no more band-aids
the cameras in my analog collection – there are a few miscellaneous other bits (flashes, lenses, etc…) but this is the good stuff. they just don’t make stuff like this anymore.
2010/01/23: We’re all collectors of something. Find an interesting way to display and make a photo of a collection today. #ds69
there are many like it, but this one is mine.
my Canon XT has seen a lot of miles, and a lot of use and abuse. it’s been covered in sand, dipped in seawater, frozen in snow and ice. packed on my bike for over 10,000km of riding in all kinds of weather. the matte finish is worn off in all the right places.
it’s sporting the great Luma Loop, and the überfun Sigma 10-20mm ultrawide angle lens.
2010/01/20: Make your camera the star of the show today. Use another camera or mirror to put your camera in a photo of its own. #ds66
I’ve been using my “nifty fifty” (aka “plastic fantastic”) Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens almost exclusively since I got it a couple months ago. It was cheap, at $100, and it’s been a blast to use. The wide aperture means I can take shots without needing the flash, with a strong bokeh (blurred background with foreground in sharp focus). It really hit me just how awesome this lens is, when I dragged the camera out trick-or-treating with Evan last night. Lots of other parents brought cameras – it’s a natural thing to do. Many even had DSLRs with fancy schmancy lenses. But they ALL were firing the flash. Completely blowing away the spooky halloween ambiance, replacing it with brightly lit subjects with harsh shadows. Ick.
Here’s a shot I took just down the street, at a neighbour’s house that was tricked out as a haunted house.
The flash would have completely killed the effect, destroying the shadows and blowing away the colours in the background.
All of these shots were taken hand-held, with no tripod, monopod, or additional lighting.
The fixed 50mm focal length takes some getting used to, since you have to zoom with your feet, but I find it makes me more mindful of the shot I want to take because I have to think ahead. And, most of the time, the longer-than-normal 50mm gets me a much nicer and closer shot, and compresses distance nicely (something that gets exaggerated with a zoom lens and shorter focal lengths).
Anyway, just a quick rave about the awesome 50mm f/1.8 lens. If you have a DSLR (any make, any model), run out and get one. It’s by FAR the best bang for the buck, and the fast f/1.8 aperture is awesome and addictive.
Wow. Canon updated the EOS-1D to Mark III. 10MP. 10fps. 3" LCD.Dual Digic III processors. Integrated sensor cleaner. ISO 6400.
Now I just need $3,999 US. Anyone need a kidney?
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Wow. Canon updated the EOS-1D to Mark III. 10MP. 10fps. 3" LCD.Dual Digic III processors. Integrated sensor cleaner. ISO 6400.
Now I just need $3,999 US. Anyone need a kidney?
Lawrie switched from a Canon SLR to Panasonic DSLR body over Christmas, and was looking to sell off his old Canon EF lenses. I picked up his Canon 75-300mm f4-5.6 USM Mark II for a good price.
It’s not the best lens ever made, and the optics aren’t much (any?) better than the kit lens, but it sure is long. I wanted something with a good reach, and this sucker has that in spades. At 300mm, the visible area is about 6? across (if I hold my arm out in front of me, with my hand up and fingers together, it’s about 3 fingers across).
There is noticeable chromatic aberration, especially in bright photos with high contrast. But, for a lens to grab a mountain from over 100km away, it ain’t half bad at all. It’s certainly no worse than the kit lens.
It’s not a fast lens, either, meaning that I’ll need to use a monopod or tripod in low light scenarios, even moreso at the 300mm end of the lens. But, that’s not bad since I have a handy dandy monopod.
The lens is far too long to be a regular walking-around lens, but will definitely come in handy for shooting far-away things, and has a decent macro at 1.5m, so I can take nice closeups of stuff without cramming the lens into whatever the subject is. It doesn’t come close to the 28-135mm USM IS lens, which has a more normal range and much nicer optics (and I’m still saving up for that one, too).
I’ve taken a bunch of test photos to see how it behaves at the extreme ends of the range.
Here are some samples of a scene from my back door. The first shot was taken at 300mm on the new lens, the next at 75mm (the wide end of the lens), and the last one taken at 18mm using the kit lens.
Lawrie switched from a Canon SLR to Panasonic DSLR body over Christmas, and was looking to sell off his old Canon EF lenses. I picked up his Canon 75-300mm f4-5.6 USM Mark II for a good price.
It’s not the best lens ever made, and the optics aren’t much (any?) better than the kit lens, but it sure is long. I wanted something with a good reach, and this sucker has that in spades. At 300mm, the visible area is about 6? across (if I hold my arm out in front of me, with my hand up and fingers together, it’s about 3 fingers across).
There is noticeable chromatic aberration, especially in bright photos with high contrast. But, for a lens to grab a mountain from over 100km away, it ain’t half bad at all. It’s certainly no worse than the kit lens.
It’s not a fast lens, either, meaning that I’ll need to use a monopod or tripod in low light scenarios, even moreso at the 300mm end of the lens. But, that’s not bad since I have a handy dandy monopod.
The lens is far too long to be a regular walking-around lens, but will definitely come in handy for shooting far-away things, and has a decent macro at 1.5m, so I can take nice closeups of stuff without cramming the lens into whatever the subject is. It doesn’t come close to the 28-135mm USM IS lens, which has a more normal range and much nicer optics (and I’m still saving up for that one, too).
I’ve taken a bunch of test photos to see how it behaves at the extreme ends of the range.
Here are some samples of a scene from my back door. The first shot was taken at 300mm on the new lens, the next at 75mm (the wide end of the lens), and the last one taken at 18mm using the kit lens.
The Teaching & Learning Centre picked up a new Canon Digital Rebel XTi and 28-135mm USM IS lens, primarily to better photograph events and workshops. I took a quick walk around this side of campus to try it out. Man, do I love the new lens. The XTi is a pretty nice upgrade, too. I’m still really happy with my (now obsolete) XT, but the XTi is nice. The LCD feels HUGE. The 9-point focus is good (although I have my XT set to center focus only, so the extra 8 points would be wasted).
I posted a bunch of my test photos – sets of two, taken at each end of the lenses’ range.
I’ll try to make some time to test out the new rig over the next week or so. And of course, now I need to save up to buy my own 28-135mm USM IS lens. Dayum, that’s nice.
Update: I added a sample of the same shot taken with a 75-300mm EF USM MkII at 300mm for comparison. It’s a bit blurry because that lens is not IS, and I didn’t have a tri- or monopod handy. Hand-holding at 300mm in lowish light is not recommended…
The Teaching & Learning Centre picked up a new Canon Digital Rebel XTi and 28-135mm USM IS lens, primarily to better photograph events and workshops. I took a quick walk around this side of campus to try it out. Man, do I love the new lens. The XTi is a pretty nice upgrade, too. I’m still really happy with my (now obsolete) XT, but the XTi is nice. The LCD feels HUGE. The 9-point focus is good (although I have my XT set to center focus only, so the extra 8 points would be wasted).
I posted a bunch of my test photos – sets of two, taken at each end of the lenses’ range.
I’ll try to make some time to test out the new rig over the next week or so. And of course, now I need to save up to buy my own 28-135mm USM IS lens. Dayum, that’s nice.
Update: I added a sample of the same shot taken with a 75-300mm EF USM MkII at 300mm for comparison. It’s a bit blurry because that lens is not IS, and I didn’t have a tri- or monopod handy. Hand-holding at 300mm in lowish light is not recommended…
I bought my Canon Digital Rebel XT back in June, with the timing of the purchase a direct result of Canon Canada‘s $100 rebate offer. I bought the camera at that time specifically because of the additional rebate. Otherwise, I would have likely held off a month or two, probably waiting for the release of the XTi. (an aside on the timing – I actually jumped the gun, buying the camera 2 weeks too early to be eligible for $400 back from work, so actually lost $500 in rebates and benefits because of the timing – that’s almost half the price of the camera)
5 months later, and Canon still hasn’t made good on the rebate. I’ve been in touch with their support folks, who passed me off to a 1-800 number and website for a separate rebate fulfillment firm “The Rebate Company“. Classy. So, I try calling the number, which only works during normal business hours. Except that’s when I work, too. So, should I be calling them from the company phone? The Rebate Company website is useless. I go through the motions, and they claim to have no record of my claim. My word against theirs. Black’s Photography can’t help me because it’s a Canon program. Canon can’t help me because it’s a Rebate Company program. The Rebate Company is just not helping.
Canon, I love the camera. I’ve taken almost 5000 shots (about 1000 per month). I’ve been recommending Canon cameras to everyone who asks. I’m planning more purchases (lenses, flashes, etc…). But I’ll be staying far, far away from the rebate program. It’s false advertising when they don’t deliver.
I bought my Canon Digital Rebel XT back in June, with the timing of the purchase a direct result of Canon Canada‘s $100 rebate offer. I bought the camera at that time specifically because of the additional rebate. Otherwise, I would have likely held off a month or two, probably waiting for the release of the XTi. (an aside on the timing – I actually jumped the gun, buying the camera 2 weeks too early to be eligible for $400 back from work, so actually lost $500 in rebates and benefits because of the timing – that’s almost half the price of the camera)
5 months later, and Canon still hasn’t made good on the rebate. I’ve been in touch with their support folks, who passed me off to a 1-800 number and website for a separate rebate fulfillment firm “The Rebate Company“. Classy. So, I try calling the number, which only works during normal business hours. Except that’s when I work, too. So, should I be calling them from the company phone? The Rebate Company website is useless. I go through the motions, and they claim to have no record of my claim. My word against theirs. Black’s Photography can’t help me because it’s a Canon program. Canon can’t help me because it’s a Rebate Company program. The Rebate Company is just not helping.
Canon, I love the camera. I’ve taken almost 5000 shots (about 1000 per month). I’ve been recommending Canon cameras to everyone who asks. I’m planning more purchases (lenses, flashes, etc…). But I’ll be staying far, far away from the rebate program. It’s false advertising when they don’t deliver.
I’ve been jonesing for a zoom lens since I picked up my Canon XT back in June. The kit lens is not too bad (aside from some chromatic aberration), but a longer lens would be great. I had been eyeing the Canon 55-200 EF lens, at around $300 bucks at the local Black’s, but after reading some reviews, I want to stay far far away from that lens and its questionable build quality.
After a bit of poking around on The Camera Store’s site, I think I’ve found a much better alternative. A Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO Macro. There’s no image stabilization, so I’ll have to use a tripod when in the 200-300mm range, but at $320CDN, it’s a much better deal. And reviews suggest a much sturdier build quality.
Poking around some sample images shot with that lens, I’m pretty happy with it. Sure, it might not stack up against a $1500 lens with image stabilization and the works, but it’s cheap enough to be able to pick it up without many regrets.
Unfortunately, I think the lens is too slow for much indoor work. I don’t think it’s a suitable candidate for photographing workshops here at the TLC. But as an outdoor lens, it looks pretty darned good.
Update: On recommendation from Raffaella, I think I’ll hold out for the Canon 28-135mm f.3.5-5.6 IS USM. It’s a little more spendy (just under $600 CDN), and not quite as long, but the Sigma may be too long, and the build quality won’t be quite as good as this. And the image stabilization would help when shooting at the 135mm end of the lens. Now to go return some more empty bottles, and look under the cushions on my couch…
I’ve been jonesing for a zoom lens since I picked up my Canon XT back in June. The kit lens is not too bad (aside from some chromatic aberration), but a longer lens would be great. I had been eyeing the Canon 55-200 EF lens, at around $300 bucks at the local Black’s, but after reading some reviews, I want to stay far far away from that lens and its questionable build quality.
After a bit of poking around on The Camera Store’s site, I think I’ve found a much better alternative. A Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO Macro. There’s no image stabilization, so I’ll have to use a tripod when in the 200-300mm range, but at $320CDN, it’s a much better deal. And reviews suggest a much sturdier build quality.
Poking around some sample images shot with that lens, I’m pretty happy with it. Sure, it might not stack up against a $1500 lens with image stabilization and the works, but it’s cheap enough to be able to pick it up without many regrets.
Unfortunately, I think the lens is too slow for much indoor work. I don’t think it’s a suitable candidate for photographing workshops here at the TLC. But as an outdoor lens, it looks pretty darned good.
Update: On recommendation from Raffaella, I think I’ll hold out for the Canon 28-135mm f.3.5-5.6 IS USM. It’s a little more spendy (just under $600 CDN), and not quite as long, but the Sigma may be too long, and the build quality won’t be quite as good as this. And the image stabilization would help when shooting at the 135mm end of the lens. Now to go return some more empty bottles, and look under the cushions on my couch…
So, 2 months after I finally get my Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D), they announce the upgrade. The 400D/XTi sounds pretty nice, but I’m not regretting getting the XT when I did.
Things I like about the 400D/XTi:
Things I don’t like about the upgrade:
So, while more pixels, and a cleaner (physically and image-wise) sensor are nice, the lack of the secondary LCD kinda sucks. But, the 350D/XT is still more camera than I know what to do with (yet) so I have absolutely no regrets. I didn’t think I’d be able to say that after my XT became obsolete, but I’m still loving my camera. However, if Canon wants to send me a 400D/XTi upgrade for my 60-day-old 350D/XT, I won’t complain… I’m curious to see how this new model stacks up against Nikon’s new D80, as well.
So, 2 months after I finally get my Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D), they announce the upgrade. The 400D/XTi sounds pretty nice, but I’m not regretting getting the XT when I did.
Things I like about the 400D/XTi:
Things I don’t like about the upgrade:
So, while more pixels, and a cleaner (physically and image-wise) sensor are nice, the lack of the secondary LCD kinda sucks. But, the 350D/XT is still more camera than I know what to do with (yet) so I have absolutely no regrets. I didn’t think I’d be able to say that after my XT became obsolete, but I’m still loving my camera. However, if Canon wants to send me a 400D/XTi upgrade for my 60-day-old 350D/XT, I won’t complain… I’m curious to see how this new model stacks up against Nikon’s new D80, as well.