Winter Came Back

It's mid April but we got a few centimeters of snow today, and the temperature has dipped below zero again, after some enjoyable warm weather.  This winter is like an overstaying and annoying guest that won't want to leave.

Giorno - Olympus E-M5 & Minolta Rokkor-X RF 250mm f5.6. Click for larger.

Snow Covered - Olympus E-M5 & Minolta Rokkor-X RF 250mm f5.6

My Take on the Sony A7s

The dust has finally settled for the A7s. The live streaming from NAB 2014 certainly created a lot of buzz for this camera and forums and discussion boards were all in overdrive. Many expressed disappointment, especially those who are interested in the 4K video; this camera can not record 4K video internally, like the Panasonic GH4 can, and you will need a very expensive external recorder to record 4K video. I would be disappointed too, if I were into video.  Luckily I am not, and I am hoping this "flaw", combined with the low megapixel count will make the price of the camera lower!

I don't think this camera will be a phenomenon success for Sony, as it does not natively record 4K, and the pixel count is too low for many people. But it addresses many enthusiast's need for a small camera with the highest image quality and exposure latitude, without the insane high megapixels. This is my kind of camera.  I have been waiting for a camera like this since the Canon 5D classic. With today's technology, a 12MP full frame sensor should have mind boggling low light capabilities with high dynamic range. The low pixel count will much easier on old lenses too, which is very important to me, having so much old stuff.

If the price of the A7s is the same as the A7, or, hopefully lower, this will be my camera. It iwll last me for many years, seriously.

Roof top - S.F.O.M 100mm f3.2 Projection Lens & Olympus E-M5

Sony A7s - A New Direction in Sensor Development?

Sony Alpha Rumor has reported, with a "for sure" rating of SR5 rating, that a new Sony A7s is to be unveiled tomorrow at NAB, and it will shoot 4K video. Frankly, I don't much care about 4K video, at least not at the moment, and I am sure there are many people out there who do care. What's most interesting to me about the A7s, is the new 12MP full frame sensor.

Sony is swimming against the current of increasingly higher density sensors and created a 12MP sensor for this camera. Personally, I am very excited. I do not need 36MP, or 24MP, or even 16MP; 12MP will be a perfect compromise between enlargeability and file size. Imagine the golf ball sized pixels on this sensor that will have very clean high ISO, and it most older lenses will perform much better because of the low density factor.

Can't wait to see how the good the image quality is.  If Sony can keep the price the same as the A7, I will buy one.

Reflection - Canon FD 50mm f1.2 S.S.C & Olympus E-M5. Click for larger

Another Canon FD 200mm f4 Photo Set

I am enjoying the Olympus E-M5, especially when it's used with longer lenses. The in-body stabilization system is extremely effective, even with a 200mm lens (400mm equivalent). I have used the FD 200mm f4 lens a few times now and it's actually not too bad, even for this non-multi-coated version. Certainly not a small or lightweight lens, but manageable.

By the way, I have noticed that Blogspot is starting to re-compress and make changes to the pictures I upload to the blog. If the picture is dark, it tries to lighten it up and making a mess of it.  The second picture you see below is much lighter than what my original picture is.  The Pigeon picture was so badly compressed that it showed artifacts.  I had to upload that one as a png format. I guess I have to start linking my pictures from Flickr again.

Taxi - Canon FD 200mm f4 & Olympus E-M5. Click for larger.

NOT a wrecking ball - Canon FD 200mm f4 & Olympus E-M5.

Pigeons - Canon FD 200mm f4 & Olympus E-M5.

Alien Spaceship landing - Canon FD 200mm f4 & Olympus E-M5. 

Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f4 Macro - A photo Set

When I first started using manual focus lenses on Digital SLRs, my very first lens was the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 35mm f3.5 in M42 mount. That jewel-like little gem was as beautiful to behold as it was optically excellent. I was hooked. Over the years, I collected and used most of the M42 Takumars, from 17mm f4 fisheye to the monstrous SMC 500mm f4.5. My collection has reduced somewhat, but still have quite a few Takumars, including this 50mm f4 macro.

There are quite a few versions of this lens. The earlier version, non Super-Multi-Coated, was a true 1:1 macro lens.  Later ones, can only focus as close as half life-size (1:2). Used for macro work, these lenses are sharp as heck, but they are also pretty good as a general purpose lens in good light. As you can see, these pictures below are not used in macro mode, but they are still very sharp.

Lunch Break - E-M5 &Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f4 Macro. Click for larger

Smoke Break - E-M5 &Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f4 Macro. Click for larger

Green Crane - E-M5 &Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f4 Macro. Click for larger

Reflections - E-M5 &Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f4 Macro. Click for larger

Contrast - E-M5 &Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f4 Macro.

Soligor 80-200mm f3.5 CD [MD Mount] - A Photo Set

If you read my blog, you know I am not a big fan of zoom lenses, but I have a couple of boxes of cheap zooms, mostly bought from the old Outlet Store. The Soligor 80-200mm f3.5 is considered one of the better of the bunch. It's quite a large and heavy lens, but optically decent, as far as old zoom lenses go.  I have used it a few times with satisfactory results. It won't win any awards for optical excellence, but is a good option if you need a cheap telephoto zoom.  Just keep in mind that manual focus zooms don't work very well with cameras like the E-M5, that has in-body stabilization, because you need to set the focal length in the camera each time you zoom, otherwise the IS won't be very effective, or even worse than without IS.

All pictures below were taken with Olympus E-M5 & Soligor C/D 80-200mm f3.5. 

Photographing Downtown Toronto from Riverdale Park

Sally, Dillon and I went to Riverdale Park, intending to photograph the sunset over downtown Toronto. We were a bit late, and the sun was already set by the time we got there, so we ended up just taking pictures of the downtown Toronto at dusk. At the top of the Riverdale Park is Broadview Avenue, near Bain Avenue, is a favourite spot for taking pictures of downtown. For me, I have already done this quite a few times and unfortunately, each time the pictures come out pretty much the same, except when there is a very nice cloud formation. So, I ended up taking pictures of people who were taking pictures.  Much more interesting.

Sally & Dillon - Olympus E-M5 & Jupiter-3 5cm f1.5. Click for larger.

Downtown Toronto - Olympus E-M5 & Jupiter-3 5cm f1.5. Click for larger.

Shooting the shooter - Olympus E-M5 & Jupiter-3 5cm f1.5. Click for larger.

Rings

One of the interesting things about manual focus lenses is that they tend to have more pronounced characters than modern lenses. One particular lens, which is very unique in its rendering of out of focus highlights, is the Zoomar Kilfitt 90mm f2.8 Makro lens; it produces highlights with rings within a ring, when shot wide open. Stopped down to f4, the rings are gone! This unusual trait can be used to form part of, or as the sole composition.

Pictures below were taken with the Zoomar Kilfitt 90mm f2.8 Makro & Olympus E-M5.

Olympus OM 100-200mm f5 Photo Set

The day after the snow storm we had on Wednesday, I took the OM 100-200mm f5 again, to make sure it was still OK. But of course it was. That's the beauty of manual focus lenses; there is no electronics to fail you when it gets a bit wet. The OM 100-200mm f5 lens is not the greatest lens by any means, as it was built and sold as a budget lens. Sharpness is so so, and my version suffers from a very severe case of zoom creep. Actually, the zoom just slides like there is no friction at all. The good thing about the lens is that it's quite compact and light for the range it provides.

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

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