October 18, 2007
sparky on the new lens
hmm, not the first time the first photo with new glass is a photo of sparky. well, he's always around and damn cute so what do you expect... EF70-200 f2.8L IS USM - that's a lot of letters...
sadly - almost all the photos I've taken with this lens in the last couple weeks were lost in a tragic hard disc accident. backup people backup - not once a month or so like i do... do it - do it all the time.
Posted by yankinoz at 12:24 AM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2006
clean sensor part 2
So I recently figured out that my camera turned one year old while I was in Tokyo. About the same time I found a dust speck on the sensor that I couldn't get off using my normal dust blower method. Since it's out of warranty now I thought it about time I give Petteri Sulonen's DIY sensor cleaning brush The Pixel Sweeper a go. Hey - works great! Go to Peteri's site and make your own sensor cleaning brush. Two thumbs way up!
Posted by yankinoz at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
sparky on new lens
even sparky is wondering why there is such a massive lens hood on this Canon EF17-40 F4.0L zoom. I've only had it for a couple of hours. and not much daylight with it (this shot at 800 ISO) but so far, so good. The hood, yeah, massive. Expect more photos and some commentary over the weekend.
Posted by yankinoz at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2005
EF ultra wide zooms and pizza
Lunch with photobloggers - this is what happens when the food comes. Everyone starts taking pictures of: the food in front of them, the food next to them and probably the person next to them taking a photo of their food. (above photo with Canon EF24mm F2.8)
Amy and I met up with some of the Sydney photobloggers at The Sydney Camera Market in Ultimo. I was hoping to find a good deal on a second hand Canon EF 17-40 F4.0L or a (discontinued) EF 17-35 F2.8L. I found a F2.8 and while it wasn't dirt cheap (1300) it was in pretty good condition. The 'thing' is - this lens has a pretty bad reputation. It's not meant to be very sharp - particularly wide open and this is rumoured to be why Canon rather quickly replaced it with the (way expensive) EF16-35 F2.8. The guy selling this 17-35 was kind enough to let me put it on my 10d and snap of a few shots. They are basically boring photos, so I won't be posting them. I shot it at 2.8, 3.5 and 4.0 - I'm not really sure about the F4.0 shot, it seems soft but was also taken at 1/30 of a second so that could be camera shake. The F2.8 shot on the other hand was at 16mm and 1/100th of a second - should be no camera shake. I really didn't expect to see a noticeably soft image but there it was - it's just... soft. A few tables down was a guy selling a 17-40 and I was again able take a few frames - this time all at F4.0 and while these are again terribly boring photos but they are clearly sharper than the 16-35. So in my totally unscientific comparison of the (discontinued) Canon EF 17-35/2.8L lens and the EF 16-40/4.0L lens, the f4.0 lens comes out on top. Too bad the used one at the markets was priced higher than new lenses available on line.
I just checked out the 16-35 v 17-35 comparison at The Luminous Landscape - the softness I saw in my 2.8 test is similar to the softness in his tests. With this confirmation, my choice is clear - as much as I want F2.8 - I'd rather the sharper lens.
Posted by yankinoz at 05:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2005
crumpler seven million dollar home
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a short review about the Crumpler Seven Million Dollar Home camera bag. At the time I liked just about everything about the bag except the strap. I already had a Tallee bag and had become rather accustomed to the Quick Flick Buckle. I was really bummed that the new bags had a more traditional camera bag strap so I got a hold of the Crumpler Custom shop in Melbourne and they were more than happy to fit a Quick Flick Buckle to a Seven Million Dollar Home. (UPDATE March 2007 - Crumpler in Melbourne does not currently do this modification.) The result is pictured above. It's the closest thing to 'the perfect camera bag' I've been able to find. There's really only a couple of things I would change if I could.
The Tallee on the left is about the same height and depth as the 7 Million Dollar Home on the right. The big difference is that the new bag makes much more effective use of the depth (well that and it's heaps wider.) The Tallee has a bottom compartment ('the darkroom') that is only accessible from the front flap - this means that you can't take full advantage of the height of the Tallee - long lenses only fit in the bottom.
The deep Million Dollar Home easily fits an 80-200 f2.8 zoom lens (that's it on the left.) In the center compartment is an EOS1 face down with room for a medium sized lens mounted. Pleanty of room on the right for a lens and flash, or maybe a second camera body. The whole of the interior is 'loop' fabric so you can velcro the dividers anywhere you like.
You can even fit an 80-200 zoom (hood reversed) with a camera attached in the center compartment. The bag still closes easily like this and there is heaps of room for a couple more zooms and a flash. The blue flap on the front opens up to a good size pocket for battaries, CF cards or even
Everything else I love about Crumpler bags is unchanged. Heavy duty construction, styling that is more consistant with messenger bags than camera bags, heavy padding and lots of dividers making it easy to customise the interior.
I did say there are a couple things that I would change if I could:
First: replace the front quick release buckle. It's redundant. There is a large Velcro patch there. However, a secure clip closure is needed (particularly when you have a handle on the top.) For a bag this wide I would have preferred two clips, one on each corner of the front flap.
Second: it would be purple.
My original plan was to use the Seven Million Dollar Home when I needed to carry a lot of gear, and keep the Tallee for when I just needed a few things, but with the softer, less boxy construction of the Seven it collapses a bit when it's not fully loaded (reminds me of a Domke F2 bag I had years ago) so I really don't see myself using the Tallee much any more (watch for it on Ebay.) I'll replace it with a smaller Three or Four Million Dollar Home - if only Crumpler would make one in purple.
Posted by yankinoz at 06:41 PM | Comments (10)
September 17, 2005
new crumpler bag, sahra and me
That's Sahra from Crumpler who modded a Seven Million Dollar Home bag (also pictured) for me (again, also pictured.) As you may have read here a couple of weeks ago, I dig the new style camera bags from Crumpler. They're less structured (not so boxy) then the older bags (like my Tallee) but have a more traditional camera bag type of a strap. I rang the custom Crumpler shop in Melbourne and Sahra here said "no worries!" (she is Australian after all) and for an extra 10 bucks Aussie, I got the old style strap. Now, I just need to get a 430EX and a 17-40F4.0L to fill this bad boy up!
More photos of the bag loaded with gear coming soon..
Thank You Sahra and all the fine people at Crumpler!!
Posted by yankinoz at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2005
Crumpler update and a photo of sparky
I went to the Crumpler shop yesterday to check out the new Million Dollar Home line of photo bags. I'm looking at the largest (7 Million Dollar Home) to complement my Tallee that I wrote about last week.
The good: less constructed, no 'Darkroom', lots of dividers, fits a big zoom with lens hood attached, easy in and out.
The bad: for some reason the Quick Flick Buckle isn't on the strap, smaller shoulder pad.
The ugly: Should I get another red bag or should I get this one in black?
The thing about the strap is that is is completely detachable from the bag (the Tallee strap does not come off) so theoretically I should be able to remove remove the strap and put in a Quick Flick Buckle if - and this is a big if - Crumpler will sell me the buckle separately. I reckon they will, or - even better - would reconfigure the strap for me when I order on line. I'll drop an email to 'em on Monday and keep you all posted.
Posted by yankinoz at 12:07 PM | Comments (1)
August 25, 2005
Canon EOS 5D - ooo...
The full frame digital SLR price tag cut in half this week with Canon's EOS 5D announcement. At 5 grand Aussie, it's still out of my price range but I'm not in the market for a new DSLR anyway (that's not sour grapes, really it's not, OK maybe a little.) I am in the market for new lens. I've expected full frame (FF) DSLRs to come down in price - Canon just confirmed that my lens strategy (to avoid digital specific lenses) is the right thing to do. So I'm continuing to save my pennies for an EF 17-40 F4.0L USM. The smaller than 35mm DSLR sensor means that the 17-40mm provides the same field of view as a 28-65mm would provide on a FF SLR (film or digital.)
The Canon EF-S lenses are designed for the smaller sensor on DSLRs but Canon's design makes it impossible to mount them on the DSLRs released prior ot the Rebel 300D model (like my 10D.) Because these lenses don't have to cover a full frame, focal lengths down to 10mm are possible (the equivalent of 16mm on FF) I've been a bit jealous of the 20D owners and their super wide options in the EF-S line. Both Tamron and Tokina both have released lenses that will mount on the earlier cameras (actually they will mount on 35mm film EOS cameras as well) but they don't cover the full frame. I haven't been comfortable getting a lens that won't work on my EOS 1 too - and I've known that the FF DSLRs would, in time, get less expensive. This week, Canon proved that they will so I have effectively ruled out the digital specific lenses and won't be shooting 'super-wide' with digital for a few more years.
Also in Canon's announcement is the new 430EX flash. I'm gonna have to get me one of those too...
Posted by yankinoz at 07:15 AM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2005
Crumpler Tallee camera bag review
I replaced an aging Tamrac Correspondent bag (at least I think that's what it was called) with a Crumpler Tallee bag about 6 months ago. At the time I was looking for a bag that would fit my newly acquired Canon EOS 10D, a couple of lenses and a flash unit. I had planned to attach either a Lowe Pro or Crumpler lens pouch to the side of the Tallee to hold my Canon EF 80-200 F2.8L lens - unfortunately none of the lens pouches I tried felt very secure, so I ended up improvising a bit.
What initially attracted me to the Crumpler bags was the heavy duty construction, well that and the fact that I couldn't find Domke bags in Australia. Since there are Crumpler shops right here in Sydney - I grabbed my gear and headed to Paddington to see just how much stuff I could stuff into one. Once I loaded up a bag and threw it over my sholder I was sold - these bags just fit your body.
First impression:
The Chicken Tex nylon is tough stuff - it's stiffer than any camera bag I've had before. The heavy duty construction and thick fabric actually limits the amount of stuff you can fit inside. I had looked and some comparable Lowe Pro bags (in the Stealth line) and given similar outside dimensions, the Lowe Pro bags are going to hold more stuff, but the Crumpler is going to protect it better. And no matter how much Lowe Pro calls them 'Stealth' they still look like camera bags.
Fitting in the gear:
The bag came with many different sized dividers - with modern digital SLR gear, the dividers are mostly in the way. I ended up dividing the main compartment in half with room for my Canon EOS 10D and a 28-105 lens attached on one side with a second lens on the other side.
Down below, in 'The Darkroom' is a great place to stash a flash and it's even big enough to hold a 80-200 F/2.8 (without the hood.)
The strap:
Like all the Crumpler bags, their camera bags are designed to be warn 'messenger' style, that is with the strap over the left shoulder and the bag on the right hip - this is the most secure way to wear a bag anyway. The length is easily adjustable on the fly with a Quick Flick buckle on the right.
The Third Leg:
The Tallee has a 'Third Leg' strap that is designed to go around your back to keep the bag in check. In the two or three times I've used it (when hiking up steep terrain) it's been great - but mostly the third leg just gets in the way. The shoulder pad is the best ever - I've actually reversed it - I find it more comfortable this way (and works better with the third leg.)
Velcro closer madness:
These photos below show the velcro closers that hold the top flap in place. It's a double closure with with a small, rather useless pocket on the inner flap. This method does a great job of sealing the bag from the elements. The large patch of Velcro at the bottom is great for quickly closing the bag, but opens with a loud rip - a real problem in a quiet setting. The third photo shows how I fold over the flap when I want to be able to quickly and quietly get in and out of the bag.
So, waddareckon?
I gotta say, I was a little hesitant to get this bag - not because of the construction, the strap, the heaps of Velcro, the padding, the dividers or the color (those were all the reasons that I bought it!) The thing that was holding me back was 'The Darkroom'. I've never liked the idea of the bottom compartment as I thought they were too hard to get stuff in and out of. This is the first bag I have owned with such a compartment and after living with it for 6 months, I was right.
If you are thinking about a new bag, by all means GET a Crumpler bag. I can't recommend them enough. But I can't really recommend the Tallee - and based on the new 'Million Dollar Home' line from Crumpler, it looks like they have given up on the bottom compartment too. Good on ya Crumpler.
Posted by yankinoz at 04:34 PM | Comments (5)
February 13, 2005
canon 10d, to date...and beer
black and white 1
Originally uploaded by yankinoz.
Spent some time this evening going over the 750 or so images I've taken with the 10d so far. I did some conversions to black and white on a few that I thought would look nice. Ironically the images I chose started out a fairly monochromatic - but look nicer in black and white. I also found a couple more from Australia Day that I hadn't posted before. This picture of fried cheese was from a small celebration Amy and I had at the local Chili's - yup, Sydney has Chili's - it is amazingly like the ones back home.) Some more photos from a pub crawl with friends last weekend. I also found something that is becoming a rather common theme. Beer.
--------
Posted by yankinoz at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2005
EOS 10D; a short review
I've had the 10D for a few days and shot close to 300 images with it. My biggest concern going into this was with the physical size of the sensor - I like wide angle shots, and the field of view of my favourite lens (24mm) wouldn't be the same. Well, it's not the same but still has a nice wide angle feel anyway (similar field of view of a 35mm lens on a 35mm camera.)
Tasman Sea at North Head
Originally uploaded by yankinoz.
I've been shooting film with an EOS 1 for at least 12 years and the layout of the 10D is so familiar that it's easy to forget that it's a digital camera. The only thing that seems strange is the location of the depth of field preview. I have to hunt for it when I need it. This is not the end of the world because a) when depth of field is critical, the subject probably doesn't move and b) I'll get used to it over time.
Highs:
- responsive (no shutter lag)
- fill in flash (controllable amount of fill)
- custom functions (focus related ones in particular)
- major functions easily accessible (drive, metering, iso, ect.)
- uses my existing lenses
- 3200 speed setting - wow!
- below 400, almost no noise at all
- beep can be turned off (it is)
- Price (new 10Ds can be found for under 1000USD)
Lows
- grip could be a bit bigger
- 2 seconds to power on
- dust (see below)
- 'auto' white balance - not!
- only manual flash with my 430EZ - guess I'll need a EX flash :-)
Here's a 3200 speed test, under incandescent light with the 'auto' white balance. I really don't see where Canon can call this auto white balance - but I don't mind the colour, actually prefer it to a photoshop corrected version. The other thing to check out here is the grain, or noise at 3200 speed. It's there, and is expected but is IMO far less than the grain in 3200 speed film. And rather similar to the 800 speed setting in the Nikon 995.
3200 test
Originally uploaded by yankinoz.
Dust... Dust, dust, dust. This is totally my fault. With film, if a bit of dust gets behind the shutter and gets on the film, it shows up on one photo. Then the film and the dust move, ready for the next dust free shot. I've kept my 80-200 zoom lens in an imitation Domke wrap. Next to the wrapped lens, in my old camera bag sat my 24mm, with the 28-105 on the EOS 1. In my excitement with the new camera I grabbed the 24mm and put it right on the 10D - didn't notice that the imitation Domke wrap's loop fabric was deteriorating in my bag, leaving bits of black dust everywhere, and yup, a few bits made it's way onto the sensor. It's only visible with F/11 or smaller aperture and I've got most of it off with a blower bulb but there are a few stubborn bits. The good news is that it's easy to photoshop out and the Canon repair office is a few Km from my office, so it will get a professional clean after Australia Day.
Now, I'm adopting a new anal lens cleaning routine and am trashing my trusty old Tamrac bag (now loaded with black dust) and have replaced it with a Crumpler Tall-ee bag. Review of the Crumpler coming soon to yankinoz.
--------
Posted by yankinoz at 07:00 AM | Comments (0)
