Toronto Camera Show - April 2016

I was looking forward to this show, but at the end, it was a huge disappointment.  Oh well, higher expectations would yield bigger disappointments.

I was hoping I could find some nice large aperture rangefinder cameras that I could get to play with, but all I got was a Canonet 19 and a Konica S2, both with a stuck aperture.  Not exactly a bargain at $15 each, but hopefully I can use them as practice pieces to fix the apertures.

Canonet 19 and Konica S2 with stuck apertures.

Picked up a Topcon Uni with a 35mm f3.5 UV and a 100mm f4 UV.  The 100mm f4 is the only reason I bought, since I already have a 35mm f3.5.  I did not know the 100mm f4 even existed.  I am not a big fan of UV Topcors but I could use the mount from the body to make an adapter for my A7.  $30 seems like an OK deal.

Topcon Uni with 100mm f4 and 35mmf 3.5.

I seem to have a couple of A. Schacht lenses so I picked up the 50mm f1.8 Edixa-S-Travelon-A to expand this new family :)  The lens has a slight dent on the rim, a small disappointment.  Hopefully it's not de-centered.  Way overpaid at $50.

A.Schacht 50mm f1.8 M42 Mount.

Lastly, a Russian Industar 75mm f3.5.  At first I didn't know it was an enlarging lens.  This lens has a very nice built-in hood that's not removable.  I like the focal length so why not.  $20.  Hopefully it will be a nice picture maker.

That's it.  In a way, I am glad I didn't spend too much money at the show.  On the other hand, I am disappointed that I didn't get anything interesting.

Another, larger camera show next month.  There is hoping, again :)

Mega G.A.S Attack

I went to the camera show today.  In fact, I planned to go this time.  In order to preserve my pseudo New Year Resolution, I sold my Gitzo carbon fiber tripod to fund the purchases.  In a way, it's an exchange and not new purchases.  How's that for an excuse, eh?

Very happy to see my good friend Paul at the show.  It had been a long time.  Also met Professor Bob, and many other familiar faces.

The Camera God must be smiling at me today.  The very item I have been looking for a long time, is the Pentax M42 focus helicoid, and I found it today.  In fact, Bill had two of them.  One still in the original box, like new.  The one I got looks like new in its leather case and is cheaper.  One turn on the focus ring, and the sensation of the silky smooth focusing of Takumar lenses was flooding back.  It's still pretty expensive at $80, but I know it will last my life time.

Pentax Focus Helicoid. 

One item I unexpectedly bought, was a New Canon F1 camera with a 50mm f1.8 lens, also $80.  Not even sure what the going rate is for this camera, but I remember it to be quite expensive.  I had the original F1 but didn't shoot too much with it.  This one has some nice brassing on the top and bottom of the camera and seems to be working.  I might have to shoot a few rolls of film now that I have it.

New Canon F1.

Bought a bunch of rangefinder cameras, mostly dead.  Of interest is the Olympus 35 RD with a 40mm f1.7 lens.  I was really looking for the 35SP with the 42mm f1.7 lens, but there wasn't one, unfortunately.  This one has a jammed aperture, and some dust/fungus inside, but I was willing to risk $10 for it :)  The other interesting one is the Argus V100 with a 48mm f2 Cintagon lens.  I can't wait to try this one out.  Hopefully I will be able to make it with with the aperture and focusing working.  I also had in mind a Yashica Lynx-5000E, but only found the Lynx 5000.  Wonder if the lenses are the same.  Matt thinks highly of the one from the 5000E.

Yashica Lynx-5000, Olympus 35RD, Canonet GIII-QL

Argus V-100 -- Best deal of the day at $5.

Few other misc bits, including the Nikkor-P 7.5cm f2.8 medium format lens for Bronica.  Will be interesting to see how this one renders.  I have a good feeling that it will produce nice pictures.

Nikkor-P 7.5cm f2.8 with Bronica focusing helicoid.

Overall, I think it was a productive day.  Got some stuff I was looking for.  Good exchange of goods for the Gitzo tripod that I hardly used.

Camera Shows in Toronto - A Thought

Today was the annual camera show organized by the Photographic Society of Canada, the "Big One", as they advised.  Previously, this show was held in Woodbridge's Soccer Centre, taking up half of the indoor field, and was a huge show.  For the last couple of shows, they moved back to the original location in Etobicoke, much closer to me, but the venue is smaller.  I can't help but noticed that most of the camera shows in Toronto now have fewer vendors (tables) and are dominated by a few large (commercial) vendors, and fewer individual sellers.  The large vendors have some good selection of lenses, but very pricy.

What maybe happening is that these shows will eventually die, when all that's left are the large vendors.  I have been making conscious efforts to skip the commercial vendors' tables, since they seldom have any good deals.  If the shows ever end, that will be a very sad day.

I did spent more than I should have at today's show, as it usually happens.  One of the items I bought was the Voigtlander Prominent with an Ultron 50mm f2 lens.  I have been looking for this lens for a very long time, and I bought one today at a reasonable price, but the lens has separations in the rear elements.  From experience, this hardly causes any issues with image quality, and I hope I am right about this one.

Voigtlander Prominent with Ultron 50mm f2

One good deal today was the RE Topcor 135mm f3.5 for $5.  Every time I go to a camera show, I keep any eye open for the Topcor lenses, since Steve mentioned them in the comment section of this post.  They are not very common here in Toronto as I don't see them often.  I am happy to find another one for the collection for a low price.  But his one has a modified EXA mount which won't fit the Exaktar adapters.

RE Topcor 135mm f3.5.

Found another Vivitar 2X Macro Teleconverter for $15.  I have 6 or 7 of them now and I usually pick them up if they are under $20. I use them as focus helicoids for those lenses that don't have focus mechanism.  In the What Was I Thinking Department, I bought a C-mount 75mm f1.4 lens, hoping it would at least be usable in APS-C sensor, but the image circle is rather small.  Works well on the E-M5 though.  I haven't used C-Mount lenses for a while, and I really don't understand why I bought it.  Finally, a couple of broken rangefinder cameras that I will remove the lenses from.  A Nikkorex Auto35 with a Nikkor-H 48mm f2, and a Minolta AL with 45mm f2 lens.  Hopefully I will be able to make the lenses work.

No-Name (but 90% certain it's a Cosmicar)  75mm f1.4.

Toronto Winter Camera Show

Each year, Toronto is blessed with 3 to 4 camera shows, or more appropriately, flea market for used camera related stuff. Today was the winter edition of the show and I decided to go after the absence from the last few shows. The venue for this show was decidedly bad. The show was hosted in a hotel's conference room which was too small and the tables were way too closely arranged that it was very difficult to walk around without bumping into people. I hope they will find a better place next time.

I bought quite a few Russian lenses today, including one I have been looking for in the last few shows but none at a reasonably good price: the Zeiss Sonnar 5cm f1.5 in Leica LTM mount. Well, what I got is a clone of the Zeiss Sonnar 5cm f1.5; the Jupiter-3 5cm f1.5. I will have to order an LTM-NEX adapter, since mine was given away.  Can't wait to try it out, especially on a full frame A7.

Other Russian lenses I got were much more reasonable at $10 each, included a Asart H 50mm f2 in Nikon mount, and three Zeiss Ikon Contax mount lenses: 2x Helios-103 53mm f1.8 and a Jupiter-8M 50mm f2. I already have a Jupiter-8M that converted to use on a helicoid and the NEX and I really like the rendering of pictures. I figured it's not bad for $10 a pop.  Will be interesting to see what difference there is between the Helios-103 and the Jupiter-8M.

Another lens was the Vivitar 50mm f1.7 with VMC coating.  I have had many Vivitar lenses but never a 50mm. Again, for $10, I don't mind trying it out.

One last lens worth mentioning is the Voigtlander Color-Skoparex 35mm f2.8 in Rollei QBM mount.  This is a Zeiss Distagon 35mm f2.8 clone.  In fact, it even looks like the Zeiss 35mm f2.8 Distagon I have, also in QBM mount. Will see how it performs.

Overall, it has been a worthwhile drive to the show. Got some stuff cheap to play with.

Jupiter-3 5cm f1.5 in Leica Thread Mount.

Vivitar 50mm f1.7 in M42 mount.

Helios-103 53mm f1.8 (top) and Jupiter-8M 50mm f2 (bottom)

New Toys from the Camera Show

I was debating whether or not to go the camera show today; last time I went, I spent more than I should and didn't get anything unique. In the end, gear addiction won, and my body had to follow so camera show I went. Met a few old friends there which was nice.  Ever since the old Henry's Outlet Store moved, those of us used to hang out there no longer see each other much, except at photo shows.

In a way, I am glad I went today. Got a few unique lenses, and most importantly, they are very reasonably priced. The Pancolar 50mm f2, which I owned a copy before but had problems, and sold it at the yard sale at give away price. The copy I got today is a beaut. It's in very nice condition and came in the Exakta mount. This lens will be a nice complement to my Pancolar 80mm f1.8.  We will see how it performs. If the Pancolar 80mm f1.8 is any indication, the 50mm f2 will be a fine lens.

Steve, who talked about Topcon lenses in the comments section of this post got me intrigued in these lenses. Ever since, I have had my eye and ear open for them and today my wish is partially fulfilled. Got a Topcon body with two beautiful lenses: 58mm f1.8 and 10cm (100mm) f2.8. Both lenses are in excellent condition. Frankly, I am overjoyed. Don't much care about the camera body, though it is in equality nice shape, but these lenses really make you fall in love with them. Steve is right, these are great lenses. I would probably try to get a collection of the Auto-Topcor and find the 28mm, 35mm, 85mm,  135mm and the 58mm f1.4 and any other focal lengths that they made.

Can't wait for the colors of spring to roll around and try out these lenses.

Three Amigos - Pancolar 50mm f2, Topcor 58mm f1.8, Torcor 10cm f2.8. Click for larger.

Latest Gear Acquisition from the Camera Show

Here in Toronto we have a few camera shows each year. Many envy us for the opportunity to get cheap used lenses. This used to be true, but if today is any indication, the days for deals are numbered.

I went today and only stayed an hour. Everyone seemed to be selling over-priced junk. Found no deals today. Bought a whole bunch of projection lenses from a charity table and later found that the lens register of these lenses are way too short to be usable even on the NEX cameras. A write off. Sad, really, because a few are really nice 50mm f1.2 lenses. I did buy another unusual projection lens: Navitar 25mm f2.8. This is one huge and heavy lens. Never seen a projection lens this wide and made like this. I think it would be fun to try it out later.

Found a Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Primagon 35mm f4.5 in very nice condition. Came with a bonus Exakta mount body, which will probably end up as garbage. I am a big fan of Meyer-Optik lenses. especially the Primoplan 58mm f1.9. The Primagon 35mm f4.5 is a bit on the slow side, but the few sample pictures I took already look promising. I bought it mostly because I never even knew this lens existed.

Another purchase, which kind of regretted, is the Canon nFD 50mm f1.2L. It costs more than I wanted to pay, but cheaper than the 55mm f1.2 S.S.C. The test picture I did at f1.2 made me feel much better about the purchase: Very sharp wide open. About the same, if not better than the nFD 50mm f1.2. Now, the only Canon f1.2 standard lens in FL/FD/new FD mount I am missing is the Aspherical version, which is the most expensive of all. More so than the L version.

So, I guess that OM-D EM-5 has to wait a bit longer, and I most likely won't be going to the camera shows until summer.

Downtown Toronto - NEX-6 & Meyer-Optik Primagon 35mm f4.5 @ f8. Click for larger.

The Tree - NEX-6 & Meyer-Optik Primagon 35mm f4.5 @ f8. Click for larger.