WATCH SERIES: IWC Portofino

Something that I have recently come to really appreciate is the beauty of a fine made watch. I sort have always been a watch guy or at least i considered myself to be one but not until recently have I really gained an appreciation for mechanical watches. Maybe it's my background in engineering but it's something about how these watches tick that make me feel connected to them. For the most part my love is for older vintage watches but today I want to share this beautiful IWC watch. This IWC Portofino reference IW391007 is the only modern watch that I own. It's only modern in the sense that it was purchased in 2015. I love the old stylings of this watch and it's also a really important piece to me since it the watch I associate with my wedding. This will be the first of my watch series that i'm going to start on the blog. I'm going to try and share more pieces i have soon. 

iPhone 6S.

This time of the year is like a holiday at our household and every year since the iPhone first released we have been keeping up with the next generation. The only difference this year is that we both went gold 😀 🙌. 

VENUS 60mm f/2.8 Ultra-Macro Lens

I have always been hesitant on spending too much on a macro lens. It just didn’t make sense to invest a whole lot of money on a lens that I really only use for one shot and that’s a ring shot. Since the very first year of shooting weddings I have used Canon’s cheapest “macro” lens the EF 50mm f/2.5 macro. I put the quotes there since there are some out there that wouldn’t even consider this a true macro lens since it doesn’t even hit 1:1 without an adapter but for me it’s been a truly solid lens in my line up of lenses that I use at every wedding.

With all that said, in 2015 ring shots are going to the next level. I have been following the release of the Chinese made VENUS 60mm f/2.8 Ultra-Macro Lens and finally had to chance to test it today. Let me tell you, I have already fallen in love with this lens. From the really great build quality to the $370 dollar price tag this lens was made for me. The lens is super sharp and has full manual controls for both aperture and focus. This beast has a 2:1 macro ratio and I felt like I was looking through a microscope at 2:1. I’m likely to mostly use this lens between 1.5:1 and 1:1 ratios as I felt that 2:1 was just too much detail and just too close. I could see the small streaks of oil left behind by my finger prints when trying to capture a 2:1 macro image. See for yourself the comparison shot i have posted below of my wife’s David Yurman ring. This picture below was taken with the VENUS lens at 1.5:1 ratio.

For comparison the picture below is the largest ratio I could achieve with my old 50mm Canon lens. Can’t wait to shoot some rings in 2015!