Another Infrared Picture Set

I wanted a different place to take pictures yesterday so I ventured out further west on my bike and stopped at Ontario Place. Ontario Place was a great amusement park when it opened some 40 years ago, but it has remained pretty much the same for four decades. Consequently, the number of visitors had been down each year and it was closed couple years ago. That's what happens when you become complacent. Not really sure what they are going to do; improve it? Get rid of it completely?

All pictures below were taken with the 20D & Pentax-M 20mm f4

Infrared Photo Set

Today was a beautiful day for Infrared pictures. I have been practicing taking close up pictures in Infrared. Due to focus shift, it's not as easy as one might think, if you don't have an infrared camera with live-view. This gets me thinking about getting a really cheap NEX or Micro 4/3 camera and convert it for infrared use. With live-view, I won't need to worry about getting the focus correctly. Unfortunately, the Infrared filter for the sensor is expensive, and even more so for the labour of conversion. The conversion could run into $500-$600. I guess I will just enjoy what I have, at least for the foreseeable future.

All pictures below taken with Infrared converted Canon 20D and Pentax-M 20mm f4.

Wide Is Back - Pentax-M 20mm f4 on Sony A7

The most aggravating issue for manual focus lens lovers who do not have a full frame digital camera, is the lack of ultra wide angle lenses. The 20mm lens that you treasured from the film days, which gives you an immense and expansive field of view, is a measly 30mm mini-wide on crop sensor.  The experience between 20mm and 30mm is like day and night. The good news is that Sony has now lowered the price of its full frame A7 camera to a much more affordable level and with that, your 20mm lens has the 20mm field of view again!

I tested out the Pentax-M 20mm f4. This has been my favourite lens for IR on the 20D and it's extremely sharp corner to corner on crop sensor, especially the IR 20D that has no AA filter. Amazing for it's tiny, pancake like size. This lens works on the 5D Mark II as well, but it would hit the mirror at infinity if not used in Live-View; too much of a hassle and that's the reason it's been used only a couple of times on the 5D II.  As it turns out, the Pentax-M 20mm f4 works perfectly on the A7; a good match for the A7 sensor too.

This lens has very good resolving power, even near the edges in smaller apertures. By f8, the far edges are quite sharp with good definition. The amount of detail you can dig out from the 24MP sensor of the A7 is incredible, and I am sure it's even more so for the A7R. If shooting landscape is your thing, go for the A7R. For sure, this lens is no Distagon 21mm f2.8, but it puts up a good fight at the fraction of the cost, not to mention it's a millimeter wider :)

The Good:
- Very good resolving power
- Good edges around f11-f16
- Small size and well made

The Bad:
- Relatively small maximum aperture at f4
- Vignettes at larger apertures
- Needs ultra-thin polarizing filters if you use it

Infrared Picture Set with Pentax-M 20mm f4

For some reason, I have been itching to bring out the Infrared modified camera and shoot some IR pictures. The weather has been finally cooperating, and I took this opportunity to try an autofocus lens with the 20D. It's a known fact that IR spectrum affects the focus point; most camera's AF system are calibrated for visible light and if you take a picture with the default AF, the picture will come out blurry. For this reason, AF lenses are not very good for IR work, as you would always have to focus it abit behind the indicated focused point. For lenses with USM that support full time manual focus, this is much easier, but still, it's hard to know the exact amount of focus shift you need to do in order to attain critical focus.

I tried the Canon 16-35mm f2.8L II lens today with various degrees of success. For starters, this lens is not a good lens for IR. It has a large hot spot in the centre of the frame, even when there is no stray light hitting the lens. Almost all Canon USM lenses allow you to focus beyond infinity, and that's what is needed to achieve infinity focus for IR. Most pictures turned out to be in focus when the lens was set beyond infinity to the maximum allowed. This is good for pictures that focus to infinity, but not too good if the focus distance is closer. Some experiment is required. This is the reason I like using manual focus lenses, especially the Pentax-M 20mm f4, for IR. When set to infinity, everything is pin sharp from a couple meters away at small apertures.

Redpath Sugar Refinery in IR - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click for larger.

The cemetery - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click for larger.

Geese - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4.

For Paul

If you frequented the old Henry's Outlet Store on  Queen, you probably know Paul. Paul is one of those rare people who are genuinely nice, and always eager to help others. I have known Paul for many years, and he is the huge part of the reason I have so many old and sometimes weird lenses. As a matter of fact, without Paul, I probably would not have this blog to write about old lenses.

Paul - Photo by Prof. Robert Hudyma

Paul is a big Pentax fan, second only to his love of Zeiss glass. He shot various Spotmatics and Pentax lenses over the years; often with a wide angle, but sometimes with a Takumar 300mm f4. His last known camera was a Pentax MV with a 24mm lens. Paul loves film. He has a large collection of Kodak Chromes he shot back in his youth, and I had an opportunity to view some of them; they are marvelous. 1/125 f8, as he would like to say.

Pauls also likes infrared pictures, especially with the Pentax-M 20mm f4. He asked me to post more yesterday, so I shot some more today. For Paul. I hope he likes them.

All pictures below were shot with a Canon 20D IR modified, and the Pentax-M 20mm f4 at f8 and f11.

Misty morning

Entertainment in the park

A view to the lake

Picnic Table

Sail Boats

Pentax-M 20mm f4 - Infrared Photo Set

Today is a perfect day for infrared photography.  As usual, my preferred lens for IR is the Pentax-M 20mm f4. This lens could be very bad with distortion if not careful, but I find it to be excellent on the APS-C cameras. The signature of this lens is its sharpness, especially on the low density sensors like the Canon 20D. The images captured by this lens has excellent definition. This is one of my favourite K-mount lenses.

All photos below were taken with the Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4.

Zeiss Distagon 55mm f1.4 - The Best 55mm Lens in the World?

Since the introduction of the Zeiss Distagon 55mm f1.4 lens, the net is abuzz. Some love it, many question the purpose of such product, and yet others love it but hate the price.  For those who are negative toward the (seemingly) amazing lens, I question why.  If we only produce "good enough" products that most people can afford, the world will be filled with mediocre products. Without these best of the breed products, produced where money is no object, we would not know how far we can go. Sure, most of us will not be able to afford the new lens, but there is a chance that we could afford a used one later on.

The Canon EF 200mm f1.8L is one of the best lenses in the world. It was created to showcase Canon's technical prowess in lens design. Even by today's standards, it's still one of the best, certainly still the world's faster autofocus 200mm lens. I would not have been able to afford it when it was new, but I was able to buy one used. Canon never sold many of these lenses and I am not even sure it they made a profit from this lens, if you factor in the time it took to design and the tools needed to make it. But, I am glad they made it.

Still, many lambasted Zeiss for making such an expensive lens and it won't even autofocus. I am glad they made it a manual focus lens. Every time I think of the EF 200mm f1.8L lens sitting here, and cannot be fixed due to parts shortage, I wish the lens was a manual focus lens; manual focus lenses have a much longer service life. Some of my manual focus lenses are more than 50 years old and they still work wonderfully like the day they were made.

So Zeiss, bring us more lenses that are the best of the best.

Looking South of Yonge Street - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4 @ f8

More Infrared Pictures

I surprised myself this year by taking so many infrared pictures with the modified 20D. Last year I was contemplating selling it, as I was not using it much. I am liking it more when the pictures were converted into black and white. With some subjects that do not have planation in them, they look just like ordinary black and white pictures, but with trees and grass, etc, the pictures take on a whole different look and I really like that. Again, the Pentax-M 20mm f4 is still the best lens for IR on my 20D. Wide enough but not so much that makes composition difficult, and it's sharp as a tack.

Abandoned Railroad Tracks - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click for larger.

Tall Ship & Sailboat - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click for larger.

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

Infrared Photo Set

I am happy to say that this year I have used the Infrared camera much more often than any other year. I have found that using it as a black & white camera can produce some pretty nice results. Of course, I still find false colours interesting. It's the best of both worlds because I can get either or both. Very different looks.

Can't get over how great the image quality is for a nine year old camera. At ISO 100-400, there is almost no noise, and the image is solid with exceptionally good definition, when matched to a good lens. On the other hand, I find the new generation of Canon APS-C sensors wanting, especially at lower ISO. I hope the new Canon 70D's sensor will be better, though I am not holding my breath. 40 MP (two photodiodes for each pixel, used for phase detect AF) for an APS-C sensor? That's crazy. But then again, technology matches on, and some time it will surprise you. Let's hope it will be good.

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

Metis and CN Tower - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4 @ f8. Click for larger.

Ropes - Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4.

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

Infrared Photography - Restarted

I felt really guilty about the Infrared modified Canon 20D not being used much, so I intend to change that this year and take it out more often, perhaps even with different lenses. Currently, the Pentax-M 20mm f4 has been used on the 20D almost exclusively. I would like to try the Tamron SP 17mm f3.5 and other wide angle lenses on it and see if I can get different looks.

IR photography has fascinated me with its eerie, surreal quality, and false colours. I don't like the deep infrared pictures that do not show any false colours as much. The problem with IR pictures is that after you see them for a while, the pictures have the sameness to them. I am hoping I will learn alternative processing methods to make them look more unique.

All the pictures below were taken with the IR modified Canon 20D and the Pentax-M 20mm f4.

Back to Full Frame

Yesterday I picked up not one, but two full frame bodies, out of terrible bad timing. I had a day off yesterday so I decided to visit the Outlet Store, since they still had the 25% off on everything in the store. I was expecting to see a used 5D Mark II, or an Olympus OM-D EM-5. Needless to say, they had neither, but there was a mint condition 5D Classic and I bought it.

As soon as I got home, I received an email from a 5D II seller, whom I emailed earlier, but didn't get an answer, told me that the camera was still available. That's how I ended up with two bodies. Unfortunately, the Outlet Store no longer give refunds anymore, so now I have to sell the 5D myself. The 5D II is very well used with high shutter count, but it was a good price and it came with a Canon 40mm f2.8 FTM STM lens.

Man, did I miss the wide angle on my old lenses! It's good to see these lenses perform as they were designed. A 20mm lens is no longer a 30mm mini wide angle, but a true ultra wide angle lens. In fact, the Pentax-M 20mm f4 is such a fabulous lens on the 5D II with sharpness to the corners I am so glad I didn't sell it.

One of the nasty issues with the original non live-view enabled full frame Canon cameras was the compatibility with certain lenses; at infinity, the lens would hit the mirror. But, live-view has solved this annoying problem. With the mirror flipped up, this is no longer a pain in the rear, though you still can't use the optical viewfinder to focus, but I can accept that limitation.

Well, this does not mean I am abandoning NEX or Micro 4/3. In fact, I still want to buy an OM-D EM-5, when the price is much lower.

United Metropolitan Church - Canon 5D Mark II & Pentax-M 20mm f4

Photo Essay: Around My Work Place in Infrared - Part II

This is the second part of a three part series on Infrared around my work place.  Today I headed west toward Bathurst on Queen street.  As always, this is a very busy section of the city, especially at lunch time in a nice day like today, when many people just wanted to go out for lunch and enjoy the weather.

I started from Spadina & Queen.  This intersection is one of the busiest in the area, partly because many people get on or off here from streetcars.

Spadina & Queen North East Corner -- Canon 20D IR & Penatx-M 20mm f4. Click for larger.

Hot Dog Stand -- Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4.

In the picture above, the same hot dog stand has been here for many years in this spot.  It opens 24 hours.  It almost becomes a fixture at the north east corner.  On the left of the picture, you can see my colleague Mark, with a camera on his right hand.  If you like street photography, you will love Mark's pictures on Flickr.  Mark is a collector and user of vintage cameras/lenses.

Trees -- Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click for larger.

Even with a very ordinary and boring street scene, infrared makes it look different and interesting, and the false colours adds some weirdness to it.

St. Stanislau R. C. Church -- Canon 20D IR & Pentax-M 20mm f4.

A Set of IR Pictures from High Park

On Monday I went with Dillon and Sally to High Park early in the morning hoping to photography cherry blossoms.  It turns out we didn't go at the right time yet.  Perhaps we will do it again this weekend.  It was fun as I had not gone to High Park for many years.

Took along the almost forgotten IR modified 20D with me, and the trusty Pentax-M 20mm f4.  I must say this lens is a perfect match for the 20D/IR.  A relatively wide angle of around 32mm equivalent, almost a comfortable 35mm.  I ended up shooting more IR pictures than with the NEX-5N.  Hope you like these pictures.

House at the bottom of the hill -- IR 20D & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click to see larger picture.

There are two dogs in the picture below.  They were so obedient and they were posing for the owner!  Lovely dogs.

The only cheery tree in full blossom in High Park -- IR 20D & Pentax-M 20mm f4

Sally shooting with the EF 180mm f3.5 Macro Lens - IR 20D & Pentax-M 20mm f4