Walk-Around with Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5 C-Mount Lens

Now that I no longer have my NEX-5N, I am back to the good old Panasonic G1, which I have had since it was first introduced.  It's not correct that I don't have the NEX-5N, as I can always borrow it from Dillon, but I am using the G1 as an interim solution until I get a new camera.

With the smaller sensor, the Wollensak 50mm f1.5 Raptar looks quite a bit better at the corners, but it also loses some of its charms - the blurred corners and vignettes.   I have noticed that the G1 has very strong colours, particularly on red, whereas the NEX-5N has more neutral colours.  This can be good or bad depending on your preference.  Doesn't bother me.  I can always dial it down during RAW conversion.

The Wollensak 50mm f1.5 remains one of my current favourite c-mount lenses, but I prefer it on the NEX-5N better than the Panasonic.  The lens shows more character on a larger sensor.  Regardless, it's a very sharp lens but at the same time renders pleasing colour tones.  A little long on M4/3 but still nice.

At the street corner - Panasonic G1 & Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5. Click for larger

Mean looking Eagle - Panasonic G1 & Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5. Click for larger

Yellow Peppers - Panasonic G1 & Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5. Click for larger

Nick Nack - Panasonic G1 & Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5. Click for larger

Sony E-Mount 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 Lens - A Dud?

I am very close to buying a new camera, as I have sold Dillon's Canon T2i and few pieces of photo gear to raise money for this purchase.  He is now the owner of my NEX-5N, so I need a camera for myself. Scouting the web for reviews on the new 16-50mm power zoom lens, I found one review which gave the lens very low points.  I handled this lens briefly in the Sony store and liked it quite a bit, but of course I could only see the jpeg version of the file from the camera.

Basically, if you shoot RAW, this lens is not very good with vignetting and distortion, and sharpness in the corners are not great either.  This reminds me of the 18-55mm kit lens that came with the NEX-5/5N.  Horrible distortion and similar soft corners.  But, I think as a kit lens, the faults of the 16-50mm lens is bearable.  It does offer a much wider angle than the 18-55mm at similar prices.  When bought as a package with the camera, this lens is only $150, less than half the price of buying by itself.

It is disappointing that the 16-50mm lens is not better.  Sony relies on software correction for the design flaws but this does not do any good for RAW shooters like me.  But, I will probably buy it with the camera anyway, if I decide to buy the NEX-6.

Pink Tulip - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 100mm f2.8L IS. click for larger.

Fire Station No. 17

This fire station is one of the many historic fire stations in Toronto.  Each of these have its own characters and is very different from the newly built ones which are plain and uninteresting.  Station #17 is located near the Beaches area on Woodbine & Queen streets.  It looks great both in the day and at night.

Fire Station #17 - Sony NEX-5N & Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 HFT @ f2

Vivitar 35mm f1.9 - A Second Look

I think this Vivitar 35mm f1.9 deserves more credit than it receives.  Many people who search for the Vivitar wide angle would usually look at the Cult-Classic: the 28mm f1.9.  A few years back, I shot the Vivitar 35mm f1.9 on the Canon 5D full frame without a hood, and the image quality was only so so.  Contrast was not very good.  Today, I put a very long hood (the one used on a Minolta MC 135mm f3.5) on the same lens and the result is quite different.  Not really sure if it has anything to do with the sensor or the hood, but the images are very nice.  Sharp and has much more contrast than I remember having before from this lens.

The bokeh probably won't win any awards, but it's not really bad.  It resembles bokeh from the 28mm f1.9. You can see another sample (second picture) of bokeh from this post I wrote couple years back.  But, at f5.6 to f8, the lens is very sharp.  Even at f1.9, the lens is usable in most situations, but not very contrasty at this apreture.

When I bought this lens, it wasn't very expensive, and is quite a common lens.  I seem to pick one up once in a while at the photo show and now have three or four of them, of different mounts.  If you come across one of these beauties (they are extremely well made), be sure to test it out.

Self Portrait - NEX-5N & Vivitar 35mm f1.9. Click for larger

Bokeh - NEX-5N & Vivitar 35mm f1.9 @ f1.9

Window - NEX-5N & Vivitar 35mm f1.9

New and Old - NEX-5N & Vivitar 35mm f1.9

B&W Photo Conversion From Colour

I noticed that some pictures, when viewed in colour, look very ordinary or even bad, but when converted into black and white, they look very different.  This is especially true for very high ISO/grainy shots.  The chroma noise in the colour photograph is usually what makes it look disgusting, but in black & white, the noise becomes monochromatic and it sometimes even enhances a picture.

The picture below looks pretty bad in colour, but I think it is much nicer in black and white. All the colour fringing and chromatic aberrations and noise are no more.

Jimmy Simpson Park at Night - NEX-5N & JML 50mm f0.95, ISO 1600

Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG HSM - The New King?

One of my favourite bloggers, Roger Cicala at Lens Rentals has posted a first look at the new Sigma 35mm f1.4 lens.  The first of Sigma's Art lens line.  Like anyone who has been around the photography block a few times, I have had my share of the Sigma lenses.  Few of them didn't work with newer Canon bodies, so it was always a gamble when buying a Sigma lens, since Sigma does not pay Canon any loyalty on the EF lens protocols, they just reverse engineered it.  But the new lenses have gotten better.  I have had the Sigma 50mm f1.4 for a couple of years and it's one fantastic lens.  I have kept it even when I already have a Canon 50mm f1.2L, because it's such a good lens.

But, that was then, and this is now.

Since the passing of Mr. Yamaki, the founder of Sigma, his son, Kazuto Yamaki has taken over the helm at Sigma.  We have already seen many changes from him and this is a good sign.  I am excited about the new lenses that Sigma is introducing, for a few reasons.  One of them is price.  The Sigma 35mm f1.4 is about half the price of the Canon version.  The other is optical performance.  From the test performed by Roger, the Sigma is actually better than the Canon equivalent.  Lastly, the aspect of connecting the lens to a computer and do all kinds of fine tuning intrigues me.  Apparently, all new Sigma lenses can be tuned by the user with an optional USB dock.  Even zooms can be adjusted for focus accuracy at different focal lengths!  Imagine that.

Should I sell my Canon 35mm f1.4L?  Likely not, since it's one of Canon best wide angle lenses.  But if you are looking for a new lens, the Sigma is worth looking into.

Megan & William, 2007 - Canon 20D & EF 35mm f1.4L. Click for larger.

The Ashbridge House - 2012

This is one of the oldest houses in Toronto and it's beautiful all year round.  I especially like it in the fall and winter.  On the south east side of the house was a garden a few years back, but I guess it was too much work, or cost the city too much money to maintain it, so it is now just a parkette with grass.  The parkette is surrounded by willow, maple and other trees on three of the sides except south.  The park is open to all visitors, but the house is rented out and people are actually living inside.  So if you do visit, be sure to respect people's privacy.

I have always wanted to take a picture from each season, and I think I have done it, but always seem to be missing a season.  May be I should make it a small project.

Ashbridge Estate - NEX-5N & Olympus OM 35mm f2. Click for larger.

What Makes Us Upgrade

Let's be honest.  I have a weakness when it comes to buying camera gear.  If I were single, I would probably spent all of my disposable income buying cameras and lenses.  Back in the film days, upgrading a camera usually involved a 5-year plan.  A film camera was made to last at least 5 years before an upgrade was considered, because most camera models had multi-year life span.  Some of them, like the Pentax K-1000, was in production for decades.  My Pentax Program Plus lasted about 12 years for me, and it was still in perfect working order when I traded it in for my last film camera, the Canon Elan II, which lasted about 5 years before digital came along.

Digital fulfills our instant gratification desire. We push a button, the picture shows up on the screen.  We no longer need to wait hours, and sometimes days, before we see the pictures.  We no longer had to count and consider before pushing the shutter, because we are no longer restricted to 36 frames of film.  We can now scrutinize the pictures to the pixel level, versus looking at a 4x6 print.  We get more and more dissatisfied with image quality because we pixel peep, and the newest camera must be better, or so says the marketing department of the camera companies.

Last week I shot Dillon's school concert, with my Canon 1D Mark III, at ISO 1600 and 3200 and the 85mm f1.2L.  I pixel peeped at the meager 10 Mega Pixel files, and I am actually very happy with the image quality.  Seeing images from the 1D III has suppressed the desire to upgrade to a very large extend.

For those of us who are short on disposable income for camera gear, we should take a step back, look at the pictures we have taken with the cameras we have, and ask ourselves, are we really unhappy with the image quality, and really need to upgrade our cameras?

King Street Social - NEX-5N & Tamron SP 17mm f3.5

The Allure of Olympus' New Lenses

Olympus, like Pentax, have been making small and wonderful lenses for decades.  Back in the film days,  Pentax was more popular and common, Olympus lens lovers are a more cult-like following.  In their OM days, the 90mm f2 macro, 21mm f2 wide angle, to name just two, were, and still are, phenomenally good lenses.  Lately, they are on a roll with superbly designed lenses: 12mm f2, 45mm f1.8, 60mm f2.8 macro, 75mm f1.8, and now the 17mm f1.8, all excellent lenses.  I can't say I am not attracted to these lenses, despite how much I like manual focus lenses.  This is making it even harder for me to choose between the OM-D and the Sony NEX-6.

"Rose Glow", Last Bit of Autumn - NEX-5N & Olympus 35mm f2 @ f2

Electronic Level on the NEX-6

I failed to mention one of the neat new features on the NEX-5R/NEX-6 is the electronic level.  This should be an invaluable tool for those of us who are alignment challenged.  On my NEX-5N, I have the grid lines turned on to aid me line things up when taking pictures, but the electronic level is much better idea and much more accurate.  Basically, the level is a horizontal bar with green arrows on both ends.  When the camera is level, both arrows will turn green.  Very neat!

Sidewalk of Spadina Ave - NEX-5N & Contax Carl Zeiss Distagon 35mm f2.8