Sony NEX-6: Working with Manual Focus Lenses

The NEX-6 is my third NEX camera.  I started with the original NEX-5, then the 5N and now the NEX-6. The lack of a built-in viewfinder for the 5/5N was an issue for me.  I later acquired the external EVF for the 5N and was quite happy with it, except that it acted like a hook and often caught on to things.  Another issue for me was that there is no locking mechanism for the up/down movement and it often moved when I wanted it stayed put. As soon as I saw the NEX-6, I knew I had to upgrade.

The EVF on the NEX-6 is essentially the same as the external one for the 5N/5R/F3.  Very high resolution and eminently usable, particularly when using manual focus lenses. Now that it's built into the body of the NEX-6, it's even better.

Though the peeking function has been a blessing for using very long lenses on the NEX camera, it's unfortunately not precise enough when depth of field is thin.  Focus fine tuning is still required and I almost always do, and do it with MF Assist feature, which enlarges (zooms in) the area of focus.  On the 5/5N, this was an awkward thing to do, as the MF Assist is button "C" at the bottom.  Engaging it means shifting your thumb down.  On the NEX-6, the AEL button can be reprogrammed to MF Assist.  This button is much closer to the thumb and it takes no efforts at all to engage it.

The changes above have made using manual focus lenses a lot easier.  One feature I wish Sony would add as a firmware update, is to allow the wheel under the mode dial to be programmed as exposure compensation if an auto focus lens is not detected.

Overall, I am very impressed with the NEX-6.  It's by far the best NEX camera Sony has made.  I like it even more than the flagship NEX-7.  Well done, Sony.

Waiting for the bus - NEX-6 & Jupiter-9 85mm f2.

Queen Street at Night

Leslieville is full of stores and businesses like this Cheese Market -- small, unique, charming.  Leslieville has seen an influx of young people in the last decade or so.  This creates a huge demand of housing around the area, to a point that's hard to find any affordable property.  The prices of most houses here have doubled, or even tripled what they cost ten years ago.  It's insane.

Leslieville Cheese Market -- NEX-5 & Contax Distagon 35mm f2.8.

Little Oasis in the City

Garage (barn?) -- Canon T2i & EF 100mm f2. Larger Picture.

Met Kimberley and her husband Terry today. Two of the nicest people I have ever meet. They live in a little oasis in Leslieville -- Ashbridge Park. Ashbridge Park is part of the Ashbridge family estate, now belongs to the Ontario Heritage Fundation after the last surviving member of the Ashbridge family passed away. On their front yard is a European Beech tree believed to be more than 200 years old. They both love this huge, stately tree. Well, I would call this place a paradise.

Thanks Kimberley for the Calendar, and Terry for showing me around. Your generosity is very much appreciated.

Leslieville - Joy Bistro

Very long time ago, this location was a store that sold Asian vine furniture and other Oriental products. From the front, you could see the furniture stacked from ground to ceiling. Not sure how it passed the fire inspections because that was a real fire hazard. Since then, Joy Bistro (and Over Joy restaurant upstairs) has become one of the most popular eateries in Leslieville. Across from the Jimmy Simpson Park, it looks looks really nice when viewed from the park over a bed of tulips.


Joy Bistro viewed from Jimmy Simpson Park -- Panasonic G1 & CPC Phase II 28-50mm el cheapo Zoom.


Joy Bistro in the early morning - Canon T2i & SMC Takumar 28mm f3.5. Larger Picture.

Leslieville -- Marigold Garden

Most people will not see the inside of Marigold Garden in Leslieville, because it's the name of a townhouse complex. OK, it's also the name of the street next to our townhouse complex, where the name of the townhouse complex came from. Like most townhouse complex/condos, there are problems, but people who live in Marigold Garden seem to like living here. In the middle of the complex is a courtyard, which I like the most. It's large enough for kids to ride their bike, skateboards, play balls, etc., and it's gated with lock and video surveillance , so you can be reasonably sure that you don't need to worry about them playing in the courtyard.

The best thing about Marigold Garden is its location. Two blocks south is a bike path and a pedestrian path that leads to east, west and south. To the west, it connects to the bike path along DVP, as well as to the Harbourfront. To the east, it goes to the Ashbridge's Bay Beach (Kew Beach) in a few minutes by bike. A mile to the south, and the end (or is it the beginning) of Leslie at Unwin, is the entrance to the best kept secrete of Toronto -- the Tommy Thompson Park, or Leslie Spit. This man-made peninsula of building debris extends about 5 km into Lake Ontario, and is about 12km around. Tommy Thompson Park is a stopping place for a large number of migratory birds. If you go there in the spring and early in the morning around 5 to 6am, you hear the deafening sound of thousands of birds cawing, singing, chirping. Tommy Thompson Park is also home to many wild life species, including coyote, rabbits, owls, butterflies, and many many more.

Of course, there is this infamous sewage treatment plant not too far from our townhouse, and a small number of factories are that still polluting the area. But, the area is improving slowly. It's a great place to live.


Marigold Garden in the spring -- Canon 1Ds & EF 50mm f1.2. Larger Picture.


Marigold Garden in the fall -- Canon 1Ds & Schneider 105mm f4.5 Enlarging Lens. Larger Picture.


Marigold Garden in Winter -- Pentax K10D & 40mm f2.8 Pancake Lens. Larger Picture.

Leslieville - China Lily

China Lily, once a big local producer of sauces, now concentrates on other food products - Canon T2i & Pentax-M 20mm f4.

When I first came to Canada in 1980, Chinese and Chinese products were not as everywhere as they are today in Toronto. One of the products that I actually saw at super markets like Dominion, Miracle Food Mart, and other smaller grocery stores were China Lily products, most notably their soya sauce. Their no nonsense black & yellow label was easy to spot. Today, you will hardly see any of China Lily sauces.

China Lily was produced by Lee's Food Products. Their sauces has a cult following, especially those who grew up in Canada, where it was the only locally produced soya sauce when the business started in 1947. When we first moved in Leslieville in 2002, the sauce factory, which is practically located next door to us, was still in production. My wife says she could smell the soya sauce back then, but I never really noticed.

Lee's Food Products is still in business. The company makes a variety of food products such as canned foods and noodles. One of the things you can still buy today is Lee's stir fried noodles. My guess that they stopped producing sauces because of the abundance of them from China, probably at much lower prices. It's hard to compete with China, where it has the economic of scale, and much cheaper labour cost. That's too bad for the China Lily followers.

Bike Path on Lakeshore & Leslie

Bike path at Lakeshore -- Canon T2i & EF 35mm f1.4L. Larger Picture.