They Are Here!

I ordered a pair of very thin focusing helicoids from Rainbow Imaging and it arrived today.  Very fast shipping from Hong Kong (they didn't have the 52-42mm version that I wanted in the US location).  However, I knew I made a mistake even before mounting the lens on the 12-17mm.  It's simply too limited.  The focusing range is very short, and is very tight.  The Taylor-Hobson Ortal 75mm f2 could focus to infinity, but  could not focus very close.  But, the 17-31mm works near perfectly, except that it was just a hair shy of attaining infinity focus.  Not really a problem, though, as after I sanded the C-NEX mount a bit, it now can focus to infinity without problem.

I want to say a few words about the quality of these two helicoids.  The workmanship leaves a lot to be desired. The 12-17mm is way too tight to focus.  The 17-31mm has either sand or metal grounds inside the focusing mechanism.  I can feel the grinding when turning the focusing ring.  It's also not very smooth.  My Vivitar 2X macro focusing helicoid is light years better.  Too bad it's just not thin enough.  In any case, it allows me to use the Ortal 75mm f2 lens.

How well does it work?  It works, but the lens is just so heavy.  I kept turning the aperture ring on the front when trying to focus, instead of the focusing ring near the mount.  If you have some good glass worth putting on your camera, but without the focusing ring, this helicoid may be worth it.  I know I will make good use of it as I have so many weird stuff to try it on.

Took the lens out this evening and after dropping Ryan in the music class, I walked around and took some night pictures.  Too bad it was so windy and cold.  My hands were practically frozen after 15 minutes without gloves. The strong wind made sharp pictures almost impossible using a flimsy and tiny tripod, but a few turned out ok.  I really like this lens.  Will update when I get a chance to use it more.

DVP at Night -- NEX-5 & Taylor-Hobson Ortal 75mm f2. Click to see larger.

What I Want in the Next NEX camera

I like my NEX-5. I have been using it almost exclusively since I bought it in December of 2010.  I probably shot over 10,000 frames since.  But, the current NEX cameras need some serious feature upgrades.

First and foremost, please, please add a built-in view finder, in the same class of the Panasonic G or GH series, or better.  I am in my 40s, and I can't see screen well at close range with out, er, bi-focals.  I have ordered a pair of progressive  lens, but still not done yet.  So I don't know how well it will work out.  Another benefits of a viewfinder is the accuracy of focusing.  Shooting DC style, it's difficult to get critical focus, especially at close range or very thin depth of field, because a slight movement will shift the focus.  Heck, I will even settle for an external EVF!

Second, I would like a few more physical buttons on the camera. As it is implemented currently, changing settings means going deep into the menus, and is a pain in the neck.  Even just a mode dial will make things much better.

Third, fix the %T^@#$ tripod mount!  I don't mind a slightly larger body, but make the tripod mount flush with the bottom of the camera.  The NEX-5 has the most unstable camera support of any camera I know.

Fourth, more lenses!  How about some nice, FAST autofocus prime lenses?  All other EVIL makers have better lens than NEX, if you count only the native mounts.

I am sure there are a few things I would like to have, but the above is my main concerns.

Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4 HFT (Rollei QBM) Sample

Downtown Toronto at night -- NEX-5 & Zeiss 50mm f1.4 Rollei QBM Mount. Click for larger.

I have had this Carl Zeiss HFT (German version) for a number of years.  Originally used with the Canon adapter, but could not focus to infinity, even after I shaved the rear lens guard to the minimum, the butt still hits the mirror.  Just got my Rollei-NEX mount and it works a charm on the NEX-5.  This is such a beautifully made lens!  All metal and the focusing is nicely damped and smooth.  All markings on the lens are engraved.  Optically, it's near perfection as a 50mm lens.  All apertures are usable.

Unfortunately, there seems to be variations on infinity focus with some lenses.  My Rollei QBM mount Distagon 35mm f2.8 is just slightly shy of attaining infinity focus.  It's a shame, as the Distagon is also a very nice lens.  Looks like it's optically similar to the Contax version.

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.

Black & White Infrared Sample

West Don Lands -- IR Modified 20D & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click to see larger.

While looking back at some of my IR shots, I found this one that I took last June, but didn't process.  Most of my IR pictures are in false colour.  While that's kind of interesting to look at, I think B&W is better.  I processed this one with one of the B&W film filters in Photoshop (sorry forgot which film I chose) and really like the way it looks.  Can't wait for sunny weather to come back, so that I can use the IR 20D more.

Devil's Ivy

Devil's Ivy -- NEX-5 & 8mm Relfex Zoom 9-28mm f1.1 Movie Lens Front Element.

I think that once in a while, a weird and unusual lens can be a lot of fun.  Of course it does not have to be expensive.  In fact, the cheaper it is, the more you will enjoy using it, as you don't have to pay through the nose to get one.  A cheap commercial soft focus lens can be found for around $20 on eBay, is the Sima 100mm f2.  I wrote about it here and here.  The Sima has a T-Mount so it should fit pretty much any cameras with the right adapter.  You can also buy a rather expensive soft focus lens, like the Canon SF 135mm f2.8, Nikon 105mm or 135mm f2 DC, a Pentax 85mm f2.8, and many others, or, make your own!  It's a lot easier than you think.  All you really need is a piece of glass from the front element of any lens (50mm or less is good.  Any longer you will need tubes), and a focusing helicoid.  In fact, you can take a non-working 50mm lens and remove the rear elements and get an instant soft focus lens!  Nothing can be easier.  Try it!

Birns & Saywer Omnitar 150mm f3 Movie Lens

I have searched everything I could, to find out more information about this lens, but very little is known about it.  Birns & Saywer is a company that sells movie gear and I don't believe they make any lenses so this is most likely a house label.  On the lens it says "Lens made in Germany", Omnitar 150mm f3.  It came with a Arri mount but I converted it to a Nikon F mount, so that I can use it on the Canon/NEX/M43 cameras.

Although the imaging circle actually covers 35mm, I believe the lens was designed for 16mm movie cameras.  The reason I am saying that is because, like many of the c-mount cine lenses, this one is only sharp in the middle of the frame, but it does produce some interesting images, especially on full frame.  I shot some pictures with my old 1Ds couple years ago with it, and I like some of its quirky qualities.

Even though my copy of this lens is in horrible condition, with coating on its rear elements disintegrated into a mess that I can't remove.  If you look at it from a side, it looks like it has a layer of haze.  Consequently, flare is a killer, and it does not have very high contrast when there is side light.  But, it's very sharp in the middle.  I think this lens will be pretty good at the edges on the micro 4/3 format, but I haven't tried it yet. 

Newspaper boxes -- Canon 1Ds & Birns & Saywer 150mm f3. Click for larger.

You can see from the above full frame picture that the edges isn't great, but with an APS-C size sensor, and stopped down to around f8, it's quite all right, as below.

Decaying logs -- NEX-5 & Birns & Saywer 150mm f3. Click for larger.

Tree in snow -- NEX-5 &  Birns & Saywer 150mm f3. Click for larger.

Tommy Thompson Park Revisited

Tommy Thompson Park is also known as the Leslie Street Spit.  It's about a mile from where I live, but for some reason, I have not visited it for more than three years.  Tommy Thompson Park is just part of Leslie Street Spit.  The whole thing is a man-made 5-km peninsula created from construction derbies.  It is still expanding today.

The park has large bird migratory spot with some 300 species.  There are many other animals and wild flowers in the park.  The park is open to the public on the weekends and holidays.  During the weekdays, it's only open to trucks that dump debris there.  I went there a few times during the weekdays early in the morning, and was asked to leave because it was not open to the public, but many people, especially cyclists, bike there during the week anyway.

You can find out more about the park here.

Trees in snow -- NEX-5 & Birns & Sawyer 150mm f3 cine lens. Click to see larger.

Island -- NEX-5 & Birns & Sawyer 150mm f3. Click to see larger.

One of the Things I Hate About the NEX-5

Tree at night -- NEX-5 & Pentax-M 20mm f4. Click to see larger.

One quirky think about the NEX-5 is its tripod mount.  Instead of a flat bottom like every other camera ever existed, the tripod mount on the NEX-5 has a raised center, which makes it almost impossible to put an Arca Swiss quick release plate on.  This is not a problem for small and light weight lenses, but for large lenses without tripod mounts, the NEX-5 becomes very unstable.  Without a custom made plate, this annoyance will continues to bother me to no end whenever I need to do any night shots.

Rings

Playing with the Ilex 80mm f1.3. Taken with the Panny G1. Click to see larger.

Playing around with the Ilex 80mm f1.3.  Another lens who flange is very short and hard to get infinity focus.  Can't wait for the thin 12-17mm focusing helicoid that I ordered.  Hopefully it's thin enough.  I think it will be an interesting fast lens to play with.