Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fisheye zoom lens
Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fisheye zoom lens
To try out the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fish-eye zoom (affiliate), I headed to Times Square in Manhattan. What better place to check out a fish-eye lens - there are enough tall buildings and billboards to fill the frame of a lens that gives a 180 degree view! Now, before I continue, I have to admit that even though I have a fish-eye lens in my bag, (the Nikon 16mm f2.8), I only occasionally use it. I feel that a fish-eye lens can be over-used very quickly when it draws too much attention to the distorted view that the lens gives, rather Read more inside...review: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
review: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
The Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II (B&H / Amazon), is touted to have improved optical quality, faster auto-focusing, and much better stabilization than the much-loved previous version of this lens. Using the lens on different shoots and walkabouts and tests, I got a fair idea of how the lens performs. In short, the lens is all that .. faster, sharper and with better image stabilization. Noticeably so. The bokeh of this lens is pleasant. Easily seen in this portrait of my little model, where she is busy collecting Read more inside...Canon E-TTL flash settings – Average vs Evaluative flash metering
Canon E-TTL flash settings - Average vs Evaluative flash metering
With TTL flash, (or E-TTL, as Canon call their specific flavor), the camera and speedlight working together according to various algorithms to control the flash exposure. The E-TTL flash exposure will therefore depend on various factors - the tonality of the subject and scene; the brightness of the scene; and how the camera interprets the sections of the metering pattern. Other factors quite possibly also includes data from the lens. How these factors inter-relate, we can only make educated guesses; and many Read more inside...review: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS lens
review: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS lens
The specialty of a macro lens is in allowing you much much closer to your subject than a normal optic would .. with the ease of continuous focusing from infinity to the closest distance. No need to screw in additional rings or lenses or reverse your lens. A macro lens works as a close-up lens, and as a more usual optic. And that's the versatility of it. The main feature of the Canon 100 mm f/2.8 IS macro lens (B&H / Amazon) is that it offers stabilization. Now this might not seem such a big deal to photographers who work Read more inside...common wisdom – Canon’s TTL flash vs Nikon’s TTL flash
Canon's TTL flash vs Nikon's TTL flash
One of the frequent topics on the various forums is the Canon vs Nikon debate ... and one of the usual replies is that Nikon is better in certain ways, and Canon is better in other ways. And the common wisdom that Nikon's flash system is superior to Canon. And this seems to be accepted as one of those general truths. Now, having shot primarily Nikon for a few years (D100 / D2H / D2x), and then Canon (mk2 / mk2N / 5D / mk3), and now Nikon again (D3) ... I have this observation about Canon's flash system vs Nikon's flash system ... they are Read more inside...Camera settings: Canon EOS-1 D Mark III
Camera settings: Canon EOS-1 D Mark III
One of the advances that the Canon EOS-1 D Mark III bodies made over the previous generation 1-series D-SLRS, is in an easier menu system - especially the 'My Menu settings'. So while the menu system of the mk3 makes it easier to adjust settings, My Menu settings allow you to change a few of them on-the-run without having to delve into different parts of the mk3 menu. Here is how I had my cameras set up: Read more inside...broken Canon 580EX II hotshoe foot
One of the most visited pages on this website is the instructional post on how to repair the foot of the Canon 580EX speedlite. Since the foot of the original 580EX is made from plastic, it is easy to break ... but also easy to repair. I broke the foot off my 580EX II some time back, by lowering my camera too fast to the ground by the strap. The camera and lens tilted over, and the flash smacked the ground a touch harder than the gentle soft landing I anticipated. Because the foot of the 580EX II is now made of metal, there is nothing to give, except the body of the speedlight. And this Read more inside...
dreamy goodness: Canon 200mm f2 L IS
Canon 1D Mark III - Canon 200mm f2 L IS USM (B&H) - 1/300th @ f2 @ 125 ISO [ click on the photo to see a larger image] Canon recently upgraded their legendary 200mm f1.8 with an 200mm f2 version which has Image Stabilization. So out of curiosity I rented this lens from LensProToGo, to play with it and test it out. Here is the beast of a lens: the Canon 200mm f2 L IS USM (B&H) This is the kind of lens which is best used (or in a way ONLY to be used) at its maximum aperture. That wide aperture of f2 gives you an incredibly thin depth of field, and hence, that dreamy Read more inside...
