It was a strange Winter day a week ago. The morning started with rain that seemed like it would never stop…

I had to go out in the rain for some personal business, and on the way I brought another old lens to the test. This time it was the Kenlock Tor MC 80–200mm f4.5. Here’s what that morning looked like:

It reminded me of those clichéd paintings of always wet London, on whose gloomy streets only a few brightly colored umbrellas break the monotony…

However, by the time I finished my business at the two post offices and walked down to the river, just about an hour later – everything had changed! The sun is shining, it has warmed up, and people came out to take advantage of the beautiful January weather…

Already at this moment it was clear that the old Kenlock was not in the top league among lenses from the analog era. It can give a decently sharp image, but the focus ring has a relatively short travel, which causes big problems with manual focusing for older people with poor eyesight. In addition, there are pronounced chromatic aberrations at full aperture with every contrasty edge…

I couldn’t find any YouTube reviews of that lens, but I did find the Hanimex 80–200mm f4.5, which is suspiciously similar in both construction and optical characteristics. It is very possible that it is the same lens under a different label. It wasn’t unusual back then, and it isn’t even today.

The guy in the video says he paid £40 for it. The sample I tested is in excellent condition, but I still wouldn’t shell out more than $15 for it. The reason is simple: For £40 it is possible to find many optically better lenses.

But let’s get back to the walk, because now comes…

THE DRAMA!

The families happily used the beautiful day to go out, catching the generous and unexpectedly warm rays of the winter sun.

Yes, duck families too…

While I was aiming through the viewfinder at this venerable duck family, I felt something alive wrap around my legs. It was a German Shepherd dog whose owner called her Blackie. It was like she invited me to film her winter bath!

Blackie followed the ducks probably wanting to meet them and play a little… but the duck family was conspicuously reserved for this kind of entertainment.

And her persistent insistence led to a dramatic moment!

However, they parted as friends…

What a beautiful way to end this wonderful day’s walk!

All the photos in this challenge are taken with the Fujifilm X-T20 and manual focusing Kenlock Tor MC 80-200mm, f4.5 lens adapted to the Fuji body.

This post is made as a contribution to a photo challenge done in collaboration of two of our members: @tattoodjay hosts a competition called “Wednesday Walk” and @elizacheng’s contest called “Make me Smile”.