đź”´ Guest Post: Rex Yau
I’ve been photographing my entire life, but I don’t know what a rangefinder is. 2023 changes all that, and how I perceive photography. My name is Rex.
Who is Rex?
I grew up in Hong Kong in the 1990s, surrounded by camera shops, and photography has always been a part of my life.
Now, as a transplant living in the mid-Atlantic of the United States. I worked as a full-time commercial cinematographer. However, when I am not filming, I often collaborate with models for portraits.
My journey to Leica?
While Leica was always a name I knew growing up, I had never seriously looked into what that name really meant. I was very comfortable with my Canon cameras from the analogue age onward. When I transitioned to digital, I stayed with the brand to minimise reinvestment, since I had invested in flagship lenses early on.
After 15 years of photographing digitally, my 2020 hobby was getting back into analogue photography. That sparked my curiosity to explore other camera platforms beyond Canon. Rangefinders sparked my interest due to their compact form factor. As soon as I put my eye through the viewfinder, pushing the focusing tab of an entry-level Minolta, I was hocked.
I spent weeks watching Matt’s video and sniffing through his Patreon community as I patiently shopped on eBay. In May of 2022, I finally found a Leica M3 double stroke that is in dire need of CLA and repair for a good deal.
With the camera away for repair, I asked myself, why stop there? So I quickly began a search for a digital Leica. At first, I was about to commit to a Leica M8, but again, my patience paid off, and I found a local listing of a Leica M240 for just $2000 USD!
Why Leica?
Having a digital M body was the most significant paradigm shift in my photography since I purchased my Canon 5D mk ii in 2011. It changes how I perceive photography entirely.
The mechanical nature of the M platform invites me to use the camera more than any other camera that I have ever owned. It’s like a spell that one simply cannot walk away from.
The tactile feel of a manual focus lens with a robust focusing tab connects its user to the scene more than a microprocessor-driven servo. The beautiful range finder that lets you experience the world without a computer interpolating it.
What Do You Photograph and Why?
Many people often ask me that question. It took me a while to figure out why I have been doing photography all these years.
It is a bit of curiosity about machines and physics. Now that I am committed to analogue photography again, I have been photographing with all formats, from 135 to 120 roll film to large-format sheet film. I enjoy learning and tinkering with cameras of all origins and formats.
In the process, I also became an amateur collector of old film cameras and early digital cameras. Last month, I even fulfilled my long-held desire to shoot on a digital back with my Hasselblad 501CM, using a 2005 Leaf Aptus 22 Kodak CCD fat-pixel sensor.
I enjoy portrait photography because it lets me push my lenses the most, especially with vintage glass. Being able to focus on the subject at minimum distance allows maximum background separation and seeing how a lens would render the background. Plus, it is more fun to work with models during my time off than with a golf cart, chairs, and pliers when I photograph for work.
Photography will forever be a learning process for me: to learn, explore, and master.
Thoughts
While I am sure that with proper maintenance, the Leica M240 will outlast us, like any electronics, the battery will die one day, and Leica will release the battery pattern, so a third-party company will continue to make replacement batteries for the camera.
​I am still in the honeymoon of shooting on the digital medium format back. While I converted only shooting digital with my 501CM at the moment. Once I am more comfortable with the limit of the Aptus, my goal is to use the digital back in conjunction with film back, and leave the full-frame digital at home.
How Do You Know MrLeica?
I went into a deep dive on what rangefinder cameras I should pursue. It didn’t take me long to discover Matt on YouTube plus his MrLeica.com blog.
Aside from his vast knowledge of Leica, Matt was also a passionate model photographer like me.
From the glimpses of behind-the-scenes photoshoots I saw on YouTube, I found that our photography pacing is very similar, which convinced me to join his Patreon.
Favorite Leica Camera?
As much as I love film, my go-to Leica will always be my Leica M240. Having an intuitive digital camera lets me freely compose photos on the street without having to jump through menus. It is a camera that I wear on every trip with a 35mm lens glued to it.
I say wear because when I am traveling, I like to have my camera ready at all times, and the black paint M240 with a red-dot delete is as discreet as any other camera, especially with its small footprint.
Favorite Lens?
Lenses, damn the lenses! They render beautifully like paint brushes.
It is funny that we spent years pursuing the sharpest, most corrected lens and the fastest, most accurate autofocus system. Now we went back and looked for vintage lenses that are flawed and imperfect.
My Canon cameras and lenses are tools for my trade, while my Leicas are where I play. For my model photography, I like to paint, partially with light, just as crucial as with my lenses.
The M system offers a wide variety of compact optics. But vintage glass grabbed my attention the most.
Leica Summarit 50mm f/1.5 – Currently, my absolute favourite. The high-aperture blade counts produce beautifully rendered bokeh, even when slightly stopped down to compensate for its vintage softness. With its non-coated elements, it flares dramatically under the right light. However, I do have to be careful with its off-center sharpness, or the lack thereof.
Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f1.4 SC II – Let’s not forget M lenses from other manufacturers. This is my favourite 35mm. It creates a similar swirl bokeh to the Summarit, especially when it is wide open at the minimum focus distance. The single-coated formulas also allow a more classic flare.
Canon 85mm f/1.9 – My most recent pick up is this post-war lens. It was the very first generation of its kind made in the 1950s, when Canon was still copying optical formulas from its Western counterpart. This was also before they had“corrected” the design in their later offerings, which I found boring.
Favorite Film?
I go through a good amount of film as I try to photograph one roll per model session. My favorite film without any doubt is FOMA 400, which I almost exclusively shoot at 200 and use box development time with Rodinal 1+50 dilution.
FOMA 400 yields a smooth skin tonal transition and just enough sharpness for portraits. However, the thin film support of FOMA causes excessive curling in 120. With my new contact glass scanning setup, scanning has become quite challenging. But until I find an alternative to 120, I will continue with my FOMA 400 workflow.
Where can you find Rex?
Follow me at:
- Substack – https://substack.com/@rexypoooo
- Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/le_corbusierex//
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/arcdecocine
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