NOTE: This post seems very commercial, but I mean every word of it and I am not getting paid for any of this.

I’m almost to a point where I have everything I really need in photography gear. I got a sweet LX kit lined up with 3 lenses from 3 great makers. The Tamron 17mm, the Carl Zeiss 28mm, and the Voigtlander 58mm. This makes a killer set on film.

The Tamron is an excellent performer and have only seen great things from this ultra-wide. People have reported seeing variances in it’s image quality but not enough for me to want to test mine for sharpness. Next is the CZ 28 Distagon. Oh man. This lens is a hunk of great elements. Zeiss lenses have this special formula to produce micro-contrasty images. This fast wide angle lens is my favorite focal length. Not really wide enough to get out of control but wide enough to make a 35mm not necessary. And finally the Nokton 58 which is an ode to the other Noktons. Longer then 50 and fast @ f/1.4, this lens makes nice bokeh that I find pleasing to the eye. The 9 aperture blades ensure this and it is one of the best manual focusing slr lenses that I have used; light and quick and damped well.

I just sent off 5 rolls of film to North Coast Photographic Services (NCPS) because of their great reviews on photo dev. and scanning. I can’t wait to see the results. I’m also on the look out for another Pentax LX, my favorite film SLR.

Now, on my digital side, I have pretty much the same thing, but at faster speeds. With the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, I don’t think I’ll be upgrading anytime soon, unless a Mark III comes out, which it won’t. The HD movies, soon with 24p, and decent high iso shots is all I need for now. Plus, the ability to adapt almost any lens mount is just a plus for this full frame beast. The focal range I have is the Tokina 17 (yea, I know), 24LII and the 50L.

Ok, so the 50L has a lot of talk about focus shift, softness wide open, high price, blah blah blah. Show me another AF 50/1.2. Actually, show me a better AF 50/1.4! For it’s price, you getting a 50/1.2 that has AF and is sealed. Yea, it is bigger then the rest, but that is the price you pay for some electronics to focus for you. And the manual focus override is nice for when the AF gets it wrong, which is like, 1/10 for me. The images this lens has produce for me have justified it’s price tag. I am happy with this lens and I enjoy reading naysayers comments about it. Then there is the 24. I have had this lens for about a week or so, haven’t been out shooting it as much as I want, but man. This lens truly is the best lens I’ve used ever. Just looking at a few test shots I took with it, I’m wowed every time I gaze at it. Fast wides like this don’t come around often. I think only Nikon, Canon and Lecia have produced such fast wides. This lens is going to be so fun to use. And yea, the Tokina. What can I say? I like cheap AF 17mm. Wide open, ok. Stopped down, good. It isn’t the best in the bunch, but so far it has been good to me.

This set satisfies my needs for right now. And I can only say good things about these lenses. I’m 100% sure they’ll continue to serve me through out my adventures and mis-adventures.