NEX 6 versus Sony a6500

I was interested to see how the sensors compared in the two cameras. Was it indeed possible to cram all those extra pixels into the a6500 sensor without losing quality?

I set up a simple test. Both camera were configured for ISO1600, with no exposure compensation, and I fitted a Zuiko 50mm f1.8 lens. I know from previous testing that this lens will blow the standard Sony zoom out of the water, as far as the resolution of detail is concerned. The camera was mounted on a sturdy Manfrotto tripod and a 2 second delay selected. I focused with the lens wide open and at maximum viewfinder magnification, but the shooting took place at f8. Two shots were taken with each camera and the best selected for comparison - actually that was the difficult part as each of the two images taken by each camera looked to be pretty much identical.

I let the camera decide the exposure, choosing aperture priority.

The view is one within my untidy garage, and the lighting supplied by overhead fluorescent tubes. The door was open so there was also a touch of ambient light, but the predominant illumination came from the fluorescent tubes.

The a6500 chose to use 1/25th sec and the NEX 6 1/40th sec.  The histograms were quite different, with the NEX underexposing slightly and the a6500 getting it spot on.

I processed the RAW files using LR and the default setup without any further adjustment, creating 16 bit TIFFs in PS. Again no adjustments were made in producing JPGs from the TIFF files.

This is the overall view (not pretty)

and here are a couple of crops, first the NEX 6

then the a6500

Click on any image for an enlarged view, the crops are 100% pixels.

The a6500 is recording more detail without, in my view, incurring a greater noise penalty. Look in particular at the detail in the cloth, although that may be a result of the longer a6500 exposure.

To get a better idea of the noise performance of the two cameras I have selected a couple of crops showing less detailed areas of plain tone.

First the NEX 6

Then the a6500

The a6500 image looks cleaner to me.

Something else I should perhaps mention, the contrast detect feature on the a6500 was usable at maximum viewfinder magnification whereas it was not on the NEX 6.

You can't read too much into this simple comparison, but, for what it's worth, the a6500 sensor does appear to come out the stronger, you get both more detail and less noise. (Oh, and before you ask, the Acetone is used to make repairs to the ABS components of my caravan, ABS is dissolved in Acetone, so you can make up a repair solution using, for example, Lego bricks.)

23-5-2017

Sony a6500 - First thoughts

My long suffering NEX 6 has been showing signs of age, in particular there were times when the camera would start clicking through the menu options. This I have been able to fix by switching off and rotating the control dials, so it is probably caused by dirt on the contacts. It's a very intermittent fault, and most of the time the camera is just fine, despite having taken a humengous number (39433) of shots.

So it came to pass that I decided to add an a6500 to this year's tax allowance.

First impressions, it's a bit heavier than the NEX and the grip is more ergonomically shaped and protrudes more. I'm not too keen on the extra mass, but the grip is better.

The electronic viewfinder is very good indeed, I had thought that it might be the same as that used in the NEX 6, but, combined with the extra pixels on the sensor, this does appear to be an improvement. I am finding that, with contrast detect set at minimum, I can now accurately focus using that aid and with the lower 5.9 x viewfinder  magnification. I was never fully confident of contrast detect on the NEX6, but this camera appears to have raised its game in that respect.

However the apparent increased sensitivity of the contrast detect function sometimes means that, even at the minimum setting, the focused image is a mass of colour, making composition more difficult. It would be useful if contrast detect could be switched off when not using a magnified view. I have programmed a button (C3) to allow me to quickly change the contrast detect mode, but I'm not sure if I will be making much use of it!

Then there are the menus, an overwhelming array of choices, but, for heritage lens users, the camera now appears to default to release without lens. whereas previously you would need to set that parameter.

I like the fact that you can program a button (C1 in my case) to select the focal length in use, in body stabilisation is a real boon for users of old lenses. It's early days as yet, but IS brings a real improvement to the use of heritage lenses on this camera. I've not carried out any rigorous testing, but I've used my 75-150 Pentax zoom (112-225 mm FF equivalent)  at 1/100th and obtained crisp results. It's not a panacea, if you bounce on the shutter release you will get blurred shots!

It also seems that you need to remember to change the focal length to be used with the IS system. I've inadvertently left it set at 150 mm and taken shots using a 12mm lens resulting in some motion blurred images. Of course this only applies to manual focus lenses, auto lenses automatically inform the camera of the focal length.

A further improvement is the ability to set the minimum shutter speed to be used with auto ISO, again I have programmed a button (C2) to set this. I need to do some rethinking about what those minimum values should be, now that I have IS in camera, but for static subjects, and shorter focal lengths, the previously available (NEX 6) 1/60th minimum is far too pessimistic.

Actually my needs are few, I normally shoot raw using auto ISO, and aperture priority, with the occasional descent into shutter speed priority and manual operation, so I don't need all those menus etc.

One slight negative, possibly due to my ignorance of the camera's capabilities, is the need to restore full frame magnification before shooting, whereas my NEX would jump back into shooting mode at a half press of the shutter. The manual states that this should happen with the a6500 too, but for some reason mine does not. It's probably user incompetence!

Update - a helpful chap on the DPreview forum pointed out that AF in Focus Mag. = OFF will enable the shutter release to cancel the magnification mode and jump back into shooting. I don't know if there are any drawbacks as yet, but my autofocus lenses seems to work fine with this setting.

My old lenses appear to be coping well with the increased pixel density, although the edge definition provided by my Pentax 28mm f2.8 is not great on distant views. It's fine close up, so I wonder if this is a field curvature problem?

I've now published the results of a quick test comparing the NEX 6 and a6500 at ISO1600

Revised 12-8-17

Coal Train day on the Tanfield Railway

On the coal train day they run a demonstration coal train in addition to the normal passenger service.

Photo used by the Times newspaper 29th Feb

Sony NEX 6 Samsung 35 mm f2

New Bridge over the river Wear at Sunderland

Work has started on the new road bridge over the river Wear at Sunderland.

Sony NEX 6

Using Manual Focus Lenses on Sony Mirrorless cameras

It's horrible outside, windy and raining, so I've time to kill. Just the opportunity to write about my experience of using manual focus (MF) lenses on the Sony NEX 6. I guess that all of this is transferable to the a6000, and some to other Sony mirrorless cameras.


First of all, why use a manual focus lens?

In my case I have a collection of them most of which I acquired in film camera days, but, having found them to be superior in many instances to the kit lenses supplied by Sony, I have since bought additional manual focus lenses. The emergence of the Chinese company Rokinon/Samyang now means that you can buy a quality MF lens new that will fit directly onto your Sony camera.

Then there is the consideration of cost. Cheap secondhand manual focus lenses, even those made many years ago, often provide superior image quality to the Sony zooms.

I should add that I have tried using manual focus lenses on my Canon DSLRs, but not obtained satisfactory results, as their viewfinder screens are not designed for the purpose. Live view is better, but not convenient for many purposes. Enter the Sony NEX 6 with an excellent electronic viewfinder  (EVF) and we have a game changer. It brings back fond memories of focusing with an old Pentax film camera which had a large, bright, optical viewfinder, complete with focusing aids.


What are the snags?

If your manual focus lens was made to fit a Pentax, Canon or Nikon etc camera, you will need an adapter to fit it to your Sony camera. There is an incredible range of adapters available to suit most marques, but do check that one exists before you buy. I have found that adapters costing as little as £20 are perfectly acceptable for use.

As the name suggests, manual focus means just that, no autofocus. There are times when autofocus is a real benefit, for example when trying to photograph your young children or grandchildren, but most of the time you don't need it. Buildings don't move, while cars, trains boats and planes normally follow fixed trajectories and you can pre-focus to get a sharp shot. OK planes are a bit tricky! Using a lens wide enough to get interesting shots in the street, the depth of field is usually enough to see you through in most circumstances.

I have lost some shots due to not being able to focus rapidly enough, but I have also lost shots due to auto focusing systems missing the target completely!

Then there is the aperture. Automatic cameras focus with the aperture fully wide and then stop down to the required setting immediately before shooting. You do the same with manual glass, but you have to remember to stop down before you press the trigger.

You might miss lens stabilisation, although the new Sony full frame cameras have that built into the body. I'm hoping that, should it ever appear, the replacement for the NEX 7 will have that feature.

Finally not all old lenses are entirely happy with digital sensors, and this can result in the appearance of colour fringing due to chromatic aberration (CA), or ( I am told, never seen it) occasionally edge effects.  CA can very largely be dealt with by a single key press in a raw converter like Lightroom. Again cheap, and not so cheap,  modern lenses also produce CA but often software is used to reduce or eliminate the effect. I have a very nice copy of a Canon 24-105 L lens that revels in CA.


Lenses to avoid

You need to restrict your choice to those lenses that have a manual aperture ring - most modern lenses don't as the aperture is controlled from the camera.

Cheap plastic bodied consumer grade zooms from the film era are often pretty poor, even from the major players.

You can't go too far wrong with fixed focal length lenses badged by the original camera company e.g. Minolta et al, or lenses fitted as standard by some of those companies. e.g. Zeiss. Third party lenses are more problematic, there are no doubt some very good ones about, with Tamron and Sigma probably better than average, but we are getting into murky waters here.

Old lenses might have developed faults in use, sticky apertures, tight focusing, or be infected with internal fungus growth. You need to be vigilant and reject anything that isn't as it should be. Don't be put off by external condition, if the glass is clear and everything works properly, it could be a real bargain. Your'e not buying a collectible, rather something to use and earn its keep.


Camera Settings and Use

Firstly you have to tell your camera that a manual focus lens is fitted, as otherwise the lack of electronic contacts will have it assume that there is no lens at all and it will refuse to work. On the NEX 6 you need to tell the camera to "Release w/o lens", an option in the Setup menu. This does not affect the operation of your auto focus lenses in any way, so you might as well just leave it at that setting.

There are three viable settings on the control dial for use with MF lenses: -

A - Aperture priority, you set the aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed
S - Shutter speed priority, I'll come back to that.
M - Manual, you set both the aperture and the shutter speed.

Then there is the ISO setting on the rear control wheel

I try to shoot at the lowest ISO that will give me a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake.

There is an Auto ISO setting, which will choose a value to enable a shutter speed of 1/60 th second or faster. Unfortunately 1/60 th is not fast enough for many situations, while it's over generous for others. A better system would enable users to select the minimum shutter speed associated with auto ISO, but read below for more on that.

(Edit - Apparently the Sony a6300  has the ability to select the minimum shutter speed to use with Auto ISO, a very welcome improvement, how about a software upgrade Mr Sony? - Pigs might fly)

Depending upon the circumstance I therefore either use Auto ISO or I set the ISO myself.

Most of the time I use Aperture priority, and keep a weather eye on the shutter speed that the camera has selected, adjusting the ISO if necessary. I probably use this setting for 90% of my shots.

Interestingly Auto ISO enables a greater number of possible choices than the dial provides.

When I want to freeze the action, or, conversely force auto ISO to allow a slower speed,  I will occasionally select Shutter speed priority. Auto ISO then performs in a more reasonable fashion, selecting an ISO to enable that shutter speed. The problem with this selection is that it can lead to overexposure, as occasionally you need a faster shutter speed than the one that you have selected, even at the base ISO of 100.  I therefore don't leave this as my default setting.

I normally only employ the Manual setting either when using an external flash, or when I take Panoramas and need a guaranteed uniformity of exposure.

I find that the exposure provided with manual focus lenses tends to be rather less than the optimum, you normally get a usable shot, but it's often beneficial to dial in a half stop or more of over exposure. The (exposed) histogram is your friend, adjust the exposure and take another shot if necessary. Lenses vary in this regard, you have got to learn by experience, while, of course a white cat against a white wall will fool all metering systems, and you occasionally have to make quite radical adjustments.

Perfectionists might use an incident light exposure meter and set the camera accordingly, but life is too short, take a few shots, look at the histogram and adjust if necessary.


Focusing

The NEX 6 has a very good electronic view finder, enabling a 5x and almost 10x magnified view. This, coupled with full aperture focusing, generally allows a very precise focus to be obtained. The viewfinder on the a6000 does not have as many pixels, and I've not had the chance to try it, so I can't comment on that.

An alternative is the contrast detection system that the camera provides, when sharp edges show up in colour. There are three levels of contrast detection available for selection on the NEX6 and my camera is permanently set at the lowest level. Despite this, it occasionally picks out a false positive, so I much prefer to rely upon the magnified viewfinder image.

As a pensioner, my eyes are not getting any younger, but I find that the range of dioptre correction on the viewfinder eyepiece is more than sufficient for my purposes, allowing me to focus without glasses.

Do be aware that many adapters do not provide a sufficiently accurate register to allow you to use the distance scale on the lens, most providing focus beyond infinity. I guess that this is in order to enable rather slacker manufacturing tolerances and so hold the cost down. I do have some cheap Pentax bayonet adapters that provide a sufficiently accurate alignment for the shorter focal lengths - and this is very convenient, shooting a distant object you just wind the lens up to infinity on the scale  and fire away - but even they go slightly past infinity with the longer telephotos. You need to test your gear!

Using Unstabilised Lenses

Modern lenses generally have some kind of anti shake mechanism built in, while older manual focus lenses do not. I was taught to shoot at at least 1 over the effective focal length in order to have a decent chance of getting a sharp result, e.g. a 100 mm lens would require a minimum of 1/100 th second. Of course the angle of view is reduced by the crop frame Sony, effectively increasing the focal length by 1.5x, so you need to fire at 1/150 for a 100 mm lens etc. Always check to see what speed the camera is coming up with, and, if necessary,  use Shutter speed priority along with Auto ISO to ensure that you have a realistic chance of avoiding camera shake.

Being brought up with unstabilised lenses this does not bother me, and I use the techniques learned with film cameras to get sharp results. For example if you are shooting with a telephoto try to find a wall, post, or doorway etc to lean against, while you might also employ the delayed time setting on the camera so that you don't vibrate it while the shutter is released. Don't snatch at the shutter button, squeeze it gently. I rarely use a tripod, but for long telephotos you need to, while, a monopod is better than nothing.

It is relatively difficult to get sharp images with a handheld unstabilised telephoto lens, I generally take a few shots in order to increase my chances of a success.

Of course if you are considerably more affluent than me, you might just shell out for a Sony a6500, which comes with in body stabilisation.


Practice Makes Perfect

You can't reasonably expect to fit a manual focus lens and immediately start taking super sharp, perfectly exposed, photos, there's so much to remember and to do. Take heart, and persevere, with practice you will become a very slick and skillful manual focus operator!


Personal Favourites

I'm not, I hope, a "fanboy" having used a range of photo gear over time, including Rollei, Bronica, Canon, Pentax, Sony and Olympus, so I don't have any axes to grind or want to get into Canikon warfare.

The NEX is a wonderfully compact and light camera, and I see no sense in hanging large and heavy lenses onto it. I therefore tend to use a collection of Pentax and Olympus lenses that were notable in their day for their compact dimensions. Old rangefinder camera lenses would also be a worth a look, although many are out of my price range.

I have experimented with some old Canon FT lenses, but don't see any significant difference in their performance over the Pentax or Olympus glass of the same period, while they are more bulky and require a more complex adapter. If I had an arsenal of FT glass I would probably use it, but I'm more than content with my other gear.

The bargains have to be those lenses that were fitted as standard to film cameras during that era, and the popular additional lenses that most people bought to enhance their range of shooting opportunities, i.e. those lenses that were mass produced by the leading marques.

The "Standard Lens" would normally have been a 50 mm at around f1.8 (Pentax f1.7) and you can buy these very cheaply. There are also f1,4 variants that command higher prices, but they are larger and heavier and not necessarily any better at say f8 where most of your shooting is going to happen.

A 50 mm lens on a NEX 6 or a6000 is equivalent to a 75 mm lens on a full frame camera, it makes a good portrait lens, but I also find it a generally useful focal length out and about.

The next choice of our film era photographer might have been a 28 mm, at f2.8 or f3.5. There's loads of these about and they are not expensive. 28 mm was harder to get right than a 50 in days gone by, so you will probably see some distortion and CA, but nothing that would break the deal.

A 28 becomes a 42 on a Sony NEX, which is a very useful general purpose focal length. It's my fitment of choice as I leave the house.

The next buy for many photographers in the past would have been a 135mm lens, but this is becoming 202 mm on the NEX, and not abundantly useful.

Both Pentax and Olympus made 75-150 f4 zooms however and they provide a more practical solution. They're both sharp, but the Olympus design lacks contrast and I prefer the Pentax. A 2x zoom at this focal length range was not too much of a challenge at that period, so the lens is more than OK. I bought a Pentax 75-150 new for around £75 many years ago, but, much more recently, picked up a pristine example for less than £20.

Very wide is much more of a problem. Wider tends to be harder to get right, and I would be tempted to steer you in the direction of a new Samyang/Rokinon lens rather than an antique. Voigtländer (Cosina) make some very nice lenses, but you need deep pockets to be able to afford them.

Last edit 28-01-2017

Gasometers - Hendon, Sunderland

Gasometers, or gas storage tanks, are a rapidly disappearing feature of the landscape.  I noticed that they are currently dismantling the tank at Wallsend, long a Tyneside landmark, and decided that I should photograph the Sunderland gasometers before they also go.

There are three surviving tanks on the Hendon site and they represent an evolution of the technology from early to late Victorian, and then 20th century. The oldest tank has ornate cast iron columns, the late Victorian tank has a riveted steel framework, while the most recent is self supporting.

The last time I looked at the tanks a few years ago, they were still in use, but today they look  sadly neglected and I suspect that their days are numbered.

I'd like to see the oldest of the three preserved, if at all possible.

The three tanks seen from the south, newest nearest to camera

The oldest tank with ornate cast iron columns

The riveted steel (or wrought iron?) framework of the middle tank dating back to 1895

Sony NEX 6

North Yorkshire

With the prospect of fine weather south of Tyneside we drove down to Grosmont in the North Yorkshire Moors and had a ride on the North York Moors Railway. 

Two ex LNER steam loco designs, a B1 4-6-0 passes the loco shed while A4 pacific Sir Nigel Gresley stands beneath the coaling tower.

Driving back up the coast we called in to Staithes, a small ex fishing village with a sandy beach. It's rare, in my experience, to see the North Sea looking so attractive, but that's how it was on Sunday.

Sony NEX 6

Redcar and Saltburn

We drove to the outskirts of Redcar and cycled through that town and on to Saltburn. A warm day, but overcast, with the sun occasionally peeking through the clouds

Fishermen launching boat with offshore wind farm in the background

Not sure if you would see this scene anywhere else. A large wooden boat being towed by an aged tractor stops at a garage to buy fuel while a Rolls Royce car is being repaired on the forecourt.

Redcar lemon top ice cream with the steelworks in the background.

The funicular railway control cabin at Saltburn

Wavy shadows

Sony NEX 6 various lenses

Seaton Deleval Hall - Northumberland

A relatively recently acquired National Trust property, now undergoing restoration.

The hall gets a face lift, clad in scaffold, but you can still go in

Work is in progress to provide cathodic protection to the corroding iron supports of the statues around the hall.

.

The garden looks better each time we visit.

 Bees enjoying the fragant lavender

I took this photo a few years ago, I'm not sure if the architectural plans are still on display.

Sony NEX 6

50 mm lenses on Sony Nex 6

Over time I have compared the performance of the Sony 16-50  kit lens supplied with the NEX 6 to that of old manual focus prime lenses that I have in my collection.

Is this a fair comparison, an image stabilised zoom against a manual focus prime? Well the zoom was designed and manufactured in the 21st century and the old primes in the 1960s. Possibly 50 years between them.

Judge for yourself.

The overall view taken at a focal length of 50mm 

Below are 100% crops of the sign to the right of the lion.

Sony 16-50 at  f5.6

Zuiko 50mm f1.8 at  f5.6

Sony 16-50

Zuiko 50mm

Further testing - to investigate the influence of auto focus error on the results of the tests I conducted further experiments with the following parameters. Manual exposure, camera on tripod with 2 sec shutter delay. 3 shots for each situation, best chosen for comparison.

1) Sony at f8 autofocus 

2) Sony at f8 manual focus at f5.6 ( wide open)

3) Zuiko at f8 manual focus at f5.6 ( to match Sony)

Default processing in LR and PS. No adjustments made. Actual pixel crops from top left hand corner of image.

Sony f8 - manual focus (137kb)

Sony f8 Autofocus (137 kb)

Zuiko f8 (196 kb)

The manually focused Sony result is slightly better than that achieved by autofocus, but the Zuiko is clearly superior, both in terms of the JPG size, but also visually. Actually you don't need to do any of this testing as the Zuiko looks far better in the EVF!

More comparisons, Sony 16-50, Canon 24-105 and Pentax 50mm f1.7. Default conversions in LR and PS, no adjustments. Forget the colour temperatures, they can be adjusted easily enough, this is a test of sharpness and contrast.

Overall view ( Canon 24-105 on 5DII)

Actual pixel crops of top left corner. (Click for full size)

Pentax 50mm on NEX  (JPG size 187 KB)

Sony 16-50 on NEX (JPG size 142 KB)

Canon 24-105 on 5DII (JPG size 179 KB)

My pecking order would be Pentax 50mm f1,7, followed by Canon 24-105 with the Sony a poor third, but judge for yourself.

This test demonstrates quite nicely why I prefer to carry a lightweight Sony NEX 6 rather than have the Albatross of a Canon 5D11 around my neck!

Sunderland Steam Spectacular

Billed as Sunderland Steam Spectular, this event is taking place in Herrington Country Park, just over the road from Penshaw Monument. The photo below is a stiched panorama taken from the monument. Click for an enlarged view.

I can count five full sized steam vehicles, not what I would call Spectacular, but I guess that they have to start somewhere. This was taken at the start of play on Sunday morning, so it is possible that more steamers arrived during the day. 

Having peered in from above I elected not to spend the £6 entrance fee, or £15 for a family. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that the various fairground rides would incur a further charge, so a pretty expensive outing for a family for what is a fairly limited display.

Beamish steam weekend, by contrast, is on a far greater scale and easily worth the annual membership.

I can only hope that, if they do this again, it will be more truly "spectacular".

Sony NEX 6 Pentax 200mm f4

Steam Train Specials

Why is it that there are very rarely any special steam trains running in the north east, but when they do arrive, like buses, there are two of them?  Yesterday saw "The Wansbeck" topped and tailed by two locos, 62005 and 61264, and "The Hadrian" hauled by 46115 Scots Guardsman.

The weather was horrible, totally unsuitable for photography, with mist, dullness, mizzle and not at all very warm. I stood for an age perched precariously on a wall in Chester-le-Street to capture the Wansbeck crossing the viaduct, and it arrived 30 mins late. By that time I had just about lost the feeling in my fingers, but managed to press the shutter. Having got the excuses out of the way, here are a couple of shots.

K1 2-6-0 62005 heads the train

B1 4-6-0 61264 brings up the rear

And so to Hexham to catch the Hadrian. The light was very slightly better and the train arrived a bit early, which meant that it was stopped in Hexham station to allow a local passenger service to get through. Unfortunately this meant that power was cut off before the station so my vision of a dramatic exhaust filled sky shot evaporated with the steam. However...

(Zuiko 50mm f1.8)

Royal Scot class 4-6-0 46115 Scots Guardsman

I enjoyed watching this powerful loco accelerate its heavy train away from the platform, sure footed without a trace of wheelspin,  from the viewpoint of the footbridge.  

Sony NEX 6 Pentax 28mm K f3.5 and Zuiko 50mm f1.8

Tyneside Bike Ride

Trying to shake off a persistent cold, I decided to go on a circular bike ride, from Washington to North Shields, across the Tyne ferry to South Shields and along the coast to Sunderland, and so home along the Wear valley. The first part of the journey to Gateshead and across the Millennium footbridge passed without notable incident.

This is St Peter's basin, a modern marina on the north  bank of the river Tyne to the east of Newcastle that occupies the site of the former Hawthorn Leslie engineering works where I was once employed. Coincidentally I met an ex colleague here, and agreed to share e-mail addresses.

An offshore structure being constructed at the Hadrian yard of Offshore Group Newcastle.

Men working perilously high on the structure.

Pentax 75-150 f4 M

I believe that the cylindrical things attached to the main structure are sacrificial anodes, designed to reduce corrosion of the steel work.

The observation tower at the Roman site Segedumun at Wallsend. (Roman or Hadrian's wall's end!)

The graceful Victorian iron railway viaduct over Willington Dene

Sigma 19mm f2.8

The marina at Royal Quays (The Albert Edward Dock) in North Shields.

Taking the Shields ferry I crossed from North to South Shields. The open air market in South Shields

I had a brief chat with this lady selling copies of the Shields Gazette. She told me that her contemporaries based in Newcastle had recently been paid off. I bought a Gazette and took her photo. It transpired that her brother had taken a photography course and she knew not to stare at the camera.

For the last few miles I had become aware that all was not well with my Brompton bicycle, there was an ominous thud coming from the rear wheel. Inspection revealed a swelling of the tyre, which caused me to abandon my original plan and take to the Metro, which carried me to South Hylton about 3.5 miles from home. On arrival there the tyre was completely flat, with a large tear in the casing. A phone call  brought my wife to the rescue and home in the car.

Sony Nex 6, various lenses.

Shildon Railway Museum - Great Goodbye

With a line up of 6 A4 class streamlined pacific steam locos, I had to make the journey to Shildon. Two of the locos are normally resident abroad, in Canada and the USA, so this was a one off opportunity.

We drove there on Saturday morning when the weather was not too kind, not raining, but very cold and overcast. I had a ticket for a lecture on the period when the engines were in mainline service and that was both interesting and had the advantage of taking place in a warm room! My wife chose to look around the shops in Bishop Auckland and later appeared, partially frozen, at the museum.

Later the crowds descended and there was a long wait to get into the museum building, I decided not to bother, but took a photo from outside the perimeter fence.

It appeared that three locos were in steam, with 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley being used to give people brakevan rides along a short stretch of track.

60007 Sir Nigel Gresley on brakevan duty

Nerds such as me know that shedplate 34A refers to Kings Cross!

From left to right Dwight D Eisenhower, Union of South Africa, Dominion of Canada, Bittern and Mallard

I recall standing on a platform of Newcastle station with my grandfather, circa 1960, when he tried to persuade the driver of an A4 to let me onto the footplate; sadly it didn't happen. I have since taken my grandson onto the footplate of Mallard, an easier ask on a gala day at York museum.

I also remember furtively sneaking around Gateshead works a few years later when there was an A4 in for a minor repair. One of the fitters remarked that it had been there for so long that there was grass growing under the wheels.

Another memory from that era was that of trainspotting at the backwater of East Boldon, when there was nothing but a dreary procession of diesel multiple units and steam powered coal trains. The level crossing gates closed, and through trundled A1 pacific Great Northern.  Just as we were rejoicing, and not noticing that the crossing gates had remained closed, an A4 powered train came through in the opposite direction. One of the highlights of early 1960s life!

Glad to have seen the  line up of these lovely machines, but equally glad to get into my nice warm car and drive home!

Sony NEX 6  probably Pentax K 28mm f3.5