Omg, Argus-C camera

Encountering something is always out of blue. (You may find what you expected when you’ve been chasing it, but otherwise it would be an unexpected sheer coincidence.)  So, the story here is having such unexpected coincidence. —– A female photographer developed a film left inside of a camera and found the photos of the Mt.St.Helens eruption in 1980. (The story and the discovered photos were amazing enough) 

But for me, what amazed was, the camera which she found in a thrift shop, an old Argus camera, was the same camera I used when I was a boy.  It was in the 1950s, the camera said to be bought from an American soldier.  On that time, American were everywhere in Japan —– not because of the occupying GHQ, but also the Korean war was going on. (Seeing the advancement of Communists, American regret to disarm Japan — so, try to re-arm Japan with so-called “Self-defence Force” which they said “Not contradicting Japanese Constitution which renounced the means of war = because they are only for self-defence not to attack others” then ! = Since then Japan is having this contradiction and the paradox. )

The camera was an American = Argus-C.  The adjustment of double image in the range-finder was linked to the focus of the Lens = it was rather cleverly designed and easy to use even for a 8,10-years-old boy — though both F-aperture scale, shutter speed scale was funny. —– Film used was a Fuji Neopan-S, B/W film and the  Exposure was a guess-work from a film instruction such as “Bright sunny day, use F8 and 1/125th second” kind.  The camera worked well until a shutter blade break off and ruined whole film one day,  still I remember quite a few images such as I did attempt to take close-up of an insect etc without using proper close-up accessory but with an improvised magnifying glass etc.  (Many years later, I got Pentax SP with close-up ring.)   So, to see an old friend was a good surprise ! 

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XF Symposiume (of connecting people)

In this post, Sharp images were taken by Sony 30mm F3.5 lens.  a bit fuzzy images were made by the “Fun camera lens” and even fuzzier images were by a Pinhole on A7R camera.  (Fisheye images were Pinhole with Mob-phone Fisheye adapter)

XF Symposium was a gathering of the organizers who is organizing the local activities to connect the people.  And the MAZI is a way to provide a digital platform of the communication of the members. (Like a small-scale SNS)

As the nine organizations participating and each group having their own project, I’m not able to tell who is doing what. (If you are interested in, please contact them by yourself.)
http://friends.deptfordcreek.net/creeknet-xf-symposium/
http://wrd.spc.org/creeknet-xf-symposium/

Between the sessions, we were offered to have a delicious vegetarian carry, authentically cooked by an Indian chef, and mango smoothy. 

Unless we got the energy in our stomach, our brain doesn’t function well.  (though, to fill it too much, we may fall asleep.  😀  )

After the session, we popped out to the park next to the Steven Lawrence Center.  (In fact, it stand alongside the Deptford Creek itself.)

And even more food and drink was offered.  What a good picnic to have a Sumer solstice Day !

It was really a hot midsummer, — be in the park, or stay well-air-conditioned inside was a good question.  = It was a situation, whether we should stay with the nature or take an advantage of the modern technology.   😀    Anyway, we had a good chat, not necessary a serious talk about the community. —– What community ?   We are the eating together community.  It’s a paradox Sir.    😀

Alongside the park, shallow Deptford Creek seems to be pretty clean and looks present. (I saw even a Damsel fly !)

Don’t worry, Deptford Creek seems to be pretty in good condition.

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Go into a mud (but not me)

(On this post, as it happened often, the sharp clear pictures were taken by Canon Fisheye lens, a bit fuzzy images were taken by a Pinhole, and more fuzzy pictures were by homemade Mag Lens on Sony A7R camera.)

There was an event to walk the low tide creek, at the Deptford Creek, organized by the Creekside Discovery Center, as a part of the Creeknet, XF Symposium. — http://deptfordcreek.net

It can be a kind of treasure hunting or a nature study.

(So, the “Treasure” found in the past walk has been displayed in the center = after such tenacious repeated  hunt, there may not be anything left though.  😀  )

M m m ——.

So, the participants borrow the big wader and the stick and get the instructions.  (but being as a Japanese, with our deep religious restriction, we wouldn’t touch somebody else’s shoes, let alone a wader worn by hundreds of others = It was the same reason how the prisoner could keep their shortwave radio in a prison camp of the WW2, as the Japanese soldier never touch the prisoner’s possession.)

And receive more lectures.

So, at last they marched away to the mud.

And after came back in one piece, received even more lectures.  After all, to organize a community activity is a campaign.  Campaign means persuading the mass with one opinion, same to the political campaign. —> Successful one may become a politician. (and get a power and money ?) — am I too cynical ?   Ha ha ha  😀

Don’t get me wrong, to show this picture here, is not meant to be implying a “Rubbish”.  Walking in the mud is a great act though, a funny story here was that, they are appealing that the new development of the area are destroying the environment and the nature etc etc —– but they’ve found that the water is getting cleaner, the more fish, shrimp, crab were found etc etc !  (Unlike the hundred years old traditional housing or local cottage industry, those new developments are having much more strict environmental regulations (such as a sewer etc).   Don’t dwell in an easy buzzword.  See the situation with your clear eyes.  (If you have one — or two ?)

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Nikkor Fisheye 7.5mm on Sony A7R

This odd-looking lens is one of my 5 fisheye collection, Nikon’s earliest fisheye lens, 7.5mm F5.6 Circular Fisheye lens.  Since it was designed for a Nikon F camera with its mirror locked up, it was not very useful member in my collection.  I did a test shot when I got it from my friend on 80s, but since then it was just sitting in a corner of the box, while me thinking, one day I’ll use it, one day —-. (As I got Yoshi Handy which can take whole circular image on 6×6 format, I didn’t have much reason to use it.)  But when I saw it again, I suddenly realized, Why do I need to go a whole trouble of film shooting, “Mirrorless camera has no need of mirror-up” = So, it came to the Venerable Sony A7 camera.

Yes, in deed, the lens nicely fit onto a Sony A7 body with beautiful viewfinder image.

This lens was designed to use in a scientific field, such as to take picture of the whole sky to measure and analyze the amount of the cloud (so, I heard — don’t ask me what that mean.  🙂 ) therefore the lens got built-in 6 filters (for Infra-red image, Red or Orange filter is the essential). 

My lens seemed to be made in 1967 and amazingly Nikon produced a lot of this lens —- my serial number showed more than 1100 !   (Other than a popular kit lens, the most of the lenses doesn’t sell more than few hundred —– I would be surprised if Canon had sold their EF 85mm F1.2 lens more than 300 all together. —– Think, how many people in the world need to use such special but subtle effect, while able to pay so much money ?   In comparison, scientific institute need to have certain facility = the lens can be sold to each institute in the world while public foot the bill.   Similar to that, even a boring book can sell to each library, as they need to list every book.)

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Exploding Battery

It is a well-known fact that the battery could explode and even start a fire.  I’ve seen many exploded battery, still never encounter a fire started by a elec’ device = When its fails, such as a short-circuit or a component failure, it makes a big bang (exploded electrolytic capacitor may make a lots of mess = blow out a chemical) = the circuit was burnt out therefore no more power to start a fire. (so far)

The photo here above was a Ni-MH Rechargeable Battery which has been exploded with big bang  (= blow out the hydrogen gas) !    The battery itself came from Lidle with a price of  £2.99 for 4x AA (said to have 2500mAH !) —– We can’t expect a quality from such a price but the manufacturer needed to get lid of the dead-stock which was rejected by the good vender or brand, even for a scrap price — still I didn’t anticipate an explosion.  I’ve seen many coin type battery exploded but this is the first time to see AA type exploded in such severe way. 

In this case, I was near by and disconnected the charger from the main at once.   But if it was happened while I was away, it could be rather dreadful to be happened ! (Don’t leave the battery in a charger while it was ON not attended.)   Be careful.    Prepare for the worst.

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Reset the Canon body

It seems, when people use Sigma lens on Canon DSLR camera, sometime this trouble would happen = the camera start to show this sign and the lens stopped to work despite the other Canon lens was still working.

Even though the electronic contacts between the body to lens were clean and perfect —– camera just stop to recognize the lens and block all the functions. — As a matter of fact, there may not be any trouble exists, still the Canon body stop to function (as it was programmed so = to give a hard life to Sigma.   😀  ) 

Don’t panick.  You (and your Sigma) would be OK !  The remedy to this kind of trouble in the most of the electronic gear is the same (= same as your PC). = Just reset the gear / Switch off and restart.  In the Canon DSLR case, while that Sigma lens was mounted on the Canon body, switch off and take the battery out — after a while put the battery back and switch the camera on. —– You see !    Have a nice day.  Have a good shooting.

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Fruits – X-lens comparison

Gaudy Lens

Yet another lens comparison of the homemade (and Sony) lenses / Pinhole.  (The link to each lens can be found in the “Related” post “Lens Comparison”)

Sony 30 mm Macro

By the way, this strawberry seemed to come from Spain in its original package — and not only looks gorgeous but also seemingly keeping pretty long shelf life.  BUT almost tasteless !  (Low suger level may keep long life.) —– We buy them with its looks, then become AWARE the taste after. = So, the growers succeeded to create “GOOD product” = good to sell.   A costumer who bought strawberry on a street market never come to Spain and complain to a farmer.

Mono-Pinhole

X4 Pinholes

DD Pinhole B

Gaudy Lens

Left = Sony 30mm Macro Lens, Right = Mag Lens

Close shot by Mag Lens

I’m not implying that the “Good lens” as a good-looking tasteless fruits. —– I’m after good taste = its typical fruity and well matured sweetness.  Otherwise, why we need to by fruits.

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Multi layered Cherry – X6 Lenses(?)

Mag Lens

Multi layered Cherry (Yae-zakura) started to flower.  Here is a collection of the photos taken by 6 different homemade Lenses / Pinholes.

Sony 30 mm Macro

Gaudy Lens

Gaudy Lens

Sony 30 mm Macro

Mag Lens

Sony 30 mm Macro

Gaudy Lens

Mono Pinhole

DD Pinhole

X4 Pinhole

X4 Pinhole

X4 Pinhole

Sony 30mm Macro

You must be convinced that how dry the images of “So called Good Lens”.  Still, you may not to have any choice but to go with the “Good Lens” other than just wet the lens with your spit.   😀   (Don’t worry, it’s not a serious matter at all.)

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When 3 Artists come together

There was a gathering with 2 Cinematographer / Video Artist = Mr A and Mr G.  Basically Mr A was curious about my homemade lenses etc.

It’s a visual artist’s habit.   They tend to grasp the world with their camera.   Then try to compile a poetry or report kind while using intentionally picked up material in the convenient order (and sometime made-up a false story.)   Since I brought my wire Dragon as well (Demonstration model), Mr A who never seen it kind was rather puzzled of its mechanism. (I guess, video camera’s eye might make small wire structure even harder to comprehend.)     Any how it’s a his business / expertise.  Something funny about this gathering was, since all three were long running artist, and got own style and the concept, each of us was shooting their camera in their own pace, without telling what he IS shooting or aiming what.  (So, when their footage come up, I might incorporate them into this post or make a link to their Post or Youtube.)

Mr A was shooting rather heavy weight video camera and Mr G was using 8 mm film cine camera.  (And I was using Nikkor 24 mm F2 on Sony A7R)

(I have no idea what they were shooting.   😀  )  While going through the same environment, we three may make completely different scope.

I wonder, are they making a kind of human drama ?   We are seasoned enough, to talk on the Film, not on the mouth.   (We no longer believe blah blah but the resulting solid image.)

They were 2 of the ordinally shot though, put them in this way might give you an impression, “We are walking towards the doomed future”.  (= that’s how the trick of the political bias works. “Donate the money to protect the earth, before it become  too late !  😀  )

The area in question was socially rather interesting place though, political Art never work. (Because, the art is the matter of emotion —– emotional power always makes mistake in the social movement.)

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Wood Pigeon

It’s the same landscape = just outside of my kitchen.  Only a difference was a Wood Pigeon suddenly appeared on a tree started to tell me that this is his territory.  (This photo was taken by a Zeiss EF 1.8 / 55 mm lens on Sony A7R —– though I wasn’t so impressed by this lens or the camera’s control.  Camera tried to find the focus FOR ME without knowing whether it was a bird or tree branch, let alone which is the subject I was aiming = so, hunting here and there again and again while setting focusing area too wide. = Fixing it to the center is much better and don’t ask me to adjust each time. —– In fact, I should have used much smaller F-aperture though, it’s no point to test the lens stopped down.   😀  )

Any how, if it was a birds shot, why not use my old friend Tamron 500 mm lens.

Considering it was a hand-held shot through a dusty double-grazed window grass, it wasn’t too bad. (I wanted to capture the moment when he chirp, with a mouth wide opened though, it was always too late. —– We need to click a shutter a moment before he chirp. Only a trouble was, how do we know it beforehand.   😀  )

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