Sony A7 - First Impression, Part I

It was my dream years ago, when I was using the 1Ds, that one day I would be able to shoot a full frame camera the size of a point & shoot, and that I could use all my legacy lenses on it without restrictions.  With the introduction of mirrorless cameras, that dream came pretty close and I have been happy with the Panasonic G1 and the NEX series for a few years.  But, I always wanted a full frame body to augment the mirrorless crop sensors, and that's why I still have a 5D Mark II. The new Sony A7s is the perfect camera for me. It ticks all the marks I want in a camera, but alas, it's priced out of my reach. The next best thing, is the Sony A7, which I bought a few days ago at the Sony Store.

The A7 feels more like a small DSLR than the NEX-6, due to its chunkier grip, but it has far more external controls. I might be biased here, but I feel that none the Sony cameras are as easy to operate as the Canon cameras (Rebels excluded since they don't have the command wheel at the back).  After years with NEX, and very little shooting time with the Canon, I still feel right at home once I hold and operate the 5D II or 1D III. The controls are just at the right place.  With the Sony, I am not confident at changing settings without looking at the camera.

The A7 is a much more configurable camera than the NEX-6, but thankfully not as hard or cryptic to configure as the Olympus E-M5.  The A7 has a dedicated exposure compensation dial, which I think is redundant; the control wheel or rear dial could be used for this purpose and is far more natural and easier to use. The front wheel is a welcome addition which the NEX-6 lacks, and this makes changing aperture quick and easy, when using AF lenses. Truth be told, I still haven't setup the camera the way I want, but it's functional enough that I can start using it. So far, I like it a lot.

To be continued...

Bicycles Crossing on Queen - Sony A7 & FE 35mm f2.8ZA @ f4. Click for larger.

Clothespins - Sony A7 & Olympus 35mm f2. Click for larger.

Bicycle - Sony A7 & Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro

Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro - Photo Samples

This is one of my favourite lenses as a macro lens or as a general purpose lens. I have had it for many years and when I bought it, it was in pieces, literally. It took a long time to get it back in working order, and it has become my most used macro lens, along with the Zoomar Kilfitt 90mm f2.8 Makro. Image quality from this lens never disappoints at any aperture. It's also one of the few lenses in Yashica Contax mount that were made in Germany. Heavy and well made, it's a lens to be used and treasured.

Provocative Ad - Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro. Click for larger.

Conversation - Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro. Click for larger.

Adourians - Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro. Click for larger.

Window Cleaner - Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro. 

Sweet Victory

Last week, Megan and her team mates competed for her school's swim team in the Toronto City Finals for swimming. She came in first place for her event. This was her redemption for the heart broken result of the same event in 2010, where she stopped, thinking it was a false start but wasn't. This makes her victory extra special.

Megan is an agile swimmer.  She has consistently won first place in most events for the local swim meets. It's a feast for the eye to watch her swim, especially in a competition.  But victory does not come easy without hard work. We enrolled the kids in the swim program as well as the swim team in the local community centre very early on.  For many years, they practice twice a week in the local swim team, and sometimes, an extra day for the swim program. It takes dedication and perseverance, both for the parents and the kids.

There are lots of benefits for enrolling the kids in local community events. Kids get to interact, compete, and collaborate with others. They get to learn about sportsmanship and to experience both victory and failure.  Most importantly, they learn to set goals and how to achieve them.  Both Megan and Dillon have taken extra courses related to jobs offered by the city for youth, especially courses offered by the Life Saving Society to become a lifeguard.  Megan is still too young to work, but Dillon has been working with the city for the last two years in various jobs.  Early this year he completed the necessary courses and is now fully certified as a member of the Canadian Lifesaving Society and he was offered a job as a lifeguard this summer for the city.  The jobs teach the kids about responsibilities, time management (school and work), money management (what to do with the money earned), and self-esteem.  The benefits are enormous and the experience builds a good foundation for future career and life skills.

Megan - Olympus E-M5 & Contax S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro @ f2.8

A Decade of My Digital Photography Obsession - Part IV

Meanwhile, the market was filled with all kinds of beautiful and capable cameras. All were very attractive and irresistible. Like the 7-year itch of a real marriage, I felt something that ever so gently stirred and disturbed me inside; a little voice told me I needed a real camera with AF system that could keep up with my kids. The only Canon camera that could do that was the original 8 frames per second, 4MP 1D and the 11MP full frame 1Ds.  I started having fantasy affairs with the 1Ds. It was full frame, with a 45-focus point AF system that's more accurate and responsive than anything on the market for a full frame DSLR.  This camera gave me many wet dreams.  The only problem was, the 1Ds cost $10K in Canada; it was, but a very remote dream.  Meanwhile, the 20D, younger sister of the 10D, started flirting with me.

Happy together - Canon 20D & EF 70-200mm f2.8L

I am very weak when it comes to gear. The 20D was one of the best cameras at the time; fast, responsive, much improved Auto Focus system, and best of all, a sensor so good it was made to weaken man’s resistance to upgrade/switch, not to mention it was a beautiful thing to behold, and even better to touch and feel.  This did not go well with my relationship of the 10D. The image making sessions became less frequent while I spent much time googling the reviews and ogling the pictures taken by the 20D.  Discontent is like a disease that slowly consumes one’s sound judgement and reasoning.  My morality shuttered and I officially declared myself a gear whore.  I realized I was a not a person who could stay faithful with one camera; I would be no longer loyal to any one camera!

I rented the 20D for a weekend, just in case my judgement was clouded by the urge to upgrade and not based on tangible improvements over the 10D.  This brief weekend affair turned out to be a long courtship and it was the last camera I had a sole monogamy relationship with, until I got into high end Canon DSLRs.  Even today, I still have a Infrared Modified 20D. Still have no qualms with the image quality.

Sally, at one of my yard sales - Canon 20D & Contax Carl Zeiss 60mm f2.8 Makro. 

Contax Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro Sample

This lens, along with the Contax Carl Zeiss 35-70mm f3.4 were purchased as broken lenses many years ago.  In fact, the S-Planar was in three parts. I eventually got them fixed. The zoom is no longer with me, but the S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro has been one of my favourite lenses that I just can't let go. The S-Planar was optimized for macro work and infinity has a bit of a compromise in sharpness. But, in actual use, it's still one of the sharpest lenses I have, even at infinity focus.

It's heavy for the 60mm focal length and is made like a tank. In the used market, it still commands a premium over the Japanese equivalent lenses; one of the reasons was that this lens was made in Germany where many of the Contax Zeiss lenses were made in Japan by Keyocera. I don't think it makes any difference where is was made, but obviously, many do.

Sunset - Sony NEX-6 & Contax Carl Zeiss Makro S-Planar 60mm f2.8

The End of the Kodak Moment?

Young rose leaves -- Kodak SLR/c & Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro. Click for larger. 

I meant to write about my thoughts on the demise of the once great Kodak company when they announced that they were filing for Chapter 11, but never got around to it.  I will never know how Kodak has fallen so hard and eventually on the last draw of its breath, but I think the executive management has a lot to do with it, along with the marketing department.  In so many ways, Kodak was a pioneering company that has given us so many advances in photography, analog or digital.  It was the first company to market a professional digital SLR (and of course the sensor in it), and for a long time, they were the only game in town.  Sure, the bodies came from Nikon and Canon, but the digital technology was all Kodak.  It was the slow adaptation to consumer digital cameras that kill them.  They were holding on to film, and hoping that digital would not make it.  It's too bad that they were wrong, and I am sure it's a little too late trying to regain any market share, not to mention the paper thin margins on consumer digital cameras these days.

I had the Kodak SLR/c full frame for a few months, and that was my first full frame DSLR.  Unfortunately, as much as I love the colour and image quality from base ISO, it was a clunky camera and wouldn't even work with my 135mm f2L lens (won't focus, but other lenses were OK).  It was based on the old Sigma 7 body and everything about it was slow and the LCD screen is next to useless.  The dinosaur like 1Ds was like a race car compared to this ancient piece of hardware.  I simply couldn't stand it.

I hope they will restructure, at least keeping the Kodak company alive, but I highly doubt it will ever be a photographic imaging company again, at least not in the consumer market, especially if they sell off their sensor technology.
 

Mannequins on Balcony

Mannequins at Kensington Market -- NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss 60mm f2.8 Makro. Click for larger.

Kensington Market in Toronto is an interesting place.  Most people would think of food/eatery when Kensington Market is mentioned, but it's also a sort of artsy place with some weird/unusual stuff.  It's definitely more unusual than your average Toronto neighborhood. In fact, lots of people love to go there to take pictures.

Mirrored

Mirrored pay phone -- NEX-5N & Contax Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro. Click for larger.

After a couple of weeks of inactivity during my lunch hour, I decided to take a longer walk today to Kensington Market, and take some pictures.  It was a nice exercise that I have been lacking lately.  On my way back, I noticed the reflection of this pay phone on the wall and thought it was interesting.

The Spadina area around Kensington Market/Chinatown has a lot of photo opportunities.  If you are in the area, be sure to bring a camera with you.

Graffiti on the Rail Bridge

Graffiti -- NEX-5 & Carl Zeiss 60mm f2.8 Makro S-Planar. Click for larger size.

Dillon and I rode the same path up Don River and went quite a bit further today.  We did about 20 KM on the bike path.  It was a little too much for Dillon, as he has not been riding his bike for a while, but we did enjoy it.

This picture is of the same rail bridge from the IR pictures in the last post.  It's a more close up version.  As you can see, kids will not miss any opportunity to "express" themselves.  I am not against graffiti and some of them are quite tasteful, as long as they are not in inappropriate places.

Third Party Batteries -- Part II

I have been buying third party batteries for many years, starting with my Panasonic Mini-DV camcorder.  I wrote about it before, and this is an update to the original post.  My experience was that with third party batteries, you pay less for more, because these batteries frequently last longer than OEM batteries.  I have bought third party batteries for all the Canon cameras I have ever owned.  Never a problem and always happy, until the last two batteries.

The first bad one was the battery I bought for my 7D, which I also mention in this post.  That battery lasted about 1/4 of what the OEM battery would.  I got a replacement from the seller, but by the time I received  it, I already sold my 7D, so I didn't get a chance to test it.

The Sony NEX-5 is a battery hog and it doesn't last very long.  It's a far cry from more than a 1000 pictures I could get out of from a Canon camera.  In fact, the third party batteries  in my 1D IIn lasts at least two thousand pictures.  I hardly need to charge them.  So, I bought a NEX-5 compatible battery from eBay, and it arrived in two days, since it was shipped from the same town I live.  Immediately, I had a bad feeling about this battery, as it weigh quite a bit less than the OEM version.  This battery, like the 7D version, never charges to 100%.  Regardless how long you charge it, it always says 99%.  It lasts about 1/3 of what a Sony OEM battery would.  E-mail the seller, and got a rude responds, to the affect that I should not expect OEM performance because I didn't pay OEM price.

My worry is that these are not isolated incidents, but a trend that quality of third party batteries are going down the drain.  Perhaps the seller was right, I didn't pay OEM prices, I should expect OEM performance.  Perhaps I should stick to brand name third party batteries, like Lenmar and Optex.

Canadian Ranger Toronto -- NEX-5 & Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8. Click to see larger.

The Evening Serenade

This man was playing at the south side of the Distillery District near the parking lot. Beautiful music for a nice evening.


Evening Serenade -- 1D Mark III & Carl Zeiss S-Planar 60mm f2.8 Makro. Larger Picture.