Sydney Trades Hall with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

This is the fourth of a series of articles showcasing pictures taken on the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95. These pictures were taken at the heritage-listed Sydney Trades Hall, and showcases the lens ability to capture murals and indoor details, often at relatively low light.

According to Wikipedia, the Sydney Trades Hall is a heritage-listed trade union building designed by John Smedley, with later additions Spain and Cosh and Minnett and built from 1888 to 1916. The building was built and owned by the Trades Hall Association, the original trade union affiliates who built the hall in 1888, and is now owned by Unions NSW. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

This building has a lot of historical significance as the birthplace of the Union movement in Australia as well as the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party. It’s only partially open to the public, which meant I was restricted to a few staircases and corridors as well as the central atrium (the result of a 2003 renovation).

I found that although there were no issues using the lens for capturing indoor murals and art, there wasn’t sufficient colour saturation or contrast to make me feel completely happy with the results.

For more information on the Heliar 17.5mm lens, check out my initial impressions article and other articles in the series:

Related Articles in this Series

Initial Impression: Voigtländer 17.5 mm/1:0.95 Nokton MFT

Initial Impression: Voigtländer 17.5 mm/1:0.95 Nokton MFT

Chris ThamJan 24, 20201 min read
The Nokton 17.5mm lens is part of a series of Voigtländer lenses for the Micro Four-Thirds system, and all lenses in the series has an amazingly large aperture (f0.95).
The Rocks with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

The Rocks with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

Chris ThamJan 24, 20201 min read
These pictures were taken around The Rocks Area and showcases the lens as a general purpose standard lens that you may take on a photowalk, or when you are a tourist discovering a city for the first time.
Woolloomooloo to Sydney walk with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

Woolloomooloo to Sydney walk with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

Chris ThamJan 27, 20201 min read
These pictures were taken on a walk from Cowpers Bay Wharf at Woolloomoolloo to Sydney’s Central Business District. It showcases the lens as a general purpose standard lens that you may take on a photowalk, or when you are a tourist discovering a city for the first time.
Mitchell Library with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

Mitchell Library with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

Chris ThamJan 28, 20201 min read
These pictures were taken at the heritage Michell Library (also known as State Library of New South Wales), the oldest library in Australia and showcases the lens’ low light capture abilities as well as the absence of perspective distortions when capturing large architectural spaces.
Sydney with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

Sydney with the Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm/1:0.95 and Panasonic GX9

Chris ThamJan 30, 20201 min read
These pictures were taken around the Chinatown and Haymarket area.

Posted by Chris Tham

Chris Tham is a co-founder of Visual Voyager Pty Ltd, the Principal Voigtländer Ambassador for Mainline Photographics and a Workshop Instructor for Mainline Photo Academy. She brings over 35 years of experience as a photographer to her role, starting with a Yashica rangefinder belonging to her dad, joining the Photography Club in school, and developing her own photos. More recently, Chris has been taking photos during her travels, and as a result has experienced some of the most interesting places in the world. Chris focuses on nature, street, and urban architecture subjects in her photography.