Voigtlander Super Wide 15mm Meets Yokohama

I was in the mood to shoot some really wide angle stuff so I put my Voigtlander Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f4.5 Aspherical III lens on my Sony A7II camera and headed out the door.

One thing nice about a super wide lens is that one can get really close to the subject and still get them completely in the frame.

The people are close and the big picture background is too.

By setting the f-stop to f-8 everything is nice and sharp.

The Museum in Bashamichi is always a nice place to check out a wide angle lens.

I was lucky to get some nice clouds on this day. I just noticed that I'm using the word "nice" a lot to describe things. Oh well, what can I say, "it's so nice today".

Lookin' good!

The wide perspective can turn boring locations into something special.

Time for a selfie!

The sky is the limit!

The old familiar suddenly looks new.

I call this "Horizontal Stonehenge".

The Yokohama Customs House.

I'm so glad the clouds came out to play today.

The city is dwarfed by the sky.

The Yokohama International Passenger Terminal is always a great place to shoot wide.

It's also popular with the joggers.

The Indian Pavilion in Yamashita park.

The Promenade.

She said she looked good in any color as long as it's black.

Post cards from the waterfront.

It was gardening day at the rose garden.

I love the details, so close and so far away.

Running down the road!

Motomachi shopping street.

The cramped and crowded streets of China Town are a great place to put the 15mm lens through it's pace.

There are hundreds of restaurants in China Town and they all serve Chinese food! Makes deciding where to eat a real chore.

Of course one can just buy some food from a stand and eat on the street.

There must be a dress code here, everyone is looking so nice.

Ah, here's a guy dressed like me; I don't feel so out of place now.

School trip!

It's girls day at the baseball stadium.

A super wide view of a crosswalk.

Just point and shoot - it's all good!

Last shot of the day: The big view of Hinodecho crossing.

It was a great day and terrific fun using the 15mm lens and the Sony A7II camera.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike

Discontinued but not Disapointing

I've got this cool camera lens. It's the Sigma 20mm f1.8 EX DG wide angle and I bought it several years ago. I actually forgot about it and recently while rearranging my stuff  I noticed it and decided to spend some time using it. That's also when I noticed on the Sigma website that they discontinued making it. No big deal, mine is just like new so I put it on my Sigma SD1 Merrill camera (which they also quit making) and headed out the door.

One technical note: The SD1 camera has an APS-C (1.5 crop factor) format so the 20mm lens functions like a 30mm lens.

Anyway, dang! I forgot how good this lens is.

Sharp from right in front of me to infinity.

Nice wide open look of Yokohama bay.

The lens is kind of big and heavy but that's okay so am I!

Dark clouds are rolling in over the city.

I'm starting to think that beautiful blue skies are overrated .

This is fun!

Close focus at f11 and there you have it.

Role me over in the clover!

She caught my eye as she walked by and all I could say was "my oh my oh my!".

Ahoy matey!

The lights be bright today.

I took this shot on the train ride home. Yee-haw! we're riding the rails!

I went back out the next day with the same rig. I can't believe I let this lens sit around all these years.

Day two, different weather.

The view of the viewer.

The gas lamps of Zou-no-hana.

A familiar view of the promenade along the Ookagawa river.

I've been shooting these pictures using manual focus. I prefer eye hand control over auto-focus.

This lens also has macro capability.

Close up and wide all in one picture.

The stern of the Hikawa Maru.

Bridge over the Ookagawa river.

A train just pulling out of the Sakuragicho train station.

And, a few days later I took the 20mm lens to the beach!

Nice day!

I took off my shoes and felt the sand between my toes. This is the life!

High 'N' Dry... the boat and a nod to my Def Leppard friend.

It looks like I've got the beach to myself today.

More of that close up and wide look.

They only go out at night.

Beach junk or art - who cares! Last shot of the day and all I can say is that it's been terrific fun!

The Sigma 20mm f1.8 lens may be discontinued but it certainly isn't disappointing.

Thanks for stopping bye!
Mike