Bonjour tout le monde! This is my first article for a shop outside of Japan. I certainly miss shopping at the amazing shops and huge department stores of Japan so I was happy to find a shop that sells used photography equipment. Of course, the shops here will not surpass the quality of what you will see in Japan but this one is close enough. Please join me as I introduce to you one of the more established businesses in town, servicing the community since 1999.
Introduction:
Ciné Monde is a not-so-little shop located in a very hip part of town. It’s operated by Mike, who is somewhat of a celebrity among the local photographers. It’s one of the few camera shops in this part of the province and I was told that the items here move fast. I saw what they have and it’s decent compared to what I see in Japan, there are some interesting and rare stuff here, too.
This is the front of the shop. It’s hard to miss this place if you are walking but it may elude you when you’re driving because they do not have a big sign outside facing the traffic.
Hello, everybody! Many people today do not recall the glory days of the cassette tape. When I was young it was the only way we could affordably own a record that’s portable enough to be used as audio entertainment media for our cars. Before it we only have radios and we only listened to things that the DJ would play. Owning a cassette player in your meant that you can play whatever you wanted to listen. It was cheap, small and fairly reliable despite hassle of the tape being tangled inside the player. It took a very long time for the compact disc to be perfected which replaced the cassette eventually. There were many trial-and-errors, you’re not supposed to run fast when on uneven road or your song will skip since buffering wasn’t implemented yet and the inconvenience of having to store your CDs at the trunk or under the seats were annoying. Despite those setbacks, early in-car CD systems showed us the way to the future until the technology has been perfected in the late 90s. Today, I will show you something that reminded me of those days. It came in late because the established product was so reliable that it was difficult to replace but as soon as people had mastered the technology this soon became somewhat obsolete, being only remembered as a transition.
Introduction:
The AF-Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 came out in 1989 and lasted only shy of 5 years in production until it was replaced by the new but very similar AF-Nikkor 20mm f/2.8D. It’s the autofocus version of the popular Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 Ai-S, which outlived it by many years. Its introduction was somewhat late for an AF-Nikkor, probably because of how complicated the mechanisms inside of it are. It has the came CRC system found in the Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 Ai-S. You will see later how intricate the interior of barrel is and how clever the solutions are. Many people thought that this lens and the later AF-Nikkor 20mm f/2.8D are identical apart from the exterior but they’re not really exactly the same in terms of construction internally, with the later lens having more modern characteritics.
While the constructions is all-plastic, at least in the exterior, the lens has a solid feel when held. It may rattle somewhat when you shake it, maybe a little bit more than the usual AF-Nikkor but it’s not flimsy at all. Like all Nikkors of its kind it has a lock for the aperture ring so you can lock it at its minimum aperture of f/22 when using it with autofocusing Nikons. You’ll get an error if it was not setup like this. The focusing ring is of the later type since this was introduced a bit later compared to its contemporaries. It isn’t as wide as I’d like but it’s not pathetic at all.
Hello, everybody! Are you a fan of Prince? I am one of those who listened to his music in his prime when he was alive and one of my favorites is “Purple Rain“. Many people remember it because of its very long instrumental part. Back in the day when I used to go to stripper clubs I recall incidents when the dancer would get into an argument with the DJ whenever the latter would play this song. This means that she’d be dancing more than she should! Today, I will show you something that reminded me of my wild youth, and just like Prince’s masterpiece the prominent theme will be the color purple.
Introduction:
The Lomography LomoChrome Purple 100-400 is a variable ISO film similar to the Lomography LomoChrome Metropolis 100-400 but it turns things purple as the name suggests. I have heard of this film for a long time and I have always been intrigued by it but I’ve only shot with it recently. I think it has been around for about a decade, it has a strong following online amongst younger film photography enthusiasts because of the unique look it’s able to produce, which somehow resembles cross-processing in such a way that some colors shift their hues to the purple side of the spectrum.
The box looks nice and the film is encased in an equally nice plastic canister. What struck me the most is the color of the base, it’s yellow and kind of thick. It has 36 exposures, I don’t think these are sold in 24-exposure rolls. Be aware that this film doesn’t come with a DX code so you’ll have to dial-in your desired ISO manually or rate it somewhere within the ISO100-400 range for best results according to the box.
Hello, everybody! It’s been a couple of months now since I have left Tokyo in order to live elsewhere. It’s not easy to say goodbye to a place that I called home for more than a decade or 12 years to be exact. All the preparation and expenses made me stressed but at least my daughter might be happier here in our new home. I think it is fitting that I dedicate this post to Tokyo, an amazing city that had been part of my family’s life. Please enjoy this little article.
Introduction:
The Lomography LomoChrome Metropolis 100-400 (Tokyo Edition) is a limited-edition film made with the collaboration of Kitamura Camera in Japan a few years ago. As the name implies, it’s a variable-ISO film which means it can be used within the specified range and you will still be able to get good results which makes this a very forgiving film to shoot with. You can rate it however you want so long as you don’t stray too far from the recommended range. This is probably a repackaged Lomography Metropolis 100-400 since I could not see any difference with shooting both films. Maybe they just want to get rid of inventory that’s been sitting in the warehouse for years, I don’t know.
Unlike Lomography’s normal line of hipster films this one comes with a premium aluminum tin. Packaging is important for sales and brand-image and they went all-out this time. Do not be fooled by the pictures on the box, you’ll only get these results if you’ve shot the film under the right conditions and I will show you how you can get it or at least understand how this film behaves. There is a slight difference when you use it at different speeds and only at certain conditions.
Hello, everybody! Do you remember Sony’s tagline back in the day? If “It’s a Sony” doesn’t sound familiar to you then you must be younger than 35. It’s effective branding, it’s catchy and easy-to-mention. It’s an effective way to drill into your potential customers’ minds about your brand’s image and what that stands for. You’ll have to keep it short, simple and direct. Just repeat it like a jingle and it’s certainly going to stick to their head the next time they buy an electronic device. I will play on that slogan today but this time it’s not a Sony but “It’s a Sonnar“, a Tele-Sonnar to be precise if I’m not mistaken.
Introduction:
The Cine-Nikkor 75mm f/2 was made from an unknown date, nobody knew when it ended production. I suspect it was made from the mid-1960s up until around the 1970s. I was told that Nikon does not really document anything that’s not a consumer product so precise information about these can be scarce and inaccurate. These are specialty lenses so I guess they were made in low-volume which are spread across a long production time. This lens is the second-longest in the Cine-Nikkor portfolio for the C-mount, it filled the gap between 50mm and 100mm. It’s rather useful for wildlife, sports, news or just about anything that requires a bit more reach. You could think of it as the 200/3.5 equivalent for a standard 16mm camera as it gives the same field-of-view and depth-of-field characteristics of a 200/3.5 lens for 35mm. Crop-factor is a recent concept that’s not really relevant in the context of shooting movies but since we are interested in using this for stills you should always be aware of this.
Despite its focal length and speed it managed to remain quite compact, this isn’t larger-nor-thinner than the other ones except for the early version of the Cine-Nikkor 25mm f/1.4 which is an oddity. Keeping the size of the barrel uniform is essential so you could use your custom-made attachments. Its mount could be repositioned by depressing the thread and rotating it, allowing you to view the scales no matter which orientation it ended up in the camera. This is a nice touch, I am not aware of any other manufacturer that did this.
Hello, everybody! There are many classic movies that were remade in the past couple of years. Some were good but the majority is rubbish, never surpassing the originals in terms of impact and reception. I think it’s unnecessary to do remake great movies such as Ghostbusters and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory because I consider them to be “perfect” but The Fly benefitted from an overhaul. Today, I’ll show you one such “remake”, unlike Ghostbusters this lens had to be updated and resulting lens is a lot better than the original. Read the whole article to know more about it.
Introduction:
The Cine-Nikkor 25mm f/1.4 is an upgrade of the older Cine-Nikkor 25mm f/1.4 with the smaller, old-style barrel. It has new optics and the barrel is now similar to the concurrent models such as the Cine-Nikkor 10mm f/1.8. I don’t know when this was made but I assume that production ran from 1962 up to an unknown date. It’s difficult to date these because there’s no data available. The only information available are from leaflets and there are no dates available. Regardless, it’s apparent that the older Cine-Nikkor 25mm f/1.4 had to be replaced for an unknown reason and this lens replaced it in the catalogs. It’s the premium option for a “normal” lens for the 16mm format and it gives a field-of-view close to 67mm if you were to consider its crop-factor. Crop-factor is a rather new concept, people who shoot movies don’t even think of it. It may sound like a super-fast lens but it’s sort of mediocre for this format and it’s not unusual to find lenses with an f/1.2 aperture for shooting with 16mm.
The barrel is built like most C-mount Cine-Nikkors, it’s solid and feels substantial despite being tiny. These were popular lenses so it’s not unusual to find these with scratches and heavy-wear. The scales are easy-to-read and you will need to rely on this when you shoot this with a 16mm camera. Focusing precisely without looking through-the-lens can be difficult but you’ll get used to it.
Hello, everybody! Do you remember Bobby Goldsboro’s old song “Honey“? It’s a sentimental song about a man missing his lover named “Honey” who left him when her time came unexpectedly. It’s a favorite song of many people but some think that it’s stupid due to this being a country song with simple, corny lyrics. I personally loved it and I occasionally sing that at the karaoke. There are many things in life that divide our opinion. Today, I’ll show you a lens that some people love but some people hated it. And just like “Honey” I think it’s “kind of dumb and kind of smart”, too. You’ll know later why I made that remark so please read the whole article carefully.
Introduction:
This version of the Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 was made from 1964 to 1967, it is called “zebra” by many people because it has a barrel that has striped rings. Unlike the older Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/2.8 Tessar the iris could be actuated automatically but it now only has a 6-bladed iris instead of the circular one of the older versions including the semiautomatic version. This lens used to be the best 50mm Tessar of its time and it was nicknamed “adler auge” or “eagle-eye” because its sharpness. While I think that the older version sort of fell-short in this regard I think this one truly lived-up to that nickname and you will see why soon.
The build is typical of Carl Zeiss Jena lenses from this era meaning it’s all-metal. the engravings are easy-to-see but the depth-of-field scale seems to be rather vague because they’re not color-coded unlike what we’re used to seeing with Nikkors. The aluminum barrel feels nice and it also helps to keep this light but it is still quite substantial when you hold it and not flimsy at all. There’s a small tab at the base which you’re able to depress in order to stop the iris down for depth-of-field preview or metering through-the-lens.
Hello, everybody! We were jolted by a very strong earthquake last night just before midnight. People were so scared because that’s the strongest ever felt since that dreadful event in 2011. Some of my spare parts are on the floor and I’ll have to pick them up later today. It’s good that most building here were built in a way that makes them withstand strong tremors so there are no structural damages as far as I could see. It is something that we all have to accept living in such a quake-prone area. Today, I’ll show you something that is so tough that it could withstand a lot of punishment and just most of the concrete buildings here. I am glad to know that this one will survive a natural catastrophe so long as it has nothing to do with water and being soaked with it. Read my article to find out what this lens is.
Introduction:
The Zoom-Nikkor 50-300mm f/4.5 ED Ai was sold from 1977 to 1982. The later but similar-looking Zoom-Nikkor 50-300mm f/4.5 ED Ai-S replaced it in 1982 and it was made until 1999. It one replaced the older Zoom-Nikkor 50-300mm f/4.5 Auto which is one of Nikon’s most impressive super-zooms from the 1960s. Compared to the Zoom-Nikkor 50-300mm f/4.5 Auto this one has a shorter, stockier barrel and its optics are much better in terms of performance thanks to the inclusion of ED glass. Both lenses are heavy, large and imposing. It’s hard to find a lens of this class that will impress or intimidate your subjects and clients. It’s one of Nikon’s best lenses from the all-manual era and it sort of acquired a legendary status amongst photo journalists and people who shoot sports, you will see why in this article.
This is a massive lens, it’s definitely going to leave your arms sore after a day’s work. The barrel does not change length when you zoom unlike the older Zoom-Nikkor 50-300mm f/4.5 Auto. This is advantageous for people who shoot this with a tripod since the center-of-mass won’t change which is great for studio work. It’s also smaller compared to the older lens but it’s still huge.
Hello, everybody! Do you know “Saizeriya” or サイゼリヤ? It’s a Japanese restaurant chain that serves the cheapest Italian food you’ll find anywhere. It’s cheap and the quality of the food is great for its price. I am a huge fan of this chain because they offer very good value and the ambience is like a family-restaurant. I also see young couples dating here so it says a lot about their target market. Today, I will show you a nice lens that’s considered by some to be the cheaper alternative to the more expensive 25mm Nikkors but it’s quite decent so there’s nothing “cheap” about its performance. You can even say that It’s the Saizeriya of C-mount Cine-Nikkors.
Introduction:
The Cine-Nikkor 25mm f/1.8 was sold from 1959 and It’s part of the initial lineup of C-mount lenses made with the later barrel design which is bigger but it standardized the sizes of most C-mount Cine-Nikkors so they could share accessories such as filters and other customized gadgets. I don’t know when production ended for this lens but it’s probably around the late 1960s or even up until the mid-1970s judging by how some of the boxed look like. There are minor variations of this lens some of which have both meters and feet engraved on the barrel. The 25mm focal-length is like a “standard” lens for the 16mm format and it’s somewhat like a 68mm lens on 35mm or full-frame if you factor-in the recent concept of crop-factor. The f/1.8 aperture sounds fast but for a C-mount lens it’s kind of “standard”, giving you and effective-aperture of f/4.8 if you consider the 2.7x crop-factor.
As typical with all Cine-Nikkors of its class the barrel is all-metal, it’s a tough little lens. The focus-throw is moderate and is quite pleasant to be honest. The informative depth-of-field scale is useful and you could focus completely with it when shooting from moderate distances. The mount is adjustable so you will be able to reorient it regardless of which camera it’s used with.
Hello, everybody! I am recently eating sushi sold at the convenience stores more often. These are not as good as what you will find in restaurants, even the ones from a sushi-go-around tastes much better. Their price and convenience are the main factors why I kept eating them, specially for breakfast. It hits the spot, even just barely and that’s good enough. It always leaves me craving for better quality sushi but when I’m hungry and lazy anything will do I suppose. Today, I’m going to show you something that satisfied a need back-in-day. Just like cheap sushi this was better than nothing at all specially at a time when people were demanding for a cheap-but-acceptable solution for a wide-lens that’s capable of being mounted to early SLR’s. Read the whole article to find out more about this.
Introduction:
The Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 40mm f/4.5 we see here is the later version of the Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 40mm f/4.5 with the smaller barrel. It’s not clear when this was made and for how long but I suspect that it was made from around 1951 and it stayed for a few years until the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.8 was introduced. It’s merely a stop-gap and this was soon phased-out when the more practical Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.8 was unveiled. Needless to say, this is kind of rare but not valuable at all because the demand for it is low owing to its odd choice of focal length.
It has an all-metal barrel that resembles its peers from the same era but unlike them this does not have a preset-ring so you will have to precisely stop the iris down yourself. This is a bit of an annoyance because you’ll have to tale your eyes off the viewfinder just to confirm that you’ve go the right aperture value set before you make an exposure.
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Richard Haw's Classic Nikon Repair and Review 