normal” lenses). My Canonet probably helped warm me up to 40mm before that, as did my Fuji X-E1 with the 27mm (40mm equivalent) pancake lens.

While the 50mm gets all the creative credit in the photo world, it’s good to know there’s a handy, slightly-wider alternative in the 40mm lens.

Gear, photography, Review 40mm, 40mm f/2.8, canon, canon 40mm, Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM, canonet, daily, lens, pancake lens