PHSC News for November 2020

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Robert

Pentax Optio NB1000

Toronto. Pentax made the Optio NB1000 camera for the Japanese market. It’s featured on page 1 of our newsletter this month (top right).

Is this really November 2020 ? The month began with a down-right chill in the air. But the last week my wife and I have been raking up leaves in the back yard in weather more like early September than November. Previously, a couple of near zero nights and a brisk wind caused all our trees to drop their leaves again.

Meantime, our editor extraordinaire, Sonja Pushchak, and her team have composed this latest issue of PHSC News (20-05 – November 2020). As the roaring comeback of the corona virus increases in volume, and the perplexing American vote was held (Trump close? really?) Anyway,  just read these articles in our latest newsletter to ease your troubles and cares!

Page 1 tips its hat to COVID-19 with the article titled Pro-Maskers; followed by a brief tale of cameras and astronauts in place of the usual PHSC Presents. Page 3 remembers a favourite James Bond – Sean Connery; while page 4 looks at Arthurian Erotica in Anomalies at Work. Page 5 is a howler with a tongue in cheek shot at Trump and his porkies on the COVID19 as recorded in the documentary “Virus? What Virus?”. Then David takes a shot at nomograms, tissue paper instructions for roll film, and a GraLab timer in his Equipment Review, followed by a page of his trio of web links in aid of his partner Louise.

Page 8 features a poster on the impact of the pandemic on our in-person events. On page 9, Ivy & Izzy talk about Andy Warhol. And as usual, we wrap up with the classifieds on page 10. P.S. Every link shown in the newsletter is a hot link just waiting for you to click!

P.P.S. You can visit this issue by clicking here, or by g0ing to the menu item NEWSLETTER at the top of the page. There is a drop down menu that takes you to older issues dating back a couple of decades to the very beginning.

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singin’ the blues

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Robert

Blues drawing courtesy of dreanstime.com

Toronto. PHSC president Clint (Lewko Hryhorijiw) sent me a note yesterday that fellow PHSC member, friend, photographer, musician and occasional contributor to this website, Gunter Ott and his band, are playing today (online) in Hamilton, Ontario.

Gunter writes, “HELLO FRIENDS: I want to pass along this announcement by the Hamilton Public Library of a short Noon Hour Concert of blues I recorded at my home  which the Library will feature today, Friday November 13 on their site www.hpl.ca  and it will then be posted on their You Tube channel. I regret that due to COVID 19 restrictions, I was not able to get the full band together for this concert. – cheers, Gunter”

Tune in to Gunther at noon and enjoy his brand of Blues.

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nice Zeiss lens

Posted on November 12, 2020 by Robert

Zeiss Vario-Sonnar on a Sony F828 camera

Toronto. In 1926 Zeiss formed Zeiss-Ikon for its government. The goal was to streamline the redundant over-lapping cameras made by the German camera factories. Belatedly, about a decade later, Zeiss realized that the minicam had taken over the amateur box/folder market and in some cases the unwieldily and heavy professional cameras too.

To compete with the tiny Leica, Zeiss designed and manufactured the Contax line of 35mm cameras determined to beat Leitz in every technical decision. When Leitz introduced interchangeable lenses, Zeiss was there. For years the two companies locked horns on who had the better cameras; the better lenses. To this battle, Zeiss offered many lenses including the famous Sonnar series.

Long after the second war, Zeiss dropped all cameras but continued to sell lenses. One of the companies using these high quality lenses was Sony in Japan. The lens above is a beautiful Zeiss Vario-Sonnar with a focussing range 0f 7.1mm to 51mm with a maximum aperture of f/2 to f/2.8 and the Zeiss company’s patented T* element coating which seriously reduced the internal reflections allowing much high contrast images to be made. Using a relatively small 4 colour, 8 megapixel, sensor, the lens was rated as 28mm to 200mm in 35mm film camera equivalents.

The F828 went on the market in 2003 replacing the flagship Sony F717 model. Sadly the camera suffered from purple fringing in some light and the Vario-Sonnar had serious geometric distortion at either end of the zoom range in the days when it took special software to correct distortion. two years later in 2005 it was replaced by the even shorter lived Sony R1. The R1 had a quieter and larger sensor using a 3 colour pixel configuration, a bit larger than the size of the so called 4/3 sensors used in non Sony mirrorless cameras.

The 717/828/R1 cameras were robust professional models known as bridge cameras. They lost out to the market desire for DSLR cameras. Sony bought out the Minolta SLR line from Konica to leap-frog into the DSLR market in 2006, replacing the R1 with the Sony Alpha models.  When Sony did embrace the mirrorless market for amateurs with the NEX-3 and NEX-5, they chose to use the APS-C size sensor which was even larger than that in the 4/3 system.

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you oughta be in print

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Robert

PhotoEd Contest

Toronto. Our favourite editor, Rita Godlevskis, over at PhotoEd has a new contest. You can see her contest details here. Deadline is this coming February 2, 2021.

If you ever pictured your photograph(s) in print, now is your chance. To see the quality of the published prints, browse back issues!

NB. This post title is a riff on the old song “You Oughta Be In Pictures” as sung in 1934 by Rudi Vallee

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ringy thingy

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Robert

Here you see the tab for aperture adjustment – in this case on a 35mm Elmar lens

Toronto. Leitz may have just as well used a variant of the early iPhone tag line: “There’s an app for that”, using, “There’s an acc (accessory) for that” instead. In the early years, Leitz made slip-on filters for the petite 5cm Elmar. But they used a front tab to adjust the aperture.

If you wanted to change the aperture, you had to remove the lens hood, remove the filter, adjust the lens aperture, replace the filter, replace the lens hood, then snap the subject – if it was still around.

To solve this issue and speed things up, Leitz made and sold  a thin flexible ring called a VOOLA , later coded as 16621. The ring fit the filter (or lens hood) allowing the snap-shooter to adjust the aperture quicker. A dirt cheap solution to a troublesome problem. Remember, in the pre war days there was no lens coating so a hood was essential to protect the already poor lens contrast from indirect sunshine.

In 1984, Hove Foto Books in the UK published a hard cover pocket book called “Leica Accessory Guide. This was just one of its many historic Leica books. Page 105 (top part shown here) included the VOOLA under “Filters, Hoods, Adaptors, etc.”. Ringy Thingy anyone?

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it’s a long way

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Robert

Koda VP ad on Kodakery cover courtesy of Mario Groleau

Toronto. One of the popular cameras in the great war was the Kodak VP folder. Not only did it use the newly released 127 size roll film, it was small, metal bodied, and compact. A soldier could slip it in a pocket along with a roll or two of film and be ready to get snaps for home or history! This later autographic version was featured on the back of the small Kodak magazine “Kodakery”.

In the summer of 1924, the American magazine “Science and Invention” was busy touting ways to make use of the new home alternating current electricity. George Westinghouse and his central AC system distributed to homes had won over Tom Edison’s direct current set up that required a generator in every home since the power loss was just too great to allow central generation and distribution. One of the pages of the August 1924 S&I magazine suggested h0w one could  make a home-made enlarger using an electric light bulb to enlarge the tiny 127 prints for easier viewing.

NB. My thanks to George Dunbar for the suggestion; and to the WW1 song, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary“.

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new tricks

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Robert

Self Portrait by Stan White

Toronto. Stan White sent me an email the other day. At 91 he has posted a website of photos, poems, and stereo. Stan was born in England and emigrated here. He was an industrial photographer in England and a commercial photographer here, teaming up with the late Everett Roseborough in Ev’s Studio (Ev was our journal editor before handing control over to current editor Bob Lansdale). Stan went on to teach traditional film photography at Sheridan College in Oakville.

In 1982, Stan Joined us and held a number of positions on the executive of the Toronto chapter (including president). Stan was chair of the PSA Stereo Division. He was publisher of PSA’s “Dimensions Three” newsletter. He is an author and poet as well as a photographer. A speaker numerous times at the PHSC on stereo. Stan had a column (Stan White’s Corner) in the PHSC journal. He wrote many articles for the PHSC journal as well. Stan was featured in his December 2013 journal article, “Annals of a 1940s – 50s Industrial Photographer in England“. Organized our initial archive of 3D material at Sheridan College (later moved to the AGO). Did the layout for one of our early mail auctions of member collections (a massive effort) and much more.

When Stan retired, he and his late wife moved out to a small town some 2 to 3 hours drive from Toronto. Eventually the trip here became too onerous and Stan resorted to other means like email to stay in touch with us.

Note that the title of this post is from a favourite British TV program “New Tricks” and in particular Dennis Waterman’s whimsical song of the same title.  Fits well with Stan’s whimsey!

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all about flash lamps

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. What do you do when the light is too low for a photo? Use a flash! Years before electronic flash, or even flash bulbs, flash powder was used in variety of holders. See what was used for flash illumination in this special members-only supplement (vol 1-5).

Vol 1-5 was sent out last Friday afternoon to all current members with an email address. If you did NOT get a copy, please email me at info@phsc.ca and I will send you a copy after verification of your membership. Not YET a member? well, for heaven’s sake! Grab your plastic and register via PayPal on the upper right of this page!

This is a reprint of a 1995 publication in California. The preamble inside the front cover states, “The advertisements and illustrations in this supplement originally appeared in The Photographist, number 105, the journal of the Western Photographic Collectors Association (WPCA). The WPCA was affiliated with the University of California Museum of Photography and stopped publishing circa 1996, going into dissolution in 2001. For the story of the history of the WPCA, see the article in Special Supplement Vol. 1 No. 1.

“In an effort to make this material available to collectors, historians and those interested in the history of photography, this content was digitized by the Photographic Historical Society of Canada (PHSC) and Milan Zahorcak in 2019 and 2020 for distribution to PHSC members as a seven part series. The first instalments were about magic lanterns (two parts), shutters, and posing seats. Subsequent issues of the series, forthcoming in the following months, will be two parts covering early enlargers. If you have any questions or would like higher resolution scans of any of the images, please contact the PHSC at info@phsc.ca.”

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Jim Wills, photographer and collector 1942 – 2020

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Robert

the late Jim Wills of Burlington, ON

Toronto. I received an email Nov 4th from our PHSC President, Lewko (Clint) Hryhorijiw that Jim Wills of Burlington died recently.

Mike Fast, who sent the note to both Clint and Maureen Tucker over in London, said, “… He boasted of having over 900 SLRs, every one of them different, if there were any differences between the Japanese, American and European models he had one of each. He wasn’t just a camera nut or a collector of many things, but he was well versed and extremely knowledgeable in many, many different areas.

“I will truly miss him.”

His funeral was handled by Smith’s in Burlington. Smith’s noted on their website, “James ‘Jim’ Robert Wills passed away peacefully at the age of 78 in his Burlington home on October 29th, 2020.

“Born in Hamilton, March 21, 1942, Jim was predeceased by his parents Dorothy and Arthur Wills and his daughter Tracy Wills. He is survived by his daughter Sandra Wills, partner Christine McCombe, and step-sons Paul and Martin Garster.

“Jim had a brilliant mind. He was an avid gardener, photographer and was unfailingly generous with his time and energy.

“There will be no public service. The family asks that donations be made in memory of James Robert Wills to The United Way.”

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the eighth by ZOOM

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. We held our eighth COVID-19 inspired exec meeting via ZOOM (This is beginning to feel like normal). Thank you Celio for arranging the meeting once again. Key changes are shown below. Toronto is in stage 2 modified at present as we enter the second wave of COVID-19. ALL live events are cancelled at least until 2021. Our monthly meeting venue (North York Memorial Hall) is closed to events by the city until at least December 31, 2020. We hope to do meetings beginning November 18 via video. Stayed tuned.

PHSC News goes out shortly for November. Sign up at news@phsc.ca for a free pdf copy. Members get specials plus the journal via pdf. Contact me if you are a member and HAVE NOT seen the pdfs. Some members have unsubscribed to MailChimp; some emails are invalid; and others have no email on file with the society. Any questions? Just drop me a note at info@phsc.ca

Our October Exec meeting via ZOOM

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