Win stuff… enter our monthly competition!

Hi, thanks for dropping by! Before you read on, why not take a moment to enter our monthly competition where you can win a great prize… Every month we give away a B+W Lens cleaning kit ( Opticlean & cloth)!

All you have to do is click on the link below and sign up for our newsletter to go in our monthly draw. The rules are:

• Open only to Australian residents.
• You can only enter once.
• Entries end 12pm last day of the month, winner is notified by email.

To enter click here

Happy Halloween!

Mainline customer Rene Vogelzang’s image of these witches houses in Sydney say’s it all!

When he is not out and about taking great photographs of haunted houses Rene also works with the National Parks discovery tours. These folks run guided outdoor trips with a photographic basis in some of our best National parks, take a look at some of the interesting workshops they run at Discovery Photographers.

Voigtlander SL II lenses now available in Canon EOS mount.

We have just had news that the factory will be producing this range of prime SLR lenses in the long awaited EOS mount. All three current models the 20mm 3.5 , 40mm 2.0 and 58mm 1.4 have proved extremely popular but up until now Canon EOS owners have been left out. Not anymore! first deliveries are due in early November. We are taking pre orders now. Shoot me an email here if you want to go on the list to get one from the first delivery.

Voigtlander SLR lenses now available in Canon EOS mount.

B+W 77mm 110 filters back in stock! + Why you need a 10 stop ND.

We have a limited number of these very popular 10 stop ND filters back in stock. The factory in Germany has had its production schedules left in tatters trying to produce stock of this very special filter to keep up with demand. All because folks posted about them on the net and then everyone wanted one! Wondering why? Take a look at the images below yep that’s why…

“Cliffs of Netanya” by Rosie Galitz ( using a B+W ND 110)

This 10 stop ND filter is allows photographers to shoot at slow shutter speeds needed to give that fairy floss look to water such as in the images here. It also gives you the ability to control apertures much more effectively in very strong light environments such as deserts or beaches thus depth of field. B+W 110 filters are made in limited numbers by Schneider in Germany they are simply the best strong ND filters you can buy. Unlike other brands they do not give a strong colour shift, they just add a pleasant warm tone to your image! Fast becoming one of the must have filters in the modern photographers kit. Also available in most other sizes.

“The swimming hole” Kevin Kroeker ( using a B+W ND 110)

Here are a few tips to help you get the best from a 10 stop Neutral Density filter. For long exposures you will need to use a tripod.  Next is to  set your camera in manual mode for everything inc… metering and focusing. Which now means you also have to compensate for the 10 stops manually in either aperture or time. To get the nice flow effects in water you need to have a least a several second exposure, though this will depend on how fast the water is moving so a few test shots might be needed.  Here is a very cool travel photo trick for busy streets or plazas packed with tourists, set you camera up on a tripod and shoot as long exposure as you can… you will have deserted streets in your image, yep that’s right you had the Pyramids all to yourself…. Last piece of advice shoot raw/dng if you have it on your camera so you can fine tune exposure and white balance if need be.

Image overload? Have we become victims of information overload…

When was the last time you really took a good look at the files on the computer? How many files named DSC98760.jpeg do you have? How many passwords and user names do you need to remember? Is your desktop cluttered with files and icons? The list goes on… The Digital age allows us to do thing’s we never could have imagined a few years ago.

But…

We are suffering from an information overload… so rather than saving all this stuff on ever bigger hard drives, should we be getting back to basics and using that delete button more often? The answer is a very big yes!

Photography is fast becoming a big part of the information overload… maybe it’s time for some image discardia. I know I need to do it.

Are your folders like this full of unnamed and unsorted images? If so time to start organising.

More and more folks are taking zillions of images and our hard drives are filling up.  So then time to change and get a plan to keep the best of your photography on the computer and discard the rest.  Plus a promise to print the images you really like and put them on display. Maybe us camera clickers need to click the shutter less often and click the delete button more often. As Ansel Adams used to put it “concentrate more on the seeing” that is what photography is all about.

The world’s best lens cloths are back in stock. The Mikros ultra micro fibre cloth!

Looking for the best lens cloth for your valuable optics? Search no more…

Mainlinephoto have just imported another batch of these amazing cloths. We continually get asked for more of these so we listened to you all and now once again they are available for purchase in our webstore.

The Mikros cloth is made of scientifically designed tri-woven microfibres, less than 1/1000 the thickness of hair. It absorbs dirt and oily film without chemicals and it’s the softest and most absorbent microfibre cloth on the market. 100% lint-free and non-abrasive.

Washing renews the cloth to it’s original condition.

A decent size of 18 x 19 cm. Oh and did I mention that these cloths are thick and soft not like some others out there.

Limited time offer get 3 cloths for the special price of $19.95 including delivery.

New Lower Voigtlander pricing… Whoo hoo…

At Mainline we like to pass on the savings to you whenever possible so due to the current excellent currency situation we have lowered the prices on almost all Voigtlander items.  So if you are thinking of buying something now is the time. Check them out here.

Also Thumbs up products have been lowered and many other items.

Leica pulls a rabbit out of their hat. Will the M9 become the digital equal of the M6.

Well then…. Leica get’s it right with the M9… kind of reminds me of the M5 and then Leica got it right with the highly successful M6 which sold virtually unchanged for 24 years! Now that’s what I call a product life cycle.

This camera will be a winner on all front’s for them. Full size sensor blah blah etc etc…… you know all the details. If not they are here.

At the retail price of just over the $8.5 grand AUD it is even better value than I expected. Hopefully within the next weeks I will get my hands on one to play with… as usual the folks are posting their first impressions all over the net and they seem to be extremely positive. No we have the digital equal of the M6 and I hope that this will see Leica stay with us until well into the future.  Way to go Mr Leica!

New Voigtlander lenses from Cosina. 50th anniversary editions

Cosina is set to release 2 new lenses (well more of a re release of a couple of oldies) to celebrate their 50th year of business. These special editions are to be produced in a special Nickel plated finish and boxed with a matching M adapter with the same finish. Both of these lenses are going to be limited to a run of 600 units. If you missed out on one of the worlds sharpest lenses the little 3.5 50mm Heliar then now is the time to get one! Price for both models is $795 . Supply will be limited so email us now if you wish to pre order one.  Update limited stocks now available.

50mm Heliar f2.0 screw mount

50mm Heliar f 3.5 screw mount

Could it be that the Leica M9 release is about to become a reality?

NOW 100% confirmed the event is for the S2 and M9 release!!!!

Doing the rounds of Leica dealers and the like here in OZ is a flyer inviting those valued folks to a secret and special PREMIERE EVENT! Maybe Leica has employed the security team from Apple and actually managed to keep the M9 completely under wraps until this event takes place? I mean no images nothing… nada really has come out of Germany just smug comments like ” it will come”.

The image below is a copy of the flyer sent out today by Ryan Williams of Adeal the Leica agents here. I called him to check if it was the real m coy and he confirmed this but nothing else.

Not invited…Well… we could always gate crash?

Sure it could be the S2 release though everyone knows about that. Hmmm S2 or M9… heads or tails. Well only a few more sleeps will tell as the same event is on the 10th of September in the US. Maybe we should scrap the Mainline footy pools this week and start giving odds on what will Leica be showing!

It seems that a worldwide announcement from Leica will happen on the 09-09-09! Strange stuff as Apple are going to announce something on that date too…

Looks like with the G11 Canon has got it right! New G11 due in September.

Finally… after straying from the path over to the darkside with the G series 7,9 and 10 models… (which were all great cameras in their own right but each of them missed hitting the bullseye) but it now looks like Canon have listened and learn’t from the past and the new G11 is set to put them back on track. Looks and sounds great the highlights are:

28mm – 140mm 2.8 lens

Sensor has been downsized to 10 megapixels ( should mean less noise)

The 2.8 inch LCD has got it’s mojo back, once again it rotates …Yeah!!

Big Buck Bunny… yep even some animals just get pushed too far…

In this day an age of wonderful animated movies… there comes a time when someone must take a stand and make something a little more realistic… Big Buck Bunny takes revenge Predator style on his fellow forest bully’s! While only 10 min’s long it is well worth watching which you can do on You Tube, Vimeo or you can the download various formats even in HD if you have a HD screen or TV with a Dvix compatible player . All of this and more is available here at Big Buck Bunny

Amazing … all done on open source software.

Ok you thought you were a photo geek with a Mac Pro…. he he check this out!

Well some might think they are cool as they have a Mac Pro/Air or something Mac, others like me think hey I have 2 monitors and a custom overclocked gaming PC… sorry I think this dude tops all of us! I mean 9 monitors…now wouldn’t that setup burn your retinas or what?

Go check his photos out on flickr…  just click the image above.

At least I have the same keyboard as Steve so I feel vindicated a little I guess. Seriously what is more amazing is that he downsized from 28 monitors!!!! Those retinas must have been the reason.

So the Olympus Pen EP-1 has some competition from Panasonic. Pre release leak confirms GF1

Well well… I knew that the little Digtial Pen EP1 would spark at least a few clones. Having had one on loan for a couple of weeks now I straight away saw the potential this type of camera has. I also thought that other smart manufacturers must be ready to jump on the bandwagon… These Micro 4/3 cameras are a blessing for those who want a rangefinder style camera and the ability to use Leica and Voigtlander M mount lenses without buying an M8.

Now it looks like Panasonic are set to release their version of the Pen  called the GF1! We can see right away it looks to have a pop up flash, something I must admit I have missed on the EP1 also a different dial layout and a very big plus it comes in black.

Ferret fun day this weekend… and we love those!

My best buddy Fuzzy has passed away all too soon… she was more human than ferret, but was never the same after she lost her pal Winnie to cancer. We are now left with Theodore and the Bebon ( spanish for big baby). So as always we will be going to the Ferret fun day this weekend. Not that Theodore is allowed to attend he fights with everyone! I cannot believe that he is nearly 10 years old Blind, has prostrate problems, a dicky heart and his back legs are going yet he still wants to battle on when he smells another Ferret! Now who said Ferrets are fun?

Then again maybe Theo is a little spoilt !!!!

Then again maybe they all are !!!! Bebon sleeping.

Well this weekend we will just take the Bebon…. Theodore can have the house to himself. Ferret fun days are run by the NSWFS in Sydney every second month.

Leica M9 rumors… we have it on very good authority that…

It seems that the M9 is due to become a reality sooner than we think! As an interesting thing happened today… we had a visit from the manager of one of Australia’s biggest Leica dealers who stated the following! ( disclaimer we are not a Leica reseller):

That Leica distributors worldwide are accepting orders for the M9!

He claimed that the camera was due to be released this December.

Plus adding fuel to the fire is the latest version of Capture One Pro 4.82 contains a generic profile for the Leica M9!

But wait there is more… a leading French photographic magazine has stated that the M9 is coming as soon as September!

Possible concept M9 from a fan on Leica Rumors

All I can say is that this person has not been wrong before… and I would not be posting this here if I did not trust Mr ——-’s information.

Still Moments… an exhibition of fine art landscape photographs by Warren Hinder.

Warren Hinder is a published and collected photographer who lives in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. He is also a Mainline Customer and film user. Starting on the 8th of August through to the 30th of August he has a gallery showing of his best works at the Nolan on Lovel gallery in Katoomba his home town. Warren’s work focuses on the quiet side of nature his work is both technically excellent and beautiful at the same time. It is this type of photography at it’s best… it makes you stop look and relax. If you are looking for an excuse to get to the mountains this winter now you have it… plus do not forget to take the drive further west to Mt Victoria and have a browse in the best boy’s shop since camera store’s were invented at Trains, Planes and Automobiles.

“Cow Bay” copyright Warren Hinder

Shopping for a new monitor on a budget? Forget the Nec and Ezio or Apple!

I was looking for a new monitor for home and I did a lot of research into the topic before buying. I wanted a monitor that would be good for gaming ( ok I’m a WOW addict) and for photographic work… and midsized, without breaking the bank. Sure companies like NEC and EIZO produce the best monitors for imaging work but they cost a bomb. Anyway to cut a really long story short I came across several very good reviews for the Dell 2208WA… which kind of hinted that good old Dell had hit the big time and produced a high quality screen at a reasonable price. After reading these reviews  I hopped over to their website and it just happened to be on offer! So having just built my new gaming computer, I sprung for it. This little gem is hidden in the Business section on Dell’s website.

Well I can tell you that we have not being disappointed with our purchase at all. No need for a personal review of the Dell 2209WA as the experts have pretty well covered it all here.

For the money this is one hell of a monitor especially if you don’t want or do not have the space for a bigger one. My friend Mark has a 28 inch Samsung monitor which he has finally admitted is just too big and too bright to sit and work at for hours on end! If you are a gamer or photographer then I wholeheartedly recommend this screen. Right out of the box it preforms. If you wish you can spend a bit of time calibrating it which I did and it is sharp and renders colours perfectly. All in all fo$369 it was a steal.

Our Home work station

World of Warcraft displays beautifully.

If you are in the market for a mid size widescreen monitor then…Just go buy one!

Bessa III review by Ed Dale

Mainline Customer and recent Bessa III purchaser is so delighted with his camera that he has sent through this personal hands on review.

Ed writes:

Is this camera worth the expense?. Does it take a good photo? Does it work? Does it make sense?

The Short Review – This camera is superb.

But I suspect you might want a few more details…

Out of the box…

Typical spartan rangefinder packaging with a decent manual. The first thing I notice is how light it feels. Sitting to the left of me I have a Leica M7 with the 50mm 1.4 lens. It’s heavier than the Bessa III.

Loading film is a breeze and the workmanship on the camera is excellent – It feels really solid. Selecting 6×6 or 6×7 is simple and the flexibility of 120 or 220 is nice.

Straight up real world focus test… very nice.

I travel a lot and I’ll have no hesitation taking the Bessa with me.

I’m a tad obsessed by quality of picture v weight of equipment.

The Bessa gives me the chance to get awesome medium format quality – with point and shoot convenience.

But does the Lens stand up? Does the camera take a photo worthy of the format…

Before we talk photo quality. Let’s talk about the viewfinder. As any rangefinder enthusiast knows – if the viewfinder is awful the camera will be to!

To cut to the chase – This is the best viewfinder I have had the pleasure to look through on a Rangefinder and I have looked through them all.

I have a Zeiss Ikon – which is a great camera, the viewfinder is bright, it’s easy to focus BUT the shutter speed readout is colored blue and can be really hard to see. I was really worried the Bessa III would have this same issue.

Accurate colours… easy focusing…

It doesn’t – it uses the same system as the Ikon BUT the shutter speed scale is on the left hand side of the viewfinder, it’s a BRIGHT red and in a weekend of shooting wearing glasses was easily readable.

The folding mechanism is really solid and well constructed and if you open it as described in the manual you can be ready to shoot in a second or two.

There has been some commentary on the web that when folding the Bessa back in you need to set the focus ring to infinity. This is true and becomes instinctive with about 10 minutes of use.

I have to say I’m not much of a specs man so I was eager to get out in the field and try it.

Melbourne delivered an overcast first weekend. And as a father of three girls under seven was going to have my work cut out for me!

I was really worried about two things with this camera.

First, was the folding mechanism dodgy and would it cause focus shift.

My second issue was would the 80mm 3.5 lens would lack character and resolving power and with a wide open Aperture of 3.5 would not be fast enough for those street/all-rounder situations that you find yourself in if you carry the camera with you everywhere.

Stunning bokeh… taken at f3.5

If your after a lot of focus cards and measurements the rest of the review will disappoint. If your after a real world pressure test – then read on.

The Challenge I set myself with was this.

Trust the meter – was it any good, how did it cope with tricky lighting.

Handheld – No tripod allowed. Did I mention it was a very grey weekend. For me, the whole point of this camera is to get exquisite medium format quality without the whole tripod and lighting set-up experience. Could I handhold this sucker and get a decent shot…

The final rule was to abuse the rangefinder – I took this camera to subjects and situations where Rangefinders fear to tread – An indoor children’s party, taking shots of children at the playground. If this is going to be a bring everywhere camera – let’s give it the worst possible rangefinder subjects!

So how did we go.

The first time I operated the shutter mechanism I was floored. They have out Leica’d Leica. It’s the quietest and most importantly for handholding, softest shutter I have ever heard/felt on a camera.

Period.

In fact, when your anywhere with even a modicum of noise – your going to have to trust you have taken the shot – you will not hear it or feel it.

The Curious disengaging camera…

Children of photographers can become relatively unwilling subjects…

When I pulled out the Bessa and unfolded it for the first time – the kids loved it and where happy to pose for the “Transformer” camera.

Three weeks later it still has that effect. When I was taking photos in the street, the folder is completely disarming.

For the type of work I do – this is a godsend. In this Facebook age, a quaint folding camera sparks curiosity and intrigue, not fear.

This was brilliant.

Ed I have to say this is a really great shot!!! … Scott

I shot Ilford 3200 Black and White (I was terrified of slow shutter speeds indoors with the 3.5 lens) and I used Ektar 100 for the color

shots)

So i spent the weekend pointing the camera at bright objects, low light, Make shift focus tests. You tend to get a gut feel with a camera for how low you can go with shutter speed. I was trying 1/4, 1/8, 1/2! The gorgeous shutter mechanism was giving me a confidence to attempt shots I would not dream of normally.

The experience of having it in my little Crumpler bag with me at all times and use the Bessa III as a, dare I say it, a medium format point and shoot was a dream.

Changing film was very quick and fiddle free, the winding mechanism is excellent, all very straight forward.

But how would the pictures look….

I got everything back from the lab… and I flicked through the proofs I was thrilled.

Everything I focused on was in focus, the lens had a real sharpness at

3.5 and the bokeh/character was everything I would expect of a medium format camera.

I used to haul round a Hasselblad 503cx with an 80mm lens. That’s going on ebay.

I have put up my favorite/useful images are here on my Flickr Bessa III gallery

I have added commentary on what I was trying to test.

There was no processing or cropping at all (which is a shame because some of the composition is embarrassing!)

You might get the feeling that I’m pretty chuffed with the Bessa III and you would be right. The best camera is the one you have with you and the ability to have the Bessa III around all the time to capture a decisive moment in Medium Format is exciting.

Negatives – you can’t change the lens and I would not mind that extra half a stop But as i said, the Rolls Royce shutter mechanism MORE than makes up for this.

Price – there has been much debate about the price of this camera and I have to say a lot of it makes me raise an eyebrow. This a brand new medium format folder with Aperture Priority and lock, Modern centre- weighted metering, top line construction (and trust me I’m up there in the Leica snob category), excellent lens and the BEST shutter mechanism I have ever encountered.

Comparing this to a vintage folder in my view is crazy, A Hasselblad 503cx with and 80mm 2.8 lens, film back, and PME45 for metering and a shutter that kicks like Bruce Lee will set you back WAY more. A LeicaM7 and a new 50mm lens again – way more expensive.

The Mamiya m7 and 80mm lens is probably the best comparison. It’s a great camera but it’s not a camera that you take everywhere. It’s heavier and the shutter mechanism is not going to allow the handholding that the Bessa III allows. You can pick up a Mamiya 7 for less than the Bessa and if you do a lot of tripod work might be fine for you.

For me the Bessa is exactly what I was looking for. Having a medium format camera with you for that once in a lifetime sunset is worth every penny.

Ed Dale is an acomplished Amateur Photographer who’s day job is teaching people around the planet about Internet Marketing at www.thirtydaychallenge.com

Travelling Bessa III returns from it’s first tour

Phil Ramsden has just returned the Bessa III to us after spending a delightful 2 weeks wandering the Northern Beaches and city of Sydney in search of scenes to photograph.

Phil checks out a scene accompanied by his faithful pal Vegemite.

The Adventures of the Travelling Bessa III

My it’s a long way from Tokyo to Sydney but I made it and was delivered to Scott at Mainline. He is a lovely boy and the Store Manager, Rufus is so kind.

They gave me to an old codger named Phil who said he uses film and like a wannabe he started fiddling with me without reading the instructions.
Fortunately I am easy to understand and use and we managed to ingest a roll of Foma ISO 100 easily enough.

Then it was off to Balmoral to see the sights. Phil brought his dog Vegemite, a black Lab who was very interested in everything, she probably thought I was food. It is certainly different to Tokyo. All this sunshine and so warm and it is supposed to be winter. We passed an Asian family taking “images” with one of these new fangled digital things, they giggled when they saw Phil with me. At least I make proper pictures.
Next trip was over to Bondi. Funny place, full of backpackers. The sun was behind the clouds this time but great for beach pictures, Lots of surfers on boards awaiting the perfect wave.

Phil took me around to show me to his friends, he seems to know a lot of proper photographers who use film.
I was greatly admired. Makes me feel good to know people like me.
Thanks  Cosina & Mr Kubiashi.

New film compact coming soon The Fuji KLASSE W & S models!

Due to the recent sucess of the Bessa III camera Fujifilm has asked partners Cosina to take on worldwide distribution of their high end compact P&S film camera the Klasse.  These cameras will be coming soon,  no price as yet but we will keep you updated.

Available in  28mm and 38mm 2.8 lens versions.