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Canon Tag

17 May

Posted at 07:28h in Dick's Rant, Reviews by

Now I get to have my fun - I’ve got a Tamron macro lens and I’m not afraid to use it! I’ve also got a new model car and a fresh pot of coffee. The people who seek macro lenses for their Nikon and Canon bodies are well served by their respective  manufacturers. There is no denying that in each case there is a range of macro lenses and one standout lens that the shooter can purchase to go to for superb results. The standout macro lenses have focal lengths that hover around the 90-105mm mark - and for a good reason. You can get good distortion correction there and a useful stand-off distance from the subject - even when you are cranking the lens to a true 1:1 ratio. The performances and weights of these premium lenses are reflected in the prices, which are also weighty. There has always been another alternative - the Tamron 90mm macro lens. It has in the past had a much lighter mount but an extremely good optical performance. Many people who didn't want to pay the major...

06 Apr

Posted at 00:30h in News by

Choosing a back pack for exploring the less developed corners of the empire is a delicate task. One must accurately assess the opportunities that will be presented as well as the risks that will be run. This is why our featured article - the Think Tank Trifecta 8 -  will be on the short-list of many adventurers. The basic idea of the Trifecta 8 is to take enough equipment onto the wild to enable you to capture images of the savages whilst not weighing you down in case you need to make a run for it. Modern thinking has provided us with mirror-less cameras and lenses of reduced size and weight and this is all to the good. Now we have a way to carry them about the person. Just as Kipling’s cavalryman spent the winter preparing his spring campaign - paring an ounce of weight where he could to extend the range of his mount - so we can reduce the amount of gear we carry. But it still needs to be accessible at short notice when we come across a...

14 Mar

Posted at 23:20h in News by

a. Give their credit card details to an unknown person on the other side of the world for a small camera accessory that they could just as easily buy in Perth?b. Air-freight a small camera accessory half-way around the world to Perth?c. Think that they support the conservation of the ecology of the planet while compelling someone to fly a jet aircraft halfway around the world to deliver a small camera accessory?d. Need a small camera accessory - since the cameras we use have every conceivable function built-in?e. Stock a small camera accessory that yields about $ 2.00 profit if it sells immediately and $ 20.00 loss if it sits on the shelf for six months?f. Take pictures that are never again looked at - sitting as they do on hard drives or in computer bodies - with expensive small accessories that have come half-way around the world?g. Enter pictures taken with small accessories into photo contests that are destined to be seen only by other people who are willing their competitors not to win?h. Put up photo contests that...

13 Mar

Posted at 01:18h in News by

How many of us get a tool kit with our new digital cameras these days? In the old film days it was common for the box containing the SLR or rangefinder camera to have a complete tool pouch including a stilson wrench, set of spanners, lens brace, film jack, and a bottle of optical antiseptic. In the case of some Kodak cameras you got a 8-round clip of .30-06 ball ammunition and a toothbrush.I think we are being done - nowadays you're lucky to get a battery charger and a squidgy little lens cloth with some. Even the instruction manuals are on a CD...

03 Mar

Posted at 01:04h in News by

I was conscious of the anomaly of what I was doing but it was all for a good cause; I was trying to determine which of the new Mag Mod light shapers would be the best for event coverage. I had inveigled Chelsea Bunz - the Steampunk Absinthe Fairy - to come in and pose for head and shoulders shots with the IceLight 2 and Promaster LED 120 portable lights and I thought to take advantage of the chance for some Mag Mod experienmts. They were duly conducted but I am still in a quandary.For those who came in late, the Mag Mod light shapers are designed to attach firms to portable speed lights and to give either colour, diffusion, or concentration for the flash. I want something that will let me front up to Steampunk patrons of Rigby's Bar in St. Geo. Tce when they have one of their Steampunk Balls and take well-lit portraits in a flash. I need to do full-length, half torso, and head and shoulders.I most definitely don't want to do it with a tripod...

01 Mar

Posted at 00:46h in News by

I have not reviewed many fish-eye lenses in this column over the years - not for any sinister reason, mind, but really because I am at a loss as to what images will be best captured with them.I do not swim underwater with the fish and rarely go to pop concerts or inaugurations that might have tens of thousands of people attending them. I rarely go into caverns or cathedrals, and generally do not take the wide view of the place. So for me, the fish-eye view is a novelty.For others, it can be the exact way they see the world...