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.

A Few Thoughts about Sony's New Products

Sony maybe a giant in the electronics and broadcast TV industry, but they are an underdog when it comes to interchangeable lens cameras. While the giants are becoming complacent, iterating their product lines with minor changes and call them new products, Sony is truly creating new and unique products or product niches. This may sound funny coming from a long time Canon user, but I am not a Sony fanboy. I use products that meet my needs and budget and at the moment, Sony products are the best match for my needs right now.

The RX series are brilliant ideas. Certainly not a new category, but Sony combines great sensor technology with very good optics and body design that is appealing and desirable. If I want good quality and pocketability, I would go for the RX-100/RX-100II; if I were rich, I wouldn't think twice buying an RX-1/RX-1R; if I were a serious enthusiast who demands great image quality and optical performance, I would get an RX-10.  In fact, despite the high price, I think Sony will sell a lot of the RX-10s; the zoom range and constant f2.8 aperture of the lens on this camera is simply too good to resist. If I were not a lens slave, the RX10 would satisfy 99% of my photography needs and in the long run, saves me tons of money buying mediocre lenses that most people would buy for their low end cameras, like the 55-200mm f4-5.6.

But my desirable camera is the A7/A7r. The A7/A7r may not appeal to some, especially those who only want to use it with auto focus lenses. The auto focus lens selection is a bit limited at the moment, but the two prime Zeiss lenses are exceptionally good, though pricy. To a lens whore who has lenses in many mounts, the A7/A7r is like a wet dream. Like everyone else, I realize there are issues with ultra wide angle rangefinder manual focus lenses which exhibits colour shift and severe vignetting. It's totally a non-issue for me.  I don't own any wide angle range finder lenses. The widest I have is the 40mm f1.4 Voitglander Nokton. Most of my lenses are in reflex mounts, like Canon FD, Minolta MC/MD, and of course EF mounts. The A7/A7r can use all of them through adapters; exactly what I am doing with my NEX-6, except now all the lenses will see the light as they were designed with no cropping.

Exciting times.

Downtown Toronto - Sigmarit 30mm f2.8 @ f8 & Sony NEX-6. Click for larger.

A Brand New Chapter

With a bit of trepidation, I started my new job today. The worry, fortunately, was totally unnecessary. Everyone was super nice and I felt welcomed. I hope this will be a long lasting and enjoyable job like the last one before the take over. This location is only two to three kilometers away from my last job, but it's totally different in terms of scenery. The Spadina & Queen area is a mixed residential and commercial area with lots of happenings, and the new location is, well, mostly just tall buildings. One thing I do like about the new location is that it's right next to the lake, and it will be wonderful to walk along it on my lunch hour. I am sure you will be seeing lots of pictures taken around this new location.

Buildings, lots of buildings - 5D Mark II & Olympus OM 24mm f2.8 @ f8.

Pancolar 50mm f2 on NEX-6

Mirrorless cameras have been a godsend for manual focus lens lovers. For one thing, they can take pretty much any SLR lenses (except the Samsung NX, which has a much longer flange distance). The other advantage is that viewfinder does not go dim when you mount a very slow lens, or stopping it down, because the electronic viewfinder/LCD screen compensates the loss of light by brighten up. The only disadvantage I see, so far, is that there is no affordable full frame mirrorless cameras on the market today. Hopefully that will change in a couple of years.

The Sony NEX-6, in my opinion, has the best balance between price, performance, and usability. It's very comfortable to hold, has most of the controls accessible without going into the menu, an excellent viewfinder, and most important of all, exceptionally good image quality. While I struggled with the Pancolar 50mm f2 on the 5D Mark II, it is a breeze using it on the NEX-6. If there is a full frame equivalent of the NEX-6 at affordable price, the world (OK, at least me) will rejoice.

Downtown Buildings - Sony NEX-6 & Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50mm f2 @ f8.

G.A.S Attack

Last week, I had a bad case of Gear Acquisition Syndrom (G.A.S).  Spent hundreds of dollars ordering a total of six lenses.  So far, I have received the Apollo 135mm f1.8, a monstrous sized (for a 135mm focal length) lens that's 1/3 of a stop faster than the famous Canon 135mm f2L, but is there more than just super fast speed?  We shall look at that in a  later post.  Also received, and I was very anxious to try out, is the Wollensak 50mm f1.5 and to a lesser degree, the Elgeet 102mm (4 inch) f2.7, both are c-mount lenses.  Unfortunately, the Elgeet is D.O.A (Dead On Arrival).  The focus ring is completely seized, and it has quite a  few clean marks inside/outside the lens optics, but it's cosmetically in very good shape.  Right now, don't know what to do with it yet.  It would cost more than the lens itself to ship it back.

The Wollensak 2 inch (50mm) f1.5 is such a gorgeous lens in typical chrome finish as many c-mount cine lenses are. It's a very hefty lens, which is much heavier than the Kodak 50mm f1.6 that I also love.  Both the aperture and focusing rings work, thankfully.  I couldn't wait so as soon as I got the package, I put it on my NEX-5N and snapped a few pictures.  First thing I noticed was that flare will be a huge problem (like most c-mount cine lenses).  Secondly, it's as sharp as the Kodak 50mm f1.6, but has a much larger imaging circle.  There is visible vignetting, but the corners are much better than the Kodak. Consequently, the larger image circle makes the swirling effect less visible than the Kodak.

I have a feeling I will be using this lens quite a bit for the next little while.

Mannequin on Younge & Gerrard - NEX-5N & Wollensak 50mm f1.5 @ f1.5. Click for larger.

 

Creamy Delicious Bokeh - NEX-5N & Wollensak 50mm f1.5 @ f1.5. Click for larger.

Photoessay with Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8

Once or twice a week in the afternoon, I would walk south with my camera on John St. to King St., and then back to Spadina & Queen, where I work.  This area is very busy, especially during lunch hour in a nice day.  People would come out in full force; they would eat their lunch in the park bench, have a stroll with friends, line up for a hot dog or ice cream, or have lunch in one of the many eateries in the area.

Lining up for ice cream -- NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8. Click for larger.

There are many, many hot dog stands in Toronto, mostly in the downtown area.  Some will argue the hot dogs are not as good as those in New York City, or Chicogo, but that does not stop the hot dog lovers from lining up for one, barbecued right in front of you up on ordering.  Add your favourite condiments from the dazzling number of them available to you, and you will be in hot dog heaven. Bad for you?  Who cares?

Hot Dog Condiments -- NEX-5 & Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8. Click for larger.

One of the many complains people have about downtown, is the horrible traffic and hard to find parking spaces.  In Toronto, we have streetcars that run on electricity and tracks.  We call the streetcar the "Red Rocket".  It's been a symbol of Toronto since the 1920s.  One of the disadvantages of running on tracks is that a blockage will affect all the streetcars the follow.  In the picture below, the delivery truck broke down and could start, forcing all the street cars pile behind it.  The streetcars are quite reliable and you don't see this happening often, but does happen once in a while, either due to streetcar break down, or other vehicles blocking them.

All blocked up -- NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8. Click for larger.

The most popular place people go to in the afternoon, is restaurants and all kinds of eating places.  Almost all of them are packed with people.  What economic crisis?  You certainly will not see any signs here.  People just want to go out and have a nice lunch with friends/colleagues and enjoy themselves, and away from the (busy) workplace.

Lunch with friends -- NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8. 

Downtown Towers

My colleague Ian and I attended a Microsoft workshop on Azure, which is an interesting product.  Everyone wants to be in the "cloud" these days.  The conference room was on the 16th floor which has some nice views that I normally would not get.  Of course I wouldn't let this opportunity slip through my finger, so snapped a few pictures.  The one below is one of them.  Again, the Tokina is quite a nice lens for the NEX.

Towers -- NEX-5N & Tokina 17mm f3.5 FD

Streetcar on Queen & John Sts.

Streetcar -- NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f2.8 Exaktar Mount

The intersection of Queen & John streets are one of the busiest around the area, especially in the afternoon or evening.  I also like to come by this area on my lunch break as there always seems to be something to shoot here. CityTV (now CTV) is located on the south east corner and once in a while, you may see a celebrity making an appearance there. Lots of eateries everywhere surrounding this intersection.

Tokina RMC 17mm f3.5 -- First Sample

Signs -- NEX-5 & Tokina RMC 17mm f3.5 FD. Click for larger.

This is one of the few lenses I picked up at the camera show.  Unfortunately, it's in Canon FD mount, which means it's really usable on M43 or NEX, if you shoot digital.  I know there are adapters with glasses inside for EOS, but these kinds of adapters never really interest me, having tried one before.

Back in the olden days, a 24mm lens is consider very wide, and 20mm is extremely wide; a 17mm is approaching fisheye territory.  But, nowadays, 20mm equivalent wide angle is so common, even on the APS-C format.  But, ultra wide angles were very expensive back then, even for third party lens marques.  It was (is) difficult to design ultra wide angles that have good distortion, sharp at corners, great colors, with good flare control.  So, inexpensive ultra wide angle were not really that good a performer.  I had a Sparitone 18mm f3.2 a few years back, and it was just a so so lens.  But, that didn't stop me from using it and got some memorable pictures from it.  This Tokina seems to be a lot better than the Sparitone.  Haven't taken enough pictures to assess its image quality, but the initial pictures look promising.  More pictures to come.

As a side note, I bought the LCD cover for the NEX-5.  A piece of plastic that costs $22!  Unbelievable.

Toronto Traffics

Under Construction -- NEX-5 & OM 35mm f2. Click to see larger.

If you live in Toronto, you will understand how bad traffics is, pretty much any time of the day.  Downtown, highways, you name it, it jams with cars all the time.  The picture above was taken while stuck in traffic on the Gardinar Express Way.  I am so glad I bike to work everyday and only need to drive on the weekends and occasionally weekdays.

Old City Hall in a Distance

Old City Hall -- NEX-5 & Kiron 28mm f2.0

Kiron made a few nice fast wide angles.  The two I have tried and liked are 24mm f2, and 28mm f2.  Both of them are very good lenses.  This picture was taken with a Canon FD mount 28mm f2.  Very good performance for an old lens.  There are Vivitar twins of this lens (and the 24mm f2) out there.  The FD/MD/KR versions of this lens is still dirt cheap. Perfect on the NEX or Micro 4/3 cameras.

More Snow

Walking in the snow this morning -- NEX-5 & Contax Distagon 35mm f2.8. Click to see larger.

Compared to other parts of the country, or the United States, Toronto is not getting that much snow, at least not in one shot.  But, it just seems that it snows a couple inches every few days to be annoying.  Everywhere you go, it's slushy and wet.  I hate this kind of weather because riding a bike would mean shoes/boots and pants all wet by the time I get to work.  Spring can't be that far away, can it?

Happy Holidays!

I would like to wish all my readers a safe and happy holiday season.  May all your wishes come true and that Santa will leave the toys you want under that Christmas tree.  Most of all, this holiday season is a great opportunity to take lots of pictures of family.  I guarantee you will treasure these memories for years to come.  Happy holidays and happy shooting!

Downtown Toronto in golden morning light -- NEX-5 & 18-55 kit lens. Click to see larger.

Captain John's

Captain John's Seafood is a restaurant inside a large ship.  It's been part of the Toronto Harbourfront for decades.  It's a miracle that it's still around from the negative reviews it receives from people who ate at this place.  But, I have never dined inside, so I can't say first hand if it's as bad is people say.  It could be potentially a stellar place, though.  It's got uniqueness (ship), location (prime tourist area).  It just needs some good management and a makeover.

Captain John's -- Panasonic G1 & Kit Lens.

Downtown Toronto

Downtown Toronto - Canon 5D & EF 50mm f1.2L @ f2 handheld, ISO 800. Larger Picture.

I remember taking a similar picture with my Digital Rebel 300D and the Canon 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 lens about 7 years ago. The only difference is that back then the picture was taken on tripod, and the 28-105mm was my only lens, besides the 18-55mm kit lens, and ISO 400 on the 300D was noisy. Seven years and thousands of dollars later, the pictures did not look that much different, except that I can hand hold the camera/lens and take a sharp picture without the tripod.

Homeless in Toronto

Homeless -- 5D & Vivitar 28mm f2 @ f2. Larger Picture.

This picture is unfortunately too common in Toronto. I see this everyday in the downtown core each day I ride my bike to work, even in the frigid cold winter weather. In the shadow of many happy people, there are some who are less fortunate. I am sure it's not unique to Toronto, but it's a social problem that all of us, and the government, must face.

Hot Dog Stand

The more I use the Kodak Cine Ektar 25mm f1.9, the more I like it. It has by far the largest imaging circle of all my 25mm cine lenses. When stopped down, even the edge is very acceptable.

By the way, I have finally created a Pro account on Flickr. The image below is now linked to the first set of photos I uploaded. I have had enough with pBASE. Their downtime is way too often and not acceptable. After using it for the last 6 or 7 years, I will probably not renew it when it expires in 4 months.

Hot Dog Stand at King & University. G1 & Kodak Cine Ektar II 25mm f1.9.