Archive for the 'Canon' Category

Take Better Pictures With Better Glass

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LensI was shooting a Babe Ruth League baseball game a few of weeks ago and a parent friend of mine came up to me with her brand new DSLR camera. She had been using an entry level DSLR for a couple of years and she thought it was time to invest in a newer more up-to-date body. I asked her how she liked her new camera and she told me that most of her photos weren’t much better than what she was getting with her old camera and that she was a little disappointed.

Over the years she had purchased several photos from me and she thought because she bought this new camera that her photos would look more like mine. I noticed that the camera was sporting a kit lens (a lower cost lens sometimes sold with new cameras). I asked her about the lens and she said she bought it because it was cheaper and allowed her to also purchase another zoom lens with longer reach. The money she spent on these two inferior lenses would have been better applied to the cost of one good lens.

To greatly increase the quality of photos, invest in good glass and not camera bodies.

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Canon EOS 1D Mark III: One Year Later

Canon MKIIIIn February 2007 Canon introduced the EOS 1D Mark III the successor to the EOS 1D Mark II N, it was to be Canon’s new flagship camera. With its phenomenal 10 frames per second, new and improved auto focus, 10.2 megapixel images and the ability to shoot at high ISO’s with little noise, this was the camera of dreams.

Shortly after the camera found its way into photographer’s hands, the photo blogs and messages board began to light up with news of a possible major flaw with the camera’s auto focus system. Under certain conditions the camera would not focus on, or track a moving object. This was a major ordeal as many photographers and photojournalists rely on this camera to put food on the table.

It was early August 2007, with high school football season rapidly approaching. The number of shutter actuations of my three-year-old EOS 20D was pretty high, and I wasn’t sure if it would make it through another season. I needed a new camera.

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Printable Hoods For Your SLR Lens

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Whenever I purchase a lens, I always check to be sure that it comes with a hood. Hoods reduce flare in the images that you take. There are different sizes of hoods for different lenses and sometimes they can be quite expensive.

Well not anymore.

I was just sent a link to a site that offers pintable lens hoods that you can trace onto posterboard and stick on your camera. They have all kinds of shapes and sizes. Now that is neat.

Link: Paper Lens Hoods

The Most Popular Cameras On Flickr

Flickr has posted a page titled “Camera Finder” that shows themost popular cameras used on Flickr. I was happy to see the Canon Digital Rebel XT with a large margin of victory. (That is the camera I use andrecommend.)

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They offer additional graphs showing the most popular “Point and Shoot” cameras and the most popular cameraphones. As you click thru on the different brands and models, it will show you the images that were taken with that camera and also give you pricing on the camera. If you’re looking to get a camera for Christmas, this is a great site to do some research.

Link: Flickr’s Camera Finder

Canon Offers Rebates on Their Products

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If you are planning on buying any Canon products, be sure to bookmark this page. Canon recenly released a whole list of items that they’ll offer a rebate on. This includes some SLR’s and a bunch of lenses.

So, find the best deal you can and then be sure to make it a little sweeter by sending in this rebate. (If you buy two products, you can double the rebates.)

Link: List Of Available Canon Rebates

Photo Competition From Canon Australia

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In a week from now, Canon Australia will be hosting the Canon Find Your Shot photo competition. I wasn’t able to find a lot about the competition itself, but the prizes are clearly shown. They are giving away 500 random cash prizes, 8 of the new 400D (Rebel XTi), 8 “photography kits”, and a trip for two anywhere in the world. On this trip, you’ll be accompanied by pro photographer Tim Clayton.

But the grand prize will be a “dream trip” valued at $25,000.

I signed up to be alerted when the contest starts. Might as well throw a few shots in there. Anyone can enter.

Read More: Canon Find Your Shot photo competition