The "New Gear/Willy Waving" thread

Invasion · 18 Mar 2013 at 16:44

J1nxy said:
Did you get it new? I'm considering one to take on holiday rather than my d600.

Yeah after much consideration and I am over the moon with it

would be great for your holiday, but I warn you, you may want to sell your d600 after

J1nxy · 18 Mar 2013 at 16:53

Did you not get the free battery and 45mm or hand grip?

Had one before my d600 and swapped to the d600 but find it far too heavy to lug round for a day.

Invasion · 18 Mar 2013 at 16:57

J1nxy said:
Did you not get the free battery and 45mm or hand grip?

Had one before my d600 and swapped to the d600 but find it far too heavy to lug round for a day.

Ive gone for the hand grip. I wasn't going to get the 45mm, as I was just going to shoot 35mm(34) but I think the 45 is a must so I ordered one today.

Do you miss the OM-D??

J1nxy · 18 Mar 2013 at 16:59

Only for video and weight, the D600 image quality is something else entirely.

buzzlightweight · 22 Mar 2013 at 18:53

After a shaky start im very happy with the upgrade from my 550D to this -

Phal · 22 Mar 2013 at 18:55

Finding it much of an upgrade? Like the touchscreen stuff?

buzzlightweight · 22 Mar 2013 at 19:32

Phal said:
Finding it much of an upgrade? Like the touchscreen stuff?

the focus is 100% improvement, the touch is amazing and so fast, dare i say iPhone like, i just cant wait till my speedlite gear turns up, i have bought some remotes but i wanna test the inbuilt.

i have just bought a

Yongnuo YN568EX YN-568EX TTL High Speed Flash

&

Yongnuo YN-622C Wireless E-TTL Flash Trigger

Have you tried the built in?

Phal · 22 Mar 2013 at 22:10

Used it a little, mostly just for some semi drunk pre-pub/club pics with mates lol

Most of my sober picture taking is outdoors so the flash isn't as much use there for landscapes and wildlife.

It seems to do ok but I'll probably get myself an external flash at some point

geuben · 22 Mar 2013 at 22:48

Got my bonus today, ordered a Konova slider. I can't wait for it to arrive. I'm not sure what to spend the rest on, I think my girlfriend will have a fit if I buy more camera gear.

NickK · 23 Mar 2013 at 21:48

Just a 2" 35nm Hydrogen Alpha filter last week.

In space, a lot of objects emit light at specific "forbidden bands", one of the most common is Ha (Hydrogen Alpha). Sub scopes also are Ha but far narrower (ie 0.10-0.01 nm) in their bandwidth.

One good point is 35nm should filter out light pollution, and it has other uses such as improving moon shots and the same for solar when it's used with a blocking filter.

buzzlightweight · 26 Mar 2013 at 19:25

what a great bit of kit!

buzzlightweight · 29 Mar 2013 at 10:41

So iv finally done it.........!?!?

Iv bought my first L lens.
Ive bought the 24-105mm F4, i was looking at, believe it or not, the Tamron 70-300mm with macro at first O_o, let me explain!

Ive recently been to kew gardens and struggled a little but my friend had the Tamron and took some fantastic images so i was thinking of getting the same lens as it has a multitude of uses.
Now you might ask how iv gone from a £110 70-300 lens to a £600 24-105 lens?
Well i recently upgraded to the 650D and was selling my 550D, i was shocked when it sold for £315!
So with all that extra cheddar i thought i would get a decent walk about lens that i can keep if i ever go FF (which if this itch gets any worse will result in a 5D on my desk!)

So there you go, im no longer an L virgin

Rojin · 29 Mar 2013 at 11:13

Nice

I bought one on here recently, I haven't really used it much yet though. I don't mind the range on a crop as I don't really do wide and prefer the longer end. I'm not sure f4 is going to be for me to be honest, but I'm seeing it as an all rounder lens. I reckon it might be useful for motorsports as well.

buzzlightweight · 29 Mar 2013 at 11:33

I like landscape so the F4 does not worry me, all my other lenses are F2.8 or F1.4 so light isn't an issue

Also if i need to i have just bought -

so light again is not an issue

King Damager · 29 Mar 2013 at 12:48

Indoors it's not a huge amount of use to be honest, f4 just isn't good enough for that.

Outdoors though it's beautiful. Great range, beautifully sharp, and just a joy to use

kd

SDK^ · 29 Mar 2013 at 12:55

The 24-105 F4 L is a great lens - However, you have a lot of overlap in your lens collection.
You said your friend managed to take some good photos, I'm assuming with a 70-300, but you struggled. Was this because of a lack of range or technique?

I'm thinking if the former, then a Canon 70-200mm F4 L (or the IS version) would have been a better lens to go for. Given that you already have an 18-50mm F2.8.

buzzlightweight · 29 Mar 2013 at 14:23

You are right about the over lap but i wouldnt say its a lot. Yes the 30mm and the 18-50mm do over lap but their functionallity are miles apart. The only reason im keeping the 18-50 is due to all the various filters i have for it, although i will probably sell it and the filters to fund the 77mm filters i want for my L.

Indoors i do tend to use my 30mm, in fact the 30mm is rarely off my body. As for lack of ability, yes it did play a part but it was more the lack of focal length and even thou the tamron is not a macro lens by any means it did help. I know the 24-105mm is not a macro but as i said the deciding facts were 1) it has a focal length i am missing 2) it has a limited macro ability, and 3) it will be the only lens i have that is FF ready

I did toy with the notion of getting the 70-200 L F4, and it was cheaper but i just didn't want to walk around with such a big lens and it wouldn't get the use out of it that it deserves.

The focal range of the 24-105mm is perfect for the work that i like to do

D.P. · 29 Mar 2013 at 14:25

24-105 f/4 doesn't really make sense on a crop body TBH, not wide enough for most uses and t f4 you are not much faster than other lenses.

Still, it is a nice lens for sure and if you make good use of it that is all that matters.

munge · 29 Mar 2013 at 14:26

Mmm, shiny lens

Proud owner of brand spanking, shiny new 70-200 F2.8 IS Mk II

If build quality is reflective of how it feels on the outside, this is one amazing piece of kit.

Going to be carrying rather heavy hand luggage now on my few days on the Alps, but can't wait to have a proper go with it.

I feel like a kid at Christmas!

buzzlightweight · 29 Mar 2013 at 14:40

fair point but i have read a few reviews of this lens on crops and the consensus is that its a worth while buy, especially if planning to go FF.

King of the red ring.

by Luke Diva (Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
10 Jul 2012
I would say this is one of my favorite L lens. It's cheap(ish) and it's just amazing, and a great companion for my Rebel T2i (550D). The range is just right, it's really wide, but it can get really close. The build quality is impressive. Overall if I had to carry only one lens in my camera bag, this would be the one.

Does the job

by Dimitrios Kotsilimpas
22 Sep 2012
Although this is made from plastic, it feels very robust. The weight also feels well balanced with my 7D, which makes it all the more comfortable to hold. The focuse and zoom rings are nice and smooth (NOTE: I did find the zoom ring to be slightly less stiff after a while, which made it better for me).

The one thing I was worried about (prior to buying this lens) was the F4. Yes, there is an IS, but that only compensates for your movement - not the moving subject. I did test it on some skateboarders and BMX riders (at London Southbank), and although at times I had to push the ISO up to 800, I was still VERY impressed with the sharpness and colour. The Ultra Sonic Motor was very impressive, bearing in mind that a lot of these moving subjects were practically flying past me. Overall, I have no complaints for this lens. Yes, an f2.8 apperture would make it that much better, but I guess you can't have it all.

One very important thing to note is that this lens is not fully weather-sealed unless you have a filter on the front element. Personally, I would not risk taking this out in the rain unless I absolutely have to capture that shot.

Oh I almost forgot... DigitalRev did a great job with the delivery! Thanks a lot, and keep up the good work!

Quick Delivery and Great Lens

by Mark Plettner
18 Apr 2012
After reviewing this lens on Digital Rev and other sources, I felt this would be a good portrait lens. I have not been disappointed. The lens arrived last week and have used it since then for some portrait shoots. The lens is very sharp and has a good colour rendition (under studio strobes).

I like the focal length range for this lens for portraiture. It's wide enough on my 7D for smaller spaces and long enough for tight head shots.

My only concern is the tight zoom ring. It is fairly stiff to turn. I also found it hunted a little more than my EF-S 15-85mm in lower light. It also seems a little noisier than my 15-85. It's not really distracting but I can hear the gearing churning away when trying to find focus.

Other than that, the build quality is great (it's not metal like my EF70-200 f2.8 IS). I think this will remain attached to my 7D most of the time.

I would like to get a 5D Mark II or III and use this lens but for the moment it's a fairly sweet piece of glass for the 7D.

There are a lot of crop users out there with this lens