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Cold brewing: The Toddy Cold Brew System

I picked this up from Raw Coffee Company earlier today on the way home from golf. First off, kudos to the guys at Raw Coffee Company - they were closed at 3 pm but still willing to help me when I walked in at 3.20 pm. Friendly and helpful guy (looks a bit like Bob Marley, with shorter hair), certainly knew his stuff. Now, on to the Toddy! Unlike the Bruer cold drip coffee maker, the Toddy works on an infusion principle that's clsoer to the OXO coffee maker (which I was told was also available from Raw Coffee Company) . It sounds simple, but requires some amount of patience to start a brew - 1. you pour in around 235ml of water after plugging the bottom with the silicone/rubber stopper and dropping in the moistened polyester filter 2. SLOWLY pour in half the 340g of coffee needed (thats 170g for the mathematically disinclined among you) - I now use a spoon to evenly distribute the grounds 3. SLOWLY pour in water (room temperature is fine, as I've learned) - the purpose here is to wet the grounds - and that triggered the blooming process (OMG, the intensity of freshly ground coffee blooming is HEAVENLY) 4. repeat steps 2 and 3 5. tamp down any dry grounds with the back of a spoon - no stirring, it messes up the filter 6. saran wrap the top of the brewer and put it in the fridge for at least 12 hours The first brew

I started my brew around 4.30 pm, so it's probably going to come out just fine when I wake up tomorrow morning. Used a Colombian in coarse grind from Raw Coffee Company as recommended by Karthik Brew time: 23.5 hours 4:1 dilution of cold water to concentrate. The first thing I noticed was the intensity. There's a bit more acidity compared to the Bruer, and so much more body with a lingering aftertaste. Hits hard, feels exactly like what I'm going to need in the mornings. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Available at Raw Coffee Company's online store. They deliver with a minimum order of just AED85. Just order the Toddy cold brew coffee maker (it also does tea, but I'm not English) with an extra set of filters (always good to have an extra set) and ask them to grind a 500g bag of Colombian for the Toddy. 500g with 2.2l of water will fill it up nicely, and do it in layers Colombian habit

Used 2 bags of off-the-shelf Waitrose Colombian coffee (AED28 per bag of 227g), along with around 2.2l of water using the water/coffee/bloom/repeat technique. 24 hours immersion. I was extremely worried that the French press grind would be too fine for this. HOLY CRAP, it tastes miles better than the stuff out of the Bruer. The brew is way more fragrant, far more consistent, much much better body. This has nose, body AND a lingering aftertaste that keeps me wanting more. It's official - the Toddy Cold Brewer is my favourite cold brewer. It's easy to set up, consistent (which the Bruer isn't), and the results are more to my taste. p.s. huge bonus points to Raw for their delivery service - at AED85 per 500gm of coffee (pretty much the same price as Yahava Koffeeworks in Singapore), I get free delivery with two bags. Woohoo!

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One of my favourite pocket cameras - the Ricoh GR 

Easily overlooked when most people are shopping for a ‘good’ travel camera, the GR is a great little tool that won’t break the bank, especially since they are now going for under $450 USD on eBay.

Unlike the most point and shoot cameras with tiny little sensors, the GR comes with an APS-C sized sensor, similar in size to what you’d find on the Nikon D7200, Canon 60D (thanks for the catch, Mark!), and delivers amazing image performance for something this compact

Ricoh really hit this one out of the ballpark - if you think this is a weird focal length, here’s something to think about - it’s a 28mm lens that covers pretty much a similar field of view as your mobile phone (the iPhone at least).

Shoot RAW? Great, cos this little guy spits out those images in Adobe’s universal DNG format. And in AdobeRGB colour space too.

Not a fan of post-processing? Ricoh’s hit it out of the ballpark with this one - the dramatic black and white and the positive film presets have got some serious mojo.

A friend of mine was in Dubai just awhile back and shot some crazy Daido Moriyama-like images - check out his work at http://www.monotanphotos.com/

Image quality and size aside, the other thing I love about this camera is being able to charge it using a USB cable. I rarely travel without my XiaoMi 16000 mAh USB power bank, and I keep this little guy charged and ready to go with the included USB cable. Of course, you’re SOL if you lose the cable, but given how cheap you can get them for on eBay, there’s little reason not to buy a few spares and toss them into every bag you own.

Battery life is pretty good - I’ve never run out of juice except when I used the Eye-Fi cards, which put a huge drain on the battery. The alternative is to carry around a camera connection kit or a USB OTG cable (for Android users).

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The Leica Macro-Elmar-M

A lens I’ve been thinking about for some time. My usual macro setup, the Hasselblad H4D-40 with the 120mm f4 Macro lens, is a heavy beast, somewhat of an overkill in many cases (but a brilliant setup nonetheless).

With the Macro-Adapter M, Leica claims this combination to be capable of 1:3 magnification. The lens cap below shows the level of detail that this combination is capable of, and I am, without a doubt, impressed with the performance.

The Macro-Elmar is a 90mm f4 collapsible lens, and works wonderfully on its own for general product and food photography (the latter, which I fear, will be largely compromised by my recent preference for monochromatic images).

Mounted on the M240/M246, it’s hardly longer than the 50APO in its collapsed state. One should, however, remember to extend the lens before shooting to avoid coming home to find a folder full of blurry images.

I am first and foremost a bokeh addict, and choosing between this slow lens and the much faster 90mm APO-Summicron was a tough choice. But portraiture with the Elmar isn’t difficult, given how tough it can be to focus accurately on rangefinders without a magnifiying eyepiece, this would be a worthwhile tradeoff.

The Macro Elmar is also known to be one of the sharpest lenses ever produced by Leica, and I’m somewhat curious to find out if this lives up to that claim. 

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Up close with the Leica Macro-Adapter-M

I’ve been looking to try to reduce the focusing distance of my favorite lens recenlty, having started this blog and realising that I do need some close focus shots.

A bit of looking around online led me to two options - the Leica Macro-Adapter-M, and the new Leica 90mm f4 Macro Elmar.

Due to budget considerations, I held off buying the 90mm macro lens. It has pretty good close focus (0.8m, only 10cm more than my 50APO) for a tele lens, and would have addressed my need for a product lens pretty well.

But it was the Macro-Adapter-M which caught my eye.

It’s not anything sophisticated - it’s a simple extension tube with a helicoid focusing mechanism. Or put even more simply, it’s an extension tube with adjustable length.

It certainly won’t work for close up product shots, unless you want shots of buttons - I was practically around 8-10cm from my subject in these macro shots.

But it’s small, it’s light, it’s not crazy expensive (for a Leica accessory) and opens up a new world of macro photography.

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Aural Sex : Sony NW-ZX2 Walkman

I purchased the ZX-2 from Sony in Singapore. While it’s my first PMP (Portable Media Player), I’ve been using my iPhone 6 plus as a transport with a Resonessence Labs Herus DAC/amp (previously a Sony PHA-1) to drive Fostex TH900 headphones and DITA The Answer (Truth Edition) IEMs for almost a year.

A key decision to switch to a PMP was to get rid of fiddly cables and dongles while I’m on the go. On a bus/train, it’s no fun having my phone in my pocket along with a DAC/amp, a Camera Connection Kit, an a USB interconnect.

A key decision to get the ZX-2 was Android - while I have a small library of 16/24-bit FLAC albums, a lot of the tracks I listen to on the go come through TIDAL (HiFi) and Spotify (320 kbps bitrate).

I typically run this with HX on, but ClearAudio+ off, no equalizer

Pros

Impressive sound quality. Gets better over time. I have around 70 hours on my set now, and it definitely sounds better than when I first got it two weeks back. I can’t say that it’s better or worse than the Herus, just different - it sounds a bit more balanced across the spectrum, while the Herus tends to come across a little glittery. Soundstage is pretty good (and it seems to have opened up over time), authoritative bass without sounding boomy, smooth midrange and vocals, and excellent detail in the highs

Solid build quality. The ZX-2 has got heft. Everyone I know who has picked it up is surprised by the weight. it’s very well put together.

Has Bluetooth AptX+ support and plays well with my Sony HBH-80 Bluetooth stereo headset. Pairs easily over NFC too.

Comes with a nice leather case

Cons

Laggy, sluggish OS performance. I have a HTC One (M7), a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LTE, and a Sony Xperia Z3, and a Garmin Monterra outdoor GPS, all running Android. The ZX-2 feels slower than the Galaxy Note 2, and I can’t explain why

Horrible battery life - I have it on airplane mode, and still lose around 30% in one day with no usage

Proprietary USB cable (and costs USD40!). Don’t forget this when you’re travelling! (on the upside, you get OEM ones for cheap on eBay)

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Tossing it in: Filson Harvey Messenger camera bag

I received my Filson Magnum Harvey camera bag today. Having used the Filson game bag for a week, here’s a short review and comparison:

The Filson game bag is a messenger bag that seems like it was made prior to our gadget-laden days.

There are

two front pockets (which hold my lens filters, spare lens and body caps, some ziplock bags, rubber bands, and gaffer tape),

two side pockets around 2 inches wide each (one holds my Sony NW-ZX2 Walkman/DAP, while the other holds a USB charger for the Sony and a Xiaomi 16000mAh USB power pack),

a laptop section pocket inside the main compartment that fits my mid-2011 Macbook Pro,

a main compartment that fits a Crumpler Haven (L) camera insert (in which safely resides two Ms (with lenses attached), a spare lens, a Leica battery charger, two spare batteries), a spare tee-shirt (or a light sweater), and a water bottle

an orange mesh pocket that runs the entire rear of the bag, under which is another sleeve pocket big enough to store an iPhone 6 plus with a UAG impact resistant case. And two pen sleeves.

To say that this bag is capable of storing quite a bit of kit is an understatement.

The shoulder strap is made of strong but stiff nylon which has a bit of an edge (it’s cut my neck), but looks like it would put up to a good amount of abuse.

I had assumed that the black Filson Magnum Harvey camera bag, named for Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey, was going to be similar, but as it turns out, it has some improvements that I had wished for in the Game bag, namely

a canvas strap (softer, more comfortable to carry for extended periods),

an inner zipper pocket for keeping the little things easy to find, easy to reach, and

a shoulder pad

a key ring

I love the material (mine has some lovely patina from the previous owner), and it has a simple camera insert (which is split into two sections, great for 2 M bodies with lenses, but no divider for extra lenses, batteries, chargers, etc).

I’m not a huge fan of the insert, but it’s nicely padded, looks and feels pretty good (and has a flap on top to impede curious eyes and fingers). I’ll give it a week or two before I decide if I want to switch it out for a Haven (S) or (M)

Note of caution though - this bag seems nowhere as weather-resistant as the Billingham Hadley Pro that I have. I’ve been caught out in a torrential downpour with the Billingham and the insides remained bones dry, including the insides of the front and back pockets

The gaps from the top, front, and side flaps certainly look like they would allow for water ingress, so keep that in mind.

That said, I like that this is a sloppy bag. It looks great with casuals and even shorts, t-shirt and flip flops, while the Billingham looks a little too formal. The Billingham is also a structured bag and holds quite a lot less than the Harvey.

They aren’t mutually exclusive smile ;)

I’ve oddly grown rather fond of the quirks in the design, but time will tell if these are keepers

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Looking through the Leica APO-Summicron

Some time back, a friend of mine (who goes by the initials AL) acquired a lens that blew my mind.

Not because it was great, because I didn’t get around to using it on my M and had not seen the output or signature.

Not because it was fast, because it was a mere Summicron (f2), while I already had the Summilux (f1.4).

Not because it had aspherical elements, because my 35mm Summilux and 50mm Summilux already had them.

Not because it was a collectors edition (it was not), or because it was rare (it was not either).

It blew my mind for what it cost. And it made no sense. Who in their right mind would pay almost $10,000 for a Summicron?

Over a month ago, I had the opportunity to purchase the new Leica M Monochrome (Typ 246). A good friend and photographer TS Sim had helped me with that acquisition (I’m a gearhead and love gear as much as I enjoy shooting, if not more) and along the way, I had the chance to try that insane lens - the Leica 50mm APO-Summicron.

It seemed impressive and handled well, certainly better balanced that the 50mm Summilux, for some off reason. And it was compact (I’ve learned to appreciate compact lenses like the 35mm Summicron v4 and the 28mm Elmarit)

But it was just too expensive and so I put it on my wish list.

A few weeks later, back in Dubai, I popped in to Salam Stores to pick up a Artisan & Artist Red Label messenger bag, and learned that they were able to get me a 50APO for a pretty good price, and after some quick number crunching, I committed to the purchase (I like to think of it as a bit of an investment, or so I keep telling myself - something I can pass on to my kids, but I’d want to be buried with it for sure).

After just 48 hours, I got a call informing me that the lens had arrived, and so I made my way to the store after work, through rush hour traffic.

The packaging of the 50APO is different from other Leica lenses. While ‘normal’ Leica lenses come in a small silver-and-black cardboard cube, packed in the leather cases that come standard with almost all the modern Leica lenses I’ve had the privilege of owning, the 50 APO comes in a different package.

It’s a larger box, almost like a presentation box, and only just a couple of inches smaller than the box my M246 came in, in which the lens box sits on its side, surrounded by a box containing the standard 39mm plastic lens cap, the and cylindrical leather case. Inside the lens box laid the 50APO (which obviously isn’t in the photos as it’s on the MM246 that I’m shooting these with) and a push-on lens cover.

Clearly (pun intended), this lens wasn’t supposed to be used with a filter (why put 'inferior’ glass in front of what is supposed to be the most 'perfect’ lens in the world?), so Leica kindly included this lens cap - it’s brass, it’s fascinatingly light, beautifully crafted, and costs a bloody $120 on B&H - and only fits on the 50 APO). Points to Leica for thinking of these little details.

Due to work (which pays for these indulgences), I hadn’t had much time to shoot with this lens until recently, and there are tons of reviews out there that already talk about how special this lens is.

One of the reviews (I forget which one) sums my feelings about the 50 APO best - it is a lens whose signature is the absence of one.

I can’t explain how this lens does it, but there’s a certain clarity, a transparency about it that none of my other lenses, Leica or otherwise, have. There’s a pop that has no right to be there, since it’s not a 'lux of any kind, and a presence that is hard to define. I love this lens - it lives on my M246 right now. It’s small, light, and feels RIGHT.

I’ve yet to stick it on my M240, my M9P, or even the original Monochrom, but when I feel the need to experiment, I’ll probably get around to it.

Until then, I’m going to have some fun with this combination.