Three Bells

Pay Phones -- NEX-5N & Leica-R 35mm f2 Summicron

I like shooting in cloudy, rainy weather. Sunny days are good too, but often you will get harsh shadows unless they stuff you shoot is under the shade.  I took a walk around Chinatown the other day in a cloudy rainy day with the Leica-R 35mm f2 Summicron, which I haven't used for a while.  If you read my blog, you would know that this is my favourite manual focus 35mm lens.  The other favourite is the Canon EF 35mm f1.4.

I think for most Leica lenses, the drawback is that they are more expensive than equivalent lenses from other companies, and they are very heavy, due to the all metal construction of the lenses.  If you want a well built lens, you will have to bear the weight. It's like very thing else in life: there is no such thing as a free lunch.  For this 35mm f2 Summicron, I really have no complains.  It's sharp at f2, and its colour and contrast is wonderful.  The only minor gripe is that it's very heavy, and the built-in hood is kind of loose and not long enough.  Also, flare resistance is not as good as the Takumar SMC 35mm f2.

Lifeguard

Lifeguard -- D Mark III & EF 200mm f1.8L with 1.4x Teleconverter shot wide open through a thick pane of glass.

Dillon and his school swim team made it to the OFSAA (provincial) Swim Championship and we spent a day in Milton's Sport Centre to cheer for him and his team.  The Sports Centre is a very nice and huge facility that sports 4 skating rinks, a large swimming pool, two gymnasiums and a host of other amenities.  Unfortunately, for today's swim competition, spectators were not allowed to go inside the pool to watch, and everyone had to watch the actions through a very thick pane of glass wall.  I brought a bag full of equipment, but taking pictures of the swimmers is next to impossible.  Of course, they want to sell you pictures they have captured for the event.  Very disappointed and this I have been to many swim meets and this is the first that I couldn't go inside the pool or take any pictures.

Today was the first time I used the Canon 1.4x teleconverter with the EF 200mm f1.8L, for an effective focal length of 280mm f2.5.  I was surprised the focusing speed was still very fast.  I only shot the pictures through the glass walls and it's still usable wide open (effectively f2.5).

Another Sample from the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f2.8

Tim S. Dool -- NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f2.8 @ f2.8

I have been using this lens quite a bit lately and really start to like it a lot, and I am wondering why modern 35mm lenses aren't designed like this one: very close focusing, sharp, and great bokeh.  Very hard to find wide angle lenses that have nice bokeh and this Flektogon is one of them.

Just out of curiosity, most container ships seem to stay at the port for a long time.  Two to three weeks is not uncommon.  This Tim S. Dool ship has been at the port for at least two weeks now. That seems very inefficient use of the ships.  Does it take that long to load/unload the goods, or there are other reason for the long stay?  Curious!

Can't Wait for Summer

Lining up for hotdog, Summer 2010 -- Canon 1D Mark IIn & Kinoptik Speciale Cine 210mm T3

If you are lucky enough to live in a place where the weather is warm all year around, you won't understand we Canadians how much we look forward to summer each year, especially if the winter is bad.  This year, other than a few very cold days, and a little bit of snow that quickly melted away, there isn't much of a winter as we normally would have.  I am certainly NOT complaining!

Can't wait for summer to roll around.

Minolta RF Rokkor-X 250mm f5.6 -- Second Look

So I have been using the Minolta RF Rokkor-X 250mm f5.6 on the NEX-5N, and slowly getting the hang of it. It's still too long a lens for me, and I don't have very steady hands, hence low keeper rate.  Many of the pictures come out blurry.  But, once the focus is nailed, the lens rewards you with very sharp images (for a mirror lens).  I want to stress that this is a very small lens for a 250mm focal length.  On of the reason many people want it.  You can see the picture below where it's compared to the Minolta 58mm f1.2.  The 58mm f1.2 is much heavier:

Size compared to the Minolta 58mm f1.2.

Although the X250 does not focus as close as the Tamron mirror lenses, it's still pretty good at minimum focus distance of 2.5 meters.  You can get pretty good close ups.  The original hood the came with the lens is way too short.  Mirror lenses tend to flare more easily than all glass lenses.  A longer hood would have helped to reduce the flare problem.

Bright Lights -- NEX-5N & Minolta RF 250mm f5.6 on tripod.

In think in terms of image quality, it's probably as good as a consumer lens would get for mirror lenses.  The build quality is excellent with very smooth focus action.  It's a perfect lens for EVIL cameras.  The longer focal length allows some stealth pictures to be taken without people getting mad at you, or, simply, some like the compressed perspective of long lenses.

Talk -- NEX-5N & Minolta RF 250mm f5.6

Canon EOS 5D Mark III - An object of desire

OK, I will say it.  I WANT the 5D Mark III!  It's a camera that fixes all of the 5D Mark II's short comings (ok, I still want the swivel screen).  The specs are pretty much the same as what the rumor have been saying, except the price, which is higher than what most people expected.

The image quality test at dpreview sure looks pretty good, but I don't think it's that far ahead of the 5D Mark II.  Strangely enough, if you check out Canon's official sample images, image #1 (the aurora) shot at ISO 800 has a  lot of chroma noise.  Not sure if they turned off the noise reduction or what.  Canon jpeg engine still falls behind Olympus, which generates exceptionally good jpeg as if they were converted from RAW.  Would 5D Mark II owners upgrade?  If I had the Mark II, I would probably not upgrade, unless superior auto focus is what you are after.  

For me, this camera would replace my 1D Mark III, but the price is just too high to justify at $3,888 CAD.  I guess it's a camera for most pros and semi pros of still and videographers.  I am sure many well heeled buyers will snap the 5D III up, but it's just too much money for non-money making use.  I will pick up a used 5D Mark II when it hits $1500, and keep my 1D III.

Megan -- Sony NEX-5N & Minolta RF Rokkor-X 250mm f5.6

Canon 5D Mark III -- Is it worth the hype?

Canonites are eagerly waiting for the unveiling of the long waited successor to the 5D Mark II, which has been one of the most successful and best selling full frame cameras in recent history.  So, the Mark III has a big shoe to fill. If the rumour is correct, it will have the 1DX auto focusing system, and a new 22MP sensor with high ISO going all the way up the wazoo! I am happy that Canon listens to its customers and didn't go nuts on pixel count on the popular 5D line, and instead, concentrates on high ISO and more dynamic range.  The only worry is that the price might be too high.  Anything over $2800 is too much, in my opinion.  The 5D II was something like $2800 on introduction.

On the other hand, I am sure Canon won't let Nikon steal the show with the D800's 36MP sensor.  I have no doubt they will have a competing model with 40 or more megapixel sensor, perhaps the 3D, or 5DX very shortly?

This is exciting times, even though for me, they are too expensive for me to afford, but glad to see the technology advances.  Who knows, in a couple of years, we may see a $1500 full frame 24MP camera.

Rock Skipping -- 1D Mark III & EF 135mm f2

Projection Lenses

Streetcar on Empire & Queen -- NEX-5N & Kodak Ektagraphic 50mm f1.2. Taken this evening

My crazy passion for the projection lenses has somewhat subsided for the time being.  Still used them once in a while but not as much I used to.  There are still a few projection lenses that I have not had to time to make into a lens yet.  Two very long lenses, 200mm Leitz and 300mm Schneider are too long to be practical and I don't think I have anything helicoid that are long enough for them. I am sure when spring rolls around, and we have more colour around us, I will be using them more.  They are perfect lenses for flowers and greens. But, then again, maybe I will restart the enlarging lens project.

Birns & Sawyer (Tewe) Omnitar 200mm f3.2 -- First Look

Sometimes luck just happens and makes you happy.  Yesterday I was thinking about how to convert the Omnitar 200mm f3.2 that I bought the day before, so that I could use it either on Canon or NEX.  The M42 to Canon FD adapter on my desk was staring at me.  Instant brain fart!  I tried it on the Omnitar and what do you know?  The rear of the lens fits the M42 opening on the adpter perfectly.  In fact, it fits so snugly that I don't even need to glue it down to try it out.  I did have to saw off the tail tube, which would scratch the sensor of the NEX-5N if I didn't.  But, even with the tail section off, the rear still hits the mirror on the 1D III, but at least I can use it for the time being on the NEX-5N.

Sharp!  NEX-5N & Birns & Sawyer (Tewe) Omnitar 200mm f3.2 @ f3.2.

The lens now has an M42-FD adapter, and then a FD to NEX adapter.  Since it's not set in place with anything, the lens would rotate slightly if the focusing ring is turned too hard, making it awkward to use.  But that didn't stop me of course!  I walked around my work area at lunch time with camera/Omnitar 200mm 3.2 in hand and had some good walking exercise while taking pictures.

I was hoping the lens would be sharp to the edges, but it was just wishful thinking.  This, and the Omnitar 150mm f3, were made for 16mm movie cameras, and the NEX sensor is quite a bit larger than 16mm film.  This lens has very high resolution at the center and is very sharp wide open, but as I said, the edge is blurry.  Not as bad as the 150mm f3, but not sharp, at least wide open.  Another thing I was hoping for is that it would not vignette, but it does, though I think it's due to the small opening of the lens at the rear.  The vignette is worse at infinity than close focus.  As expected,  there is a lot of purple fringing at wider apertures, a problem with most old lenses.  But how does it render pictures?

Golden butterfly -- NEX-5N & Birns & Sawyer (Tewe) Omnitar 200mm f3.2 @ f3.2

Quite good actually, if you are not using it to shoot landscapes and hoping or razor sharp edges like the Distagon 21mm f2.8.  It does not have the modern lens look of the clinically sharp image, but its personally makes itself seen. Generally, images are pleasing to look at, but I also find it, and its bokeh to be slightly too harsh for a movie lens.  I am not sure I like the bokeh very much, but on the other hand, it's not objectionable.

Bokeh -- NEX-5N & Birns & Sawyer (Tewe) Omnitar 200mm f3.2 @ f3.2

Can't help but to bitch about the lack of built-in viewfinder of the 5N (I know an external one is available, but it's way too expensive).  Today was sunny and it was nearly impossible to see the LCD screen clearly.  The peaking level feature helps tremendously, but for critical focus, I still need to check image via magnified view, especially for longer lenses where depth of field is very shallow.  This makes me think about the Olympus E-M5 with its 5-axis sensor shift IS, coupled with an internal EVF, would probably makes long lenses much easier to use and end up with more keepers.

Wind Chime -- NEX-5N & Birns & Sawyer (Tewe) Omnitar 200mm f3.2 @ f3.2

Panasonic LX-2: Second Outing

Metropolitan United Church -- Panasonic LX-2

Took the LX-2 with me yesterday and shot around the Queen & Church area.  I really like the size of the camera, though I would like more if it's slightly larger.  The lens on it has pretty good resolution.  When processed through Lightroom 3 (which I couldn't resist the good deal that B&H had on sale for $69 about a week ago), the quality at ISO 100 is quite good.  I am now shooting at the 16:9 aspect ratio to maximize the solution of the sensor, though I don't really like it for still pictures.  To me, it's not as natural as 3:2.

In terms of image quality, there is really no comparison  to APS-C or even M43 sensors.  Even on base ISO 100, noise is visible and that DC look is staring you at the face at 100%.  I believe in print, up to 13x19, quality will be just fine.

It's a matter of time, the low end small sensor DCs will be history in a few years, replaced by cell phones, and most new DCs will sport larger sensors with much better image quality.  I do believe Nikon will have a upper hand on this, as the one inch sensor in the J1/V1 is perfect for digicams.  It's such a great balance between image quality and size/cost.  APS-C is a bit too large, as lenses that covers this size of sensor will have been be much bigger.