Product Description

EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS wide-angle to telephoto zoom lens with 35mm equivalent of 29-216mm * compatible with Canon APS-C format digital SLR cameras * image stabilization allows in-focus shots with longer exposure times (up to four stops slower shutter speed) * minimum focus distance: 18 inches * lens is 4-3/8″ long, 3″ in diameter *

Product Details

• Brand: Canon
• Model: 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
• Dimensions: 4.00″ h x 3.00″ w x 3.00″ l, 1.00 pounds

Features

• 18-135mm lens with f3.5-f.5.6 aperture; for use with APS-C cameras
• 35mm equivalent to 29mm-216mm focal length range
• Dedicated image stabilization
• Lens construction of 16 elements in 12 groups
• Compatible with 67mm filters

More About : Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

I’ve just posted my Canon EF-S 15-85 IS Lens Review, you can read it by following the link.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/4270608-my-canon-ef-s-15-85-f-3-5-5-6-is-usm-mini-review

It was a rather warm Summer night on Saturday here in Perth and we had clear skies, so I decided to head out and spend a few hours shooting some star trails. I decided to head down to Lake Clifton http://www.lakeclifton.com.au South of Mandurah, and about 100km South of Perth. On this visit, there was no moon not like on my last visit http://eos20.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/august-7/ so conditions were ideal for shooting star trails, but having some moon light would have been ideal so I could have used the ambient light from the moon to illuminate the Thrombolites http://www.lakeclifton.com.au/yalgorup.html so had to use my spotlight to bring out the detail of the Thrombolites. I brought along two cameras on this visit, I bought my EOS 7D and used my new EF-S 15-85 IS lens, and I also brought along my old EOS 300D and 18-55 lens, and I also brought along my 50mm f/2.5 macro to use as a large aperture lens. I set up both cameras on tripods with shutter release cables, and I shot a series of 30 second exposures and combined them using the Star Trails stacking software http://www.startrails.de/ which I find does a better job then shooting a single long exposure which tends to result in a image full of long exposure noise which can easily ruin a nights work, and by using software I can delete frames if necessary (Planes flying though the exposure, camera shake, etc) and I get a cleaner final result and can shoot star trails pretty much anywhere without worrying about getting a over exposed shot when shooting near bright light sources such as in the city.

On this night it was pitch black, with no ambient lighting out here, since it’s located a fair way away from the nearest towns, which meant the stars were easily visible with very little light pollution other then headlights of passing cars off in the distance. There was a bit of lightning off towards the horizon East of my location when I arrived, but that only lasted about 30 mins and didn’t affect my shooting since I had the cameras pointed South to try and get the best star trail patterns, unfortunately I didn’t end up aiming the cameras directly at the Southern Star, so I was a bit off, and didn’t get the full circle I was after, but the results still came out well enough.

It was windy on this visit, unlike on my first visit where it was relativity calm which resulted in some nice reflections on the water, and the tide was coming in which meant the Thrombolites were submerged again on this visit, and I ended up getting wet to set my camera up low enough to get the composition I was after on my final star trail series, but I think it was worth it for the shot I ended up getting. Here are a few of the photos from the night:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/art/4261586-2-star-trails-over-lake-clifton

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/art/4261582-2-star-trails-over-lake-clifton-thrombolites

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/art/4262314-3-star-trails-over-thrombolites

I received my Canon 15-85 IS lens today, you can read about my first impressions of this lens by following the link:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/4184256-another-new-lens-canon-ef-s-15-85-is

I’ve just posted my Canon EOS 7D Review:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/3973240-my-canon-eos-7d-mini-review

My new EOS 7D arrived today and now I’m sitting here waiting patiently for the battery to charge up so I can try it out. I can’t wait to get out and test it out!

I also got the new EF-S 18-135 IS lens which will be my walkabout lens on this camera. I chose this lens because of it’s nice zoom range and should be a nice light weight lens for me to replace the 18-55 IS I had with my 500D. (Much lighter then the 35-350!) and I got the kit for a bit more then the body only.

The new lens feels great paired up with the 7D! It feels like this lens was made for the camera! The lens has a decent build quality and has a metal lens mount.

I haven’t had a chance to try it out on the 7D yet (Still waiting for the battery to charge) but I shot a couple test shots using my old 300D and the lens seems sharp, and the AF performs good for a non Ultrasonic motor lens. The IS seems to work well, and it’s pretty silent (You don’t really notice it when it’s engaged) Colours and contrast and sharpness look good from the test shots I’ve taken so far.

The camera feels really solid, and the viewfinder is massive! It’s allot bigger then the 500D’s viewfinder for sure! it’s also noticeably larger then the viewfinder on the 40D/50D, I would say it’s about the same as the Nikon D300’s viewfinder. You now don’t get the Etched AF points when you look through the viewfinder though (It’s all electronic like on the Nikon’s) so the view though the viewfinder is totally clear. It’s also dim when there is no battery installed because the new viewfinder is battery dependent (Just like the Nikon viewfinders) so I haven’t had a chance to see how bright the viewfinder is because I’m waiting for the battery to charge, but I will write up a mini review after I’ve had the chance to use the camera properly.

Anyway, I can’t wait to get out and try out the new camera, I will write up a 7D Review once I’ve had the chance to get use to the new camera, and shot with it for a while, in the meantime keep a eye out on my folio for some photos taken with the new camera and lens.

The EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 looks destined to carry the flag as the kit lens sold with virtually every Canon dSLR over the next few years (and that counts as an awful lot of lenses), so it really needs to perform well in the face of some impressive competition. Fortunately for them, Canon have indeed upped the ante with this new lens; it’s much better than its predecessor, especially in terms of sharpness in the corners and at wider apertures, and with reduced chromatic aberrations to boot. Indeed overall it’s an extremely well-behaved little lens, with very few nasty surprises for the user, and a remarkably good image stabilisation unit; indeed Canon’s main concern may ultimately become whether users have as much incentive to upgrade to more expensive optics as they did before.

Equipped with Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer (IS) technology, the Canon EF-S 18-55mm standard zoom lens is ideal for just about any application. IS technology compensates for camera shake by providing the equivalent effect of a shutter speed up to four stops faster. This allows you to take sharp handheld shots even in low-light conditions–a must for sports and nature photography. The lens also offers an aspherical lens element that corrects for aberration, thus producing a topnotch image throughout the zoom range, and a circular aperture that exquisitely renders out-of-focus backgrounds. Despite its minimal size, weight, and cost, the lens expands the picture-taking possibilities any time slow shutter speeds are needed.

Specifications

• Focal length: 18 to 55mm
• Maximum aperture: f/3.5 to f/5.6
• Lens construction: 11 elements in 9 groups
• Angle of view: 74 degrees @ 20 feet to 27 degrees @ 50 feet
• Focus adjustment: Autofocus (DC motor) with manual focus option
• Closest focusing distance: 9.8 inches
• Filter size: 58mm
• Dimensions: 2.7 inches in diameter and 3.33 inches long
• Weight: 7.1 ounces

For more informations CLICK HERE…

Bài viết dưới đây sẽ chỉ rõ cho bạn kí hiệu EF và EF-S của Canon với những ứng dụng thực tiễn…

- Máy Canon EOS dùng cảm biến ảnh APC-S: EF-S có ngàm lắp ống sẽ có thêm chấm trắng hình vuông bên cạnh dấu tròn đỏ.
- Ống EF-S cũng có chấm trắng hình vuông
- Ống EF-S chỉ lắp được vào máy EF-S mà thôi, bạn mà lắp vào thân máy EF được thì chụp có thể hỏng máy (gương).
- Nikon gọi ống EF-S là DX tuy nhiên sự tương thích của Nikon cao hơn Canon khi lens DX lắp thoải mái vào các máy (không chỉ máy DX). Sony cũng vậy, chỉ có một chấm màu cam (hoặc đỏ hay gì gì đó) cho tất cả các ống kính ngàm Alpha.
- Vì vậy trên các máy và ống của Nikon chỉ có một dấu chấm trắng tròn duy nhất thay vì 2 chấm như Canon.

Dấu tròn đỏ duy nhất trên máy Canon 1Ds Mark II

EF (ngàm lắp ống kính lấy nét điện tử) Như chúng ta đã biết thì hệ thống máy ảnh EOS bắt đầu được Canon giới thiệu vào năm 1987, đồng thời với việc ra đời EOS, Canon cũng đã tiêu chuẩn hoá các ngàm lắp ống kính cho tất cả các máy ảnh SLR mới này của mình và nó có tên gọi là EF. Đây gần như là sự “lột xác” cho một thời kỳ mới.

Thân máy và ống kính EF thông dụng có một chấm đỏ để căn chỉnh giữa ống kính và thân máy.

Chấm đỏ ở ống EF, tuy nhiên còn có thêm chấm đỏ ở cái vòng xoay gắn chân máy vào ống thay vì vào thân máy

Canon EF-S 17-85mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM

EF-S (Ống kính cho máy Crop 1.6) Khoảng năm 2003 Canon giới thiệu máy (theo tôi đó là máy 300D) và ngàm ống kính mới đó là EF-S. Chúng ta tạm hiểu các máy EF-S là các máy có cảm biến Crop 1.6 (300D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 400D, 1000D…) Và ống kính EF-S chỉ lắp được cho các máy đó (EF-S) mà thôi.

Từ S trong EF-S có lẽ là Shorter (ngắn hơn) vì các máy ảnh EF-S kể trên hỗ trợ cho các ống kính với khoảng tiêu cự phía sau ngắn hơn so với ống kính EF (tức là phần sau của ống kính có thể dịch lại gần mặt cảm biến hơn do cái chú gương lật có kích thước nhỏ hơn các máy EOS khác, do cảm biến nhỏ).

Nhờ điều này khiến Canon có thể sản xuất các ống kính góc rộng rẻ hơn thích hợp với các định dạng ảnh nhỏ của máy ảnh khung hình nhỏ.

// <![CDATA[//

EOS (Electro-Optical System) mới đầu là tên gọi của một dự án của Canon nghiên cứu máy ảnh SLR có hệ thống lấy nét tự động (AF), sau đó là được gọi tên cho các máy ảnh SLR có lấy nét tự động của Canon kể từ năm 1987. EOS cũng là tên của nữ thần bình minh theo thần thoại Hy Lạp (Greek Goddess of Dawn).

Năm đó Canon giới thiệu chiếc EOS đầu tiên là chú CANON EOS 650 tại triển lãm PMA vào tháng 03 hàng năm. Chú này có thiết kế giống Canon T90 trước đó.

Kể từ khi giới thiệu máy ảnh EOS năm 1987 đến năm 2003 (sau 2003 còn có thêm EF-S), Canon đã tiêu chuẩn hoá các ngàm lắp ống kính cho tất cả các máy ảnh SLR đó là ngàm lắp ống kính EF.

Vì vậy không giống Nikon phần lớn các ống kính lấy nét tay dòng F của Nikon đều hoạt động trên các máy lấy nét tự động thì EOS của Canon không lắp được ống kính FD của Canon thuở  trước. Các ống kính lấy nét bằng tay cho các máy ảnh phim SLR – Trước khi máy ảnh EOS lấy nét tự động ra đời – phần lớn các ống kính này là dạng FD. Đáng buồn là ống kính FD không dùng được cho hệ EOS, vì vậy các bác nào thích ống xoay vặn của chính hãng cũng là điều thiệt thòi. Dù có thể dùng vòng nối để lắp ống FD lên máy EOS.

Đặc tính của ngàm EF của Canon chính là việc tích hợp motor lấy nét trong ống nên đường kính ống Canon lúc nào cũng lớn hơn các hãng khác. Body của Canon cũng chẳng cần phải có motor lấy nét. Yếu tố “nhanh và chính xác” trong thuộc tính của ống kính Canon phụ thuộc vào ống kính (càng mắc tiền càng tốt ).

Chính vì thế, cấu trúc ống kính EOS phức tạp đòi hỏi sự bảo quản kĩ lưỡng hơn các ống kính khác. Các trục trặc thường gặp như lỗi error 99, mất focus tự động… đều xuất hiện trên dòng máy Canon. Các ống mắc tiền có thiết kế thân ống tốt nên khó bị hư hỏng hơn các ống rẻ tiền…

Nếu có thời gian đọc tiếng anh các bạn có thể ghé qua trang này để tìm hiểu thêm

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/history/canon_story/1987_1991/1987_1991.html

EOS 650

Canon T90

P/S: bản thân tôi cũng đã từng bị hư một ống kính EF 50mm f/1.8 II do lỗi AF. Nếu sửa thì giá bằng 1/2 giá bán nên tôi quyết định bán và từ bỏ Canon từ đó

Along with the EOS 7D, Canon has announced two EF-S, APS-C lenses. The EF-S 15-85mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM is as a high quality standard zoom designed to complement the EOS 7D. It offers a flexible 24-136mm (35mm equivalent) range and offers image stabilizer with a claimed effectiveness of 4 stops. It also includes ring-type USM and a close focus distance of 0.35m through the entire zoom range. Also bolstering Canon’s EF-S range is the 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM, which covers a 29-216mm (35mm equivalent) range and with a claimed 4-stop image stabilizer and a minimum focus distance of 0.45m.

Click the picture for more info

Canon today strengthens its EF-S series of lenses with the launch of two powerful standard kit lenses for EOS EF-S camera owners:  the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM. Both lenses match the style and performance of Canon’s new APS-C sensor camera – the Canon EOS 7D.

The high performance standard zoom lens
The high-quality EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is equivalent to a 24-136mm focal length lens (5.6x standard zoom).  Designed for EOS EF-S mount bodies the lens covers wide angle and portrait focal ranges. It also offers a 4-stop Image Stabilizer as well as a close focusing distance of just 0.35m throughout the zoom range.

Versatile super zoom lens
The EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS is a powerful all-in-one lens for EOS EF-S mount bodies. It features a 4-stop Image Stabilizer and a 7.5x super zoom range (approx. 29-216mm equivalent focal length).  The lens covers a wide range of focal lengths with a 0.45m minimum focusing distance. A general-purpose zoom, it is ideal for photographers looking to make the step up from a standard kit lens.

Easy-to-use impressive image quality
Both lenses offer great low-light performance due to the inclusion of a 4-stop Image Stabilizer that automatically detects panning and tripods, responding accordingly to help photographers take steady shots in any situation. The addition of ultra low dispersion (UD) lenses and aspherical lens elements – as well as lens coatings optimised to combat ghosting and flare – ensure high quality throughout. Both products also include a circular aperture for beautiful background blur (bokeh).

Both lenses feature Canon’s improved exterior lens design that offers an improved high-grade look and feel compared with previous EF-S lenses.

Offering a wide range of focal lengths both EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM are ideal all purpose lenses, suitable for the photographer looking for a walk around lens or those with many lenses who on occasion wish to travel  lighter.

Read more at dpreview

I’ve had hands on experience with a few different camera models and have written a few reviews.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/178794-my-40d-mini-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/2046055-my-d300-hands-on-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/2178977-my-5dmkii-mini-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/3057029-my-canon-eos-500d-mini-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/3694720-my-canon-eos-500d-mini-review-part-ii

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/1916433-aftermarket-neck-strap-mini-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/3763756-tripod-review-slik-700dx

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/3710985-my-canon-35-350-l-mini-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/3974629-canon-ef-s-18-135-is-mini-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/3077267-canon-ef-s-18-55-is-and-ef-s-55-250-is-mini-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/3973240-my-canon-eos-7d-mini-review

http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/4002652-my-nikon-d90-mini-review

This depends on whether you are shooting outdoors or in a studio, if you shoot outdoors and your work depends on a fast workflow process (Sports, Fashion, On Site shoot for a client) you need to check fast whether you got it right. Plus the added value if something is not quite right you got both formats with you, if you need to share your photos fast with your client, your model or someone else and working on a tight time frame you give them the JPEG’s and use the RAW’s latter on in the post-production (development) process.

As in my photos first I used JPEG’s to post-process:

Model 001 - Copyright © Novak Dimitrovski 2009

Model 002 - Copyright © Novak Dimitrovski 2009

And then when I had a little bit more time I used RAW for the post-processing:

Even do the end result was a JPEG image, there are some small diferences and the reachnes of detail remains in the images that ware made from the RAW format. This is due to the nature of the RAW format and the way it captures the image.

If you shoot in the studio you are probably already using some system for fast transfer (wired or wireless) your shots to the PC or MAC directly to a software that can process both JPEG or RAW or both formats at the same time. One more reason for me to use RAW and JPEG at the same time is because I use Adobe© Bridge® most of the time when I make selection and ménage my photos. In Bridge® I usually line up my photos in my right side thumbnail bar, both formats side by side so you can instantly see the differences in your image, this contributes to the fast workflow process and you right away know what you RAW image needs improving and in which direction.

Model 003 - Copyright © Novak Dimitrovski 2009

Model 004 - Copyright © Novak DImitrovski 2009

One more added comfort is that if you go for the described HDR process or the photo-stitching process (in my previous blog) you already have one JPEG to start with and only need to create from RAW just a couple more to merge them in Photoshop® or any other program to create HDR image. If you need to produce a large panorama or other composite image for faster workflow and lesser CPU and RAM exploitation use JPEG’s for faster results (and in most of the time JPEG’s will be enough for a final result).

I hope this will be enough convincing for anyone at least to think when to shoot just RAW and when both RAW + JPEG.

Best wishes,

Novak

Why? you might ask – the answer is simple.

I even shoot RAW for scenes from my personal life, You never know when you might end up using that digital negative. RAW is practically, that a digital negative, the main difference is that every color on the sensor is captured in it’s layer (if you use the Canon EOS system since they first introduced the CMOS sensor which had this ability), thus giving you much more to work with when you open the RAW format in any program specialised for RAW post-production (Adobe© Bridge® and Light Room®, Canon’s own RAW program – Digital Photo Professional® and others).

RAW enables you to correct a bundle of things in your photo pwith just a few sliders. The only thing that you can’t correct are focus mistakes! Everything else possible it’s the easiest way to achieve correction of auto-white balance, to add more hue or saturation, brightness, contrast, color balance and many many other things. Some interesting options also are removal of vignetting on the edges of the pictures, color aberrations with some cheaper lenses, all of this you are able to do in just a few clicks in RAW file.

The added comfort to edit every color layer separately will bring you more vivid photos in no time at all, and whats best you can save your presets for future use, excellent option if you are shooting a lot of photos in similar light conditions like product shots, studio portrait photography and similar. If you tend to go for bigger file size and biger photo dimensions you could try to make a

High dynamic range imaging composite by using exposure bracketing and post-processing the separate images to create a single image with a higher dynamic range.

You can visit some of these sites to see what I’m talking about:

High Dynamic Range – Wikipedia article

On HD Photo you can check:

HD Photo – Wikipedia article

Or you can download the Photoshop® plugin at:

HD plug in for Photoshop®

Or you can go for photostiching to create panoramas from multiple images or large size photo compositions of multiple images taken of a subject (instead of going wide go tele and make few shots of the subject details and later on stich them in a single photo composite).

As an example you can check out my photo at:

Panoramio – Panorama of Skopje City square

or

Panorama -Skopje City square full resolution

Skopje City square 360 Panorama – Copyright © Novak DImitrovski 2008

It is a 360 panorama of the city square made with Canon EOS 350D/Rable XT with the regular lens EF 18-55mm, camera was held Portrait oriented I shoot around 32 shots in circuit around me. The rest was done by AutoPano Pro a software for creation of Panoramas from shots like this. It’s not perfect but it gives some fast and impressive results.

I hope this post will help all of you in your work.

Best wishes,

Novak

Did an update of my current gear….

Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 (AI converted)

Leica-R Macro Adapter

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM

EF-S 10-22mm

Carl Zeiss Vario -Sonnar 28-85mm f/3.3-4.0

Carl Zeiss Vario -Sonnar 28-85mm f/3.3-4.0 (in Wide-Angle position)

Leica R4 with Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8

Leica R4 with Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8

The gear minus 20D + 10-22mm (caps on)

The gear minus 20D + 10-22mm (caps off)

Another one of my thinking out loud post, but I think I may have narrowed down one of my lens choices, at least on the long end. The two candidates on the long end are a Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS lens verses a 300mm f/4L IS. Both have their advantages, the zoom is obviously versatile due to the zoom, but it does have a few quirks, at least in my opinion. Those quirks, while minor, do knock the lens down a couple points for me. First off is the maximum aperture, which is f/4.5 at 100mm. What’s bad about f/4.5 at 100mm when you will often stop the lens down anyway? Not a whole lot, but what if one wants to open the lens up farther for better background blur or what if one needs that one extra stop of light? With the 70-200mm f/4L I have, I have missed shots because I did not have another stop of light I could chose.  Speaking of the 70-200mm f/4L, I am covered up to  200mm anyway, no need to overlap 100-200mm because I do have faster lenses sitting in my bag. However, not being able to zoom in or out with a prime means if I needed to do so, well then, I better start moving toward or away from my subject.

Prime lenses are said to be sharper too, but at the price of the fixed focal length. I would need to carry more lenses with me unless I knew exactly what I was going to be shooting. While looking at the Canon 300mm f/4L IS I noted that I can use teleconverters at the expense of 1 stop of light for the 1.4x and 2 stops with the 2x, however the 2x is said to not be recommended. The 1.4x, from what I understand will induce some barrel distortion and chromatic aberrations, but stopping the lens down a bit more will help offset the issue. I was looking into a Canon 400mm f/5.6L but don’t think I could hand hold the lens except in only the best light, the 300mm f/4L IS coupled with a 1.4x teleconverter would allow me to shoot basically at 420mm and keep my image stabilization and loose one stop of light, giving me 420mm f/5.6, although stopping down a bit may be needed as well, but at least I still get to keep auto focus and image stabilization.

There is one more thing to factor in as well and that is astrophotography. I would like to use the new lens for taking photos of deep sky objects, I get the feeling the zoom lens with its push pull design even though it has a tension screw, may exhibit some zoom creep. The prime lens, I would not have this to worry about. Astrophotography is another reason why EF-S lenses are not high up on my list. They extend back farther into the mirror box and since I use filters, this makes the lenses impossible to use, unless I remove the filter and since I shoot mostly from a light polluted area, removing the filters would not result in too many good photos. This is why while many who think the 17-40mm f/4L is worthless on a crop body, I am still thinking about it for the wider end. I am actually thinking about a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 as well over the Canon ultra wide, for day time photography, but for multi use day or night, the 17-40mm f/4L may be the way to go.

So, have I made my choice for the longer end of lenses? Not quite, but I am about 80% there and if I had the funds on hand, I would make a purchase for the prime. I am not going to say anything until I have the cash in hand. So more out loud thinking

The Canon EOS 500D has arrived in Hong Kong. Currently, only the kit version with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS is avaialble. The body only version and kit with EF-S 18-200mm IS are not available yet.

I have checked the street price at Echo Photo & Audio, and they are selling the kit with 17-55mm for HK$6,000. If you want the body alone, they are willing to take the kit lens out and just sell you the body for HK$5,4oo.

You can read my Recommended Camera Shops in Hong Kong artilce on where to buy the EOS 500D in Hong Kong.

I was doing some tests with my Kenko extension tubes when I realized that I could use one of them as an adapter between EF-S 10-22 ultra wide angle lens and Canon 5D Mark II. Note that not all extension tubes support both EF and EF-S mounts.

In my experiments with 10-22 and 17-55 2.8 IS lenses I quickly found that these combinations have no practical value for myself but in some special cases they might be useful. The only one I can think of is a person who already owns EF-S 60 macro lens and rarely needs a macro with a 1Ds, 1D or 5D camera. I read that someone had succesfully used this combination.

The main problem is that maximum focusing distance with the tube will be very near. I tested with 12mm tube and using E-S 10-22 and I was not able to focus at all (I didn’t test carefully closer than 30-40cm) and with 17-55 I got focus when I was in the long end and the subject was very near to me. I could have done more precise experiments but this was enough for me to see that this is not useful for me.

Normally Canon EF-S lenses can be used only on 1.6 crop factor cameras such as 1000D, 450D and 50D. The image that is produced by an EF-S lens won’t fill the whole sensor of a full frame camera (1Ds, 5D) or a 1.3 crop camera (1D) so the edges of the viewfinder will be black and the image needs to be cropped.

EF-S lenses are not meant to be used in EF mounts so I would be very careful in any experiments. From the net you can find instructions how EF-S 10-22 can be modified so that it can be used in an EF mount BUT taking a shot may damage the camera if some of the focal lenghts are used.

Schneewittchens böse Schwiegermutter hat einen Spiegel der ihr regelmäßig sagt wer die Schönste im ganzen Land ist.

Seit dem Jahreswechsel besitze ich auch einen (ähnlichen) Spiegel – Meiner verrät mir nicht, wer die Schönste ist sondern hilft mir die Schönheit zu konservieren. Ich bin glücklicher Besitzer einer digitalen Spiegelreflexkamera (DSLR).

Schon lange stand eine Spiegelreflexkamera auf meiner Gadget-Liste, schon lange bevor ich meine erste digitale Kompaktkamera angeschafft habe.

Die erste eigene Kamera war eine Canon Prima Junior aus dem Jahre 1992. Ich war glücklich wie ein Schneekönig und verknippste zum Leidwesen meines Taschengeldes mehr Filme an einem Wochenende als manch einer im Jahr füllt. Doch die Prima Junior war, wie der Name es schon sagt nur eine kleine Kamera für Kinder.

Viel mehr hat mich die Kamera meiner Eltern gereizt. Eine ausgewachsene Spiegelreflexkamera, die Canon A1, mit Datenrückteil, Batteriegriff und Motorwinder. Nach dem ich die ersten Fotos mit der Canon geschossen habe, hat mich der Spiegelreflexvirus infiziert.

In den nächsten Jahren suchte ich immer nach günstigen SLRs doch mein mickriges Taschengeld ermöglichte solche Sprünge nicht. Während meines Studiums ging ich dann zu digitalen Photos über -  das Geld hatte immer noch nicht für eine Spiegelreflex gereicht und die digitale Fotografie war inzwischen mehr als nur erschwinglich geworden. Drei verschiedene Kompaktknipsen von Hewlett-Packard nannte ich in der Zeit mein Eigen.

Wieso HP? Meine erste HP war eine reine Geld frage, sie war die billigste Kamera über einem Megapixel (1,3) die ich finden konnte. Nachteilig war vor allem der Compact-Flash-Slot welcher schneller Batterien und Akkus leer gesaugt hat, als ein Staubsauger einen Aschenbecher entleert.

Die nächsten zwei HPs waren dann Kameras mit SD-Slot und 3 bzw. 5 MP. Alles nicht schlecht, die Bilder reichten locker aus um sie am Rechner anzuschauen und ein paar Entwicklungen anfertigen zu lassen. Doch es war nie die Bildqualität die ich von einer (analogen) Spiegelreflexkamera gewohnt war.

Zwischen den Jahren dann war mir mein Kontostand hold. Ich konnte mir eine DSLR kaufen. Es konnte eigentlich von vorn herein nur Canon sein. Die Wahl war auf die zwei Modelle 1000d oder 450d gefallen.

Jetzt war die Frage, liebe die 1000d und zwei Objektive oder die 450d mit nur einem zum jeweils gleichen Preis. Ich habe mich am Ende für die 1000d entschieden. Die 450d hätte zwar zwei Megapixel mehr und wäre auch bei der Serienbildfunktion schneller – doch mir reichen die 10 Megapixel voll aus und auch die Serienbildfunktion ist (für mich) noch schnell genug. Ein weiterer Unterschied wäre noch das Display – doch für mich ist ein Display an einer DSLR eher uninteressant.

Die Live-View genannte Möglichkeit auf den Blick durch den Sucher zu verzichten und das Bild direkt auf dem Display zu sehen und anvisieren zu können ist für mich nicht so wichtig, da kaum genutzt. In 99% der Fälle schieße ich Bilder die ich vorher im Sucher in’s rechte Bild gerückt habe. Live-View habe ich bisher nur bei ein paar Nachtaufnahmen genutzt bei denen ich die Kamera nicht in der Hand gehalten habe.

Zu dem Body der 1000d habe ich noch zwei Objektive, zum einen das EF-S 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 und zum anderen das EF 55-200 mm 1:4.5-5.6 II USM. Somit sind die meisten Anwendungsfälle abgedeckt. Zur Datenablage gibt es zwei SD-Karten mit je vier GB, je nach Qualitätseinstellung passen zwischen 200 und weit über 1000 Bilder auf eine Karte. Body, Objektiven, SD-Karten, Ladegerät und sonstiges Zubehör werden zur sicheren Aufbewahrung und zum einfachen Transport in einer Kameratasche von Canon (100EG) untergebracht.

Zum Glück steh in naher Zukunft mein Geburtstag vor der Tür – da folgt dann ein Stativ.

In Zukunft werde ich hier ab und an Fotos einstellen. Seid gespannt!

How does buying a camera or photography kit of any description make you feel?

My first consumer camera was (and still is) a Fuji S9600. Certainly a step up from the 5MP point and shoot, this camera has eased me gently into photography with it’s manual features allowing me to learn more about aperture and exposure. Over the last 12 months I have become frustrated with its limitations as a DSLR (in point of fact its classed as a digital compact – due to the fixed lens).

Creatively speaking, I feel I will achieve more with a prosumer DSLR and lens kit and so I started reading and saving. Money is obviously a concern – it isn’t cheap, especially these days, moreover the choice of cameras and lens on the market is ridiculously complex for the budding amateur. Although these last few weeks have been exciting – the thought of buying my first ‘proper’ DSLR, as I get closer to the day of purchase (ie. pay day) I’m starting to feel a little sick.

I hope I’ve made sound choice’s – I don’t want to spend the money twice. Here’s some details and reasons behind them.

Canon 40D [see above picture]

My brother in law has the Canon 400D, so it is little wonder why I decided on Canon. Having already checked out the earlier models I decided to base my budget on the mid range prosumer body’s. The xxD models appealed the most, being an amateur but wanting to extend my kit later on I found that the xxD models carried enough features to support further learning and more importantly, the potential for better quality photography.

I had looked at the new 50D but the price of the new model is still relatively high and I would only be able to afford the kit lens. The popular review at dpreview concluded that;

Looking at the specification differences between the EOS 40D and our test candidate it appears you pay quite a premium for the 50D’s extra megapixels and as we’ve found out during this review you don’t get an awful lot of extra image quality for your money. The Canon EOS 50D still earns itself our highest reward but considering its price point and our slight concerns about its pixel-packed sensor, it only does so by a whisker.

The consensus in forums is that at the lower end of the market, lens compatible with the 50D would not show any striking difference in quality with that of the 40D. Although I would relish the additional 5 MP and the HDTV connection, I would rather spend my money on just as good a body (reported to be nearly identical as it’s younger sibling!) and buy more expensive glass.

Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM Lens

Argued either to be an over priced EF lens or a under priced L lens, the 17-55mm has nothing but praise everywhere I have looked! I really want to get into portraiture photography and the wide angle lens and constant 2.8 will hopefully produce amazing depth of field (DOP).

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Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Lens

I wanted a good balance in focal lengths, so getting a semi decent telephoto lens was also on my list. The 17-55 really hit the budget so the EF-S 55-250 was pretty much it. I don’t do much in the way of wildlife or sporting photography so went for image stabilisation (IS) supposed to an ultra sonic motor (USM) for quick focusing.

The 55-250mm gives a flattering range for portraiture and will prove incredibly useful for those well liked candid shots that are ever so popular for wedding photography.

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Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II Lens

Everyone but everyone I have spoken to on line has a nifty fifty. Incredible in low light and a great all rounder. Both the 17-55 and the 55-250 a large lenses, the 50mm will be a great lens to have to ‘walk around’ with. I’m really looking forward to using this particular one!

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Battery Grip BG-E2N and spare battery BP-511A

While I’m in the habit of spending, I’m also planning ahead. I have been asked to do a wedding shoot for friends of my fiancees. I’m pushing them to look at a professional wedding photographer but at the same time, really looking forward to having ago. The BG-E2N gives 4x the shooting capability than the standard battery pack on it’s own and gives a comfortable grip for when shooting portrait.

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There’s more kit to boot and so far I’ve managed to keep the spend under 2k with filters and lens hoods being supplied through eBay.

Here’s a list of sites I’ve used for sourcing the best prices on the market to date (19.01.09)

Warehouse Express | Amazon | SRS Microsystems | Camerabox | CBC Computers | Bite Size Deals | Misco | Valuemedia