July, 2008

I’ve had the 450D for a few months now and I’m still really happy with it. I’ve always liked the macro type shots, so figured I needed a lens for it.

Everything I read on the web said that both the 60mm and 100mm Canon macro lenses are incredible. Most people recommended buying both, but I wasn’t that keen. The big difference between the 60mm and 100mm is the distance you can be from the subject. In the case of macro shots of bugs and insects, the 100mm is more suitable because you can be further away. Something else I learnt was that the macro lenses take great portrait shots. Another feature of the Canon macros is they are internal focusing, so the length of them doesn’t change. I thought that was pretty neat as well.

I took a look at a few of the macro lenses at a local shop including a few cheaper Tamron lenses. I really didn’t like the feel of them at all, and the sounds they made when focusing didn’t make me feel very confidant. In comparison the Canon lenses where much quieter and the focusing was a lot smoother. I guess it’s a case of ‘you get what you pay for’ so I decided to bite the bullet and go with the Canon 100mm. I’m really happy with the quality of the shots.

The second lens that was in my twin lens kits also arrived after a shortage of stock. So I now have a 55-250mm IS lens. The image stabilizer (IS) makes a huge difference. Zoomed in shots that usually blur without a tripod come out crystal clear. I will probably have a bit more of a play with it on the weekend.

Overall so far I have found that I get maybe 1 or 2 “great” shots from a group of photos. My ratio of “great” vs “ok / bad” is pretty bad at the moment, so that’s something I need to work on.

I’ve also been using Aperture for cataloging and editing my photos. It’s a great piece of software. I also found the video tutorials on the Apple site really helpful as well.

After getting the shock shaft replaced I finally got around to giving my truck a run. Was surprised how easily it fired up after being sitting for so long. Idled a bit rough, but replacing the glow plug fixed it.

So I took it for a slow drive around the front yard area without the top on, thinking it would be ok since I wasn’t going that fast. Unfortunately the plastic aerial cover came off and the aerial got wrapped around the front right wheel shaft and broke. Luckily it broke outside the receiver, so I should be able to solder / tape another aerial lead on to it.

Surprised me how difficult it is to replace the aerial lead. I guess people don’t really break them that often

So the good news is the truck still runs, but the receiver coverage is short so I haven’t tried my luck.