Category: Camera Hardware Reviews

So the beast has arrived. Not in the original form of the 580EX, but the upgraded model. Source as of late the ever reliable Kerso (Ian Kerr). Ordered and shipped within a couple of days. Superb service.

Initial reaction is ‘it’s big’. O.k. not huge but bigger than my old 380EX (Currently on Ebay!).

So what can it do. Well everything my old 380EX could but a whole lot more. Like many of the flash units produced after the 380 it is more controllable via the rear panel. Setting up second curtain sync is a couple of button presses now, rather than a hunt though custom settings.

One clear advantage is the swivel head. The ability to bounce flash on the 380 was useful, however this (and like the 420,430, 550 and 580 mk1) has much more control. Being able to bounce flash from behind gives the user more control (as with my old 380 bounce was limited to above and left/right in portrait).

Many may find my excitement over this new found flash freedom odd. But it’s a new thing for me.

Continue reading “Canon 580EX Mk2”

Told you I’ve got a thing about primes, 3rd one of the year. Anyway, after a long wait I finally plunged the bank account and bought it. Again the source was the ever reliable Kerso. A veritable bargain at £700 delivered.

The lens comes in the usual Red, White and Black box. As it’s an ‘L’ Lens of course it comes with a case (though a canvas zip up case) and a hood. The hood on this lens is built into the body and can be used with screw in filters (77mm).

The lens is pictured in front of the EF70-200 f/4 L as a reference to the size difference (Hood down). It’s quite a weighty lens, though Canon have recognised this with the inclusion of the tripod mount (an optional extra with the EF70-200 series, though in fairness to Canon not really needed).

Continue reading “Canon EF300mm f/4 L IS USM”

Strange as I get older, I’m leaning more to buying primes. Maybe its the optical equivalent of a pipe and slippers.

Anyway, suppose I should post my initial review of the lens.

Continue reading “Canon EF50mm f/1.4”

After a month or two with this extender I feel qualified enough to write a small review.

Overall very pleased with this extender. Currently i can only use it with my EF70-200 f/4. It drops a stop down to f/5.6 but it the lens is still very usable at this aperture.

This shot:

was taken in the rain on an Eos 5D EF70-200 f/5.6 1/320 iso 500 Focal length was 280mm.

I’ve found since purchase it tends to stay on my 70-200mm as I find the extra focal length better than losing it at the wider end. It compliments my existing 24-105 f/4 L IS as the wide end is 98mm. It should come in handy when I eventually purchase the 300mm f/4 L IS
Conclusion:

Superb accessory. No noticable loss of quality, a relatively low(ish) cost your get an extra .4 of a lens.

Tiny is a word I would first describe the lens. O.k. not as small as the EF50 1.8, but then again what is?.The Lens itself has a solid feel about it. Metal base and hood. Barrel appears to be plastic. A few people on FredMiranda.com have complained about the lens cap or cover in this case. The cap is more like the top off a jam jar to be honest, still it needs to be. Any complicated clamp would make it difficult to use. It’s a simple slide on/off cap. It might wear in time, then I’ll probably complain about it then.So what’s it like then?

At 15mm it’s super wide, 180° viewing angle. So bearing this in mind you now have to think about another aspect of photography. Your body parts. After a brief period of time I’ve discovered how easy it is to get your fingers, arm and legs into a shot with the 15mm.

This lens was one of the first of the original EF lenses when the system was introduced back in 1987. So don’t expect ultra fast USM focusing. In fact the AFD motor takes me back to my old Sigma 28-80. Noisy is the word!

The focusing range is from 0.2 metre to 1 metre (then infinity). So focusing is quite fast. However because of the wide angle, most of the focus points in the centre would be too far and hence it would be focusing on infinity most of the time. So I have found manual focusing on this lens to be much easier. In fact leaving it set to 1 metre and f/8 would give me a range of 0.5m to infinity.

Continue reading “Canon EF15mm f/2.8 Review”