Retro Squared

This was shot with my E-P1 (itself a sort of sixties-retro-styled digicam), through an old Canon VL-mount lens I came across today.

If VL-mount doesn't sound familiar, it's probably for good reason - the mount was only used on the L1 & L2 interchangeable-lens Hi-8mm video cameras sold back in the 90's. When Canon upgraded to the XL-1 miniDV video camera, they came up with another completely different (and incompatible) mount, thus leaving these very expensive lenses from the previous generation as complete orphans - unusable and unadaptable to any other cameras. A shame, really, as they're decent lenses and they're built like tanks: unlike the plastic ones they make for their modern camcorders, these things must have been made out of cast iron.

Anyway, enough geeking out over the backstory (can you tell I love cameras?). This particular lens was a 250mm f4 mirror reflex, which actually had a manual aperture ring, making it possible for me to hold it up to the mount on my E-P1, and shoot through it. The focal distance from the lens to the sensor is actually identical on the two systems, so it worked perfectly.

Unfortunately, the mount is slightly larger on the E-P1, so I couldn't actually attach it, and the whole process involved a great deal of two-handed, pressing-lens-carefully-against-the-body awkwardness, but otherwise, I was thrilled to be able to breathe new life into this beautiful piece of photographic history, if only for a few shots.