My Favourite Blogs. What's Yours?

The inter-web is a marvelous place.  In the olden days, I used to spent hundreds of dollars a year subscribing/buying magazines of whatever interest I had at the time, mostly personal computers and photography (The Transactor, Circuit Cellar, Modern/Popular Photography come to mind).  If you want to read a review of a new product, sorry, but you would have to wait about one to three months for the magazine to publish reviews.  Rumours?  Sure, your usual sales person was the best place to get them.  The internet changes all that.  I now subscribe to RSS feeds, not printed matters (though still a couple of magazines to support my kids' school). Rumours?  We now have dedicated rumour sites for your favourite brand, and they even have "Trusted Sources" for rumours that often provide very accurate information which would turn out to be true. So much for rumours, eh?

I will list below, the favourite blogs the I check/read everyday, in no particular order of importance.  Please let me know what your favourites are.

The Online Photographer - By far my favourite blog.  Michael Johnston is a great writer.  If you follow photography, you no doubt had enjoyed his "The Sunday Morning Photographer" articles that he wrote for the Luminous-Landscape, and perhaps, his "37th Frame" magazine.  His articles are well researched, intelligent, and always well written.  There are other regular contributors, specifically, Ctein, who writes a weekly article for the blog.  The blogs is not heavy on camera gear, but more on the essence of photography.  Some articles are not even photography related but always a good read. The comments section is especially interesting to read.

The Visual Science Lab - By Kirk Tuck.  I don't know how anyone can write so much and so often.  You might not like it if you don't like reading long articles.  As I said, Kirk can write.  If you are a working pro or you make a living from photography, Kirk has many insights as a working pro.

Lens Rental Blog - By Roger Sicala.  Roger loves camera gear and has a great sense of humour.  Most important of all, he is unbiased when it comes to testing gear.  He has access to hundreds (possibly thousands) of lenses and camera bodies of different brands with multiple copies of the same item, so test data is usually representative of real world usage.

Ming Thein | Photographer - Ming Thein, based in Singapore Malaysia, is another prolific writer.  I like his concise writing style and his post processing techniques.

Luminous Landscape -  I have been following this site since Michael Reichmann reviewed the 3 MP Canon D30 in 2000. Michael's tell it like it is attitude has built a reputation in the cyberspace as one of the best hands on review sites.  The site has been slowly increasing coverage for Medium Format Digital, which I find interesting but irrelevant (for me). 

Photo.net - One of the very first web sites dedicated to photography.  Started by Philip Greenspun, who wrote many Canon gear related articles in the early 90s.  His "Travel with Samantha" series was my favourite articles.  The site contains a wealth of information, especially on older equipment, largely because it has been around for so long.  It also has some of the best and the most inspirational photographs in its user galleries.

By Thom and Sans Mirror - Even though Bythom is mostly about Nikon gear, I love to read his insightful and easy to understand articles.  The site is pretty old and not very flexible in design and does not offer RSS feeds directly.  The Sans Mirror site is newer and covers all mirrorless cameras.  Thom's thoughts on the camera industry should not be missed.

Robin Wong - If you want to read the most comprehensive hands on lens/camera reviews (mostly Olympus),  or you love street shooting, look no further.  Robin is a great photographer and an excellent writer.

And then there are the rumour sites that provide so much entertainment and create expectations of new gears to come:

Canon Rumour
Sony Alpha Rumour
Four Third Rumours
Photo Rumours
Mirrorless Rumours
Nikon Rumours

Sheltered - NEX-5N & Leica-R 90mm f2.0 Summicron

Cheap Fun Part Two - Vivitar 28mm f2.8 TX Mount

On the theme of cheap fun, this Vivitar 28mm f2.8 in TX interchangeable mount also qualifies.  Not only does it have very good distortion control, it's also very sharp stopped down a little.  There are so many different Vivitar mini-wide (28/35mm) lenses out there that it's dizzying to know them all.  The same design of lens could be made by different manufacturers. This particular lens was made by Tokina (37), and is quite well built.  You may also find a Tokina branded 28mm f2.8 that may share similar or same design.  These are very cheap lenses that can produce quite nice results.

Rust - NEX-5N & Vivitar TX mount 28mm f2.8. Click for larger.

Tower in sunset - NEX-5N & Vivitar TX mount 28mm f2.8

Cheap Fun with Sima 100mm f2 Soft Focus Lens

There aren't that many lenses you can buy for under $50, especially those that can take unique pictures.  The Sima 100mm f2 soft focus with macro lens is one of those lenses that you literally throw around without worries, because the entire lens is made of plastic, including the lens elements themselves.  In fact, though I have not tried it, you can probably put it in the dishwasher and it will probably survive the wash cycle.  

If you don't know much about this lens, it's a T-mount lens that will fit ANY camera mount. the lens comes in two parts.  You focus by pushing or pulling the front lens barrel until it's in focus, and then you take a picture.  Extremely simple, but great deal of fun.  The lens comes with f4 and f5.6 (or could be f8) aperture discs that go on the front of the lens.

Sadly, the price of this lens has gone up way too much.  It used to be sold for under $20 just a few years ago, but now sellers on eBay want $70 to $80 for one.

Sign of Autumn - NEX-5N & Sima 100mm f2 @ f2. Click for larger.

Rose - NEX-5N & Sima 100mm f2 @ f4. Click for larger.

Sign of Autumn #2 - NEX-5N & Sima 100mm f2 @ f2. Click for larger.

Leaf on Fence

Dead leaf - NEX-5N & Schneider-Kreuznach Componon [Durst] 50mm f4 Enlarging Lens. Click for larger.

Of all the enlarging lenses I have, the Schneider-kreuznach Componon (Dusrt) 50mm f4 is the most elaborately built.  The entire lens barrel was made of brass and chrome plated.  It also sports a 15-blade aperture.  Interestingly, at maximum aperture of f4, the aperture blades are not hidden.  I suspect the lens is capable of f2.8, but is restricted to f4 as the maximum.  It came with both the front and rear lens hoods.  Very beautiful and heavy, with excellent optics to match.

Window

Window - NEX-5N & Vivitar Auto Wide Angle 28mm f2.8 TX interchangeable Mount. Click for larger.

My kids' music school, Regent Park School of Music, had outgrown itself and moved from its former old building on Queen Street East near River Street to the spanking new Regent Park Arts & Culture Centre on Dundas Street East. The Whole Note Magazine was there to take pictures of the new school for its upcoming issue.  My kids were invited as part of the group in the pictures that will appear in the cover of the magazine.

As soon as I entred the second floor, where the music school is, I was immediately drawn to this gigantic window, as pictured above.  As you can see, new buildings have been built in a feverish pitch in the Regent Park area; it's transforming itself into beautiful living/working space. 

A Look Back at the First EVIL Camera - Panasonic G1

Out of guilt, I took the Panasonic G1 out yesterday.  It was literally collecting dust.  Besides, the Wollensak one inch (25mm) Cine Raptar hasn't seen the light of day since I got it, because its imaging circle is too small for the NEX-5N.

First thing that jumped to my mind was how good the viewfinder is, even against the very best on the market (Sony external viewfinder for the 5N).  Yes, it's not as crisp and detailed as the Sony, but proudly holds its own.  Considering the G1 is four years old, this says something.  

In some ways, I prefer the colour from the Panasonic than the NEX-5N.  It seems more vibrant and pleasing to look at.  But when it comes to image quality, the NEX-5N is clearly the winner.  Even at ISO 320, the G1 shows lots of noise, compared to the G1, thanks to the larger sensor and better on-chip noise reduction of the NEX-5N.  The G1 reminds me of the original Canon 1Ds, where low ISO quality is superb, but anything above ISO 320, it gets very noisy.

The G1 is still a very capable camera.  Certainly it's no worse than when it was introduced four years ago.  We tend to want the latest and greatest, and forgetting that older equipment can still make beautiful images.

Lunch with the birds - Panasonic G1 & Wollensak Cine Raptar one inch f1.9. Click for larger.

Pink Dahlia - Panasonic G1 & Wollensak Cine Raptar one inch f1.9 @ f1.9. Click for larger.

Leaves - G1 & Wollensak Raptar two inch f1.5.

Minolta MC Macro Rokkor-QF 50mm f3.5 - Second Look

Last time, we looked at this lens a little more than a year ago, and I quite like it. On the used market, this lens often sells for under $75.  Personally, I think it's a bargain lens that performs well, especially for macro.  On cameras with optical view finders, this lens may not offer a bright viewfinder due to its rather large maximum aperture of f3.5, especially if the 1:1 macro extension tube is used.  But with mirrorless cameras, this is no longer an issue. The electronic viewfinder will compensate for the light loss by amplifying the brightness level.

It's understandable that many of us would like a macro lens that could do double duty: an every day use normal lens and a macro lens. And for this, a larger maximum aperture, like f2, or even f2.8, is preferred. Maybe this is part of the reason why small aperture macro lens in normal focal length is not as popular as ones with larger maximum aperture.  Look at it the other way, a larger aperture lens is quite a bit more expensive, especially for a macro lens.  If you only do occasional macro photography, and you already have a faster normal lens, this lens would be a good fit.

Spider plants - NEX-5N & Minolta Macro 50mm f3.5 @ f3.5 without extension tube. Click for larger.

Rose - NEX-5N & Minolta Macro 50mm f3.5 without extension tube. Click for larger.

Rose #2 - NEX-5N & Minolta Macro 50mm f3.5 without extension tube. Click for larger.

Rose #3 - NEX-5N & Minolta Macro 50mm f3.5 without extension tube.

Sign of the Times #2

If you are still not convinced that the cell phone is killing the low end digital camera market, just take a look at the picture below.  I took this picture today on my way home from work.  A crowd of teenage girls were photographing some celebrity at CityTV.  I know this is just a very narrow age group of users, and adults should have a higher percentage of "real" cameras users than teenagers. Still, the writing is on the wall for low end dedicated digital point and shoot cameras. 

Cell Phones Vs. Cameras - NEX-5N & Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5 @ f2.8. Click for larger.

Kodak Ektanon 3 Inch f2 Projection Lens - More Sample Pictures

Here are some more samples from the Kodak Ektanon 3 inch f2 lens and the NEX-5N.  If only it has aperture control, it would be fantastic.  Even as the way it is, it's a great lens and I really enjoy using it.

Kodak Ektanon 3 Inch f2 Projection Lens

This is the last of the few projection lenses that I will look at for a while.  I have always liked loved old Kodak glass, especially the cine lenses, but their earlier projection lenses, before those plastic ones on later models, are equally awesome.  I covered the 50mm f1.2 projection lens here, briefly.  This 3 inch (75mm) f2 is a bit longer, but with a smaller maximum aperture.  Due to its very slender and long design, it was difficult to make it fit in the focusing helicoid, until I found a lens mount from an unknown lens I dismantled.  Now you know why I keep so much junk around, because you never know when the parts could come in handy one day.  Below you will see how I mount the lens to the focusing helicoid, made from the Vivitar 2X teleconverter with macro focusing.

The original lens was longer. I cut the end so that it wont' hit the sensor. Click for larger.

With the lens mount. Lens mount has a 58-55mm step down ring, which will screw onto the helicoid. When the finished, I wrapped electrical tapes on the end part to prevent reflections hitting the sensor. Click for larger.

The whole 9 yards -  with Helicoid and lens hood. Note how many step-up/step-down rings were used. Butt ugly but works.

How does it perform?

Marvelous!  Optically, it reminds me of the Astro-Kino 65mm f1.5 projection lens, but sharper.  It also does not exhibit as much back ground swirl as the Astro, but is still noticeable. The Ektanon 3 inch f2 is the sharpest projection lens I have used.  It's insanely sharp at f2.  The color fringing is also very well controlled. Very happy with what it can do, but like the Astro-Kino 65mm f1.5, it covers only 16mm projection film.  In terms of image coverage, it actually has very little vignetting, but the corners are blurry, especially at infinity focus.  As bad as this sounds, it's also one of its unique signatures: slightly swirling backgrounds, blurry corners with extremely sharp center.  Below are some examples.

Tree Trunks - NEX-5N & Kodak Projection Ektanon 3 inch f2. Click for larger.

Tail Lights - NEX-5N & Kodak Projection Ektanon 3 inch f2. Click for larger.

Bokeh - NEX-5N & Kodak Projection Ektanon 3 inch f2.