zakslm

I'm not a Nikon user and have not owned a Nikon SLR, DSLR or mirrorless camera but I enjoy reading some of the topics and discussions on this forum. In my opinion, the Nikon F Photomic and the Nikon F2 were the best looking cameras every made. If Nikon came out with a retro mirrorless camera that looked like a F Photomic or F2, I'd be very tempted to switch!

Rebel T7, EF-S 10-18 IS STM

I purchased an EF-S 10-18 f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens from the Amazon Renewed Store at an attactive price last spring. I did so after reading the reviews of the merchant and merchandise carefully and decided to purchase the "renewed" lens. I did so after considered purchasing the same lens from the Canon USA Refurbished website or buying a used one from KEH or B&H. I've bought Canon refurbished products from Canon USA and from B&H and used products from KEH, B&H and other sources and been satisfied with my purchases. I was reading a thread in the Nikon forum where a someone was debating if they should keep or return a costly lens purchased from Amazon as a renewed product. The poster suspected and later confirmed the lens was "gray market" and not originally intended for sale in the USA. The poster returned the lens because he believed Nikon USA wouldn't service it should a problem arise after the seller's warranty expired. I believe Canon USA's policy is similar with regard to gray market goods. Year ago, I considered buying a gray market EOS 5 (I think it had some minor advantages vs. the A2E) but decided not to do so becasue of Canon's policy. The lens I purchased arrived in the proper Canon box; well wrapped in bubble wrap and cushioned in another layer of bubble wrap. It did have a Canon multi-lingual instruction sheet that looks like it has never been unfolded. The lens was in pristine condition and looked brand new. It works flawlessly and the images are are good. In other words, I'm satisfied with the lens. I became curious and opened up the instruction sheet that came with the EF-S 10-18mm and compared it to the folded instruction sheet that came with a new EF 50 f/1.8 STM that I purchased. The sheet that came with the 50mm has "Canon USA, Inc., Mellville, NY...." printed at the top and the EF-S 10-18 had "Canon Inc., Tokyo, Japan...." printed at the top. I'm assuming this is evidence that my lens (or atleast my instruction sheet) was originally intended for sale outside of USA/Canada and is gray market. I'm not concerned because I think/hope that if my lens requires service while I own it, I should be able to find another place to get it repaired. Also, the lens wasn't that expensive - certainly much less expensive than the lens discussed on the Nikon Forum thread. My point is that although I may have purchased the lens anyway, I should have known/considered that the lens was or may be a gray market lens when making my decision. Others should be aware of this as well if considering purchasing "renewed" merchandise from Amazon or elsewhere and make thier decison accordingly.

Rebetl T7, EF-S 24mm f2.8

Canon EF-S 24mm

Before getting back into an EOS camera and system, I considered a couple of different systems (including 4:3) around Amazon's "Black Friday" when they pushed DSLR camera ads at me and piqued my curiosity. However, Nikon APS-C and Canon APS-C cameras interested me most. Having shot Canon and EOS cameras for quite a while before my hiatus, I chose Canon after handling a Rebel DSLR. It was felt familiar and comfortable in my in my hands. The only downside was the wave of regret I felt for disposing of some of the lenses (EF 50mm f1.8 "plastic fantastic" and EF 85mm f1.8 in particular) as well as some of the accessories I accumulated during my EOS film days. With regard to weight, if I really want to own an L zoom lens, I'd suck it up and get used to it. The results would probably mitigate whatever minor aches and pains that result in having the lens on my camera or in the bag. I did get a EF-S 24mm f2.8 STM "pancake" lens for my camera. It's small, light and appears to be extremely sharp (see the attached example taken @ f4 with flash, 1/60th of sec, ISO 800) . Using that little lens on the Rebel a blast!

Update: Yesterday evening while walking the dog, I saw one of the largest coyotes I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me and when the dog aggressively barked at him and pulled the leash like he wanted to pursue said coyote with bad intentions in mind, the coyote took off before I could get a cellphone pic. Given your powers of suggestion, in your next post or reply, could you please mention winning the lottery?

Funny!

The roadrunners were out! EF-S 55-250 IS II

"Acme" EF-S 55-250 IS II I've been trying to get a decent shot of a the roadrunners that show up in the afternoon at a soccer field where I walk my dog (a genetic cousin of the coyote). When the roadrunners sense that the dog is near, they take off. This guy was quite a ways away and making his exit. The shot is cropped about as far in as you can and still keep some resolution. Next time I'll take a sack of Acme bird seed and leave the dog at home.

I wish I would have kept the 85mm f1.8 that I sold 15 years ago. It was a very sharp lens indeed. If I kept it, it wouldn’t have been used until recently which would have been a shame. Hopefully the person that bought it enjoyed using it as much as I did.

I shot quite a bit of film at with an EOS camera. I had a few zoom lenses some nice primes like the 50mm f1.8 and the 85mm f1.8 that were extremely sharp and that I loved using. 15 years ago, I stopped shooting film and disposed of the EOS gear. Earlier this year, I got a Rebel T7 kit and have added a handful of lenses and accessories and have been doing a fair amount of shooting. I found that my Photo.net sign on still worked and became a participant on this site again. I'm having a great time thus far. In listening to photography podcasts, one piece of advice kept coming up. If you want to try a piece of equipment, rent it first (if possible). In visiting the website of the local landmark camera store, I found they had a rental department stocked with some very nice stuff including a bunch of L lenses. Having never shot with an L lens, I was intrigued and rented 24-70 f4L Macro to play with for a day or so. Why that lens? The macro capability intrigued me and the price per diem was right. If you think it's nuts to shoot with professional grade glass on a basic consumer grade crop sensor body, then your idea of fun differs from mine. Here are my observations thus far: The Lens is big and heavy and built like a tank. The ultrasonic motor is pretty much silent and focuses extremely fast and accurately. The lens is indeed very sharp at all apertures. The macro mode works great! It is easy to nail autofocus quickly with the L lens. It was a lot of fun experimenting with the L lens and I can see why they are the tools of choice for professionals and serious amateurs. The L lens I rented is one of the smaller L zooms but it was still big and heavy. I get fatigued after a day of walking around and shooting with my camera and one of my lenses around my neck while carrying my other lenses in a camera sling. I think doing the same thing with the 24-70 f4L on the camera and maybe another L lens in the sling would be a quite a workout for me. So, my preliminary assessment is that I knew using L lenses requires a financial commitment but having not shot with them before I was oblivious to the fact that it also requires a physical commitment. My unscientific and subjective opinion is that the images I produced with the L lens look really nice and it's easier to get a "better image" with one than with consumer lenses - particularly when shooting wide open. But it's not impossible to get a nice image with a consumer lens - maybe not as easy to do so in all circumstances vs. an L lens. I've attached some samples taken with the L lens if you are curious.

At the Asian market. EF-S 24mm f2.8

This thread reminded me of battery observations I recall having when I used the original AE-1 for about 10 years from shortly after it's introduction until the mid 80's . I recall that the when the silver oxide batteries were even slightly depleted (maybe even fresh) the needle in the viewfinder "bounced" for a split second or maybe longer before settling on an f stop. I also noticed that I had exposure problems or inaccuracies (I shot a lot of slide film back then) if I took the shot before the needle stopped bouncing. My "fix" for this problem was to wait for the needle to settle before releasing the shutter. Not ideal for quick action or grab shots, but it worked for me as I recall. When the alkaline batteries came out and I started to use them, I noticed that the "needle bouncing" stopped. The needle settled quickly and the exposure was accurate. The alkalines may not have lasted as long, but they were less expensive and eliminated a problem. I always carried an extra battery (or 2) including one in the extra battery clip on the neckstrap that came with my camera. On my honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, my new wife and I were sitting on the beach or by the pool and someone came up to me and asked, "Can I borrower your camera battery?" I think he was also on his honeymoon and he had an A series camera with a dead battery. It seems the shops in Puerto Vallarta back then didn't carry or ran out of PX28 series batteries. I gave him the extra battery stored in the neckstrap clip and told him he could keep it (I had another one in my camera bag) and he was ecstatic. A few days later, we opened the door to our hotel room and found an envelope with the battery and a very nice "thank you" note from the guy.