Goodbye, Captain John's

The Jadran, or Captain John's Seafood Restaurant boat, was towed away from its location of 40 years today.  In its hay days as a restaurant, it was a popular place for dining but things turned really bad in its later years and was eventually forced to close few years ago.  The Toronto Port Authority wanted it gone long ago but couldn't find a buyer who could safely move the boat.  At the end, it had to pay to get it towed to Port Colborne to be recycled.

Despite the many people who said the boat was an eye sore, I really didn't mind it.  Over the years, I have had many pictures taken of it, especially the last two years, where my work place is right next to the boat.  I think I will miss its presence.  The dock where it used to be, is already looking empty.

At around 10:30, media and onlookers gather around the boat.

Flanked and pulled by two tugboats, Captain John's was slowly leaving its resting place of 40 years

Quite a few boats gather around to watch this "historical" moment.

Goodbye, Captain John's.  You will be missed.

Olympus E-M5 in Adverse Weather

After a few days of normal weather, Old Man Winter is back with a vengeance. This afternoon we had a blizzard of snow with 40 KM/h wind, but I saw this as a good opportunity to test the E-M5 under this kind of environment. So I ventured out into the snow.

I took along the little used Olympus OM 100-200mm f5 cheap zoom, because I don't want to ruin any lenses that I would want to use in the future. Naturally, the lens/adapter combo is not weather sealed. There is a good chance snow/water could get into the camera through the adapter, as the heat from the camera could melt the snow on the body and the water could sip through the mount. Thankfully, this didn't happen, though when I removed the lens, there was a bit of water inside the mount but nothing got inside the camera body.

The E-M5 held up extremely well. It was covered in snow in matter of seconds. The annoying part is having to keep cleaning the snow off the viewfinder, as well as the front of the lens.  I suspect the temperature was somewhere around -15 Celsius with the wind chill factor, which isn't that cold, considering the kind of weather we have been having. Another issue is the front element of the lens started to ice up after the snow blew into the hood. Combined that with the thick snow, precise focusing was impossible. So all the pictures were focused without the aid of the magnify feature.

After about 40 minutes, the lens/camera combo continued to work, but I had had enough. My hair was frozen into ice, and I suspect my face was starting to go that way too, so I headed back. It was an interesting experience. There was a few crazy people just like me who were out and about in this kind of weather, including one fellow photographer, who retreated after reaching the lake.  The blowing snow definitely adds an interesting element to the pictures. To some extend, I quite enjoy taking pictures this way.

All pictures below were taken with Olympus OM 100-200mm f5 manual focus lens & E-M5

Black & White Photo Set with Jupiter-3 5cm f1.5

I really like the Jupiter-3. It's compact, looks nice, and optically interesting. When mounted on the NEX-6, the set still looks small due to its L39 mount. It's actually a tiny bit longer than the Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f1.4, but thinner. I can put the NEX-6 with the Jupiter-3 in my coat pocket without trouble.

Despite its age, the lens renders very nice pictures with good tones; I especially like the black & white pictures from it. Lots of details in the captures. The most amazing thing is that this lens is very sharp, to the corners, on APS-C sensor. Even at f1.5 wide open, the corners are very respectable. This is something I didn't expect.

This lens makes me want the A7 even more.

All pictures below were taken with NEX-6 & Jupiter-3 5cm f1.5. Most of them stopped down to f8.

Bokeh and flare test @ f1.5

The Little Ice Breaker

During extreme winter temperatures, part of Lake Ontario, here for example, in Toronto Harbourfront, would freeze. This creates a problem for small boats that must travel along this water. There are three ferries that carry passengers from Toronto to the three islands nearby everyday. To make it easy (or possible) for these boats to travel, a small Fire Rescue boat, doubles as an icebreaker, would travel between the three islands and break up the ice. The red colour of the boat really stands out in a bed of white ice, especially when snow is on the ice.

Little red icebreaker - Canon 5D II & EF 70-200mm f4L IS.

Leitz Hektor 13.5cm f4.5 on Canon 5D Markk II

I know what you are thinking - how can you use an M-mount lens on the Canon?  Strictly speaking, it's no longer an M-mount lens. I got this one from the photo show that came on an Visoflex extension tube. The Hektor's lens group can be detached from its focusing tube. I mounted it on the Yeenon 18-32mm focusing helicoid plus a couple of thin 52mm filter rings and it's slightly past infinity focus on the 5D II. The tiny lens looks funny on a big camera like the 5D II, as you can see below.

Hektor 13.5cm f4.5 on Canon 5D II. Click for larger.

This is probably one of the cheapest Leica M-mount lenses you can buy, and for a good reason; it's not the sharpest lens, especially in the corners. I do have another Hektor that is a complete lens and I used it on the NEX and the result is similar. This one is probably much worse, the way I mounted it on the 5D II, with glue, filter rings, and all. But, it's how much fun you have shooting it that matters!

Fall Colours - Canon 5D II & Leitz Hektor 13.5cm f4.5. Click for larger.

One thing that I notice is that the Canon has a much stronger, more vibrant colours without much processing. I kind of like it as I prefer vibrant colours; much more pleasing to my eyes. One advantage of mounting the lens on a helicoid, is that it lets me focus much closer than otherwise possible. Being able to focus close is one of the attractions for me, as I do a fair bit of close up pictures.

Seagull - Canon 5D II & Leitz Hektor 13.5cm f4.5 @ f4.5. Click for larger.

I certainly enjoyed shooting this lens, and was nice not having to worry about adapter tolerance, as I am sure mine is way off the chart. There are times when sharp corners are needed, but many pictures are simply enhanced by the lack of sharp corners.

Sign of Autumn - Canon 5D II & Leitz Hektor 13.5cm f4.5 @ f4.5. 

Texting - Canon 5D II & Leitz Hektor 13.5cm f4.5

Sony A7 and A7r - Game Changing Cameras?

Sony today unveiled the leaked, and much anticipated full frame cameras in a small mirrorless body. Reactions have been mostly positive around the net, myself included. This is the camera I have been waiting for a long time. Small, full frame, and most importantly, with a mount that has short flange distance which will take pretty much all kinds of lenses. I think Sony has a winner here, especially when it's priced below its main rivals, the Nikon D610 and Canon 6D, but I think Leica has the most to worry about. For me, it's a Canon full frame replacement.

The EOS to NEX smart adapters is on its second generation and fully supports the EF lenses: AF and IS. Yes it's a bit slower but to me it's not a deal breaker. With the A7's phase-detect capabilities, it will only be a matter of time before the AF speed and accuracy will improve for the Canon EF lenses. In the mean time, I can get rid of my 5D Mark II, which I like, but not as often used as I had hoped; I tend to grab the NEX-6 on the way out because my backpack is often very heavy with a laptop, bike lock, lunch, etc., and with the 5D II thrown in, it becomes too much. I am eagerly waiting for the A7's arrival on November. I don't much care about the A7r's higher resolution. 24 MP is more than enough for me and A7's better image quality is icing on the cake.

The only thing I wish the A7 would have, is in-body stabilization, preferably with the capability of Olympus' EM-1, but it's a minor issue for me.

One thing I think Sony is making a mistake is Zeiss branded lens prices. I know they are quality lenses, but $1000 for a 50mm f1.8?  That's ridiculous, unless the lens barrel is made of 24K gold. I hope the NEX 50mm f1.8 OSS won't vignette severely. How much better will the Zeiss version be, over the NEX version, besides the fact that it covers full frame? The pricing will put off many people who want to use the A7/A7r with AF lenses.  Sony should make at least one inexpensive, but good prime lens, like the NEX 50mm f1.8 OSS at introduction. But again, it's a minor issue for me as I will be using this camera with mostly manual focus lenses.

Good job, Sony. Your competition should be worried.

Lone man & bird - Canon 5D Mark II & Olympus OM 35mm f2.

Waterfront Festival 2013 - Tall Ships

If you live in, or close to, Toronto, and you are a lover of Tall Ships, be sure you don't miss the Redpath Waterfront Festival happening today June 20 to June 23.  Lots of activities for kids and big kids alike. There is the 1812 On Tour that gives you a taste of what life was life in 1812.  You can buy tickets and board the Tall Ships. On Sunday June 23, there is a Parade of Sail where all the Tall Ships will pass through the Harbourfront. Bring your kids, or yourself to the Harbourfront and have a good time!

Fair Jeanne - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 16-35mm f2.8L II. Click for larger.

Sailing - Sony NEX-6 & 16-50mm f3.5-5.6. Click for larger.

My bike Bumble Bee - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 16-35mm f2.8L II. Click for larger.

BeaverTails - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 16-35mm f2.8L II. Click for larger.

Man made beach - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 16-35mm f2.8L II. Click for larger.

Fair Jeanne and Bumble Bee - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 16-35mm f2.8L II. Click for larger.

Wood Lathe - Canon 5D Mark II & EF 16-35mm f2.8L II.

Black & White Pictures from Old Lenses

I have noticed that most old, uncoated lenses have very nice tones, especially when converted to black and white, there are just so much details. These old lenses were designed for black and white film, so it kind of makes sense.  The lower contrast of these lenses gives the pictures smoother tonal transitions. If you are a lover of black and white pictures, you may want to give these old lenses a try.

Relaxing by the lake - NEX-6 & AM 8 Inch f5.6 @ f5.6. Click for larger.

Willow - NEX-6 & AM 5 Inch f4 @ f4.

Air Ministry [Ross Xpress] 5 Inch f4 More Samples - Part I

I have been shooting with the Air Ministry [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4 lens for the last few days. I am very taken by the interesting rendering style of this lens. As I said before, wide open the contrast is low, but is very sharp. Pictures taken at any aperture show an amazing amount of details and it's very "malleable" in post processing.  By f8, the lens is extremely sharp with excellent definition. Who would have thought that a lens about 60 years old, and so cheap, can produce such nice results? I am enjoying it immensely. This is part one of the samples. I will post more next time.

One thing I want to stress, if you are going to make this lens useable, is to use a very long lens hood. Without the hood, the lens is very prone to flare and you will get "white out" effect. The hood should be at least 120mm long to be effective. Try it. Take some pictures with and without the hood. You won't believe they come from the same lens.

Birds of a feather - NEX-6 & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4 @ f4. Click for larger.

Bokeh - NEX-6 & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4 @ f4. Click for larger.

Ferry - NEX-6 & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4 @ f8. Click for larger.

Another Bokeh sample - NEX-6 & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4 @ f4.

The Love of Old Lenses

People who use auto focus lenses exclusively have a hard time understanding our obsession over seemingly useless old lenses. What's the point? My usual answer is "it's fun!"

Yes it's fun, but there is something more fulfilling and tangible - the unique characters that some of these old wonders wove into the images that make them so enticing and attractive to look at. They provide an alternative to the modern, sharp, contrasty, and highly corrected images that look perfect, but lack characters. Many very old lenses are usually full of "faults" of one kind or the other. They vignette badly, they flare like crazy, they have low contrast, they may have horrendous distortion, they have bokeh so horrible that make your skin crawl, and so on. Well, is your partner perfect?  Do you want a partner that looks/acts the same as everyone else? We like our partners because they have characters and traits that stand out from others.

So yes. It's worth the time to make those odd-ball lenses usable on the digital cameras; to endure the disgusted look of some people looking at my ugly Franken Lenses. Because we love our old lenses and the kind of pictures that they can create.

Sailboat - NEX-6 & AM [Ross Xpress] 5 inch f4 @ f5.6.

Sigma 19mm f2.8 - Another Look

Despite being extremely cheap for a wide angle lens, with auto focus to boot, the Sigma 19mm f2.8 for Sony E-Mount has garnered some good reviews from its users. I fully understand there are some with clear distaste for Sigma lenses, and Michael from Austria comes to mind :)  Seriously, Sigma is winning me over with their new company direction. Excellent optics at very reasonable prices. What's not to like?

Sometimes I forget that my camera is capable of auto focus, because I use mostly manual focus lenses on it. It's a nice surprise once in a while I shoot with a lens that focus itself. No need to worry about checking focus; even a slight focus error for this lens would not cause too much concern, as the the lens of such wide angle has lots of depth of field to cover minor focus errors. The aperture is set on f8 or f9 and I just composed and shot. It's not as sharp at the corners as the 30mm f2.8 but good enough for me. I have decided not to complain or even mind about the slightly softer corner, given it's low price, compactness and light weight. I just want to enjoy it, and make pictures with it.

I visited Canada's Sugar Beach today. It's a little oasis in the city. Sugar Beach is a small man made beach, converted from a parking lot. Its name was derived from the next door Red Path sugar refinery. There are beach umbrellas and beach chairs available for anyone to sit and enjoy. I intend to take advantage of it in the coming months when the weather is hot, I would spend half hour of my lunch there to soak up some sun and Vitamin D as byproduct :) It's only a few minutes away from my work.

Relaxing in the sun - Sony NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8 @ f9. Click for larger.

Beautiful path along the lake - Sony NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8 @ f9. Click for larger.

The Corus Building - Sony NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8 @ f9. Click for larger.

Sugar Beach - Sony NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8 @ f9. Click for larger.

Note Red Path sugar refinery in background - Sony NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8 @ f9. Click for larger.

Downtown Toronto - Sony NEX-6 & Sigma 19mm f2.8 @ f9

Infrared Black & White Photo Set

I got tired of false colour infrared pictures, so I decided to do a series of pictures in black and white. The infrared filter used in my Canon 20D is not the deep black type, and it allows some false colour to go through. I normally like some false colours in IR but I think a change once in a while is good.          

Captain John's - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4 @ f8. Click for larger.

Truck - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4 @ f8. Click for larger.

Air Plane & Boat - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click for larger.

Shadows - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4

A Walk Along Harbourfront

Harbourfront is currently undergoing a huge face lift. Everywhere you see, is construction and mess. Consequently, you don't see many tourist there at the moment. Even along the boardwalk near the ferry dock, which is usually packed during lunch time in a nice day, but today there aren't that many people either. Hopefully the construction will soon end and we will have a brand new and better Harbourfront this summer.

All pictures below were taken with the Minolta RF 250mm f5.6 mirror lens. Still one of the most compact mirror lenses around.

Captain John's Seafood: a fixture of the Harbourfront for decades, eventually closed up after many complaints and failed inspection from Public Health. The ship is now waiting for a buyer. Taken with NEX-6 & Minolta RF 250mm f5.6. Click for larger.

The Dog Walker - NEX-6 & Minolta RF 250mm f5.6. Click for larger.

Finding Inner Peace - NEX-6 & Minolta RF 250mm f5.6.