Photo Christmas!

S

Sean

[H] for Life
Joined
Nov 16, 2000
Messages
5,283
Picked up a photographers vest, Canon OC-E3 Flash Cord, and a book for Christmas, no lenses or bodies. Anyone get a new lens or camera this season?
 
Wife got a 50d w/ the amazing 28-135 IS kit lens - I got her old 350d (rebel xt) - 18-55 kit. (upgrade from kodak z812IS p&s). I got her 24GB total in 8GB CF cards, filter pack (UV/CPL), and a 750GB external drive for backups.
 
Got a rebel xsi with the 18-55mm IS kit lens, looking forward to getting comfortable with this after stepping up from a Canon SD630
 
I got 2 lens hoods for my Canon 450d. One for the 18-55 kit lens, another for the 50-250 standard zoom.
 
nada. but if nothing unexpected happens withing a month, then i'll treat myself with a Nikkor 24-70 ;)
 
My mom sent me a pair of Vivitar 10x25 binos with pic taking capabilities. Nice toy it should be fun.
 
Yeah, 3 weeks ago I got myself a Canon 500L F4 IS. Some sample shots:

Nuthatcher



Cardinal



Blue Jay


Titmouse



House Finch
 
I have trouble getting nice sharp pics at 300 or 250MM, let alone 500. Then again both my wife and I have low-end tripods, hers is better, but mine has cheap telescoping legs that look like antennas from a radio.

Very very good pictures there.
 
I bought myself a Sigma 10-20mm for my 400D and a Lumix LX3 as a backup compact. They should be in on Tuesday.
 
I got the 5D Mark II and still deciding between the 35L f/1.4 or the 35mm f/2 and 17-40...
 
VictorChan, those are some nice shots. Better beamer, or just normal flash?
 
Got myself a D40 w/ kit lens, 4GB card, a shoulder bag and a Sigma 10-20mm lens.
 
I got the new 50mm AF-S f/1.4 Nikkor lens. I've taken a bunch of pictures of family with it. This lens will probably drop in price in the near future, but I wanted it for the holiday to use with family.

Here's my favorite non-people picture, even though it's not of anything in particular--taken with a D40X: http://www.renzelmann.com/matt/fav_xmas2009.jpg

I'll mostly be using this lens to take pictures of friends of mine and so on--the kit lens is not well suited to low light situations, and I think this one will fit the bill. Sharpness wide open is acceptable, and I'm also very impressed with it at f/2 and f/2.8.

The 50mm Sigma apparently has better bokeh according to people on the Internetz, but I'm happy with this one. I avoided Sigma because of other people on the Internetz complaining of quality control issues.
 
I'm in the market for a low light lens too, but will probably go with the 30mm over the 50mm lens since I've heard it's better for the D40s.
 
50mm is more like a short telephoto than a "normal" lens on the DXX and D100/200/300 cameras. Set the kit lens to 30mm and compare with 50mm to see the difference.
 
Thanks. Better beamer with -1 f stop or a bit more exposure compensation. The feeders were in the a wooded area with the sun literally on my back. I had to use ISO 800 to 1000 to maintain a 1/800s shutter speed to shoot with my 500L+1.4x converter (910mm). On a monopod.

Sean said:
VictorChan, those are some nice shots. Better beamer, or just normal flash?
Click to expand...
 
VictorChan said:
Thanks. Better beamer with -1 f stop or a bit more exposure compensation. The feeders were in the a wooded area with the sun literally on my back. I had to use ISO 800 to 1000 to maintain a 1/800s shutter speed to shoot with my 500L+1.4x converter (910mm). On a monopod.
Click to expand...

Nice shot's, I'm leaning into the birding/nature shots, so just gathering information before I make a purchase. I've had some success with a 70-200, but 300+mm really give you the edge (even without a 1.4x).

Thanks for sharing!

Some pretty cool gifts in here.
 
You shoot with a Canon body right? If so, the 300L F4 IS is a good combination for birding and macro photography. If for birding only, get the 400L F5.6. I have owned both of these lenses. The 400L F5.6 has better IQ and very fast AF.

Sean said:
Nice shot's, I'm leaning into the birding/nature shots, so just gathering information before I make a purchase. I've had some success with a 70-200, but 300+mm really give you the edge (even without a 1.4x).

Thanks for sharing!

Some pretty cool gifts in here.
Click to expand...
 
VictorChan said:
You shoot with a Canon body right? If so, the 300L F4 IS is a good combination for birding and macro photography. If for birding only, get the 400L F5.6. I have owned both of these lenses. The 400L F5.6 has better IQ and very fast AF.
Click to expand...

$1250 canadian is a very dooable price. I get to cheat as well with 1.6 crop. ;)
 
Is another good lens for wild life in general. However, at least in the past, the 100-400 is known to produce "soft" shot at the longest end of the focal length. Makes sure you get a good copy of the 100-400L. In bird photography, cropping is necessary. If the lens can not produce good image quality, once your shot is cropped, you would lose a lot of details. My favorite, other than my current 500L, is the 400L F5.6. Sure, no IS. I just up the ISO to 800. Shooting at 1/400s shutter speed. Shooting on a monopod. The image quality of the 400L F5.6 is so good that I can still produce sharp and clear shots after cropping the shot 60%.

The problem with the 300L F4 IS is that, if you mainly use it for bird photography, you would always shoot it with the converter on. Yes, the converter would never leave the lens. Good? Bad? To me, that seems like not using the potential of the lens to the fullest. If you shoot sports, macros, birds, and wild life in general, the 300L is pretty good. So as the 100-400L.

darktiger said:
How about the 100-400 IS? One of my next lens...
Click to expand...
 
I got a Minolta AF 70-210 f/4, aka the Beercan. I'm liking it a lot so far.
 
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