May 25th, 2008

I’ve been interested in photography for a long time. I’ve never really taken any kind of classes in it or researched it that much but I’ve always liked taking photos, usually of random stuff.

With the recent release of the Canon 450D, I decided to bite the bullet and buy myself a “proper” digital SLR camera. I’ve read a bit about canon cameras, and a few people I know recommend them so I’m pretty happy with the decision.

A workmate pointed me to the Teds website and I got in contact with a great salesperson there. He was extremely patient with my numerous emails, many of which I am sure where beginner questions by his standards. He gave me some great advice and I ended up ordering the following:

• Canon 450D Twin Lens Kit
• 2 x UV Filter (1 for each lens, mainly for protection)
• 4 gig SD memory card

$1700 all up, including postage from Brisbane to Rockhampton.

I was told when ordering that it would be around 2 weeks, but it seems there is a bit more of a delay. The cameras seem to be selling like hot cakes and there is very limited stock in Australia, with most camera shops having no stock at all.

According to forums, the main delay seems to be with the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens, which is bundled in the twin lens kit.

UPDATE: Well it arrived today and it’s awesome. The 55-250 lens is still on backorder but I got the rest of the order. Will be good to go out tomorrow and take some snaps.

The shock shaft on the front right side of my LST2 got broken over xmas (yeah, 5 months ago ) and I finally got around to fixing it this weekend.

It took around 30mins to pull the shock apart, replace the shaft, replace the oil, put it back together and re-install it on the truck. Since it was the first time I had done it, I am guessing that the whole process could be done a lot faster if not referring to the instructions

I gave the truck a good de-grease, blew it out with the air compressor and charged the batteries. I didn’t actually get a chance to try to drive it though, so that will have to happen sometime this week.

Took me a while to get it fixed, but it’s good that it is done now. I will have to go and see if the housing estate area is still vacant or whether it’s been built over.