Bringing the Light

New Directions, both in art and science

2011-12-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

ART:

For the rather, somewhat inaccurate, "longest time" now, I've been writing in this blog sporadically. Whenever I felt I had found a topic to discuss. I love photography and I enjoy pulling out my XT, 5D and more recently, my iPhone (4s!), which I have found quite a few little 1x1 type photography apps that I have come to love and loathe.

Of particular interest here are the following two:
LEME CAM
and
RETRO CAMERA

Both are fun little apps that give you that oh-so-wonderful retro 1x1 look. Sometimes, the results are not that great, but given that these apps are programmed to mimic the very same thing that made some "toy" cameras so popular, one should expect less than desirable results.

Only downside to these two apps... NO FLASH! [Although, flash is mimicked in 1 or 2 of the modes within either]

I like the iPhone for the freedom it has afforded me in terms of photography. I use a MEC Sling Bag - which an acquaintance was quick to point out last night, I usually overload. Taking the 5D, 70-200, both flashes and possibly some other items, can weigh me down a lot. In some cases, it can aggravate my shoulder (which I injured 2x different times many years ago).

Still, I plug away with all three options at my disposal. Perhaps in the near future I can consolidate down. But given that the iPhone apps have awoken within me, a love for the stupidity that film can produce, I may just finally add the Minolta to the bag.

SCIENCE:

I've been somewhat aimless as of late and decided that I needed to do something with my life, to make it better. I've decided that enough was enough, and working in client support for the Investor/Public relations’ field was something I no longer wanted to do. As such, I enrolled myself into a Communications and Public Relations course at the local community college, which incidentally, is my Alma matter, if that means anything. Centennial College is conveniently down the road for me, and taking this course means that I will be able to move into a new role, and be the guy that sends the information for guys like me to send out to the wires.

Lacking any real usable skills outside of my former vocation, made me make this decision. I have all the basics already to succeed in CCPR, and I'm hoping that I can take this one on and walk away Dean's listed. The only time in my life I ever made the Dean's list was in my first 2 semesters at Centennial, the first time around.

Given that I'm 30min walk away from CC's East York Campus, have basic skills already, and the course being an intense 2 semesters, I think I can do this. I know I can do this. I WILL do this.

So, what's that mean for Bringing The Light? Perhaps more posts - more regular posts - more, well written posts with proper grammar, spelling and such. ;)

I like writing... I just never get around to it. With what looks to be on the horizon, I'm gonna have to start loving writing, for the sake of my grades.

crickets chirp

2011-10-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hi there, intrepid travellers, readers and assorted others.

As you can no doubt notice from my previous entry, I haven't been here in a long while.

I haven't forgotten about this place. I have just gotten weary of the difficulty it takes for me to sit down and think of what I want to say and so on, so forth.

Suffice to say, i'm not shutting down. I'm re...developing.

I'm heavily considering a migration to another blog system and once there, chances are my aims will be vastly different from here. In other words, I'm thinking of changing the focus of my blogging joie de vie. [is that the right expression?]

Now, I still shoot, and I hope all of you out there do too. I haven't changed anything up much, gear wise - though, I have rented a lens or two along the way. I have a new love, in all things Canon... the 24-70mm 2.8L. It's a heavy piece of machinery that is ungodly versatile for people like me. If i had the money, I would have two full frame bodies with the 24-70 on one, and a 70-200 on the other. All other lenses would be shamed.

It's april...

2011-04-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's April... it's spring!

It's Camera-walkaround season!

Happening soon will be Cherry Blossoms and Magnolias. Be sure to charge up the batteries and clear out your memory cards!

CIAS 2011

2011-02-28T15:21:00.000-08:00

I'll make this quick...

before doing a photo shoot, one must always
a) check their batteries
b) offload photos/format memory cards
c) give their lenses and sensor a quick cleaning and;
d) be prepared to shoot like a fiend, with the intention of weeding out or culling photos out of the final collection.

I failed to check the battery on my Rebel when I was getting ready for the autoshow. As a result, I didn't have it as a back-up. Mind you, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing as the crop factor doesn't help in a realm requiring wide-angle shots. However, it is nice to have it ready to go for when you don't want to switch lenses.

Nevertheless, I had a good time and met up with 2 fellow photographer friends - one of which is well known for his club photos, as he freelances for Nocturne in Toronto.

All in all, I shot something on the order of just south of 300 pictures, and via culling, thought 190 were good enough to post. If i was a super-picky professional, that number would be more like 19-20, as the sensor was not clean and a hair decided to muck up some of my better pictures. [and wouldn't you know it... i can't find my damn rocketblower...]

Anyhow, having said that... here's a few personal favourites. All of the following were shot with my Canon 5D, and a 3 different lenses... 70-200, 50 1.8, Yashica 28.

While I love german cars for the most part, BMW has the biggest soft spot in my heart. Sadly, because BMW's space was rather tight and full of other showgoers, I found it a bit difficult to snap pics the way I wanted to shoot them. I even found it somewhat difficult to get decent pics of the Mini's, but that was mostly because of how close they were to each other and other objects. Gotta love that weird art-car though...

Not sure what it was supposed to all be about, but it was interesting. My guess is that it was supposed to be a generic city scape scene, but Toronto-influenced (there's a CN Tower looking thing on the passenger side of the car.

I think it's worth mentioning that I have never ridden a motorcycle. But more to the point, I've sat on only 3 in my life... all of them BMWs.

At the end of it all, I must say Kudos to BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Infiniti and GM, for lighting their cars very well. Some manufacturers, had their sets lit-up in rather weird ways, with some cars 3-4 feet to the side of where a spot was falling (i'm looking at you Nissan!).

Only personal disappointment here was, completely missing Kia. But that was because they were next to Saab and Volvo - two manufacturers that have consistently failed to catch my eye.

Oh well... there's always next year! But I should mention here now... I *really* need to get myself a wide-angle lens for my 5D.

Kaput!

2011-01-30T07:32:00.001-08:00

I was running a fan page on Facebook for photography. But it seems that Facebook has decided to kill that page.

After doing a quick bit of reading, I think I'm going to opt for a Facebook Group, as a way to revive my personal space for the photography

There are definite advantages and disadvantages to either. Allfacebook.com has this nifty graph outlining them. Problem is, deciding which is better for my photography.

I think i'm gonna give the Facebook group thing a whirl. See where that goes.

Merry Xmas

2010-12-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Xmas from Bringing the Light.

In this case, the camera was brought (out) and the light was available. ;)

The following was taken with my Dad's X-700 Minolta with a Dimension 135mm 2.5 lens. The residence is my folks last house. Each year, since 1992, we have done floodlighting, and then mini-bulb lighting (starting 1999).

Canon success and fail

2010-12-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

I've been shooting with my trusty little Canon rebel for 3 years now. It has served me well for the most part, however, at some point in the summer the focus point illuminators got mucked up.

I stupidly put off getting the camera looked at and only got to it 2 weeks ago. Suffice to say, thanks to extended warranty and quick service - the camera is back in my hands.

Canon replaced the focus screen, however that didn't take care of the problem. The rebel has 7 AF points in it. Five of them are fixed. I am NOT impressed. I took it in for the AF points to get fixed and they didn't fix all of them. I really don't know how the AF points work, but apparently the issue isn't with the focus screen. So, I can either go back tomorrow (ugh) or go back on Monday after work.

In other realms, some friends run a local rave promotion crew and it was their 3rd year this past weekend. I rented a 16-35L to take shots. Unfortunately, the 2.8 wasn't much good to me as it was really dark in there - and I suck at using flash now... far too long have I gone without using, that I've kind of lost my touch a little bit. Plus, aiming was never a forte of mine.

Anyhow... the 16-35 is a nice lens and all... but I'll reserve judgment on it's brother till I get the chance to try him out (the 16-35L ii). I have used the 17-40L and found it to be a great sundowner lens. The 15mm fisheye is a great indoor and festival/landscape lens. The 16-35 is... something else. Not sure what yet.

Lenses...

2010-10-19T08:43:00.001-07:00

Been thinking about getting yet another lens. My travels and experience have shown me that I am in a great need for a focal length towards the wide end of things.

I've been reading reviews for stuff under $700 and, sadly, not many are coming up with good reviews.

Sigma 20mm 1.8 = crud
Sigma 24mm 1.8 = crud
Canon 20mm 2.8 = meh
Canon 24mm 2.8 = meh
Sigma 30mm 1.8 = not FF compatible

From what I'm gathering, for the most part at least, is that if I want a good wide angle, I'm best off to go with a 17-40mm. I've used that lens and I have to say, it's a fun lens... but it's slow.

Why don't I get the 16-35? cause I'm not made of money!

*sigh*

Optical Slave...

2010-10-12T17:46:00.001-07:00

I got myself a few items off Ebay recently. One of which, I'm rather displeased with, which technically speaking is due to my not doing the research that I needed to. But also at fault are the ebay sellers that sell this particular item because none of them can do something as simple as use a spellchecker and maybe find a friend that knows english.

The Brits controlled Hong Kong for HOW LONG? And you mean to tell me none of them over there learned proper english? Before you start thinking I'm being a racist arsehole... please read on. You'll see that my ire is bases upon stupidity/ignorance.

Anyhow... I'm angry because I gave benefit of doubt to a product because it's a stupidly simple device. It was only after I received the item and tested it that I discovered that to go optical on Canon, you need a slightly different product which works with the pre-flashing system of Canon's E-TTL.

However... I stumbled upon a rather hilarious discovery. I can use my Yongnuo RF-602's in conjuction with the SYK-3 optical slave hotshoe. It works with Cactus/GadgetInfinity/CowboyStudio triggers as well, if in case you were wondering.

Sorry... no pics.

Anyhow... This is done very simply

Step one: attach flash to camera
Step two: attach second flash to RF-602 receiver
Step three: attach RF-602 transmitter to SYK-3 optical flash
Step Four: place 2nd flash where need and place RF/SYK-3 combination somewhere conveniently out of the shot, but within the range of the camera on-board flash.
Step Five: Flash away!

Keep in mind that you should be shooting manually when doing this, because Auto settings will make the camera overexpose with that 2nd flash involves.

Outside of this, I'd like to once again iterate how much I appreciate how Yongnuo has been making themselves a bigger player in the market. They're doing it right by providing properly translated specs (for the most part) for their equipment. The manual that came with my RF-602's, while unfortunately very spartan, is easy to read. Very little instruction, well written, is going to always beat more information, poorly written, any day.

Now... closing remarks about the optical slave
Pros: cheap [$5], works with Nikon, small
Cons: Doesn't work with Canon, poorly described, no english instructions come with.

FYI: They do make a Canon-friendly version, but it's $15-20. At that amount of coin, it'd be wiser to spend a few more and get another transmitter if you're using PT-04s or RF-602s. Just sayin!

Sensor vs. Glass vs. Mpx

2010-10-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

This is a quick rundown of how best to show why the sensor matters just as much as the glass you put in a camera. It's also a demo of why high mpx should not be your reason for getting one camera (or cellphone) over another. It's also a cavaet to you to avoid a certain electronics manufacturer.

This is no where near my best flower shot... but instead is probably the best shot I took with my phone... before it slipped out of my hand and hit the ground really hard. Ever since hitting the ground, my cellphone has been sketchtastic and shuts off at the slightest bit of a medium shake or jarring. Suffice to say, I'm not happy cause it was the first time I dropped my cell and meanwhile, I know iphone users who have dropped their phone 99times before the screen cracked [the 100th drop does it in]

The LG KC910 which has a Schneider-Kreuznach lens, has a sensor that yields 8.2mpx.

The amount of mpx is moot of course, because, it's inability to capture basic images without heavy tweaking is rather, scary. How LG thought slapping this poor example of a phone together being a good idea, is beyond me.

Good glass is good to have, but means nothing when the sensor is crap! What I find extremely annoying about this phone is that LG was smart enough to allow auto and manual focusing, but they didn't include aperture control... or at least, include a simulated version.
There are ISO settings, and the phone has exposure bias, but the flash is overpowered and the exposure bias goes between -1.0 and +2.0 (yeah, i don't get that either)

Suffice to say, I'm probably going to give in and get an iPhone, which means going on a contract with my service provider, which is something I've wanted to avoid for a while now. I suppose it's my best bet right now because I need a phone that doesn't die on me when it's martini'd.

I'd like to also point out that this is my 3rd LG phone. And suffice to say, I am not at all impressed and I will likely not be buying LG ever again. Their stuff is utter crap, easily disquised with shiny plastic. F*** YOU LG!!

Back on topic -

MEGAPIXELS.
Megapixels don't matter if the following conditions are low-grade: sensor and glass.
There... I said it. Now stop buying f***ing crap cameras and taking photos of yourself in mirrors. You can easily get a camera that has high megapixels but a low-grade sensor and worse glass and take pictures, but they won't be good.

Sensor -- Many companies make cameras. Few make good cameras.
To put things into perspective, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Samsung, et al., all put their best sensors into their DSLR cameras. But they also do trickle down... that is, after a sensor has proven itself in the latest release, chances are that it will get put into a lesser model is high - albeit with tweaking for price-point and cost-effectiveness. Having said that, Canon does this with their line-up to an extent. The 1D series gets best, then comes 5D, then 7D, then xxD (50/60d). Eventually, the Rebel line gets the tech from its bigger brothers. After that, the G-series... then finally the A-series. [Okay, yes... I know that's a rather glib way of stating it and that's not how it really works, but it might as well be the way it does.]

At the very least, any image taken with the latest A-series, is likely to be just as good as any shot taken with an older Rebel series camera.

Now... Glass...
Here's the fun part. The more you pay, the better it is. E.g. Canon's L-series line-up.
There are weird little discrepancies in this rule of thumb, and the biggest one is the well-known problem with the 70-200 F4L and the 70-300 IS. The 70-200 F4L is my telephoto option of choice. It's a great lens and it cost me at the time $700cdn (after exchange and taxes). The 70-300 IS lens on the other hand, would have cost me $750+ if i had bought it in either Canada or the US.
So, why did I go with the 70-200? Well, the extra 100mm wasn't important to me, and to get IS meant getting a variable aperture. With the 70-200, I get constant F4, which is good for DOF effects when at 200mm - not that I really have done shots with that combination, but i can! At 200mm on the 70-300, would have me at an aperture of probably 5.0. Not only that, the glass in the 70-300 isn't as good and that lens is a bit heavier. It really doesn't make any sense to get the 70-300IS when you know these details. I prefer a light-weight system. It makes my shoulders happy.

Now, there is a small oddity in the Canon world, when it comes to great glass. It's the 50mm 1.8... also known as the nifty-fifty or plastic-fantastic. For reasons similar to the Helios 44, the 50mm contains gaussian optics and renders really nice background blur. The 50mm 1.4 is a great lens too, but at 4x the price, few amateurs can justify it. The 50mm 1.2L on the other hand, is closer to 15x the price, and while worth every penny, is not easily justified by anyone not shooting professionally. Even still... from what I gather, most pro's go for the 35mm or the 85mm. (L-series in each case)

Fast lenses rock... that's why they're so damn expensive. ;)

I'm rambling... I'm done.

Harvest Festival!

2010-09-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

Every year for the past decade almost, hundreds -if not thousands-of young men and women have made a trek to parts outside of the city of Toronto, every September. They drive northward, away from the hustle and bustle, to get down and hustle to groovy beats in a land way off.

They leave the comfort of the city and its clubs and bars, for a cool night under the stars, where a collective of DJs and promoters throw together a festival that combines music, art, camping and good old fashioned fun. They gather for what is called Harvest Festival.

For the past 4 years, I have gone and enjoyed the amazing sights and sounds. This year, aside from a couple of hours that I lost to being alcoholically comatose, was filled with magic and wonder. In those moments that I was conscious and in the mood to use my camera, I captured some amazing pics - at least, in my humble opinion they're amazing.

This time around, I had my 5D and a rental 17-40 F4L. While the lens was rather slow (the 16-35 would've been better suited to my needs), the colours it rendered were amazing - with my lightroom skills only able to make them pop a little more.

Here are a few select pics. Enjoy!

Upgrading... and admiring. [not in that order]

2010-09-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

One thing I don't do, as a photographer - amateur or otherwise - is claim myself as a strobist.

Really, I don't. With great irony, I don't.

I love all the work that David Hobby has put into his website, and I love the way he has created a following on such a basic principle. He has brought a beautiful technicality to that part of the equation that it is, if anything, nothing short of awe-inspiring.

I suppose, to a small degree I am trying to do the same [with this blog], but I am not methodical (nor professional) enough to lay down a gauntlet, in respect to photography. Although, I could probably do so with working with Alternative Glass and building a database like pBase [but more informative]. I certainly have quite a few (lenses) in my possession, and through creating a formulae, I'm sure I could build up a nice single-contributor pbase rival for that purpose. If i do that, I may have to rebrand this blog again! [insert perfunctory LOL here]

The inherent problem with the title I chose is that, in talking about Lens, i am not talking about lighting, and through virtue of extension, not bringing light to anything. Perhaps, i'm shedding light on subjects rarely discussed? [insert strong LOL here]

I ramble too much. [insert annoying LOL here]

Having said that, for the last 9months, I've been working with the Canon 5D. A magnificent camera that has yielded some rather awe-inspiring photos every so often, for me. I also upgraded my flash system, returning the well loved SB-28 back to it's rightful owner, my de facto mentor - Scott [aka Thinkincolor], and acquiring a Canon 430EX for my primary flash system. The Quantaray QF30 remains, as before, my backup flash - on the ready with fully charged Eneloops in it's bay, just in case the 430EX or its batteries fail. This is, by no means, a plug for the QF30. It's a crap flash that is only redeemed by the fact that it is dedicated and TTL. Unfortunately, the former works against it as it cannot be used with off-camera wireless flash systems, such as the Pt-04 "Cactus" triggers, or the Yongnuo RF-602 trigger. The RF-602's were a small upgrade for me as well, this past summer.

Also, acquired for my kit... A DECENT TRIPOD! I got an Induro cx-114 last month, and my chances to use it, have been so far, very limited. It is a great tripod, nonetheless. I just don't have a tripod head for it yet, so i've been stuck with using it only when i bolt the camera on directly, which is never ideal. But at least, I haven't been forced to lug around a heavy tripod. Thank god for Carbon Fibre!

...But I digress [see what I mean about not being methodical?]

THE REAL UPGRADES I'VE BEEN MEANING TO TALK ABOUT

Flash/light modification is always key to a good photo. Something that my kit has been lacking is exactly that - light modification. I've been using my flashes as is all this time, with them either direct or bounced. Rarely, i slap on a snoot or grid, but more often than not, those don't work with the kind of shooting I do. On occasion, I have relied on bounce cards - which more often than not, have been playing cards or white cardboard, strapped on via elastic. I have recently moved over to scrap Chloroplast instead, as it is stronger and more durable.

Chloroplast by the way, is awesome for macro light tents.

So, I've decided that I need to get more out of my flash and to do that, I'm getting diffusers. I was only going to get one type, but I realized that I would still be limiting myself, so i went both with sto-fen and lambency types. The former, being a cheapie from Hong Kong, costing me $1.60cdn, the latter, ten times more. The beauty is, I can use both of them at the same time, theoretically. The Lambency is a rubbery kind that slips over, and i'm assuming with enough give to go over the sto-fen. [For the record, I did not get a Gary Fong... i went with an unbranded knock-off]

Lambency Type Flash Diffuser Mounted to an older Canon Flash

Also being added to the kit is an optical slave. As you recall, the QF-30 flash is far from great, but I hope to expand it's abilities and use, within my kit, by adding an optical slave to it. It's my hope that I can get more into proper strobing with it on optical slave. The funny thing is, I had given thought to selling it on Craigslist. Maybe I will still, but not until after I give the optical thing a shot. At the very least, I might be able to use it in conjunction with the 430ex this way, and with the Rebel's on-camera pop-up flash.

Outside of that, I'm thinking about upgrading my knowledge too. I've been hemming and hawing over buying a few books off Amazon. If i do go through with them, I'll of course review them here. I should give reviews for the books i have already... there's an idea! (right off the bat, I will highly recommend Michael Freeman's books, as they are a nice middle-of-the-road approach; using both inspirational and manual styles.)

"Rebranded"

2010-09-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sept 13, was my birthday. Happy Birthday to me.

I spent the weekend partying with friends, some 3hours north of Toronto. A good time was had by all.

I decided to give the blog a slight revamping and rebranding, as screaming and static are not exactly photography things. Hopefully, I can get used to the idea of posting stuff more often. I've managed quite successfully to do so in the last short while.

So, welcome to "Bringing the Light"

Enjoy!

Cees De Groot's Yashica Faq

2010-09-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

The following is Cees De Groot's Yashica SLR FAQ. I found it originally on his site, and it seems to have been archived elsewhere, but unfortunately it was all centered and hard to read. I cleaned it up slightly, so here it is!

Enjoy!

1. Introduction

1.1 Acknowledgements
1.2 Disclaimer, copyright

2. General information

2.1 What info about Yashica is available on the Web?
2.2 Should I buy Yashica?
2.3 The brand Yashica
2.4 Yashica and Contax

3. What Yashica 35mm SLR bodies are available?

3.1 FR series
3.1.1 FR-I
3.1.2 FR
3.1.3 FR-II
3.2 FX series
3.2.1 FX-D Quartz
3.2.2 FX-3, FX-3 Super, FX-3 Super 2000, FX-7
3.2.3 FX-1, FX-2
3.2.4 FX-103 Program
3.2.5 FX-D, FX-70
3.3 107MP, 108MP, 109MP
3.4 Dental Eye

4. What lenses are available?

4.1 What's the difference between Yashica DSB and Yashica ML lenses?
4.2 How about YUS lenses?
4.3 Known Yashica lenses.
4.4 Wide-angle
4.5 Normal
4.6 Moderate telephoto
4.7 Telephoto
4.8 Macro
4.9 Zoom

5. And what about accessories?

  1.  Introduction

Welcome to the Yashica SLR FAQ. This FAQ, a work in progress, is meant
to collect knowledge on the range of 35mm SLR cameras, lenses and
accessories made by Yashica. This is $Revision: 1.14 $ of the FAQ.

This FAQ is available on the World Wide Web, in several formats:

o  HTML format <http://www.cdegroot.com/photo/yashica/yashica-slr-
  faq.html>

o  SGML format <http://www.cdegroot.com/photo/yashica/yashica-slr-
  faq.sgml>
o  plain text <http://www.cdegroot.com/photo/yashica/yashica-slr-
  faq.txt>

o  PostScript <http://www.cdegroot.com/photo/yashica/yashica-slr-
  faq.ps>

  If you have any problems, suggestions, or questions, please contact
  the maintainer, Cees de Groot <mailto:cg@cdegroot.com>.


1.1.  Acknowledgements

The only thing I knew about Yashica was that I own two bodies and a
handful of lenses. So this FAQ couldn't have been written with the
help of a number of net.users out there (even when my writing style
made it look like I know it all - don't let that fool you!). My thanks
go especially to Gary Schloss <mailto:schloss@datadepot.com> for a lot
of information especially on bodies, and to Marcus Hanke
<mailto:Marcus.Hanke@sbg.ac.at>, who single-handedly put together the
lens overview and the FX series stuff.  Ezekiel Tan
<mailto:ztan@ihug.co.nz>, Berry de Bruijn
<mailto:berry.debruyn@mi.unimaas.nl> and Oliver Schmid
<mailto:Schmid@kwic.com> also provided me with very useful
information. David Foy <mailto:david.foy@shaw.wave.ca> gave me the
details on the Pentamatic, the first Yashica SLR (he's looking for
lenses and accessories).

If I forgot someone please yell.


1.2.  Disclaimer, copyright

I've done everything in my power and limited time to make sure that
the information in this FAQ is correct. However, neither I nor any
contributors can be held responsible for the results of acting on this
information or for any damages resulting from using the information in
this document in any way.

Copyright (C)1997 by Cees A. de Groot. This document may be
distributed and reproduced without permission provided that it stays
intact, including this copyright notice.

  2.  General information


2.1.  What info about Yashica is available on the Web?

Probably more than I'm aware of. Here's a list:

o  I'm maintaining a mailing list, the Yashica/Contax SLR list. You
  can subscribe to the list by sending a mail to

 majordomo@evrl.xs4all.nl with in the body the line:

  subscribe yashicacontax-slr

o  I've also dedicated a part of my homepage
  <http://www.cdegroot.com/photo/yashica> to the topic. Information
  on the mailing list and the FAQ is over there and more might be
  added in the future.

o  On the Usenet, these newsgroups are relevant:

o   rec.photo.equipment.35mm, about 35mm equipment in general. Lots of
  this is of course about the big brands, but you'll find something
  about Yashica as well, occasionally.

o   rec.photo.marketplace, where buyers and sellers meet. Yashica stuff
  is regularly offered over here.

o  Information about the current line of Yashica SLR products can be
  found on Yashica's corporate Website <http://www.yashica.com>.

o  An awful lot of information on photography in general is available
  from the mother of all photo FAQs, Guide to rec.photo

 <http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jnweg/html/faq.html>. It is
  especially important to consult this listing of pointers for
  information on buying and selling via the newsgroups and by mail-
  order before plunging into uncertain deals.


2.2.  Should I buy Yashica?

As usual, it depends. I started with Yashica because I lend my fathers
camera and I didn't want to spend a whole lot on new equipment.
Actually, I did spend a whole lot on a Nikon camera a year ago, but I
found that autofocus didn't really work with me and that I couldn't
afford the Nikon glass I wanted anyway. So I sold that and bought a
lot of Yashica stuff for the money.

The great thing about Yashica is that it is completely underrated. The
market is so small and demand is so low, that prices are way below
what you pay for other brands, with comparable quality. Most people
are quite positive about the quality Yashica delivers (both mechanical
and optical).

The bad thing about Yashica is that the market is so small and supply
is so low, that it can be quite hard to find something you need. More
often than not, you are stuck with the option of forgoing a particular
accessory or buying something with Contax on it, which is a quite
expensive brand.

Mentioning Contax, that's the second great thing. The upgrade path is
unique. You start with a Yashica body and Yashica glass, then upgrade
to Carl Zeiss T* lenses, and finally upgrade to Contax bodies. In the
meantime, you have your old Yashica stuff as a backup system,
everything is completely interchangable.


2.3.  The brand Yashica

Yashica has been around since 1957, and some old camera's, especially
the twin-reflex camera's for the medium format, are still quite
popular. In the seventies, Yashica licensed the Contax brand from Carl
Zeiss and started producing high-end camera bodies under that brand.

Since the early eighties, Yashica is a part of Kyocera, and fills in
the low half of the photo market for this corporation; Contax fills in
the upper half. Contax bodies are made probably by the Yashica
production facilities, Contax lenses are made by Carl Zeiss. For a
nice history of Carl Zeiss and the Contax brand see History Of
Contax/Carl Zeiss <http://www.contaxcameras.com/home/history.html>.

Yashica has been making 35mm cameras for a long time; the current line
started with the introduction in the 70's of the Yashica/Contax mount
(which we'll call the Y/C mount from now on) that is still in use.
Before switching to the Y/C bayonet mount, Yashica made a fairly
extensive line of screw-mount SLRs (TL Electro) with a full complement
of Yashinon interchangeable lenses. The screw-mounts were preceded by
the Yashica Pentamatic, which came out in the very early 60's and was
the first SLR by Yashica. It had a bayonet mount and was offered with
an Auto Yashinon 55/1.8 lens, plus 35mm, 100mm and tele lenses.

Furthermore, from early 60's and untill mid-80's Yashica designed and
manufactured an extensive and highly successful line of 35mm full-
frame (and half-frame?) rangefinders.



2.4.  Yashica and Contax

Contax is, from a marketing point of view, an entirely different
brand.  Manufacturing quality is better, too. However, rumours are
that lots of engineering is in fact shared between Contax and Yashica,
and lots of people combine the best value from both brands.  I have a
page on Contax equipment as well, at

http://www.cdegroot.com/photo/contax.

  3.  What Yashica 35mm SLR bodies are available?

Most Yashica bodies are manual focus, except for the 200AF and 230AF
which come with a small range of lenses (and as they don't appear on
the Yashica corporate Website anymore, I take it they discontinued
it).


3.1.  FR series


3.1.1.  FR-I

I own an FR-I, so I'll start with that one first (it is also the most
versatile of the FR series, another reason to start with it). It's a
body with an electronic shutter and TTL metering put onto the market
together with the Contax RTS, with which it can share most accesories
(so go shopping and put a 5fps Professional Motor Drive and a 250
exposure back on it - can't do that with a Nikon N90x ;-)).

The FR-I is a very nice classic body, with an aperture-priority mode
and manual modes with shutter speeds from 1/1000th to 1 second and
bulb.  Exposure compensation is possible +2 to -2 in full stops, film
sensitivity can be set from 12 to 3200 ASA. The front of the body
sports an X-sync socket, the self-timer and a depth-of-field preview
button. The rear has a button to activate the meter, which can be
locked by the film winding lever. Next to the meter is the socket for
the remote control cord. The 92% viewfinder shows diafragm, metered
shutter speed and a manual mode indicator. You can attach an FR (or
RTS) winder to the bottom and replace the back with a databack (or any
RTS back). At its time, it competed with classics like the Nikon EM,
Minolta XG-1 and Canon AV-1, and it compares very favourably with them
(more features, less money).


3.1.2.  FR

The FR is basically the same box, but without the automatic (aperture
priority mode). It was introduced around '76 as the first of the FR
series and, apart from the fully manual operation it mainly differed
by the fact that it had a CdS-based metering system with LED
indicators.


3.1.3.  FR-II

The FR-II is fully automatic, with auto, flash and bulb settings and
shutter speeds ranging from 4 to 1/1000th. The viewfinder only shows
time information (no aperture) and the X-sync socket is missing, too.
The FR-II is only available in chrome.


3.2.  FX series

The FX series (at least the FX-D) was an offspring of the Contax 139
and was designated to replace the FR series.


3.2.1.  FX-D Quartz

The FX-D Quartz is a scaled-down version of the Contax 139 with
reduced compatibility (though it can use the Contax 139 winder which
gives 2 fps). Compared to the FR-I, several advances were made:
exposure time measuring with quartz oscillator, a flash-ready function
and 1/100th flash sync, a larger time range in automatic mode (11 to
1/1000th), a vertical metal shutter, and auto-exposure lock. Apart
from this, it wasn't a lot better than the FR-I, on the contrary: the
material quality was inferior, and a lot of small features were
missing. The viewfinder didn't give aperture information, the x-sync
socket was gone, as was depth-of-field preview button. You couldn't
change backs, and exposure compensation was done by changing the ASA
setting (on the FR-I, the ASA setting is locked). The ASA range was
smaller, too: 25-1600 vs. 12-3200 on the FR).

In the beginning, Yashica didn't offer a special winder for the FX-D,
so you had to buy the expensive Contax 139 winder. Later on, Yashica
made this up with a dedicated FX winder which misses the vertical
release button featured on the Contax version. The body was available
in black, but a FX-D SE (special edition) was in chrome and sold as a
set with a zoom lens.


3.2.2.  FX-3, FX-3 Super, FX-3 Super 2000, FX-7

A fully mechanical body with a simple metering system. I have never
seen a more basic body: you can set shutter time and film speed, there
is a button to switch on the TTL LED meter (which shows a plus, a
minus or a zero in the viewfinder to indicate its opinion of the
current settings), a film wind lever, the shutter release, a timer
lever, and a lens unlock button. That's all there is. Nice points:
it's very compact and light-weight, you have mirror lock-up with the
timer, and it doesn't need batteries to operate. And it does have all
the necessities of life: split-image focusing, hot shoe, a vertical
metallic shutter (so flash sync is at 1/125th), etcetera. I like this
box a lot.

The FX-3 Super is mostly the same as the FX-3, but activating the
meter is not via a separate button, but by pressing the shutter
release button lightly. That's generally a sound ergonomic
improvement, but especially left-eyed shooters will benefit from this.

The FX-3 Super 2000 has an added shutter speed of 1/2000th. Full specs
on the FX-3 Super 2000 are on Yashica's website under

http://www.yashica.com/yashica/slr/fx3super2000/fx3super2000.html.
Other differences: flash ready display in viewfinder and a built-in
hand grip.

Later, a version of the FX-3 called FX-7 was marketed. It is a chrome
body which was sold in a set with two DSB lenses and a hardbag.

3.2.3.  FX-1, FX-2

Predecessors to the FX-3 were the FX-1 and the FX-2, which had an all-
metal construction. The FX-3 is mostly plastic.

The FX-2 has a fully mechanical shutter, needle-match metering,
horizontal cloth shutter (flash sync at 1/60), and DOF preview button
(missing from FX-3!). I'm not sure about split-image focusing. The
FX-1 is like FX-2, but it has an electronic shutter, so there is an
aperture priority AE mode in addition to manual. I've heard about a
battery problem with the FX-1 that would influence metering, but no
confirmations yet (with fresh batteries or after prolongued off-time,
the battery output voltage was reported to be too high).


3.2.4.  FX-103 Program

The FX-103 Program was an addition to the FX series after the Contax
159MM had been released. More or less identical to the FX-D, it
featured TTL flash control and two program modes (a standard mode and
a high speed mode). Contrary to the 159MM, though, it did not made
special use of the MM lenses, which have special light aperture blades
made to be controlled by camera electronics. The Yashica Program
bodies (up to the current 109MP) are all the same in this respect and
therefore can use all Yashica and Zeiss lenses in program mode.


3.2.5.  FX-D, FX-70

Some other bodies that were mentioned, more information on them is
welcome.



3.3.  107MP, 108MP, 109MP

The 109MP is a body with a built-in motorwinder. As full details can
be found on Yashica's website under
http://www.yashica.com/yashica/slr/109multi/109multi.html, I won't
repeat them here (as long as above link stays intact).

The next paragraphs are verbatim copies of mails I received on these
bodies. I'll edit them when I have time...

Marcus Hanke: Unfortunately the next Yashica SLR I have more detailed
informations about is the 109 Multi Program: Its aperture-priority
mode ranges from 16-1/2000 sec., flash sync 1/90, manual 1-1/2000
(strange, isn't it: the 1/1000 sec- FX-D had a flash sync faster than
the 1/2000-109!); again standard and HP-program mode (see FX-103); DX-
coding (no manual override possible); no real exposure compensation
(only a +1.5-button), AE-lock; viewfinder information: Only four LED-
symbols for over/under and correct exposure, flash; integrated winder
(1.3fps) with motorized film rewinding (the previous F-108 had manual
rewind), back interchangeable for databack.

Andrew: I now know something of that Yashica TR-7000 I mentioned to
you before...   In desperation I called Yashica in New Jersey and
asked.  The Camera is in fact the European version of the FX-107, and
it is very similiar to the Yashica FX-109MP.  Based upon my
conversation with Yashica about the only difference I could determine
is that it has a NON-metered Manual mode in addition to the Program
mode. The lack of a manual light meter is in fact probably the reason
for it's early demise and subsequent replacement by the FX-109MP.
When you get around to upgrading the FAQ you may want to include some
of this info in it.  I will also send off a slightly edited version
this E-mail to your Digest so others can read it.
Bob: I have a Yashica TR7000 and as far as I can tell, it's the same
camera as the MP107, and I may want to sell it (new condition) as I
don't use it.  Mine came with a 50mm f2.0 lens.

The button near the shutter release is the self timer switch.  The
camera has three program modes (normal, slow, and high speed) as well
as manual mode.  In the manual mode, there is no metering.  The button
on the side of the lens mount is for back light compensation.  The
lens mount is metal while a lot of the body is plastic.

It's very similar to the MP109, but the film rewind is manual instead
of motorized.  A manual is available from John Craig.

Andrew: Copied and Edited From the Yashica 1996 Catalogue

108 Multi-Program, Motor-Driven SLR, Multi-mode LED display - DX film
setting (ISO 25-3200) Normal program mode, high speed program mode,
aperture priority AE mode, manual exposure mode, manual flash mode CPU
controlled timing precision with a maximum 1/2000 sec. shutter speed.
Built-in auto-winding with auto load/automatic film advancing to the
first frame.  Exposure compensation for back-fit subjects.

109 Multi-Program, Motor-Driven SLR, Multi-mode LED display - DX film
setting (ISO 25-3200) Normal program mode, high speed program mode,
aperture priority AE mode, manual exposure mode, manual flash mode
Automatic film rewind CPU controlled timing precision with a maximum
1/2000 sec. shutter speed.  Built-in auto- winding with auto
load/automatic film advancing to the first frame Exposure compensation
for back-lit subjects.

Lenses Currently Available (As of 1996)

MC      75- 200mm Macro
MC      28-80mm
MC      35-70mm
ML       50mm 1.9 Lens
FX Series Case
Case for 108 & 107
Case for 109
CS-15 Electronic Flash,
CS-140 Flash
CS-220 Auto Flash



Neal Zondlo: I have a Yashica 108MP, and can tell you that there is
really only 1 difference as far as I can tell between the 108MP I have
and the description of the 109MP on the Yashica website. Whereas the
109MP has motorized film rewind, the 108MP has a crank for manual film
rewind. Everything else (1/90 flash sync, manual 1 - 1/2000 s
exposure, +1.5 EV backlight compensation, auto 16s - 1/2000 s
exposure, bulb, 1/90, aperture-priority, program and high-speed
program exposure modes, motorized film advance, hot shoe, electronic
cable release attachment, auto DX sensing ISO 25-3200 in full stop
increments, 10s self-timer, TTL metering light display) seems
identical between their description of the MP109 and the reality of my
MP108.


3.4.  Dental Eye

For some reason, Yashica has a system consisting of what looks like a
modified 109MP body, a macro lens and a ring flash especially for
medical use. It's horrendously expensive, like everything made for
dentists. The current version is documented on Yashica's website under

http://www.yashica.com/yashica/dental.

  4.  What lenses are available?

Yashica shares its mount with Contax, which means that you can use
Contax Zeiss T* lenses, which are rated most of the time somewhere
between Nikon and Leica (or above Leica). Furthermore, most
aftermarket brands support the Y/C mount so you can add Tamron,
Tokina, Vivitar and Sigma lenses to your system. I've seen lots of
lenses by Sun, a now-gone aftermarket producer; my Sun 135/2.5MC seems
to perform well. The Big Four aftermarket brands are in various states
of ending their MF offerings, inform for yourself.

This FAQ will only discuss Yashica lenses.


4.1.  What's the difference between Yashica DSB and Yashica ML lenses?

Yashica DSB lenses are single coated, ML lenses are multi coated (ML
stands for Multi Layer). As usual, a marketing department messed
things thoroughly up by introducing another designator, MC for Multi
Coated, for later multi coated lenses. Contrary to the quality jump
from DSB to ML, there is no distinguishable quality difference between
ML and MC lenses. For quite some time, Yashica offered both DSB and ML
lenses; later on, DSB lenses were sold in package deals with bodies
(like the FX-D Quartz SE and the FX-7).


4.2.  How about YUS lenses?

YUS stands for Yashica US. This "brand" is now gone, and from
comparisons it seems that they were the same as the DSB lenses sold
elsewhere.


4.3.  Known Yashica lenses.

The following is a list of lenses we know off. If I have performance
data, I'll give them a note, ranging from 1 (``this really is a Sigma
lens in disguise'') to 3 (``average Yashica stuff'') to 5 (``why
didn't they stamp Carl Zeiss T* on this one?''). Completely
subjective, of course, give feedback if you disagree and give notes
where I didn't do it. Don't forget that this notes are not necessarily
my own opinion - a lot of it is based on hearsay (especially when I
don't own the lenses myself :-)).

In order to save space, I skimped on the table headers. Here is an
explanation:

  Desc
     Description: focal length/largest aperture/coating.

  L-G
     Lenses/groups.

  Amin
     Smallest aperture.

  Dmin
     Shortest focusing distance (m).

  Filt
     Filter thread diameter (mm).

  Size
     Phyiscal size: diameter x length.


  Wght
     Weight (g).

  Q  Subjective quality assessment.

  Cmt
     Comments, numbers refer to list below table.

Note that Yashica designates their stuff as ``ML 2,0/50'', whereas I
use ``50/2,0ML''. I think this makes it easier to quickly find a lens
you are looking for.



4.4.  Wide-angle


Desc          L-G      Amin     Dmin     Filt     Size          Wght     Q     Cmt
15/2.8ML      10/7       16      0.3        -     75x70.5        445     4     1
21/3.5ML      12/8       16      0.3       72     75x54          370     4     2
24/2.8ML      9/8        16      0.3       62     65x48.5        285     4
28/2.8DSB     6/6        16      0.3       52     61x42.5        240     2
28/2.8YUS     ?          22     0.35       55     63.5x44        260
28/2.8ML      7/6        16      0.3       52     61.5x41.5      250           3
35/2.8ML      6/5        16      0.3       52     61.5x41.5      230




1. Fisheye lens with 170 degrees angle of view. Built-in filters
  (skylight, yellow, orange). Good quality.

2. Renowned for its quality.

3. Still available.


4.5.  Normal


Desc          L-G     Amin     Dmin     Filt     Size        Wght     Q     Cmt
50/1.9DSB     6/4       16      0.5       52     62x40        215
50/2.0ML      6/4       16      0.5       52     61x32        140     3     1
50/1.9ML      6/5       16      0.5       52     61x32        145           4
50/1.7ML      6/5       16      0.5       52     61.5x40      240     4     2
50/1.4ML      7/6       16      0.5       52     61.5x42      295     ?     3
55/2.0DSB     6/4       16      0.5       52     63x39.5      200
55/1.2ML      7/6       16      0.5       55     66.5x50      410




1. I have one to go with my FX-3, which makes up for a very nice and
  lightweight system. I use it near swimming pools, on the beach, and
  other places where I don't want to lug around (and put at risk) my
  ``real'' gear.

2. I had to take it apart in order to clean the aperture blades (the
  blades stuck because some grease had gotten onto them).  This
  inside look left me with a good impression of the lens innards - I
  couldn't discover any significant parts in plastic, everything was
  metal and looked well-built. I can't complain about its sharpness,
  I think it is a very fine lens.

3. Some say tests shown much worse performance than the Zeiss 50/1.4,
  others say it was almost as good. In any case, this is quite an
  expensive piece of glass, almost as expensive as the Zeiss version
  - I'd opt for the latter if I was going to spend a lot of money on
  a 50mm...

4. Still available.


4.6.  Moderate telephoto

A warning about telephotos: Yashica came with better designs for the
135, 200 and 300 lenses (less weight, more compact, better optical
quality) relatively quick after the introduction of the original
lenses. As long as both variants were available, the newer ones were
marked with a C (for compact). However, as soon as the old lenses were
sold out, they dropped the C. Therefore, when buying a telephoto
without the C, you either have a very old one or a recent one (and you
really want the latter). The best advise is to use this list and check
the measurements when buying second-hand telephotos.


Desc          L-G     Amin     Dmin     Filt     Size          Wght     Q     Cmt
135/2.8DSB    5/4       22      1.8       55     64x72          420     2
135/2.8ML     5/4       22      1.5       55     65.5x92.5      540           1
135/2.8MLC    5/4       22      1.5       52     63x75          420           2




1. Old version.

2. New compact version.


4.7.  Telephoto

See the warning about design enhancements in the previous section.


Desc          L-G     Amin     Dmin     Filt     Size         Wght     Q     Cmt
200/4.0ML     5/4       22      2.5       55     62x150        615           1
200/4.0MLC    5/4       22      2.5       58     64x113.5      535     4     2,3
300/5.6ML     5/4       22      4.5        ?     65x210        880           1,4
300/5.6MLC    6/3       22      4.5       58     66x148        645     4     2,5
500/8.0       6/5        -        4        -     88x120.5      865           1,4,6,7,8
500/8.0ML     8/6        -      2.5        -     78x87.5       470           2,5,6,7,9
1000/11.0     6/5        -        8        -     118x220      2330           4,6,8,10




1. Old version.

2. New compact version.

3. A nice piece of glass. It's not very big, it feels rugged, and I
  think the lens is quite sharp. I've made great hand-held shots
  wide-open, which look tack sharp on Delta100 and 8x10 prints and
  show a very pleasing ``bokeh'' (bokeh is how the out-of-focus stuff
  looks like, in short). As usual, it is dead cheap. I love it.

4. Tripod collar.

5. Lacks tripod collar.

6. Mirror reflex.

7. Slide-in filters.

8. Single coated.

9. Still available.

10.
  Filters built-in in revolver grip.


4.8.  Macro


Desc          L-G     Amin     Dmin     Filt     Size          Wght     Q     Cmt
55/4.0ML      4/3       22     0.25       52     61.5x55        305           1
55/2.8ML      6/4       22     0.25       52     61.5x56.5      305     4     1,2
100/3.5ML     6/4       22     0.44       55     67x77          430     4     3
100/4.0ML     5/3       22     0.147    35.5     94.5x155.5    1000           4
100/4.0MLB    5/3       32        ?       52     60x32          190           4




1. Ratio 1:2, with 27mm extension tube 1:1.

2. Better correction for infinity than the f/4.0 version.

3. Ratio 1:2, with 27+20mm extension tube 1:1. Hard-to-find, very good
  quality lens.

4. This is the ``Medical'' macro (now called ``Dental Eye''). In
  current versions, it has been permanently integrated with the body
  but older versions had a standard Y/C coupling. It has a built-in
  ringflash (GN 5.6m) and a composing lamp. Maximal focusing distance
  1.5m. Flash and aperture are coupled to the repro ratio which is
  1:1 with 2:1 with an extra add-on lens. A number of options are
  available, like a foot switch, a mains adapter and a reflector set.

5. ``Bellows''. Can only used with bellows, ratio 1.4:1.


4.9.  Zoom


Desc                 L-G      Amin     Dmin     Filt     Size          Wght     Q     Cmt
28-80/3.9-4.9MC      13/9       22      0.5       58     75x87.5        550           1,6,7
28-50/3.5ML          10/8       22        1       72     75x74.5        475           2
35-70/3.5ML          8/8        22        1       62     69x79          475           1
35-70/4.0ML          7/7        22      0.6       55     67x71          390           2
35-70/3.5-4.5MC      11/8       22      0.5       58     69.5x63.5      330           1,5
35-105/3.5-4.5ML     15/11      22      1.5       55     65x84.5        470           1
35-105/3.8-4.8DSB    15/14      22      1.4       55     64.5x82.5      460           9
38-90/3.5DSB         12/11      22      1.5       67     70x110.5       685           1,3
42-75/3.5-4.5ML      7/7        22      1.2       55     61x57          315     2     1,4
70-210/4.0DSB        14/10      22      2.5       58     65x165         690           2
75-150/4.0ML         12/9       22      1.5       52     63.5x115.5     485           1
70-210/4.5ML         12/9       22      1.5       55     65x128.5       525     4     5
75-200/4.5MC         13/9       22      1.2       55     73x79          420           1,6,7
80-200/4.0ML         12/9       22      1.9       55     65x133         610     4     1
100-300/5.6ML        13/10      32      1.5       58     68.5x192.5     850     4     1




1. 1-ring zoom.

2. 2-ring zoom.

3. Ratio 1:4 in macro setting with a minimal focusing distance of
  0.3m.

4. Mostly sold as a set (FX-D Zoom, FX-7 Zoom).

5. Successor of the 80-200/4.0 zoom. According to Fotomagazin almost
  as good as the Zeiss 70-210/3.5. A very compact zoom with macro
  setting.  Ratio 1:4 in macro setting with a minimal focusing
  distance of 1.1m.

6. Currently available.

7. Ratio 1:4 in macro setting

8. Ratio 1:4.7 in macro setting.

9. Minimum distance 0.7 in macro setting.

5. And what about accessories?

To be setup. Could probably mention the components of the Yashica
Dental system, remote control cords, flashes, teleconverters,
extension rings, etcetera. Any information is welcome.

Macro extension rings
I recently acquired a set of macro extension rings, 13mm, 20mm
and 27mm for around US$55. Still have to see how my normal
primes perform with them. They look well-built and that's all
there is to say about extension rings.

FR Winder
Winder that fits all FR bodies. Does 2 frames per second, has a
couple of connectors (one looks like an external power connector
and one like a remote control connector), and eats 6 AA
batteries. A big disadvantage is that your tripod screw
location moves way left (as usual with these battery packs). If
2fps is too slow for you, go shop for the Contax RTS motordrive.

With the winder, your FR-I will weigh 1090g (1340g with a
50/1.7) and gets a serious, professional look (people with Nikon
F50's and an aftermarket zoom will feel very uneasy with you in
the neighbourhood ;-)). It saved me from abandoning the FR-I
because I'm a left-eye photographer and thus can't operate the
film wind lever and keep composing at the same time. I still
should train myself to switch to the right eye, though.

--
Cees de Groot http://www.cdegroot.com <cg@cdegroot.com>
Yashica/Contax SLR List: http://www.cdegroot.com/photo/yashica
GnuPG 1024D/E0989E8B 0016 F679 F38D 5946 4ECD 1986 F303 937F E098 9E8B

Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer:

cg@evrl.xs4all.nl (Cees de Groot)

In Soviet Russia...

2010-09-02T05:25:00.001-07:00

In Soviet Russia, Bokeh renders you!

Now, I have to stop right here and put out the cavaet...

I HAVE NOT USED THIS LENS, SO MY EXPERIENCE WITH IT IS NON-EXISTENT. I AM ONLY RELAYING RESEARCH AND OPINION ON THE QUALITY OF THIS LENS AND THIS IS IN NO WAY AN ENDORSEMENT FOR EVERYONE TO GO OUT AND BUY THIS LENS ASAP, BECAUSE THIS LENS IS A COLD-WAR-ERA SOVIET-DESIGNED MANUAL FOCUS AND I DO NOT RECOMMEND ACQUIRING THIS LENS IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH ALTERNATIVE GLASS AND LENS MOUNT CONVERSION - YOU TAKE THIS KNOWLEDGE AWAY AT YOUR OWN RISK - USING CAMERA LENSES NOT DESIGNED FOR YOUR SYSTEM OF CHOICE POSSIBLY AND MORE LIKELY, CAN DAMAGE YOUR CAMERA AND IT'S MIRROR BOX ASSEMBLY - AND POSSIBLY D WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY.

In all seriousness, the above lens is the Helios 44-2. At least, I think it's the 44-2. For the sake of arguement, I'm going to say it is and leave it at that. The reason for this is, there are several versions of the Helios 44, which for some reason is actually a 58mm lens, not a 44mm as the name would lead you to believe. Further to this, the 2 refers to two different things - one, being that it is the 2nd version, and the other being that it's to designate it's max F/stop (2.0) - I don't know which to believe, given that it makes more sense that it should be 44-2.0, I dunno... It's russian, they do things backwards and round off numbers. That's why everyone knows Gagarin and not the poor guy that died in the rocket launched before him...

What I do know for sure is that this lens is a fairly old design and that it's actually a copy of the Carl Zeiss Biotar design and that it was heavily mass produced, to the point that they are quite possibly the cheapest lens available on the 2nd hand market (aka FLEabay). This is significant as the Biotar, which is a much more expensive lens, incorporates a doubled gaussian optic lens combination. The two lenses, at the heart of the design, are what make the Biotar and Helios lenses so special. While Gaussian optics are not exactly revolutionary now, but I'm sure that they once were. If anything, their results are legendary as it allows a lens to render very smooth background blurring, aka Bokeh. And for what it's worth, Canon's 50mm 1.8 uses a very similar lens formulae, incorporating Gaussian optics - that's why the nifty-fifty is such a great lens in it's own right.

Now, out there in the wilds of the interwebs, there are a few pages that talk about the 44-2. I'm going to do my best to cut through the crap and give you the straight goods. First up... Specs!

Lens Construction = 6 elements in 4 groups (w/ 1 gaussian doublet)
Focal Length = 58mm
Filter D = 49mm [although younger copies are 52mm]
Max F/stop = 2.0
Min F/stop = 16.0
Angle of view = 40°
Minimum focus = 0.5m (~18cm)
Diaphragm = Manual/Preset
Field of View = ~93mm [on 35mm]*

Other info
Most copies are single coated and the unit weighs in at a rather svelte 220g.
In the right hands, this lens renders awesomeness in either Av or M.

Most copies, provided that they are in good working order, are quite sharp at all apertures - some opinions are that it is adequate to fair at 2.0, and best at 5.6 or 8.0. In the same vein, CA is prominent in the 2.0-2.8 range, edging towards green/turquoise - though, once again, this is what has been discussed in opinion and may not affect all copies.

Examples of the amaziness of this lens:
Manual Focus Forums
Fred Miranda Alt Glass forum

Why does this all concern me? Well, for starters - the 44-2 is a great MF lens, that is much cheaper than anything else really. 50mm-range lenses are good starting points for most photographers and when it comes to learning how to shoot, it's the 50mm that should be in every kit. Because of its creaminess, it is given to fantastic shots at most apertures. The only downside is the loss of a 1/3stop of light, when compared to Canon's 1.8 plastic fantastic.

Suffice to say, if I didn't already have the Canon or the 58mm Rokkor, I'd be all over this guy like a papparazzi on a starlet's case.

2010-06-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

Testing of new interface...

Blog title

2010-06-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

For a while now, I have had this feeling that my blog isn't well-named given my tendency to talk about cameras and photography more than say... music.

I think I might just rebrand myself here. After all, my domain has nothing to do with the blog name.

Further to this is my total lack of info on myself. Not that any of you really cares. The quick details. I'm a 30year old amateur photographer, that has been doing the dSLR thing for 3 years now, and digital photography thing for close to ten years. In those ten years, a lot of crappy point and shoots passed through my hands. And quite a few of which have taught me that name-brand doesn't me shite. (Agfa, Sony, Kodak, Panasonic, Samsung, etc...) but I digress. I'm from Canada, residing in Toronto, Ontario. Originally I am from Montreal, Quebec - however that was so long ago that, all i can say is that I was born there and that the Habs are the best team in the NHL.

I grew up in the suburbs of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but spent many summers in what is perhaps the most picturesque part of Ontario - Georgian Bay (Midland and the 30,000 islands specifically). Ironically, having grown up, surrounded by gorgeous panoramas that were the basis of the Group of Seven's work, Landscape photography has appeal for me.

I can go on, but i won't. Because the truth is... I came here to talk about the Canon 430EX. I will be acquiring one, so, as a result, I'll be doing a quick write-up about it now, and a more detailed summary later.

First things first - why the 430? because I was able to score one in amazing shape for a decent price. Sure, I could've spent a few more $ and got an EXII version, but to be honest, this will be the first good flash I will be able to work with. Not to say that the others I've used suck... it's just that anything good that was strapped on to my camera was only on temporarily, and the rest have been iffy at best... or restricted to RF triggering.

Okay... Secondly. What's special about the 430EX? well... I'm not sure. Except that it does have High Speed Sync (HSS) hence my interest in it, as that's an area of strobing that I want to get into eventually.

Now... the downsides to the 430 (version 1). What's the difference between the v1 and v2? Visually/physically, virtually none.

However, the guts are what matter, right? Well, the EXII has a better IBGT system, which allows for quicker power recycling* and it is silent. Thus making the EX1 slower and noisy, apparently. The EX1 has the standard lock-ring that pretty much all flashes have [except the 430EXII and 580EXii] and unfortunately, it has a plastic foot. While both have slave modes, the first version has a switch for it, and other features can be controlled either on flash or through the in-camera menu (this will be fun to play with). Lastly, there are supposedly some custom features in both versions. I've only read that there's only 6 of them in the v1, but no word on the v2. I'd like to know what the difference between them is, but being a newcomer to a Canon-made dedicated flash with brains.

* - the recycling time of the V2 over the V1 is said to be 20% faster. Yet, the V1 is said to be 40% faster than it's predecessor, the 420EX - so, i really take that sort of crap with a grain of salt. The reality is, with standard (alkaline) AA's, the 430 should recycle in less than 4 seconds. But as all good photographers know - you don't use Alkalines, you use NiMHs! Recycling with those is reported at 2s, after full-power flash, and since most users rarely use full-power, that 2sec recycle is immaterial.
That should give you something to think about.

For a more fleshed out run-down and completely objective review, please visit this site: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-430EX-Speedlite-Flash-Review.aspx

NEW(ish) LENS REVIEW.

2010-05-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hello once again, you awesomely random readers. Okay, so I lied... twice. It hasn't been a month and a half and this is not a new lens review. it's actually a used lens review, and technically speaking, vintage lens review. However, these lenses are not new to me, as i have had them for 2-3 months now. So, new post, new topic... sort of. But first, a little bit of a foreword.

This post was originally composed about a week ago, but I never got around to finalizing and publishing it. Suffice to say, we are here now, ready to post. So, the following paragraphs will seem out of place after reading this and the previous paragraph. Confused? yes? well... shake it off an read on.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Now, topics aren't exactly difficult to come by when it comes to writing up stuff about photography, especially when it comes to non-review, stream-of-conscious type stuff. I'll be honest in saying that I do have this pretty cool write-up that i've been pecking at for a while now. It's one of those type deals that probably should end up on a bigger website. I won't give away the details right yet, but it's more or less a list of what one can learn from. I'm keeping that vague as possible, so as to ensure my creative originality here. ;)

Suffice to say, I did mention that I have a few items that I haven't talked about just yet. They are:
1) Minolta Rokkor 58mm F1.4 - Jim Buchanan EOS-converted
2) SMC Takumar 150/4 (Pentax m42 mount)

First off - the Rokkor.
I grew up occasionally using my dad's Minolta (now mine) and one thing that's for sure, one of the best lenses my dad had was a Prime Rokkor. I'm unsure of what he did with that lens, however he did have a Rokkor Zoom lens before he stopped shooting film. That lens, is okay, i guess. But, having experienced the beauty of a Rokkor prime in days gone by, and seeing examples across the web in recent times; I know I had to get one for myself.

Luck would have it that I ended up finding a EOS-converted example on eBay. It didn't cost me a whole lot, but then again, the 1.4 doesn't fetch much these days. It's bigger brother, the 1.2 still commands a hefty price tag of $200+. (the 1.4 can be had for anywhere between $50 and 150, depending on condition and vehicle of sale).

MC Rokkor-PF	F/Length	max aperture	Element Formulae	Weight	min focus	Original Mount
58mm F/1.4	58mm	F/1.4	6 in 5 groups	280	2ft (.6m)	Minolta SR
	Filter	min aperture	Angle of view	Size	Bokeh	Current Mount
	55mm	f/16.0	41°	42L x 63w	Creamy	EOS

	PROS	great contrast		CONS	prone to flare
		great color			mirror-clearance issues on 5D
		as sharp as Rokkor 58/1.2			not close-focusing

I haven't much bad to say about this lens, except that it cannot be fully used on the 5D without a little mirror-shaving. I am loathe to do such a thing to my baby, but it does work so long as i keep the focus close, and the aperture wide. On a Rebel body, this lens kicks a lot of ass. I mean it. I suppose that's thanks to the more forgiving mirror clearance and rebel crop factor.

While I stated that the lens is prone to flare, it's actually not bad. It renders flare pretty much the same as bokeh: nice and creamy. Additionally, it's not overly difficult to control the flare with this lens either. I find it rather nice and predictable.

Bench(mark) test:

Now, where this lens becomes a lot of fun is when it's put on extension tubes, and use it as an almost-macro lens. This incidently enough, allows me to get around the mirror-clearance issue on the 5D. In this example, you can see how the bokeh renders extremely gradually, yet sharpness is still there in nice amounts. (editor's note: I don't have the steadiest of hands, so there is some motion blur)

Another bokeh example:

While I haven't used the lens in a while, I do love it and wish to use it more. With the flowers in bloom, I think I will. ;)

So... final conclusion: All the reports are true - this is a great lens. It's not exactly underrated, but it's abilities are definitely downplayed for sure.

For more info on Rokkors... go here

SMC TAKUMAR 150/4 (M42)

I picked up this lens on eBay as well, only because 1) it's a SMC Takumar and 2) It fits nicely within my existing zoom ranges, thus allowing me to have a small amount of redundancy between my Rebel and 5D. I say this, with respect to crop factor and such. If i put the SMC Takumar on the rebel, and use the Contax Zeiss on the 5D, I effectively have 2 cameras with the same field of view. (editor's note: crop factor does NOT modify focal length, only field width).

SMC Takumar	F/Length	max aperture	Element Formulae	Weight	min focus	Original Mount
150mm F/4.0	150mm	F/4.0	5 in 5groups	325g	6ft (2m)	M42
	Filter	min aperture	Angle of view	Size	Bokeh	Current Mount
	49mm	f/22.0	17°	95L x 65w	chunky/creamy	m42-EOS adapter


	PROS	excellent contrast		CONS	SLOW!!
		good color			aperture ring is narrow
		m42 mount			strange light fall-off
		hood included

I probably should assume that because of the lenses structure and size, a faster aperture would be impossible as the mechanics would be impossible. Suffice to say, if I was ever to come across a 150mm with an aperture wider that F/4.0, I would jump all over it like a fat kid on a Smartie. (no offence to fat kids... or Smarties). This is not because I find the lens to be deplorably slow, but rather that if faster were possible, I'd take faster, but keep this focal length. It's a great focal length, as a walk-around prime telephoto.

It was with this lens that I was able to capture one of my more particular favourite "wildlife" shots.

I've wanted to shoot swans in the past, but never been able to get close enough to one for a good shot. I lucked out a few weeks ago, as one was swimming underneath a bridge I crossed over.

This isn't the best example of what this lens can do, but it's a fair example. Notice the colour on the Swan's head. See it?

Well, how about the sky in this picture?

Yeah, yeah... big deal. YES, IT IS A BIG DEAL! Why? because I for the life of me, cannot shoot pictures with blue sky without the sky rendering into some bizarre off-white colour. This is no real thanks to AWB, which I rely on probably too much. I hate setting white balance and well... this lens does away with the need to do so very nicely.

Which brings me to color rendition - If anything is true, it's this. No one can ever say anything bad about the colour rendition of a SMC Takumar. I don't know what these lens were in terms of cost when they were new and original, but dollar for dollar in the second hand lens market, Takumar's are the best out there in terms of value. And as far as the 150mm goes... it's no slouch and adheres well to the high praise that all Takumar's get.

Verdict: I love this lens for what it is; A cheap, well-constructed, miniature workhorse. It renders beautifully all sorts of colours and it's got that awesome vintage factor. You know... that factor where lenses had knurled metallic focusing grips? Yeah... that. The Rokkor has it too, but because this badboy is a 150mm, it has a significantly longer body, which provides and equally lengthy metal grip.

Terrible...

2010-05-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am terrible at updating this space. Despite advice from Andrew at Acts of Minor Treason (which he follows brilliantly)

Now, I like to post photographic-related stuff here, and having none to report... other than having picked up a Rokkor 58 1.4 and SMC Takumar 150/4 for myself (both are awesome btw, I feel that I should at least share SOMETHING.

Here goes...

HENRY'S SPRING 2010 PHOTO SHOW

Dates and Times

The 2010 Photographic, Video & Digital Imaging Show opens on Friday, May 14th, 2010 and runs until Sunday, May 16th, 2010 at the International Centre in Mississauga. For directions click here.
Hours

Friday, May 14: 10am - 7pm
Saturday, May 15: 10am - 7pm
Sunday, May 16: 11am - 5pm

We look forward to seeing you there!

Tickets

Tickets for admission to the 2010 Spring Photographic, Video & Digital Imaging Show can be purchased at the door at the time of entry.

Admission prices are as follows:

Adults: $15.00
Children under 12: Free!

One time admission is valid for entry to the Show all weekend!
Bring your camera along for the fun!

Please note you will be asked to register your equipment before entering the Show.

This first part makes me laugh.
By TTC? really?

Small Tip: take a cab.
I've had to make the trip to the airport area before by Transit and it's NOT fun. Actually, I'll be blunt and say it flat-out. IT SUCKS.

Travel Directions
By Public Transit

Copies of the TTC, GO Train and Mississauga Transit schedules can be found in the Information Display Case located in the Hall 1 Main Lobby, next to the Security Desk. For additional information, please click on the above links or visit the Directions & Parking section of this website.

Directions by Car

Travelling East on Highway 401

* Take Hwy. 401 or QEW to Hwy. 427 North.
* Follow Hwy. 427 North and exit at Dixon Road.
* Turn left at the traffic lights at Dixon Road.
* Follow Dixon Road (which becomes Airport Road) for approximately 4 kilometres.
* The International Centre will be located on your right.

Highway 407

* Take Hwy. 407 and exit at Airport Road.
* Turn south at the traffic lights at Airport Road.
* Follow Airport Road for approximately 5 kilometres.
* The International Centre will be located on your left.

Parking Lot

All main entrances have a designated number of signed parking spaces in close proximity to the entrance area(s). Ramp curb cuts are available at all main entrances for your convenience.
Entrances with Wheelchair Accessibility

All main entrances are equipped with power-operated doors. All lobby entrances have either a flat surface and/or a wheelchair ramp for your convenience.

Having given this information, i am now going to go into bloghiding once again. See you in... another month and a half.

Thanks for reading!

editor's note: should i post sooner than that, then... i was lying the whole time. :P
Seriously, I need to write more. Maybe I should make a habbit of encorporating photo-walks into journal entries. Hmmm...

Idiom...

2010-03-31T17:14:00.000-07:00

"No Questions Asked"

This phrase amuses me to a small degree. Companies that adopt this policy on returns, rock. Companies that don't, suck. And there are some companies out there that should be in the middle. "Few Questions Asked"

Like... Was it damaged in the Box? Did the product fail within first few uses? Did it not meet your requirements? Did it fail to get you off? Did it succeed at getting you herpes? and so on, and so on.

Seriously though... When an item sucks, and you want to bring it back and get a refund/exchange, I think you should be able to state exactly why you are bringing it back. "It sucked harder than "

Seriously. I would love that, just so i could do something like... Go to HMV and say "This Creed CD sucks". But I'd do that to hear the clerk say "yeah? that would be because Creed sucks" or some other sarcastic line.

But enough about Creed... Speaking of Jesus Rock... This weekend is Zombie Christ day. Be sure to make brains for brunch! (substitute caviar [no... not headcheese, that IS brains] and no one will be the wiser)

And Update... and CIAS

2010-03-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

Toronto is a funny place. There is a... There are entire cultures of people that are one of the following: anti-car and/or anti-bike and/or anti-TTC. And yet, when mid-winter arrives, we go into full-blown trade-show mode. When February rolls around, one of the biggest events in Toronto is held... The Canadian International Auto Show [fka The Toronto Car Show] that draws in thousands hoping to get a look at the next hottest things on the road, and maybe to literally kick a few tires - although, Mini prefers you screech them.

Ironic however, is how there is a nice gap between the Car show and the Annual Bike Show (This weekend... right now... as I type this... and I'm 150km away, in the suburb of Cheektowaga, New York - Far from home, and further from my beloved bicycle. At least, it feels like that cause I hate riding when its cold

Suffice to say, I went to the car show, because A) it was something to do B) I'm looking for a new car and C) it was chance to pull the camera out and fire off a few hundred shots. Of those... I have published 70 to Flickr.

Suffice to say, I walked away from the auto show, with a few pamphlets and a couple of shopping bags - 2 red (kinda crappy) Toyota bags and one fricken sweet graphic Kia bag with the Forte on one side and the Borrego on the other. Kia is really making a push to convert people and honestly, right now, bang for the buck, they offer the best stuff on the road. The bonus is... their cars stop and go when they're supposed to! To be honest... I've been loving my Toyota for the last 4 years, but I am far from inspired when it comes to getting into a new one. Recalls aside, Toyota has mismanaged and craptacularized their cars in the last few years. Most manufacturers have.

Things as simple as making Automatic transmissions and all power group (doors, windows, mirrors) standard in base models. Making more sensible engine options available across the trim... wait, no... scratch that. Trim lines are BS. They shouldn't exist, especially if theres any bit of overlap between one model to the next. A Fully Loaded Compact, should not be the same or more expensive than the Midsize's second-from-base-model. That's just complete bullshit and is just one reason why people aren't interested in certain trims. When you sell 20,000 base models, 10,000 "luxury" models and <5,000 "sport" models.

Anyhow... I had more to say, but Blogspot decided to eat half my entry/rant and messed up the order of my photos. So, suffice to say.... %^&$ it... here's some pics

I would love to have this one... that's for sure. Fully electric roadster that has a top speed 200+ and range of 250km? Hell Yeah.

Yeah... this one too.

Scions are cool too... especially when they're modded up (aren't they all)

The classic car of my dreams... one day... one day...

Autobots... Show Off!

Boing!

That's all for now... I'll probably update again in another 2months! See you then!

Updates

2010-02-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well... as much as I would like to update this more often, I've been busy lately.

Truth be told, the rapid-fire postings that I did in the tail-end of the last year were partly in thanks to a lack of employment. I had time to think things over and write up a few posts.

Sadly, I've been drafting 2 different posts on my laptop for the last month or so, but haven't written enough in either case to allow me to bother with posting. One is a correction to a previous post which I feel that I need a little help with completing properly and the other is a bit of a run-down/top-10 list of sites that I feel need to be made more public... at least, in top-10 list form. All of them, of course, being Photographer's sites.

Nonetheless, I think I may need to heed the advice of a former colleague and develop a schedule for myself. Every monday... write a post. Actually, his advice was every wednesday...but even he abandoned that in favour of a higher frequency, which to my chagrin is something I cannot do, but works fantastically for him. He discusses near-political and transit-based matters, which provide a lot of fodder for him. Give him a read at www.actsofminortreason.com.
[p.s his blog's name is meant to be ironic, but his content is not]

Having said that... I think I'm done for this post. I've said my piece (or is it Peace?)

See you losers in another 2 months. :P :)

Lightroom

2009-12-16T21:52:00.000-08:00

I'll make this brief. Lightroom kicks butt in workflow, but it sucks are not allowing me to do what I like to do in Photoshop. It's driving me bonkers trying to learn this program.

Only good came come of this, but when you're ripping your hair out, that's a hard one to believe.

Anyhow, I am slowly working on my next entry, however I'm coming up a bit short on the topic I want to talk about... we'll see how this works out. I set a goal of 10 entries, and i have 3 so far. (It's a 10 best list)

At least, for now, while i have a bit of writer's block, i can revisit my last post and fix the error that Storpotaten pointed out.

Stay Tuned

Cross-Platform... Adapting to old lenses...

2009-12-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

In the digital age, one cannot resist the ability to do more with their camera. I know I can't.

Having said that, there are many individuals out there that have taken to adapting or using adapters for their own lenses. In some rare cases, the camera's have been adapted to take older lenses. The advantage of adapting is that you are able to re-purpose your old film lenses. The disadvantage is, not all lenses are adaptable - but there's two sides to that unfortunate coin.

One is that, the register distance is quite different. The other is, the image circle is different.

Now, there are some cases, where a smaller lens can be adapted to a larger mount, but the results aren't always inspiring. This is the rarer of the two cases unfortunately. The more common problem in cross-platforming is the register issue.

Now, many mechanical adapters are out there, ready to allow you to mount Lens A to Camera B. For the most part, the more successful cross-platform matings belong to Canon, Nikon, Leica, Olympus and Pentax. I don't really know much about the other brands, but from what I understand, Nikon's and Olympus's are generally the other favourites. Leica cameras are often hideously expensive, so anyone wanting to adapt something to that kind of camera, most likely has the money to do so. :P

As for Canon... Canon has a register distance of 44mm, which is pretty short by modern standards, however, it is still longer than older standards. This means that, if you want to mount an older lens on a Canon, you're going to lose infinity focus. Alternatively, if you use a lens that's native to a longer register, you end up winning in infinity focus, but probably lose in minimum focus. No one really talks about that, so I'm only speculating on that. (stands to reason, right?)

Additionally to the shorter register, is the fact/possibility that older lenses will extend into the body, thus introducing the possibility of damaging your mirror.
There are examples of adapters for those kinds of lenses that maintain infinity focus and prevent mirror damage, but there is a cost... Image Quality. These kinds of adapters introduce (diopter) glass that acts as a weak teleconverter. In quite a few cases, I've read that 2/3rds of a stop are lost - sometimes more. No matter how good that lens is, losing that much is generally considered not worth the investment. Plus, the quality of said glass may be poor, so it ends up being money flushed down the toilet.

Bob Atkins created a nice little table with the different types of lenses out there that can and cannot be adapted to EOS mount. However, I felt that it fell short given the wide range of available lenses out there. (please note: i didn't say a wide range of awesome lenses)

CANON EOS	44.0mm	CAMERA WE'RE MOUNTING THESE LENSES TO
BODY	REGISTER	NOTE	BODY	REGISTER	NOTE
CONTAREX	46.0mm	ADAPTABLE	CANON SCREW (M39)	28.8mm	NAWM
LEICA R	47.0mm	ADAPTABLE	CANON FD	42.0mm	NAWM
NIKON	46.5mm	ADAPTABLE	FUJICA X	43.5mm	NAWM
OLYMPUS OM	45.5mm	ADAPTABLE	KONICA F	40.5mm	NAWM
PENTAX K	45.5mm	ADAPTABLE	MINOLTA MD	43.5mm	NAWM
PENTAX M42	45.5mm	ADAPTABLE	MINOLTA SR	43.5mm	NAWM
YASHICA YUS/DSB	45.5mm	ADAPTABLE	MIRANDA	41.5mm	NAWM
CONTAX/YASHICA	45.5mm	ADAPTABLE	KONICA HEXAR	28.0mm	UNKNOWN
CONTAX RTS	45.5mm	ADAPTABLE	LEICA SCREW (M39)	28.8mm	NAWM
PRAKTICA / HANIMEX	44.4mm	ADAPTABLE	OLYMPUS PEN F	28.95mm	NAWM
K-mount	45.46mm	ADAPTABLE	HASSELBLAD XPAN	34.3mm	UNKNOWN
M42 Screw	45.46mm	ADAPTABLE	CONTAX RF	34.85mm	UNKNOWN
Olympus OM	46.0mm	ADAPTABLE	NIKON RF	34.85mm	UNKNOWN
Arriflex	52.0mm	ADAPTABLE	CANON R/FL/FD	42.0mm	UNKNOWN
Mamiya 645	63.3mm	ADAPTABLE	PAXETTE	44.0mm	UNKNOWN
Pentax 645	70.8mm	ADAPTABLE	SONY ALPHA	44.6mm	PA
Kiev 60/Kiev Six	74.1mm	ADAPTABLE	Nikon F	46.5mm	ADAPTABLE
Hasselblad/Kiev88	82.1mm	ADAPTABLE	Contax N	48.0mm	UNKNOWN
T2 MOUNT	55.0mm	ADAPTABLE	Mamiya RZ	105mm	UNKNOWN
RICOH BAYONET	45.5mm	ADAPTABLE	Mamiya RB	112mm	UNKNOWN
PETRI BAYONET	45.5mm	ADAPTABLE

Legend:	NAWM	NEEDS ADAPTER WITH MULTIPLIER
	PA	POSSIBLY ADAPTABLE

Please note: the availability of adapters isn't exactly solid across the range. Some may need hunting.

If you're a lucky soul that has an older lens that has amazing optics, but is one of those listed as not having the ability to be adapted, don't despair. There are talented individuals out there that can modify the mount of your lens so you can continue using the lens on your dSLR. The more commonly modified/updated lenses tend to be Canon FD's, because there were many amazing lenses made back in the day.

Now... the Cavaet!

Some lenses, while they can be used with an adapter, they cannot be used on Full Frame cameras. They can only be used on crop cameras (EF-S mount [rebel series and xxD]). Always check to make sure that the lens in question is compatible in this way.

DIY Tilt-Shift

2009-12-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, first off... this post is not about how to make yourself your own Tilt-Shift. For lack of better words, this a commentary on how to make a tilt-shit lens. Seriously... It amazes me how many people out there, with a wealth of photographic knowledge can't get this simple concept right. Many confuse Selective Focus for Perspective Control - which, really annoys me.

This... is NOT a tilt-shift lens. (i'll explain below why)
Apologies to where ever these images are originally from. Actually, in this case, I don't apologize... a plunger? seriously?

This people... are Tilt-Shift Lenses. (Canon's 24L and 17L)

Apologies to where ever these images are originally from.
As you can plainly see, they have dials on them. Those are for adjusting the tilt and shift of the lens.

Tilting is when you alter the lens plane, by swinging the lens' axis away from being center and perpendicular to the film plane. Think of it as an Elephant's trunk. If the Elephant was to hold out it's snout perfectly straight - that would be a normal lens. If the elephant bends his snout upwards or downwards, it would be tilting it. Unfortunately, because of limitations imposed by the mechanicals, tilting is only in the up/down axis. (These lenses do allow you to rotate however) With Tilt-Shift lenses, you are given the ability to adjust the tilt by ±6.5°, as much or as little as you want, as well as as fine as you want. Each little tick mark is probably a quarter of a degree. Though, I must add, I'm unsure if this applies to all the TS-e's or just the 17mm.

Shifting is when you move the lens plane laterally to the film plane. Think of it as a sliding door on a Mini-van. When closed, the door is in it's normal alignment. But, if you open the door and slide it open, you are now shifting the door's placement on the Minivan. Since you have the door open on this proverbial minivan, you might as well look through the glass now... Hmmm... strange. Where was I? Oh yeah... Shifting. On Canon lenses, you can get up to ±12mm of shift. Once again, this figure may only apply to the 17mm TS-e.

Now, when you combine the tilting with the shifting, you are given an amazing amount of control over your shot. In Real Estate and Architectural Photography, this control is translated into making buildings look true to life. In other realms, they are used for miniaturization - which, IMHO, Keith Loutit is the king. If you haven't seen any of his videos yet, go watch them after reading my post. Links at the bottom

So, that's Tilt/Shift.

What's the deal with the plunger? The deal is, there are people out there that think taking a lens, gluing it to a plunger, then mounting the plunger to your camera is going to give you the ability to tilt-shift. They are wrong. At best, you get tilting. In reality, you get a really stupid looking lens modification. Worse still, You lose Infinity-focus, which is rather important for doing Tilt/Shift as you're dealing with Scheimpflug there.

In effect, the plunger-mod will get you results somewhat close to what this guy gets you:

What's that? It's a LENSBABY! (yaaaay!!).

What's a Lensbaby? I dunno, but it's EXTREMELY AWESOME. Lensbaby is made of Creativity, which make your photos grow, which is why you should buy one, because plungers are for Toilets and have you ever seen a picture come out of a toilet? It's got BENDING, super extra bending! and 5 KINDS OF BOKEH*! Which makes your pictures photolicious, unlike other cheap lenses, which are NOT photolicious. Taking pictures with it will make you wonder why you've never had photos that LOOK LIKE EXPLOSIONS!

Woah... I better lay off the Brawndo.

So, as i was trying to say. Lensbabies are an inventive (and properly manufactured) way of doing "Selective Focus". What's selective focus and how does it differ from how lenses normally focus. Selective Focus is when you choose a subject and have the photo so that they are the only thing in focus. How does it differ? Aside from the bending factor, not a whole lot. After all, Focusing is about being selective to begin with, right? So, yeah... I don't have an answer for that second question.

Now... Udi over at diyphotography has come up with an ingenious method of faking the tilt-shift effect. Once again, not really tilt-shift, but closer than the Plunger thing.
Link: http://www.diyphotography.net/create-awesome-tilt-shift-macro-shots-with-old-car-headlights

Now, my suggestion is, if you do his project, use a CPL filter instead of an old filter/stepping ring. Additionally, Udi suggested in his comment section that the lens be mounted off-center. Doing that, and attaching it to a CPL, will allow you to rotate it in whichever direction you want.

Now, combine that with the Plunger idea and you'll probably end up with the craziest DIY lens ever. I can't imagine what the effect will be with the two combined, but I do know that your ability to focus to infinity will be tossed out the window.

-- EDIT--

I have found a DIY T/S that yields closer results than other ideas. Still a plunger, but this one I'm not going to laugh at as much, because Captain Nod put more thought into it. Go Here to check it out. My belief on this one is that he took a few factors into consideration here (like the lack of shifting) and at the bottom, he says he's going to work on a method of controlling the shift as well. The Cavaet here is - his idea is better but it lacks the sharpness of a true T/S but it's still pretty sharp.

Once again, a glorified Lensbaby. ;)

Links!
Lifehacker/Make Magazine Plunger "T/S"
DIYPhotography's Projector Lamp Lens
Foundphotography's Retarded T/S Project
Nikon's PC-E Nikkor 24mm F3.5
Canon's Tilt-Shift Line-up
Lensbaby - Canadian site or If you're American (the website will redirect you depending on which country you're in)
Captain Nod's PlungerCam and in action.

Keith Loutit vids: Bathtub IV, Helpless, Bathtub III, Bathtub II and Beached

* I'm unsure of the Muse and others, but the Lensbaby 2.0 came with several drop in apertures. 2.2, 2.4, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0 and 2 blanks. The creative kit gives you a heart and star, and several more blanks.

Working with Macro Tubes

2009-12-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Something that has come up recently on Fred Miranda.com... Shooting Macro via... extension tubes.

While there are many "macro" (or Micro if you're a Nikon shooter) lenses out there, very few are actually Macro lenses. That is... Lenses capable of shooting at minimum focusing distances of less than a foot or so, and are able to produce images that are 1:1. What is 1:1?

1:1 is where the area you are shooting, equals the size of the image on the sensor or meaning the image on the film is the same size as the object being photographed (wiki).

As far as I'm concerned, there's 2 ways to go about doing Macro. One is getting a macro lens. The other is getting a decent lens and attaching it to extension tubes.

Most of the big manufacturers make a 1:1 lens in some way or another. Canon has their 100mm 2.8 Macro. Sigma produces a 105mm 2.8 Macro. Tamron has a 90mm macro 2.8. Nikon has... something. I dunno. Don't really care. :P

Canon also has a 50mm Macro and a 60mm macro, but I don't know much about them except that the 50mm needs the life size converter to do 1:1, and the 60mm is in the EF-S mount, which I have vowed to stay away from in the future (except unless a 10-22 falls into my lap). There's also the MP-E 65mm, but that's a whole new bag of tricks, as it goes above and beyond 1:1 (it can do 5:1)

While I can't tell you much about those lenses more than I already have, I can tell you that Macro Tubes have their pros and cons. If you go for a true 1:1 lens, you can still use a macro tube and potentially gain better than 1:1.

1) Minimum Focusing Distance (MFD) can drop (heavily) in some lenses, it reduces it so much that you pretty much touch the subject

2) If you buy cheap-o tubes, you have no Aperture confirmation. You'll get 00 on your display. Auto-settings tend not to work well. However, if you go with Kenko or Canon's EF25, you do retain Aperture confirmation, as they have connectors to maintain the camera's ability to talk to the lens.

2a) If you have cheapie tubes that have no aperture confirmation you have to work with your lens while wide open or, you have to attempt enforcing stop-down through a bit of a physically complicated method:

Step 1 - Put your lens on the body
Step 2 - Choose the F stop you want (keep in mind, DOF is narrower with tubes)
Step 3 - Hold the DOF preview button and remove the lens.
Step 4 - Attach lens to macro tube and then lens+tube to Camera

As mentioned, Depth of Field (DOF) decreases as you add tubes, so if you're aiming to get a macro shot with a lot of detail, you need to drop the aperture (F/10-16 works for me). But if you want a small amount of detail to show through, go wide-open.

Sharpness sometimes isn't much of a problem with macro tubes if the lens you're using is already razor sharp to begin with. I wrote all of this info once before, and they were asking about using tubes in conjuction with either the 24-70 or 70-300 (both by Canon). As i stated then, it won't be much of a problem with the 24-70 because of how sharp it is, but the 70-300 (assuming it's not the DO or an L) will only yield okay-ish results - post processing will be needed on lower-end lenses.

3) Lighting is extremely important... if you're not out and about in full sun, get yourself a macro ring if you can, otherwise, you'll have to play with off-camera flashing, and that can be frustrating if you're learning macro at the same time. at least... it was for me. *shrugs*

An alternative to macro-ring flashing is off-camera flashing with a diffuser, or if you want to do Macro in a "studio" environment, then build (or buy) yourself a lightbox. I did, and one of these days I'll get around to sharing the method and materials required.

Now, there are two other options that Canon has made available. They are the 250D and 500D filters. They provides a little more magnification to your lens, but at a heavy cost and only come in a limited amount of filter sizes.

Now, understanding how to get true macro, we need to understand what's going on with a macro tube. First and foremost, I have never been able to achieve 1:1, at least, not to my knowledge. I may have incidently and not realized it but that's not the point here. What the point is, trying to understand where you stand with your macro tubes and current stock of lenses. Thanks to Pixel Perfect at FredMiranda.com, I have this nice little formula.

Magnification = extension length divided by lens length or

m' = e/L

So, if you have an extension of 25mm and a lens of 80mm, your magnification will be 0.3125x.
With 55mm or extension and a 70mm lens, you get 0.78x. Which I'm thinking equals to 1:1.24, meaning that i'm close, but not quite. Remember that MP-E lens i mentioned? It gets up to 5:1 (aka 5x magnification). Because I'm at 1.24, I am shooting stuff that is 1.24x smaller than the full frame. Confused yet? good... because so am I.

-edit- This next part is thanks to Kakomu

The easiest way to figure this out is to photograph a ruler so that you have a measurement of the width of your shot. Compare that to the size of your sensor: Voila, magnification ratio.

For instance. Let's say you have a 50mm lens on 30mm of extension tubes. You point it at a ruler and measure X mm from the left frame to the right. Then, you go to the manufacturer's website, and find that your sensor is Y mm wide. Your Macro ratio is, thus, 1 : (X/Y).

Example: the measurement on the picture is 40mm and the sensor size is 20mm. Thus, the ratio is 1 : (40/20) = 1:2. The object, therefore, is half as large, on the sensor, as it is in real life.

It's also important to note that where the lens is focused makes a big difference. I typically try to focus the lens at Infinity and just move back and forth. I hear all the time that lenses perform best when you focus to infinity compared to the MFD. Then again, the MFD of a lens on a macro tube doesn't seem to make a colossal difference, so I don't even worry about it.

Also, longer lenses on extension tubes can produce some excellent results too. You won't easily get 1:1 macro shots like you would with a 50mm lens or shorter, but you can take pictures of things up close and have greater subject isolation. Flowers and other small objects benefit greatly from this approach, in my opinion.

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER

2009-11-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: You'll have to forgive the formatting of this post, as BlogSpot's editor was not cooperating with me today. If anyone can suggest a good external editor that i can use to make these posts better, please do. Because Blogspot's editor and Notepad don't seem to be compatible, and this is a source of aggravation for me.

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER

Popping the Zeiss on, I went out on Remembrance Day for a while. I needed the fresh air and the bright sunlight was providing inspiration, or Vitamin D. Either or. Does it matter?

Suffice to say, the poignant ceremonies were still beautiful, and brought back memories of my days as an Air Cadet. Though, I don't recall ever having such great weather when I was in a Remembrance Day ceremony. My memories were of being in Honour Guard, standing at the unfortunately shaded corner of the cenotaph in Newmarket, on a day that was just above freezing, muttering in my head, asking myself "Why did I volunteer for Honour Guard this time?" I at least, got in the paper... sort of. I was a blur of bokeh in the background of a shot taken of my fellow cadet.

There have been days where I have wondered to myself... Should I go back? Should I become a CI for a local squadron? In this case, the local squadron, just happens to be the one that are in the following pictures: 330 Danforth Tech.

In this picture here, are what I imagine are the co-captains of the squadron. Not sure which was commanding officer, but I have a feeling it was the woman. Supposedly, a memo from above a few years ago decided to do away with the rank of Major in the Air Cadet system. I would venture a guess that thanks to that, there are many squadrons out there now with 2 or more captains. Without the ability to be promoted further, I wonder if some have left the Air Cadet system to further pursue their careers, gunning for that rank of Major.

To those that do, I give nothing but respect. You went in wanting to lead young men and women, and you're setting the example for the next generation.

*salutes* :)

One thing is for sure though... in my Cadet days, we never had cool jackets like those.
We had either our standard tunic, which we wore almost all of the time except in the summer, or the heavy overcoat that was for the winter (still wearing the tunic underneath).

Granted, the overcoat did make marching across the frozen tundra of Base Borden somewhat more bearable, but it was only good for when temps were below freezing.

I only wished that we had something a little more stable for marching in snow with, to go along with the overcoat.

After the Parade ended, I mosied on back to my place and thought, "It's nice a sunny today, I should take advantage of the nice blue sky and strong sunlight". So, as a result I started taking pictures of the trees and leaves along the way back. Honey Locusts provided a nice contrast of yellow to the blue sky. While in other spots, the bright sunlight provided amazing illumination for stuff a little more grounded. Hedges, bushes and fallen leaves all provided excellent fodder for shots.

Planet X Tibo

2009-10-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hardy the venue I want to use for this, but it's not being used, so it's time to sell it.

2006 Planet X Tibo - Like new condition - rarely ridden - extremely minor scratches.
Very smooth feel with great balance.

Hussefelt cranks on FSA platinum BB,
Sun Mammoths w/ LX hubs [72pt engagement!] - single speed via No-railleur [please note, front wheel is not as pictured, that's the wrong wheel]
30'' handlebars, Norco Team Trials fork, CNC Azonic stem, Magura HS-33's (gold levers and archs)

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/epictro/PX-1.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/epictro/px-2.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/epictro/px-3.jpg

$900!

If you want to get into Trials, then this is too good of a deal to pass up.

Low Ballers will be ignored as will be scammers
Serious Offers Only - don't waste my time or yours

GOLDEN HORSESHOE AND BUFFALO AREA ONLY

How to make Facebook better.

2009-10-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

First step: Go to your Applications page and start getting rid of all the stupid applications you added and never use. I ended up removing something like 20 this morning alone, and I've done this a few times in the past. Remember! Removing the application, does not remove the content. If you used an application that can be potentially embarrassing, well... too bad for you.

Second Step: Go get greasemonkey
Note: YOU MUST INSTALL GREASEMONKEY FOR ANY OF THESE SCRIPTS TO WORK.

Now... to make Facebook pretty and fun again!

1) If you hate seeing Quizzes and Mafia Wars and other dumb crap like that, and install fb purity.

2) Facebook tends to screw up Firefox on occasion. Get "UnF*** Facebook" [Warning... it's actual name is NOT censored.]

3) Let's make Facebook a little more user friendly, shall we? Install "Facebook Manager Plus"

4) And while we're at it... if you like photos, but hate thumbnails... Install FB Large Photos

5) Let's face it... If you like something, You'll find it on your own, right? Get rid of those stupid sidebar "your friend is a fan of" boxes. "Not A Fan"

6) Since, you don't like that stuff, there's no reason for you to NOT be able to block applications as well right? Click here for a script to add "Block App" to any invites/requests you may get

7) While we're at it... Let's kill ads on facebook too. Remove Facebook Ads or Facebook Ad Killer

8) Let's remove the tedium of accepting stuff, one at a time. MASS ACCEPT. This guy is nice cause it adds checkboxes to all of your requests, allowing you which you'd like to accept.

9) Speaking of accept... Want to change the color of people's names? Well, this will let you have those that aren't friends, show as red instead. Link Color Changer

10) This one, probably sucks, but it's name is awesome: Facebook NewsFeed ShamWow

And lastly... Making Facebook Pretty
Facebook Colour Changer

That about wraps it up. After adding some of those (or even all) scripts, you should have a pretty sweet arrangement on your facebook page. Enjoy!

The Second Passion...

2009-10-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Music, is my second passion. Actually, I really should consider it my first passion as I'm always listening to music. I only look at so many photographs. I guess it's a passive/active matter. I passively listen to music, but actively look at photos. Music can go on, in the background. Photos, demand attention.

Lately, my thing has been seeking out remixes of older tracks. Anything pretty much older than 5years, cause quite frankly, for about 5 years I didn't listen to much new stuff. That was roughly between 2002-2007 - so anything that came out in that period, in my mind is not worthy of classic status. Though, there were certainly many tracks in that time frame that were really good. I will not discount them outright - but they don't qualify for my taste of updated remixes.

Needless to say, I've really been enjoying listening to the following three tracks for reasons that were mentioned in the last paragraph, and for reasons i cannot explain.

Yvan and Dan Daniel - Silence (a remix of the depeche mode track by the same name)
Blur - Song 2 (Micky Slim "yeah to the woo booty" remix)
2 Bit Thugs - Block Rockin Beats (Chemical Brothers original)
IIO - rapture (Starkiller's remix)
Public Domain - Operation Blade (not sure the name of the remix... but it itself is a remix of the Pump Panel reconstruction remix of New Order's "confusion")
Yello - Oh Yeah (Lutzenkirchen remix)

In my mind, I think that if you're gonna get anywhere these days in the music industry as an artist, you need to start somewhere, and you need to start somewhere solid. The classic track is a great place to start. People like classics. They're favourite songs from (whenever). Take a good track from "back in the day" and fix it up, and you're guaranteed to bust out with a hit. When in doubt... default to nintendo music. We all like that stuff but for the love of god, leave Tetris, Zelda and Super Mario alone... they've all been done to death. Do Excitebike instead. Do Ghosts N Goblins. For extra creativeness, use a melody from a sega game instead. use the theme(s) from Wonderboy, Alex Kidd, Out Run, Phantasy Star, etc. Hey! the Theme from Sonic the Hedgehog hasn't been done a while... try that!

Try anything... really. Just don't screw it up, and you're all good. Cause nothing pisses off a music fan more than hearing their favourite song mangled. but more over... no one will want to hear your take more than once, if it ends up sucking. Sorry, that's the way it is.

An apology - I like to link stuff when i see it appropriate, but I wrote this post on my laptop. Linking, when working without a mouse, is a bit of a pain. That's why there's only 2 links this time.

Yashica YUS vs DSB (vs. MC)

2009-10-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Going through my stats, It appears that many have stumbled upon my blog by virtue of seeking out information on Yashica and Contax lenses. While I can only comment on the 2 that I have, I'm sure the information can be used and extrapolated upon.

Let's revisit the info I was able to find on the YUS.

Focal length	:	28mm	Nearest focus	:	35cm
Aperture blades	:	6	Aperture stops	:	2.8 - 4.0 - 5.6 - 8.0 - 11 - 16
Length/diameter	:		Weight	:	260g
Lenses/groups	:		Filter diameter	:	55mm
Angle of view	:		Max. magnification	:
Remarks	:

Source: Yashica.org

Now... that's the info for the YUS version of the 28mm lens. Info on the DSB is more or less the same, except one minor detail. The YUS was North American Market only (hence the name, Yashica US). The DSB was everywhere else. Here's the stickler, while it's not readily apparent, the YUS (in most opinions) is the better version of the 2 lenses. For some unknown reason, or at least a reason that hasn't been documented on the internet, the North American version was given better glass and coatings*. Though, I have also read that this is bunk and they ARE the same. It should be noted that the YUS brand no longer exists, having gone the way of the Dodo or Polaroid Camera. I'd imagine Yashica closed shop in the US some time in the 80s.

Construction-wise, they are virtually identical. Except in the 28mm case, where the DSB is a touch smaller. Nevertheless both are 6-bladed 28mm lenses with MFD's of 35mm and 6 aperture stops with a surprisingly wide angle of view. It throws me off sometimes how wide and shallow this lens can be. I've taken pictures of things were I was 1-2 feet away, only to switch and end up needing to be 3-4 feet away with my 18-55, zoomed to 28mm. I'll have to get to taking an example shot some day...

So, having said that... I did manage to find info on the difference betwen the DSB and ML. I will repost it again. However, this info does not address the issue of MC lenses, I will address that after.

4.1. What's the difference between Yashica DSB and Yashica ML lenses?

Yashica DSB lenses are single coated, ML lenses are multi coated (ML stands for Multi Layer). As usual, a marketing department messed things thoroughly up by introducing another designator, MC for Multi Coated, for later multi coated lenses. Contrary to the quality jump from DSB to ML, there is no distinguishable quality difference between ML and MC lenses. For quite some time, Yashica offered both DSB and ML lenses; later on, DSB lenses were sold in package deals with bodies (like the FX-D Quartz SE and the FX-7).

If that's too small, then i will quickly summarize.
DSB = single coated*
YUS = single coated* (but a better coating than the DSB)
ML = Multi Coated

Basically, if you have the option between DSB and YUS. Take the YUS. If you're choice is between the ML and YUS, take the ML. If money is no object, then why are you even considering an old Yashica lens? :P

So where does MC fit in? MC has nothing to do with coatings. It has to do with lens construction. The C actually stands for Compact; meaning these lenses are smaller than their equivalent ML counterparts. MC lenses also have an interesting feature that means absolutely nothing. The minimum aperture is engraved in green. Interestingly enough, MC lenses can only be used in Av/Ax and not in Tx/Tv... at least, when used on older Yashica bodies. If you're using them with an adapter on a Canon or Nikon, then chances are you're using Manual. This naturally, doesn't address the issue of MM lenses. Those, as far as i can tell are Multi-Mode and are more or less useless to anyone not using a Yashica body (100-series).

ADVICE/RECOMMENDATION:
When buying an adapter, make sure you get the right one. Further to this, spend the extra few dollars and get either a Happypagehk or Big_IS adapter. The difference between their stuff and the other guys is AF-confirming, which means the difference between shooting and ERR 99.
Also, they make adapters that can be adjusted for your largest aperture. My Yashica is a 2.8, but the adapter confirms 2.0. This is somewhat annoying. The Zeiss i have confirms 2.8 (which it is).

Self-Portraiture

2009-10-14T20:32:00.001-07:00

Feeling creative, yet bored, I decided that I needed to try my hand at self portraiture. The following are a few of the results. All in all, in 2 sessions, I probably took about 100+ photos. The bulk were from yesterday, with today's numbering a total of 25+. Out of all of them, none from yesterday were worth a damn except the cat head.

The pics from today were a little more technical in approach, with me setting up my camera and measuring out my minimum focusing distance (MFD), and angling my flash and flood for best lighting. It wasn't until I did all of that, that i realized that I would never be able to get results I like without a stand-in. As a result, I used my flash tripod and got my focussing... bang on!

Camera: Canon Rebel XT
Lens: Contax Zeiss 135mm 2.8
Fstop = 8 Shutter = 100
Flash = Nikon SB24
Other equipment: Cactus Trigger
Lastolite 45'' reflector
Ikea flex lamp w/ 13w fluorescent
Sateen Flat Sheet from Target... 250 thread count. :P
Adobe Photoshop CS3 with TLR Sharpening

In a weird way, without really trying to, I got a annie-leibowitz/vanity fair type vibe in a few shots. Only 1 was grayscaled, and only so i could make my eye color stand out a little.

After firing a few test shots, I began to use a few props. A Lightbulb, Daha's "straw", my fire extinguisher, a can of lysol... Random things not usually seen in photo shoots... at least, I've never seen them used in a photo shoot. I also changed shirts for different effect and set-up. To see the rest of the pics, you'll have to go to Facebook or Flickr.

The only way I could have possibly improved on these shots is if I opted to slow down the shutter to allow a little blur, to bring out the magic that the Zeiss lens is so good at making.

Of course, I could not, not take a picture with a lightbulb. After all... the whole idea was a bright idea.

At one point, I was trying shots with the raybans on, and thought of the CSI one-liner meme picture and thought... what the hell, let's do one with that too.

YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Please note: the skyline photo is not mine. I googled for an image and photoshopped it accordingly.

2009-10-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

Herding Kittens... or taking pictures of them

2009-10-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hi again... It's me.

So, the other weekend I was introduced to a lovely little storm-cloud coloured kitten by the name of Myla. Myla belongs to Steve and Sarah, good friends from Brampton. They got Myla a few weeks ago, after suffering the loss of another kitty: Rocky. Rocky was a birthday present (so to speak) for Sarah last year. He was a handsome little fellow, Maine Coon-ish in appearance. Unfortunately, he succumbed to health problems. More unfortunate was that i never got to meet him, and more importantly, take a few pictures of him. However, my unofficial photographic mentor did get a few beautiful shots of him.

So... enter Myla.
Myla, everything a kitten is like, is a curious and energetic little thing. Taking photos of her was a bit challenging, given that I usually have problems with flash-lighting at Steve and Sarah's. Not sure why i do... when i figure it out, I'll write about it.

Nonetheless, I did manage to fire off one really good picture of her, though it is a bit on the soft (fuzzy) side. This is due to my working with a relatively unfamiliar lens: the Contax Zeiss mentioned in the previous entry. Nonetheless, I know my abilities when it comes to taking photos of cats, and Myla is the newest entry in the challenge bin. The other entry, is Queen Beatrice - a cat that I haven't been able to take photos of, on account of her preference for where she likes to sleep. Awkwardly in corners and in other small, dark areas.

Myla is only 3-4 months old at this point. I can see her maturing into a gorgeous little kitty. Here's hoping that I can take more, great photos of her. And believe me when i say it... getting a Kitten to pose like this, is not easy. At least, not when you're using a manual focus lens, and trying to get their attention with a dangly-toy-on-a-stick.

D'aaaawwwwwww....

Contax Zeiss 135mm F2.8

2009-09-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

Contax Zeiss 135 F2.8

This little guy (a euphemism, i assure you) has found his way into my life. While I have only done one test shot with this beautiful (and rather heavy) lens, it managed to do something that I was unaware of being possible. It made the top of my fridge (which is home to various cooking/baking things) look amazing. Seriously. No colour correction... pure AWB and BAM! A box of Saran Wrap and a steel mixing bowl looks like artwork.

I have to say though... this little gift imparted on me on the weekend was totally unexpected. I had talked to my friend Scott about the Leitz Elmarit R 135 that I was spying on Ebay. We had discusses how the 135mm length has seemingly produced many great lenses through out the years. Leica, Zeiss, Takumar, Canon, Nikkor, Pentacon...etc... etc... Many have compared them over the years, and because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the results of those comparisons has been usually suspect and left mostly to personal impression and influence.

What makes this Lens so great? Well... if you clicked that last link, you'd know. If you didn't... well... The reason that makes this lens so great is how it renders out-of-focus (oof) blur. It's the blur and Bokeh (amount and shape of blur, imparted by the lens' iris/aperture) that makes it awesome. The bokeh is more often than not, pleasing with this lens. More spectacular is that it renders really nice Bokeh through a good range of its F-stops (which start at 2.8 and end at 22).
Supposedly, this particular lens, while marked with the usual F-stop range, supposedly can do 1/2 stops in between those marked F-stops. That means, instead of doing 2.8 and then having 4.0 next, you can have something in the approximate range of F/3.2 (i think... it might be 3.4 or 3.5 - i dunno.)

Outside of the amazing bokeh/blur, the lens has a nice large grip and decently layed out markings on the barrel. It has a built-in hood and the standard threading for what appears to be 55mm filters. All in all... it's a definite throw-back in feel and what not. Reminds you of when Men were Men, Women were Women and Decent Focal Lengths demanded respect.

The downsides to this fantastic lens...
1) It's heavy
2) It's not a native EOS mount - I know these adapters are supposed to preserve Infinity focus, but I am still skeptical in that realm.
3) 135mm on a crop body (Rebel series) becomes an effective 216mm (thanks to the 1.6x). I don't really buy that whole magnification nonsense, but it does seem to be somewhat true. In other words, what should be a great portrait lens, is not.

Suffice to say... I'm looking forward to playing with this lens. I'll revisit this topic when i have some examples to show off.
:)

Inept...

2009-09-08T22:26:00.001-07:00

You know... this whole blogging thing is supposed to be real easy, right?

Well... It's apparently not so. At least, for me, it is not. I can't be bothered to do regular updates.

Hell, I can't even get my act together to keep my apartment clean longer than 2 days. I'm gonna remedy that though, by sticking myself with a schedule. I can't decide if i want to make it every 1st and 15th or Every 2nd wednesday. The former should be easier to keep track of. But, every 2nd wednesday would mean that i'd have my gear together for the weekends, and increase the potential of having a clean place for when my girlfriend spends the weekend here.

In other realms... Since my last update I've acquired a Canon 70-200 F4L and a Yashica YUS 28mm 2.8. Both are fantastic lenses, to say the least. The 70-200 gives me what has been out of my reach for far too long... TELEPHOTO!

The 28mm Yashica was an experimentation (albeit a totally unintentional one) with the world of Manual Focus. The Yashica is as old as I am. Or maybe not. I don't know because info on it is scarce. What i do know is this...

Focal length	:	28mm	Nearest focus	:	35cm
Aperture blades	:	6	Aperture stops	:	2.8 - 4.0 - 5.6 - 8.0 - 11 - 16
Length/diameter	:		Weight	:	260g
Lenses/groups	:		Filter diameter	:	55mm
Angle of view	:		Max. magnification	:
Remarks	:

Source: Yashica.org

Another source has this to say...

 4.1.  What's the difference between Yashica DSB and Yashica ML lenses?

Yashica DSB lenses are single coated, ML lenses are multi coated (ML
stands for Multi Layer). As usual, a marketing department messed
things thoroughly up by introducing another designator, MC for Multi
Coated, for later multi coated lenses. Contrary to the quality jump
from DSB to ML, there is no distinguishable quality difference between
ML and MC lenses. For quite some time, Yashica offered both DSB and ML
lenses; later on, DSB lenses were sold in package deals with bodies
(like the FX-D Quartz SE and the FX-7).

That not withstanding, with a little off-camera flashing, I've obtained a few amazing shots with it. I can't say that I'm overly pleased with outside of that application, but then again I haven't shot much with it. So, I'm really at a disadvantage. Some non-chalante comments have put this at a fantastically sharp lens, particularly when considering its cost (second hand) which averages around $20CDN Here's an off-camera flash example taken approx a month ago. [Wow... I've just realized that I haven't really shot much in the last month.]

As you can see, the DJ in this picture is quite sharp and the backdrop is slightly blurry, giving the lens a nice quality. I haven't used it in a way that would reveal its bokeh better, yet... but i will eventually.

As for the 70-200 F4L... there's plenty of stuff on Flickr demo'ing that guy. I don't have much to say that pics taken with it, posted on Flickr can't show. Anyhow... so concludes yet another sporadic posting by yours truly. See you in another month and half. :P

Updating...

2009-07-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

I'll admit right away that i'm not the best at updating this. But, truth be told, i haven't really engaged in anything that should be considered worthy of updating here.

Needless to say, I'll be going somewhere fantastic this upcoming weekend, and the update after will be awe-inspiring to say the least. :)

Cherry Beach Redux... [Canada Day actually]

2009-07-07T22:00:00.001-07:00

It seems that I tend to not go to Cherry Beach as much as I should, or want to. I'm usually on the go, and my go is not going to Cherry Beach. There's a few dozen reasons why, but I'm not going to write about them. [Although, one being that the ****ing parking bastards ticket cars for retarded reasons]

I tend not to go because, well... I usually have other things to go to.

Having said that, on Canada Day, I had to work. So, what's a good way to end a day of holiday work? Go to Cherry beach!

The promise boys were on hand, as they always are, for Canada Day celebrating. They had all of their regulars hit the decks to pound out great music for a few hours.

Over by the way side, the burners lit up and gave a fireworks show of a different sort. It was here that i learned a magical combination... small aperture, bulb mode and off-camera flashing. Said combo is what resulted in the pictures here.

The reason for this, is one that is long and difficult to explain, but needless to say, I'm loving the results that it has yielded me. All i have to do at this point now, is remember my personal Sunny-16 rule for doing these kinds of shots. If you're thinking I'm gonna post my EXIF's or other numbers, you're sadly mistaken... My pics... My skills... My secrets. :P

Some of the burners that were present for the night were Mo Bot, Sadie Spins, Platypus Mags, ScottG, Ian Injurious, Robin Spunkbucket and Anakin... Naturally, these are not their real names, because they are performers. Stagenames rule.

Actually... truth be told. I'm gonna wrap this one up now because I haven't much to say right now. Enjoy the pics.

If you'd like to see more, well... too bad. I ain't posting more.

(psst... they're on Facebook)

I'm going to end this off with a photography tip. When trying something new that compromises the safety of your camera and your personal well being... have an assistant help you with said project. I stupidly climbed a tree to take the last pic, and I don't think I will be trying that again without help. Safety first kids!

Cosplay/Anime North, UNITE! in Buffalo, Luminato, TTC, Goat Cheese and other stuff...

2009-06-11T21:59:00.001-07:00

Let's start off, shall we?

Well, I guess I should do this in a chronological order, if only to make some resemblance of sense.
---------------------------------------
-- Anime North/Cosplayers/Otakubaloo --
---------------------------------------
On the Saturday of the long weekend, I made my way across town to hit up the Photo Show. As that ended at 7, I headed over to the Toronto Congress Centre to take photos of the Anime-loving kiddies. To say the least, I was quite impressed with some of the outfits. I know I'm going to draw a little ire by saying the following but... Dressing as characters from Naruto [or Dragonball Z for that matter] is pretty lame. I mean seriously lame. No effort, as far as i could see, from a creativity standpoint, was put into any Naruto costume that I saw at Otakubaloo. I'm sure there was a few kids fully decked out in home-made Naruto costumes, but the greater deal of kids that i did see, were wearing crap they probably bought off Ebay.
Having said that, Kudos to all the boys and girls that rocked out with costumes they made... or at least, were custom made (rather than factory produced). Then again... Kudos to all you that [while not sporting a custom outfit] at least you didn't wear the same costume as 300 others.

As for all you that stuck around for the Happy Hardcore. Congrats, you've just had your first taste of Rave music. Yeah... all those stories your parents heard about Raves being evil, drug-filled orgies, were wrong. Raves, for the most part, are large gatherings of people overnight having fun partying and dancing to really loud electronica music. True, there is a tendancy of drugs being at these kinds of parties, but the amount is no different from that of a rock concert or club. Actually... there's probably less than in those spots... and those kinds of places make their money on selling booze, so Raves can have a tendancy to be much cleaner than any of those venues. You need not buy into the pop-crap produced by big companies (like Disney) and sold through HMV and iTunes. There is better stuff out there, and a lot of it is rather esoteric like your tastes in Anime.
In Toronto, the scene isn't exactly as big as it once was. But there are still good times to be had. Darkrave is held every 1st saturday of the month at the Big Bop; and Cherry Beach has weekly session put on by Promise - While those parties are more geared towards the ears of the older crowd, it's still fun and it IS a family event. More info for parties can be found through the usual portals like Facebook, but the best source (For Toronto/Southern Ontario) usually is Purerave or Toronto Raves. Buffalo kiddies... check out Buffalobaseline.

Speaking of Buffalo... Let's jump forward a week.
------------
-- Unite! --
------------
Unite! promised to be a great alternative for those less fortunate in the ownership of the cottage type. What it delivered was a bit of a Gong show, with a heavy side of mismanagement. Several clubs went the night practically empty, while others were rammed. Set times were posted only in one location and many of the big acts overlapped each other. So, if you wanted to hear Monk from Rabbit in the Moon, and then Mark Oliver or Skynet... you were SOL.All three played at roughly the same time. The little info booth set up by the organizers wasn't exactly helpful either, as the people manning it were totally clueless.

One particular club, which will remain unnamed here, must have fed its Bouncers some shitfries with extra dicksauce, because they weren't exactly up-to-speed with the whole economy thing happening on this particular night. I barely got into that bar after pointing out that their headlining DJ was a Trance/Techno dj. He begrudgingly let me in, but barred my friend from entering, giving him the same BS excuse. Sorry dude, but you fail at bouncing. When the club is at 1/4 capacity on Sunday night at 1am, for a "festival" LET EVERYONE YOU CAN IN! The Bartender's aren't going to make tips and the club isn't going to make money by not serving drinks. As a result, I had 1 beer, and that club lost a minimum of 3 other sales. By my best math, that's at least $30-40 lost right from the get-go. Probably more towards $100 the way most of us tend to drink...

If they do this again next year, I hope they do a better job because that was just plain awful.

---------------
-- The Break --
---------------
The weekend of following Unite was an off-weekend for me, as I had issues that needed addressing with my Camera. So, i was without a camera for about 2 weeks while it was sent off to Canon for servicing. So we now fast forward to after i got my camera back, which was about 1.5 weeks ago. Receiving my camera before work, I decided to head out on my lunch and test it a little.
The images post-repair (which was minor, and Canon probably spent more time cleaning the sensor) were much sharper than before, thanks to the sensor cleaning. Still, the issue that prompted the whole repair thing was because of straight flaring in some of my photos. Canon didn't say anything in regards to this, so i think I'll go with what was said on FM Forums. (reflections are due to sensor reflection on to filter glass)

As you can see, the picture is quite clear and crisp. My focussing does leave much to be desired, but i'm still a relative newcomer to producing crisp photos.

-------------------------------------------------------------
-- TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION - GREENWOOD MAINTENANCE YARD --
-------------------------------------------------------------Approximately a week ago... say June 3-4ish. I felt like taking a different route home from work. I happened to end up on Jones Avenue, and after being tired of climbing that damn hill, I turned on to a sidestreet and zig-zagged my way home. It was on Chatham street that I saw something that caught my eye and bewildered me... The Greenwood Subway yard.

After passing this, I knew I had to go back and take a photo. So i did. The sheer amount of light pollution in the yard is overwhelming. How overwhelming? I was able to catch the picture above using F/8 @ 1/25th of a second on ISO800. Yes, you read that right. Not quite a Sunny/16, but suffice to say, the light was enough that I was able to stop down to F/8 and use a quarter second shutter.Granted... this was on 800ISO, but still... That's a LOT of light. And if you'll notice, there isn't a soul walking about on the yard. Nope... it was a complete ghost-town. A well-luminated ghost-town, but one nonetheless. This begs the question... why was the yard lit up so much? Don't Subways have headlights? Don't they operate in the dark underground? So... why is the whole area lit up like a football stadium??
------------------------------
-- LUMINATO --
------------------------------
I haven't seen much yet this year for Luminato. Truth be told... With this weekend being the end of it, and me not being in Toronto for it... I doubt i will see more.

So what have i seen? The Luminato Cube and some of the Red Ball Project. The former is a large 20x20 cube set up in Sam Pollock square with different pieces of artwork [i use that term loosely here] for each day. The latter is a more interesting display of large red balls placed randomly through the city. Longwave is what i have photographed above. If you're wondering about the weird blurriness, that's from a special lens I use. If you haven't gotten out to see any of Luminato, do so soon. It's ending THIS SUNDAY.
A lamp post/beam in Sam Pollock Square, next to the Luminato Cube...

Life at 8:00 PM EDT at the corner of King and Bay

Dear lord...it's 2:30 am.... I need to get to sleep. Enough writing.

Cherry Beach and The Sky over Toronto

2009-05-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last Weekend I took a few photos when i went down to Cherry Beach for a free techno party. Aside from the cold, it was pretty good. My only mistake was not bringing a heavier layer (jacket) and some sort of booze. I wish i did, cause both would've kept me warm for sure. ;)

Here's a few shots from my little photographic adventure at Cherry

Because These were taken around 5pm-ish, I had a good amount of "North Light" to work with. Although, the one picture of the DJ, did not benefit from Northlight, directly... No, that one was a case of my being lucky and having perfect light balance.

Now... this one was not what i was hoping for, but in the end, it gave me a little post-processing fun. Incidentally, it looked much better in Adobe Bridge (pre-processing), for reasons that escape me.

The Dippers overhead my place. I've outlined as best as i could, the two outlines of the most famous (non-zodiacal) constellations, in the sky. If i had a better placement, I could've also indicated Polaris and the twin galaxies M81/82, not to mention, the owl Nebula.

Well... the Owl Nebula is technically in this shot, it's just very faint. It's more easily resolved with binoculars or telescope (or better yet, a camera with a decent telephoto lens)

Taking a shot like this requires a bit of skill and a whole lot of understanding that... quite frankly I don't possess. The exposure i used was I think... 10seconds. I tried doing a 30min exposure, but I forgot to switch a setting in my camera that allowed that. The camera, as far as i can tell, turned off mid-exposure, thus not taking the photo at all. Note to self: next time change auto-shutoff to "never".

East York... at Night

2009-05-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, this is Toronto's 175th anniversary after being incorporated. I'm not entirely sure, but it's probably around the 10 year mark after megacity amalgamation as well.

Being a resident of East York, I am privy (although, i don't necessarily engage in) to witnessing the beauty of this multicultural community. We have the Greeks on Danforth, the Pakistani/Indians on Gerrard, and the Chinese on Broadview and Gerrard. And of course, everyone and everything in between along the gaps and such.

Two Things that caught my eye last night were... 1) The statue of Sun Yat-Sen, in Riverdale - poorly lit because the chinese community seems to not give a damn about the man that modernized China. And 2) The fountain at Logan Ave - featuring the bust of Alexander the Great. The juxtaposition is kinda scary when i think about it. The Sun Yat Sen statue has a burnt out lamp, and is all concrete and bronze, surrounded by parkland. The Alexander bust, has benches, a fountain, trees, lights and a conveniently placed Gyro spot next to it.

Anyhow... The following are some of last nights photos.

Click on this one to see the fuller 1024x324 version.

Addendum to the previous

2009-04-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Yeah, i know... been a while.

Addendum:

For the record, the company that i work for does not restrict their webpage to the stupidly narrow confines of 600px wide. They are set to 800.

Granted... this doesn't really mean MUCH. But it's still better.

Still... I can't help but feel annoyed over this, as sites like... GOOGLE use full frame.

I'll sit here, waiting for the revolution to start.

Blog Revision...

2009-03-29T21:51:00.001-07:00

I wasn't overly happy with the way this blog displayed in native format, respective to the way the template is set up. The width is set to 500px, which i find somewhat insulting in this day and age of wide-screen LCD monitors. It has bothered me for quite sometime that there are quite a few websites out there that conform to the shitty 800x600 format still. THIS IS ARCHAIC.

Hell... I remember when everything went from 640x480 to 800x600... that was about 8-10years ago or so. I can't remember when exactly, but the fact that places like Myspace, Facebook, Blogspot, LiveJournal and the like all employ a standard thats somewhere near 10years in age, is really sad. True, there are many users out there that are still rocking shitty CRTs, set to resolutions less than 1024x768... but these will eventually go the way of the Dodo.

Back when i used Myspace (which was for a few months back in 2006), I took it upon myself to find a template that I could tweak the hell out of to gain a wider stance on my screen. The end result was a myspace page that was approximately 1200x850 or so. It looked awesome on 17'' monitors... not so great on other sizes. Nonetheless, I saw potential and reason to expand past the 600px wide constriction imposed by that bastard Tom.

In this new age of Social Media, we ought to be able to make things look better. We ought to be able to present information and content in a visually appealing manner. We ought to be able to maintain a fresh apperance. We ought to be able to be concurrent with the technology that we use. We aren't publishing newspaper articles, making them sized for printing. The New York Times has the motto: "All the news fit to print". That'd be Fit in the worthiness sense, not in the case of sizing. The internet is not constrained to these understandabel restrictions. Bloggers should be able to Print to Fit; that is... Write what they want, to the size they want. At least, that's how i want to interpret it as.

[While i'm at it... Spellcheckers can use updating too. Why isn't Blogspot or Wysiwyg okay by this websites own spellchecker?]

So... here we are. This is as best as i can do before it starts getting weird. Suffice to say, this wysiwyg format that Blogspot has... is not wysiwyg and that's a problem for me when i post photos. I like to line up paragraphs with the photos they are discussing. Maybe I'm alone on this, but i think that should be easily controlled by the user. I doubt it'd be a crazy amount of extra coding... After all, you can adjust picture justification settings at upload to your liking. Why can't we line pics up?

Maybe I should just conform my photos to 800x600 and use the pictures to break paragraphs... Maybe i should...

Whatever.

I'm done here. Thank you for reading this rant.

Earth Hour results

2009-03-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Lets start this off with saying... I like living in Toronto, but because of its horrible transition through the years, its become a bit of a travesty in terms of architecture, land planning and what not. Last night I got a glimpse of how sadly true this is when i went out on a photographic adventure.

If you are familiar with Cherry Street, then you are probably aware of some of the buildings down there. The most poignant of which, that demonstrates my point is currently occupied by "Quantex". I am not sure what this building was once used for, but it appears to have been a Bank - built at least in the 30s? I imagine there was good cause for it to be built there (as a bank for longshoreman?)

Now, it stands vigilante, amongst a sad and pathetic industrial backdrop. If anything, this building is definitely a gem amongst boulders and slag. Kudos to Quantex for reappropriating this building for their office. From what I saw in the two windows, it looked extremely modern inside and well appointed. [Note: After reading their website, their choice of location makes a lot of sense given the history of that area (side note: if anyone knows a better link in regards to pollution in the portlands, please let me know!)]

Other examples of forgotten history can be found through out Toronto - two good examples being on Yonge, just north of Queen.

Having said that... The portlands are an interesting area filled with industrial goodies for the urban explorer/modern archaeologist armed with a camera.

The only reason why I was actually down there last night was to take skyline photos. I would've gone down the Leslie Street Spit, except that's a bird sanctuary and it smells bad down there (at least during the day it does, i'm not going to find out if the night is bad too)

Anyhow... here are some of the results of my exploration.

This one was taken at Ashbridges Bay, from the little "lookout point" on the side of the road, opposite the bay to the Sewage Treatment plant (pictured). Sewage is hardly a beautiful thing, but when the plant is lit up at night and you view it from that point, it's gorgeous.

This here, was taken about... 8:40-ish, on Lakeshore Blvd, just west of Leslie. I parked at Cdn. Tire and walked over to the median to catch this one. It's a neat picture because under normal circumstances, you would see the skyscrapers from here. They were all observing Earth Hour, and so, were not lit up like usual. Only the navigation warning lights flickered on the CN Tower.

Sadly... this one was taken at 9:27. YES, 9:27!! I missed my opportunity to catch the downtown core from this angle (Traintracks over Cherry Street)

Actually, truth be told. I was hoping to get a pic of the CN Tower lit, and the other skyscrapers still off. I lucked out that the CN Tower was fired up ahead of schedule.

This is somewhat disappointing if this was done unintentionally. The CN Tower is supposed to be a communications tower and what not. The poor timing of lights-on shows that they aren't communicating very well with the outside world. That, or any report of what the real time is from them... should be ignored.

At the tone, it will be 2:00pm.

beep beep

This freighter was docked at one of the piers just off Cherry Street. I thought the lighting was rather interesting, so i'd grab a few shots.

I was rather unaware that the sky was overcast at the time, so the colour is a bit strange. This is the true colour as far as I can discern, based on the white balance of the Forecastle of this freighter.

That, and other pics are similar.

Interesting note: there is a disturbance in the water to the right in the frame there. That was a duck. Because this was a long exposure (i think 20secs?) the duck turned into a blob.

A Stalwart of the oldways. I dunno if it's modern technology that has done away with them, or if it's a matter of Toronto harbour being relatively easy to navigate large ships into... or even, a matter of modernized replacements, but every now and then, you see a poor creature of the tubboat kind sitting on drydock, rusting the rest of its life away.

It appears that Kenneth A has sat here for a while. How long? I do not know... at least a few months - at least longer than this past winter.

It's been a few weeks since i first spied this guy from the Gardiner, and thought "that'd be a cool pic to take". Last night, i took the chance.

At this point, I was no longer alone... about 50 feet away was a creature that I have seen in the past in rare occasions... however, in the past, I never saw one of this size. A Red Fox. I mean... this guy (or girl) was big. Really big. About the size of a Springer Spaniel or so? Foxes i've seen in the past have been more the size of a Cocker Spaniel or so. Sadly, i could not take a photo of it as it was dark and I don't have a fast telephoto. I was working with my 50mm prime (f/1.8)

This is the external staircase of the Essroc [Italcementi] Elevator-type building/edifice/concrete monolith. I liked how the light played off the support beams, so i snapped this one. It kinda looks blurry which is strange, because i was focussed fairly well - I may've bumped the tripod but i cannot be too sure of that. It's possible that despite being on solid concrete and soil, vibrations from vehicles passing by on Cherry street actually affected this shot in a negative way.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Rounding out the night, my last stop was RC Harris Filtration. However, due to construction and what not, I opted not to take any photos of that beautiful example of Art Deco. Perhaps another time, eh?

So... the parting shot. These photos were taken using 3 of my 4 lenses. The shots on Lakeshore were taken with my 35-80mm [a lens that i rarely use cause... it sucks], Skyline was taken using 50mm F/1.8 and 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6.

I did use my Lensbaby, however not for any of these shots. Night-time use is not something i've been able to do with that lens effectively. Given that it is a F2.0, it requires a steady hand for shots longer than say... 1/50th of a second. If i had the Control Freak, this would be a non-issue.

Earth Hour

2009-03-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's getting close.
I've got my Camera ready... though the battery is charging.

Tonights objective: Earth Hour!

I'm going to head to various places with my Camera to take pics. One of which will be The Portlands. Perhaps another will be the Danforth Viaduct.

Not sure where else to go. We'll see i guess.

Maintaining is such sweet sorrow...

2009-03-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about this whole blog thing... at least, offline. And I've come to the realization that in a previous entry, I laid out a groundwork for what I wanted to do here. The sick realization has come to me. To do what i said i wanted to do, would have me blogging non-stop. So, the solution? Blog when i can... about stuff that really matters to me. Sure, i like to discuss all sorts of things, but the truth is... i prefer to blog about what I like... directly. Like for instance - the elipsis. I can't get away from using it dot dot dot It's a sick obsession(?) that i continue to use it when a simple period should suffice. Anyhow... (damnit) I'm really going to aim for a better organization of my thoughts here. First and foremost, I think a goal of mine here should be to explore and explain the function of a lens that i own, known as the Lensbaby 2.0. Now, i have to be upfront with what the Lensbaby 2.0 does. Perhaps i should just quote their website? Once again, i have to be upfront, informing you all that... the Lensbaby 2.0 is no longer in production... per se. Lensbaby reworked the product and it now has a different optics system, however the 2.0 is still around, albeit in the form of the "Muse" Here's what they have to say about it:

Bend it Baby! The Muse captures the spirit of Lensbaby photography, opening up a new realm of fun in focusing. Squeeze the Muse to focus, and bend your Sweet Spot around the photo.
Llike the Composer and the Control Freak, this little baby comes with Lensbaby's new Optic Swap System, offering artists an almost unlimited variety of looks and styles to capture their unique visions.
The Muse comes in two flavors. You can buy the Muse with the tack sharp Double Glass optic installed or get dreamy with the Plastic Optic version. Your choice!

The Lensbaby 2.0 is closer to the former, but I often feel that it's giving me the latter results - not by choice.

So, what does this lens do exactly? It imposses a selective focus on the area of your photo that you want attention tuned to. It does this by altering the lens's plane and DOF. The result is an effect of blur that can be likened to being gaussian or caused by motion. Another effect of the lens is control of Bokeh. This is the part that I absolutely love, despite my ability to control it and such.

Observe:

This photo was achieved by arranging some coloured christmas lights, that under normal circumstances run along one ceiling corner, but with a hanger and some strategic manipulation, the result is such. The Heart shaped points of light themselves were a result of the aperture disk shape. In the creative kit you can buy for the lens baby, comes a heart and star shaped aperture disk, along with a half-dozen "blanks" for you to play with. So far, i've only made 2, and one of them didn't turn out quite right. The one that did, is a animal paw.

I hope to use that one more in the future. I have no furry house mates of my own, but i do have friends that do.

Anyhow... That's the heart shaped disk... Now the star shaped disk. This one has been a bit tricky for me to work with as I haven't come across any decent ideas as to what I can do with it. Incidently, I (by fluke) captured this *ahem* stellar pic of my friend Sara. Already a gorgeous woman... one would never dare think of how to make a photo of her more mystical... more celestial. In this awesome case, the photo turned out pretty well thanks to strategicly place light, though one could argue that it didn't hurt having a subject that just came in from poorly lit outside, into semi-well lit inside. The pupil dialiation is what makes this photo, i'm sure.

IT'S SPRING!!

2009-03-20T07:17:00.001-07:00

Finally...

Awwww crap. It's -4 out!

What gives?

WORST ENTRY INTO SPRING EVER!

okay, 2nd worst... I seem to recall being in Grade 6 and suffering through much worse. That year, we were given a quite lazy teacher who often left us all waiting 5-10min outside after Lunch recess was done. I seem to recall that particular spring being horribly bitter cold AND windy.

Nevertheless... i remain hopeful

It's Carsday!

2009-03-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yep... once again, time for another mind-numbing installment featuring the topic of cars. This time... with Pics! Bear with me here... It's one thing to see what you're editing. It's another when the finished product is not what you saw in editing. Blogspot apparently is NOT wysiwyg.

First up...

THE BENTLEY CONTINENTAL SUPERSPORT.

Or as one newspaper stupidly called it. The Superport! (Man... does anyone spellcheck anymore? ro heva ew edvolde ntio tsuj shamgni ekys?)

What is so special about the supersport? Not a whole lot when i really think about it. At least, when i say this, i mean this in regards to what it means to 99% of drivers out there. But at the same time, understanding where this new version of the Conti comes from, it means a great deal.

Where does this Bentley come from? It comes from the minds of Porsche/VW AG's best people (i suppose that would be literally... this IS their flagship vehicle, or at least one of them)

So, the specialness of this car is that it is really powerful. As in... 600+hp powerful. But not only is it powerful, it's "Green" too. It is able to run on Biofuel (E85 specifically) as well as regular gas or a combination of the two (so... E40?)

That's a pretty cool thing. I mean, a super luxury car able to run on various types of petroleum-based and like fuel. Too bad it comes what... a year too late? Yeah, i suppose that couldn't be predicted by Bentley, but Kudos for them trying. Lord knows few others have. (I'm waiting to see this treatment applied to the Conti's Italian cousins, Gallardo and Murcielago)

Next... The rise of the Sport Cute... or Cute CUV... No. Let's make that the Cute CUB. Let's face it... There's a disturbing trend beginning in the lower end of the automotive section. This horrible need for manufacturers to produce strange looking vehicles is alarming. I'm not sure, but it seems to have started with explosion in popularity of the Scion xB. Yes, there were other Box-type vehicle things before the xB (Element, Cube), and there will be many after it. It just seems strange that these kinds of cars are becoming popular. Granted, we are a society of materialistic pack-rats and this sort of thing is what we need. Don't get me started on some of the stupidity that I once saw when i worked at a place called Costco - so, i can fully appreciate this explosion of mini-minivans and mini-wagons.

The sad and stupid part is... there are too few of these offered in Canada. If I'm not mistaken, Nissan will be the first to offer one of these boxy little vehicles in Canada. That's unless Kia beats them to that punch. I know the Soul is on sale now, but I have yet to see one on the road.
On a side note - the Soul replaces the Spectra5... so does that mean there will be a similar offering from Hyundai?

My only concern with these small wagovancars is... WINTER. Most of these small cube-wagons lack the power to tackle the snow that we get. Trust me... I've seen it. Actually, I saw it in Lancaster, New York when a Scion xB tried to get into a Tim Horton's parking lot and got stuck AT THE CURB.

And with their smaller footprint and taller dimensions... I have this feeling of impending doom. Still... After having made two or three roadtrips in the last year or so, I would definitely love to have this sort of car myself. I alone appreciate the irony of how I once had a Pontiac Van, and never did any roadtrips in it... yet, with my current ride, I do. That extra space would be a godsend like no other to me.

This summer, I am already planning 2 trips to parts well north of here. The first requiring about 5 hours of driving, and the second requiring 7 hours - Both, involving camping. If anything, a wagon beats a sedan in carrying all the crazy crap that you end up realizing, that has to come with you. And it's in that sort of situation where, I look at the facts and realize... a small Cube would fit the Tesseract's life very well. ;)

Actually... now that I think of it... I think I will consider either the Soul or the Cube for my next vehicle. Why? Well... they both have really kick-ass names. Of course, most of my friends would expect me to get the Cube. They know me too well.

You're probably wondering what sort of stupidity I did see when I worked for Costco. To this day, these sorts of things still amuse me. At the same time, i feel bad for those times where I rolled my eyes at Customers who were helplessly inept in some aspects - Those were the ones that bought things like Big Screen TVs and thought they could fit them into their Dodge Caravan, only to discover that they couldn't - that being a shock to those involved. But the true stupids were... The guy in the BMW 318i, wedging a safety ladder and I think a desk console, through his hatch, right into the front passenger seat. The desk's box sticking out the back end by a good 3feet, the ladder a couple more. Then there was the lady with the Lexus, who proceeded to purchase $1000+ worth of groceries and asked me to shove it all in to her tiny little SC430.
(yes, it did work, but that's not the point). Then... there was the Cookie Lady, who drove an early 80's Stationwagon of some kind, which... as far as i could tell, was no longer roadsafe... yet, we proceeded to stuff over 500lbs of flour and sugar into the back of the wagon. It had no more springs...

Flashing and Streaking...

2009-03-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

Having started this blog just a few days ago, explaining how I would like to focus my efforts on key subjects, I thought of the regularity of which said subjects could be discussed. Since, Wednesday was a car-blogging, then maybe another day can be a photography blogging? Friday, being the beginning of the weekend, I could discuss music. However, one could argue that it would be wiser to discuss music at the end of the weekend, after I have either a) downloaded and/or purchased new music or b) heard something new. Either way, I haven't got a concrete schedule that I can adhere to yet, and this early in the game, I probably shouldn't.

Today, is my first photo-blog entry, and I'm not sure what to talk about this (first) time. I suppose I can talk about some of the small little tricks I have learned in my short time as a serious, yet still amatuer photographer.

First, this is not just advice for photography, but for life. Start cheap. This isn't because you can get by with cheap, but rather because it's better to learn with cheap, growing into better equipment. I doubt some of the greatest photographers like Leibowitz or Adams started with the cameras that they took their most famous pictures with. The point i'm trying to make here is, it's with the less expensive equipment that you can get started and going. From the less expensive, you can learn the basics and some of the advanced too (if you're brave enough to explore some of the crazy features in your camera - I for one, am still looking for an opportunity to use MLU)

Second - Auto... learn to use it, learn to love it. It's in this mode that you can capture amazing shots without thinking. Why miss out on a killer shot by mucking about with your fancy Manual settings, when you don't have to? I started shooting Auto and Night-time before I ultimately moved to Tx (shutter priority). From Shutter Priority, I moved briefly to Aperture Priority (Ax), only to go back, before i went to Full Manual. It was in September of 2008, that I first went manual, successfully. To this day, I am still proud of that shot

Third -If anything I have learned [okay, observed] it's that if you find yourself in a photographic slump, there's 3 things you can do about it.

1) Do a little research on the net for tips and tricks.
I like to visit these three sites:
a) Strobist
b) DIYphotography
c) Instructables [note: i don't have a direct link for their photo stuff... couldn't find it]

Without a doubt, the modern digital photographer should be going to the first. The frugal and/or photographing newcomer, should be going to the the second and third as well. The latter two are actually good suggestions for getting close to professional results via methods that... well, professionals would balk at. Can't knock a cool photo now, can you? Anyhow... having said that, some of the projects on those two sites circumvent some crappy aspects of amatuer photography as well... like that of flashing with more power.

2) Join a photo club/blog/site.
If you're on Facebook, like so many of us are, there are hundreds of photoclubs. I alone, am in 3 different clubs, but I will admit, I don't really go to two of them often. I have found that these photoclubs can be a boon to a photographer looking for a challenge and for ideas. The reason being is, you can get a glimpse into what others are taking photos of. I do have to say though, I have a bit of a problem with some groups as they will allow users of point and shoot cameras in their contests, which i think is kind of cheating. More to the point, P&S users don't understand EXIF or the difficulty in making settings work. I'll admit, there are some fancy P&S cameras out there that do have full manual modes in them, but none have the control of a decent SLR. At least, in my experience. (Though the S5 and G9 are rather good).

Having said that... photoblogs and clubs are great for lists of ideas. Here's a sample list of what you can take pictures of:

Machinery * Religious Celebrations * Earth/Wind/Fire/Water * Around the House * Graffiti * Diagonals * Technology * Time * Glass/Crystal * Spring * Trees * Games * Feathers * Gardens * Many * Family Fun * At the Beach * Waterfalls * Architecture * Mountains * Boats/Ships * What's for Dinner? * Symmetry* Ruins * Toys * Pools/Fountains * Weddings * Music * One * Roads/Paths * Fluid * From the Underside * Secret Places * Fences/Walls/Gates * People at Work * Waves * Eggs * Spires/Steeples * Faces * Vases * Square * Attics/Cellars * Landmarks Ice * Centrepieces * Beverages * Grasses * Wood * Demolition * Collections * Books * Running * Fruit/Berries

3) The last suggestion is more of an idea that I'd rather not suggest, but it should be considered.

PUT THE CAMERA DOWN - at least for a while. I have found that the best way to get around a slump is to not be bothered by said slump. Putting the camera away for a while will force an abandonment of some bad techniques (theoretically) and will give you fresh eyes when you return to it. Sometimes, it helps to put it away so you can give thought to a technique you'd like to try. Thinking is good. Compose the shot as best as you can in your mind - think of how you need to set everything up and how to get there with your (available) equipment.

Having said all this... I'm currently trying to think through aperture designs for my Lensbaby.
My current project is attempting to create a zone plate for my lensbaby. Understandably, the creative aperture that I will eventually create will not be a true zone plate, but it will be the closest damn thing i can get to one. Naturally, a pinhole will be the easiest to accomplish (drill a hole in the aperture disk and bam! pinhole.

GARBAGE AND RECYCLING!!

2009-03-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

I for one, like so many others, do not like to take the garbage out. But, I understand the necessity to do so. It's bad to keep junk around for a multitude of reasons; one chiefly being it's not healthy.

Whenever possible, I recycle. I recycle everything I can actually: Paper, Cans, Bottles, Pets, and Cardboard. "Wait... did you just say Pets?"

So, when it comes to dealing with junk, what are we most apt to do? Throw it away. But there's a huge exception... Vehicles. There are countless numbers of used-car lots scattered around North America, and as a result, there's a huge surplus of vehicles that can be either had... or... you guessed it... RECYCLED! Even worse is the number of vehicles on the road, that shouldn't be on the road. Cars older than 10years that spew crap on each time their are started. Cars that leak their hazardous fluids. Cars that cost their idiot owners hundreds each year, because they are cheap bastards who can't be bothered to a) get rid of their junkers or b) save for a new car.

This is where Mr. Mondragon's comment makes sense. There are plenty of cars on the road that shouldn't be. Mondragon thinks that a good way to boost sales for cars is for the Government to pony up more cash for the scrap incentive. Good idea. Let's get these cars off the road by getting our government to pay people $3200 more than the current scrap incentive.

Good idea except...
1) there's no guarantee the hold outs will do it.
2) the government should not be on the hook for that stipend
3) why doesn't FORD offer this?
4) what's going to stop people who take on this offer from buying Asian/European offerings?

Clearly Mondragon is not running with all cylinder's firing.

Neither is the honourable George Smitherman.

Mr. Smitherman has called the OLG's decision to give away 22 Mercedes in the OLG's newest lottery offering, "crappy". I've got news for you... The OLG did the right thing. There isn't a single vehicle produced in Ontario by the big 3 that anyone playing a lottery would want. Besides... a measly twenty-two vehicles is NOT going to save the Auto industry in Ontario. If anything... that would've provided a few extra hours of work to our unionized friends. Not that it matters... the folks at the OLG have their own worries to mull over too.

Actually, I do have to step back here for a second. There are some fairly decent vehicles produced in Ontario that could have been put into the lottery winnings. The Acura MDX is made at the Alliston Honda plant. Sadly, that's the only decent vehicle getting pumped out by that plant. And then there's the compound in Cambridge... Toyota's. At that plant, the Lexus RX is produced. Not that it's really a luxury car, but it does have the essence of one - The Chrysler 300C could have been included in the lottery too, but only a fully loaded version, with 20'' dubs for wheels, XBOX360 in the back seat and a pooltable in the trunk. Or maybe not. A fully loaded 300C would have sufficed without that crap.

Speaking of Fully loaded... there's something that's bothered me ever since I got my car. Something the auto industry should be doing is reducing the number of available trims. Too many models out there with a handful of trims available. There's no need for multiple trims - CE, LE, SE, RS, ES, ETC., - All that's needed is just one model, your choice of colours, stereo, and transmission. Multiple engine offerings would have to go too.

I am by far no economist, but i'm sure many would agree that set price points would benefit the auto industry greatly. By this i mean, a sub-compact offering would be at a certain price range, and it would not have any overlap with the compact offering, and the compact has no overlap with the mid-sized. To a degree Hyundai/Kia has been doing this, and you know what, every day I think i see more of those on the road. But then again, that just might be because people aren't buying the shit made by Ford, Dodge and GM.

It was a Dark and Stormy Night...

2009-03-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

It seems fitting that I should start some sort of writing this way, with that headline. Not because I'm a poor writer, or a fan of Bulwer-Lytton (or any other Victorian novelists), but rather, for the fact that I am a fan of good, simple writing. And an example that I recently enjoyed reading (finally) was Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time". A novel that I have gone on far too long without reading. Many have asked me where i got my nickname from, and it wasn't from that book, but i can see their fascination with asking me that - it's one of those words you always wished you took for yourself as a nickname/handle. Well... HA! I took it, so there! Suckers!

But back to the serious - so, why the headline? Because that's how the famous novel starts. Well, actually, it starts with the chapter title, "Mrs. Whatsit", but that's being overly technical. I'm not sure why L'Engle made that the opening line, but it did set the tone well, unlike Bulwer-Lytton.

The fact of the matter is, last night was in fact dark, and it certainly was raining, but it was far from being stormy. The weather was rather unremarkable, yet still annoying. I for one, do not like walking home from the subway when the clouds break and shed their excess moisture. I do however - at least if i am not driving that is - enjoy a related weather phenomena: Fog.

Why? because it can add a very strong dynamic to our... static world. Where everything is between black and white, Fog really makes everything fall into the grey area. This has been a bit of a problem for me in regards to my photography, as I have missed quite a few times, the opportunity to go out and take photos of this foggy city. Such as... this morning. Or maybe not.

This morning, has been particularly sunny, moving into a sky filled with partly cloudiness.

So there you have it... the first look at into my thoughts and reasonings.

Now... what am i going to do with this blogspace? Well... I have to let you all know. I am an avid amatuer photographer, picking his way along in the crazy world of image capturing. Learning everything i can that's withing my means and disposal. It hasn't been always easy, but i've had some great results along the way - and i'll admit even that i've had some disappointments, but i've made the best out of those too. So... part of this blog will be about photography.

Another part is... I work as an editor. Particularly as a Copy Editor, working on financial and business media press relation materials. I think. I guess that's a good way of explaining it. I'll admit, the answer for the question "What do you do for a living?" never results in the same answer twice from me, unless I'm being lazy and i just say "Editor".

So, part of my blog will be about the stuff that I come across in my line of work. I have to upfront and honest right away about this... My blog will ONLY contain information that has been made public. And chances are... I'll be writing about stuff more in the media relations side of the job.
That... and stuff I saw on downstream partner websites (i.e. Globe and Mail).

Lastly... I'm going to write about a few random topics. Of particular interest to me are the following: Cars, Archaeology, Music, and of course, Visual Art. The latter being not entirely contained within the realm of real art, but also the bastardization of the visual [e.g. Lolcats, internet memes and the sort].