Thank you. The Canon RF16 is an excellent lens: any distortion is corrected automatically in the process of creating a jpeg in the camera, or in processing the raw file. I recommend you get one for your RP.
David
Aug. 19, 2024
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Yesterday was a little cooler here (less than 30°) and I had to go out to the shops downtown. In doing so, I tried to incorporate as much exercise as possible. This included doing a lot of walking and climbing steps. I deliberately didnt take a camera with me, because I didnt expect to see anything interesting -- I was wrong, of course!
One of my keep-fit exercises involves climbing the stairs from the underground train and up to the platform of the local station. This has the advantage that it also minimises the amount of walking I have to do in the hot sun between home and the station.
I discovered that there were men at the end of the platform installing new track. This was a fascinating process involving an impressive machine which has caterpillar-like rollers to advance along the route, while laying sleepers and placing rails on top of them. Luckily I did have my phone with me, so I was able to document some of the work. Unfortunately, I couldnt always get the best angles and, while the phone did a good job, the depth of field is not comparable with the Leica.
The first picture shows the track-laying machine with one pair of its front wheels already on the old track which is not being replaced (this goes alongside the platform), while still being supported by the caterpillar. One of the new rails can be seen. It is raised, and bent, by the machine and being pulled inline. The machine is also laying sleepers at regular intervals.
Another view shows how large this machine is.
A close-up from the previous photo shows more detail. The new rail actually overlaps the old one. It is being held away from the machine so that when the second pair of wheels is on the track, the caterpillar can be lifted out of the way. One of the pieces of metal that are used to join the rail is visible on the ground.
Now all four wheels are on the track. I was amazed at how much of a bend the rail can take. You can see the arm that holds it up and away from the machine.
The next photo shows the caterpillar raised and the new rail being aligned with the old one. Because of the uneven distribution of the gravel, one of the sleepers fell over as it was lowered. It was turned over by two men with long levers. The rail will finally be fixed on the sleepers by rotating the clips and securing the bolts. Presumably more gravel will be placed under some of the sleepers at some point.
Now the track overlap of about 60 cm, and the too low sleeper can be seen clearly. The man underneath the machine is cutting the rail on the other side to length with a circular power saw.
I shall not go out without my camera in future!
David
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David,
Thanks for the Canon RF16mm F2.8 STM lens recommendation. It is not too expensive either, being less than $230 (USD) on Ebay and even less for open box.
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David,
You remind me that I should do the same by bringing my camera with me. Most of the time I do, but when we think we don't need the camera, that's when we will see something interesting.
The sleepers appear to be made of concrete. I read that many countries are using concrete sleepers instead of wood, for high speed passenger lines.
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Yes. Everything seems to be made of concrete these days, apart from cars, which are made of plastic.In the case of a minor accident, damaged bodywork on cars is now much more expensive to repair than metal bodywork. Although this doesnt apply to railway sleepers, my dislike of concrete is largely based on its aesthetic qualitites when used for buildings: after a few years it looks very dreary. Also, the acoustic properties of buildings built with brick, stone and wood are far superior.
Most of our cameras are made of plastic, and I read somewhere of a Canon R5 that had been dropped, costing $450 to replace the door on the card slot. Leicas are apparently made of metal and hold up for decades, even when dropped. If only they would do a better paint job on them!
One interesting thing about the work pictured above is that it is only 60 years since the original rails were first laid. I dont remember other cases where replacement was necessary after such a short space of time. I am sure that railroads in the UK have had the same rails for over 150 years. I have to admit, though, that the machine that they use to lay the new lines is an amazing feat of engineering!
Back to cameras. It is true that the best camera for the situation is the one you have with you. I was quite amazed how well my phone performed, particularly as it is not a state of the art model, and I have no idea how to conrol the exposure. It was all done by point and shoot.
David
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David,
My new iPhone is advertised as being 48MP, but it's my understanding that it is really a 12MP Quad Bayer sensor. I don't know much more about it other than that. Phone cameras have been improving so much, that most of the people I see taking pictures are with cell phones. Only occasionally do I see other people using cameras, unless they are at an event like an air show or they are using them for wildlife photography.
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Soybeans
This year, the farmers planted soybeans as their main crop.
The fields are this color green as far as the eye can see.
Steve Thomas
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Steve,
That's nice to see all of that green color. I read that soybeans are harvested with combines. I don't know a whole lot about them. From what I read some soybeans are grown in Oregon where I live. But the number of soybean farms here are less than 1% of the total number of Oregon farms.
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Dig,
I am not a farmer, but this is what I understand...
New combine/harvester machines run about $500,000, so a group of 5 or 6 farmers will get together and rent one for a period of time and pay $25,000 - $30,000 each.
They run 24 hours a day - all day and all night for about two weeks.
They cost around $250 per hour, and can harvest about 10 acres per hour. For a 1,000 acre farm at 10 acres per hour, that's 100 hours. At $250. per hour for 100 hours, that's $25,000.
Steve Thomas
