2 new lenses

Today's episode is sponsored by Squarespace. What's up? Happy Halloween. Obviously, I am dressed up as Mary from Project Hail Mary, or... Whatever the main character's name is, I don't know. I never saw it. We've gathered here today because I was in the market for some new hardware, and by that, really, I just mean doing lens research on eBay at 3 a.m. I don't really have a dedicated lens for the Leica M10, nor do I have a 50mm for the Leica M6. In cases of need, I generally just swap the lenses between systems, but I don't really love doing that because a lot of the lenses and a lot of the systems use You know, sometimes special filters or adapters, and they oftentimes need to be swapped out in the field. And when that happens, it just seems like they sometimes glitch out of existence in my bag. I think I'd much rather just keep a dedicated lens on a system. That way, if I ever need to run out the door in two minutes, I can just grab it and go. It's kind of the same reason that I wear Lightning McQueen Crocs while I sleep. So first off, I picked this collapsible 50mm 3.5 that says lights on it. Don't be fooled, it's not Leica. It's a fake like most of my teeth. I don't really know where it's from or any of the history on it. Maybe somebody out there does. So accompanied by my fellow photographer from another mother, Chris and I hopped in the car and set off to test that lens directly in the field because god forbid two white boys have a little motion. After eating the bottom plate of my M6 because I was hungry, I loaded up some E100 at our first location and nailed it on the first try. Someone's f***ed up. Is there a huge dent on the back of the car now? So the lens works, no problems there I suppose, but whatever. Let's get our hands a little bit dirty here and talk about the downside to this lens because of course there's always one. The filter situation on this lens is kind of... F***ed up. Actually, more than kind of. It's advanced f***ed up. The front thread is something around like 22.5 millimeters or maybe even 23 millimeters. It's not exactly something that's like easy to come by. So what I've been doing is just ordering custom filters that are that size, dismantling them like a bomb. And brother, we have five seconds until detonation. And then just cutting out ratten gel filters to match the size of the original glass piece and replacing them. I wouldn't really recommend doing this, uh, long term. These, uh, rat and gel filters are certainly not as durable as glass. And yeah, I know, I'm aware that it looks embarrassingly bad on the front of the lens, but believe it or not, that's not the most f***ed up part. The, uh, lens engineers, the len-gineer, lens engineers? They put the, um, the aperture control dial, uh, embedded in the front element, which means when you're using a filter, you gotta take that f***er off and on to change the aperture. It's really dumb. Like my neighbor's cat that always bites me even though I'm really nice to him. Anyway, after paying thousands of dollars to fill my tank up, we moved up the coast and were hit by tragedy. Yeah, that jank ass ratten filter decided to off itself pretty early on. But you know me, I'd rather shove a cactus up my ass than give up, so I immediately went to my contingency plan. Leica M, the Hasselblad XCD. How's that? There we go. I did have a little bit of a sneaking suspicion at the time that this lens might actually cover, you know, digital medium format. So I threw it on the Hasselblad X2D and what do you know? It's pretty freaking close. Here's a shot on film. And of course here's the same shot on the X2D II for a comparison. I think there's a phrase that is used to describe it. I think the phrase is Down the road of the slow march of time, if you think about it. I slammed on the brakes and luckily they worked this time. We passed an old photo booth with scenic views where I managed to nab maybe one of my favorites from the trip. No, not this super warpy photo of this pissed off old man that may actually be me from the future, but we don't have time to get into that. But actually this shot. Dude, that was Chris's shot that I stole. Imagine owning a shot. Imagine like being original. As we cruised up the coast, the light turned into that Dune III shot. Guys, that movie is almost here. Whatever, we for sure pulled over to capture it. I do like the process of using this lens on the X2 and D2 quite a bit. It feels like one step closer to the manualness of film, I guess, you know, using a focus tab instead of a helicoid, having to manually extend the lens to take a photo. There's something to it that helps my, like, primitive brain be fooled into enjoying the process a little more, and I think it shows in the work because this photo just absolutely portfolio-mogs the f*** out of anything I've shot recently. Sure, it was a, you know, a little bit of a scramble to get it. I basically just hopped out of the car without setting the parking brake and sprinted towards the last bit of light as my, you know, car rolled into the sea. But it was worth it. This lens even has some beautiful inbuilt glow. What a nice touch. It's probably fungus. Because I love hanging out at docks after dark like a sketchy drifter, we decided to get a little freaky with some night photography. Something I've actually circled back around on. I used to love it, then found it to be a lot of, I guess, the same. And now I'm back in the saddle, baby. Thanks in large part to Kodak Ektachrome and its affliction for green fluorescent light. Here's the X2D2 and here's the E100 with the same lens. You see what I'm talking about? Boring versus... I guess hypnotic. Man, just saying the word hypnotic reminds me of college, but whatever. I mean, holy sh**, this shot's great. I honestly don't know which one packs more of a punch in the, like, overall mood department. We had to get up to Mendocino, so I turned my headlights on directly into camera to get an idea of, you know, what my neighbor's cat sees right before it goes directly to hell. That evening we had some dockside clam chowder that was pretty It was pretty good until it wasn't. But we soon realized that, you know, while the getting is good, you gotta get it. So before I spent a, you know, full-ass hour reading the ingredients on the back of a shampoo bottle because I forgot my phone, we continued our night photography work in town a bit where I shot some of my absolute favorite work amongst the, um, I guess the LEDs and cheap fluorescent lighting. What I was gonna say was this really feels like, uh, Midnight Mass. Oh right, yeah. It's your favorite, right? Either that or Midnight Ass. After all that, we got ourselves set up in the lover's suite for the night. That's right, set up the camera, YouTube boy. What the f*** does that mean? And just kind of had some beer and ice cream, because when I'm on the road, I have no limits, baby. Haunting sea fog that encompassed the town drifted away the next morning, and the sun was shining, so I said, f*** it, and decided to forego the warming filter on some Ektachrome in the Leica, figuring the orange morning light would kind of do the heavy lifting, and it certainly did at this seaside grave. But really, more importantly, we smashed the absolute f*** out of some drippy-ass local cinnamon rolls. Now with a stomachache for some reason, we wandered around town taking pictures in the good angled morning light on both systems, you know, trying to figure out which angles would win us a Pulitzer. I really do like the look that this Leica copy produces. It's so mushy and just kind of f***ed up looking. It directly contradicts the sharp and clinical nature of something like the X2-D2 in a very complementary way. I mean let's zoom in here look at how freaky and gross it gets. It's almost as disgusting as the word pupate. Not for nothing though it also produces gorgeous colors. An absolute swath of royal blue which can be used effectively with other bright colors to make a photo kind of look like a painting I think. What's up guys I'm MrBeast and today we're shoving a RB67 at my ass. While obviously I initially set out to find a competent 50mm lens for my M6, it does seem like my mission there has failed, but maybe it's the right lens for the Hasselblad X2D2. I'm not saying that the other lens that I own for the Hasselblad X2D2 is going anywhere anytime soon though, it's a beast in its own right. But if I'm being honest, these days I can't really overstate the value of just traveling with a light and compact setup. It's certainly a welcome improvement over a lens that weighs as much as an intercontinental ballistic missile. We had heard about some low asking price real estate in the area and decided to take a look just past the fields of these big ass dogs or whatever they are. We spotted the ocean that just hidden out of plain sight was the real gem. This seaside dwelling unit that has seen better days. So we decided to do the house tour. Not the Sabrina Carpenter thing though. Chris and I aren't f***ing each other yet. To not only find an abandoned building, but one with such a scenic backdrop with something we don't normally come across out there. So with no more film in the M6, I shot away on the X2 D2. The results? Pretty dang good. On the way back down the coast, the locals celebrated the fact that I finally made up my mind on something. Yeah, maybe this lens is going to live on my X2D2. It feels like a natural combination. You know, extending the brass front element like a pirate extending a telescope before they scan the horizon for the East India Trading Company. It even comes with some sort of like free halation effect from the old glass. And I'm absolutely here for the list of defects present on something like this. And so is Chris, I think. I don't know what he's doing here. Truth be told, the one thing I've learned in my 10 plus years of doing this, it's not specifically the gear, but it's kind of just whatever gets you out there and doing the work. And I gotta be honest, I was quite happy with these shots in a way that I've never been happy with, you know, digital color before. Maybe it's not the lens for the, for the M6 and I'll certainly keep looking, but I'm glad I was able to repurpose it effectively. But if you're looking to find your own purpose with your online photography work or your small business, then look no further than today's sponsor, Squarespace. 2026 is the year to set up an online marketplace and start the flow of economy back to you. And what better way to do that than through an industry leader in the space, a brand you've no doubt heard of before. Squarespace. Get started crafting your online empire by choosing one of hundreds of expertly crafted, sleek, and modern templates designed by professionals for you. Take it even further with Squarespace's own proprietary tools that utilize groundbreaking programming to custom build the site of your dreams down to every last detail. Tools like Blueprint AI, a system that generates the website for you based on your prompts and goals for that said website. With services now in place like Acuity Scheduling, you can even have your clients set up meetings, appointments, or even in-person sessions with even more automated systems in place for invoicing Oh, you thought the video was over? I mean, it can be if you close your browser right now, but I'm willing to bet you're probably not going to do that because you've got hundreds of tabs open of, I think we both know what it is. Anyway, the other lens that I acquired is a Voigtlander, and I already know what you're thinking. Jason, you don't really have a great history with Voigtlander lenses. This one's a little bit different. For starters, it's not ass ugly. It's the Voigtlander 35mm f3.5 color scopar, and damn, it's a tiny lens. I bought it because I wanted to test it out, you know, not really anticipating a future where I... Fall in love with it, get married, and am now expecting. Unlike the previous lens, this lens does not extend when you get excited. It's a compact design. It's f3.5 with a focus tab and strange markings on the front that might as well be hieroglyphics because they make no sense to me. And if you're super, you know, vain like I am, the black version of this lens really does look cool on the Leica M10, though unfortunately, this M10 seems to be stuck in some sort of profile or something because I can't seem to figure out how to make it shoot in color. Oh well, I'll figure it out later, maybe. For now, I was back out in the field with the one and only Bren of expired Bren fame. He's issued a lot of work that has some overlap, I would say, and he rolled through town with an exciting plan and his beastly Pentax 6.7 that made me feel quite inadequate when standing next to him with this Voigtlander lens. Our first location, quite good. Recently vacated farmhouses and an array of elk in the field, just, you know, catty corner. That is the f***ing... That's the big dog out there. Wouldn't want to piss him off. It was actually mating season for the local elf population in the area. So we were watching our sixes pretty closely around them as they kind of cat called us the whole time. Is this what it feels like to be attractive? Doesn't matter. I threw on an orange filter which is a... It's a whole ass thing. Don't get me started. Okay, fine. I'll talk about it, but I need a cigarette first. The filter size on this lens is 37 millimeters. What the f*** guys, is that a filter size that's ever existed? Just make it 39mm so we can get on with our miserable lives. Obviously don't love that but either way I made a I guess makeshift ratten filter once again and it sucks too because it's got a similar build quality to uh basically one ply toilet paper. Found it right there. But eventually I did place a custom order for a 37 millimeter orange glass filter and it took like Good job me. two months to arrive but it's here now and my complaining about this topic can finally be done. Photos though, they're incredible. This lens is right at that um like that sweet spot for me focal length wise. It produces a very clear image. After all, it should. It's a modern day assembly made for the clarity of I guess digital cameras. But what I wasn't expecting was how contrasty it could be. And I'm kind of here for it, especially paired with the look of a crushing black and white image. This shot is pretty great. I love the framed portrait in the walkway. So the downside to this lens that they don't tell you but I will happily tell you because I have no allegiance to anyone because everyone hates me. Changing the aperture is once again uh kind of sh**. It's not as bad um technically as the like fake brass Leica but it takes some getting used to for sure. You kind of have to hold the front element and use your other hand to like change the values unless you turn the uh focus to infinity lock in which case it would be a lot easier this was a major concern for me for um for a minute but i eventually kind of got used to it and even got good at uh changing the aperture with one hand years of training shoving my hand into tight spaces under my motorcycle to retrieve screws has finally paid off At the next location, we noticed that the horny group of local elk kind of followed us. This really must be what it's like to be attractive. I just wish it was to the same species. While Bren was shooting some absolute bangers, I was popping off some hyper depressing black and white that truly feels like, you know, it's got a look of its own. I really don't mind the F3.5 maximum aperture, especially when paired with the cut of light you get with an orange filter. The M10 can shoot really cleanly at extremely high ISOs, so I kind of just use that to compensate. Not really something you can do with film unless you get into hypersensitizing, which is its own complex topic. One thing at a time, I just want to master not underexposing first. Our next location was a gold mine to us photographers and I guess to the U.S. government as well. Let me explain. So the reason that we were out shooting these spots was because there are several historic farms in the area that reached a settlement with the National Park Service to relinquish the land back to, I guess, a natural habitat. That's why some of these buildings are starting to look like infrastructure left over from Jurassic Park, you know, post-dinosaur breakout. There's a bit of controversy surrounding the whole agreement, which I can let you form your own opinion on, but for now it was a unique experience getting to document these old ranches before they truly get destroyed or, you know, graffitied over with wieners in the near future. And yeah, I mean, to be there was a bit unsettling, to be honest. We were there at a time when it felt like it just got vacated and some things were still a little too fresh, you know what I mean? But if you're not shooting, you know, absolutely bricked up in fear, then will the Will the photographs even be good? I love these shots. They capture a stillness unlike any other, especially given the history of the area. And for the first time in a while, I felt like I was shooting something with some historic weight to it, which kind of gave me my first real feeling of, like, true journalistic or documentary photography. Inside the main house was quite a haunting scene in its own right. Things left untouched, except for the, um, I guess occasional clue that things were about to fall Whoa. The photography kind of speaks for itself, at least I think so. The 35mm was damn near the perfect choice for this, even if it is maybe sacrilegious to be shooting black and white with a lens labeled ColorScope R. I definitely have noticed too that maybe the lens is like a little too small and lightweight. You know, resting under my double chin it kind of hangs I guess a little off balance now. As the sea fog started to roll in, I started to realize this lens is, without a doubt, a standout performer for me, and I plan to keep it, you know, basically glued to my Leica M10 for now. Not literally glued. I've done that before, and it doesn't really work out very well in the end. Either way, it's kind of the perfect all-around focal length for whatever dumb s*** I get up to, and I plan to get up to even more dumb s***. In fact, I just got back from New York where I shot a lot of it on the street. But I don't have anything to show you. You're just going to have to imagine some bangers. Here's like a quick sketch I did of what some of the work kind of looks like.