16 posts tagged “canon”

DOWNSIDE: I spent the week dealing with eye irritation. The doctor says it's likely a little infection that eye drops will clear up. Still, I prefer contact lenses to eye glasses -- the spectacles get in the way at the camera viewfinder and telescope eyepiece and don't correct well for computer monitor distances. Oh, and doc says I need to ditch my contacts -- germs may have taken refuge deep inside the silicone matrix ready to attack again!

UPSIDE: I sold the Canon PowerShot A650 IS camera! It really is a fine little camera, as demonstrated in this blog. Excellent optics and exposure system. I wasn't crazy about the viewfinder, however, or LCD composing of shots, or its macro function. It'll be a great camera for its buyer and I'll stick with my bulkier Fuji FinePix when not using the DSLRs.

WEEKEND: No plans as yet. I hope to complete selection of photographs for my little October showing. I guess I need to actually work on that if it's to get done. Better quit writing and start editing!

Fireworks_0204

Our little town's annual festival ends with fireworks. Last year we had grandstand seats from our own balcony. This year the fireworks were moved to a new site and when the display began I had to move too! I briskly carried my tripod-mounted camera up the hill about a quarter-mile until I spied a parking area with a clear view of the air bursts. I greeted the people standing there, plunked down my tripod, and started shooting with the EOS 50D. I got many pleasing shots of the aerial display but this -- oooh! ahhh! -- is among my favorites. Looks a bit like subatomic particle collisions. Nice end to my weekend even if I didn't go to the festival and get cotton candy as I'd hoped. For those who may be wondering:  200mm lens, ISO 100, 3 sec., f/11.

Fireworks-0201

Feather_0147

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It was a mostly-cloudy and cool day, only about 70F degrees. After a quiet Sunday morning at home, we decided to explore a park we'd not visited before -- Plum Creek Park in the Medina County Park District. The park is located at the edge of the sprawling suburban city of Brunswick and immediately adjacent to residential areas. Exploring the earthen paths through the park's woodlands, however, you'd never know you were so close to "civilization." The woods were lovely, dark, and deep, as the poet wrote. We didn't see much in the way of woodland fauna. We did see deeply green mosses, interesting fungi, tree bark of various textures, and enjoyed an invigorating stroll over the rolling woodland floor. She carried her newish Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera and I my new Canon EOS 50D SLR for its first outing in the real world.

With the canopy of trees overhead and thick clouds above that, it was dark along the path. I shot a good number of photos and had some good results. Many shots, however, just didn't make it. Between the difficult conditions and learning the new camera, quite a few shots were exposed poorly or were not in good focus. There's much yet to learn, but I know it's me and not the camera! Except....

That darned 17-40mm wide-angle zoom lens continues to disappoint. I won't give up on it til I can try it stopped down to a decent aperture but I'm unimpressed --disappointed, really-- with what I'm seeing. I had hoped the new camera body might provide better results than the little Digital Rebel XT did with this glass. Nope. {sigh}

UPDATE: It is beginning to appear the "software" problems I was having were not so much the fault of Photoshop CS4 as they were Photoshop's issues with my video/chipset drivers. I was able to open and edit a couple of photos after updating the drivers (Dell-modified Intel drivers). It's not all cleared up as PS crashed whilst I was saving an edited image. At least it appears we're headed in the right direction. Then there's learning to work effectively with RAW files....

My New Friend

I've been pouring more resources into my photography lately, encouraged by some of the results I've been getting. I even have a small show coming up in October! After much (agonizing) thought and consideration I was able to purchase a new camera body to try and expand my grasp. The new "baby" is a big, fat Canon EOS 50D. It feels great in my hand and the shutter has such a smooth feel and sound it will be a pleasure to use. There is much to learn about features but I seem to be picking it up quick.

I made a few test shots around the house this afternoon including the one below... a bright red, ripe bell pepper hanging from a plant set out by She Who Must Be Obeyed. The afternoon was dreary and the pepper was shaded somewhat by the balcony railing and the plant's own leafs. Still, this 50mm macro view is darned nice for a handheld test. Tonight I ran the ISO all the way up to 3,200 and shot an image of the clock and plain, cream-colored wall on which it hangs. Image noise was easy to see but much better than my little Digital Rebel XT might manage... if it could reach 3,200. The picture of the clock was good and sharp under high magnification. I'm sure the camera could do quite well under dim lighting conditions especially where darkness will hide some of the "grain." I'm sure this camera and I will have a very good time together.

The only problem so far has been not the camera but my new, upgraded version of Adobe Photoshop. I got it installed but it has a tendency to crash... often! It's CS4 and has many features I was looking forward to using. I guess I'll be on the phone next week with Adobe support to see if I can fix it. Blah!

By the way, one of the peppers from Her plant was incorporated into a lovely, spicy Indonesian noodle dish this evening. Quite scrumptious.

Pepper_0108 - Test

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Old, Old Roof

The day dawned damp and gray. I'd had a lousy night's sleep. We took it easy this morning but did a bit of running about.

This afternoon was a field trip to the beautiful city of Hudson for a stroll around the downtown and visits to local shops. She bought some calendars at The Learned Owl Book Shop -- 20 percent discount now, less as the end of the year approaches. I carried the little Canon A650 IS camera with me, just in case, and got a few nice shots. I've still got that camera for sale on Amazon.com, by the way, but may remove the listing and just keep it. I'd like to go to the Observatory tonight but I'm concerned that driving would be too risky as in falling asleep at the wheel. So I'm going to miss another rare, clear night. {sigh}

Hudson Palladian

The Canon EF 17-40 4 L USM wide-angle zoom lens arrived back in my hands today after a non-warranty "repair." Since it apparently shipped from the factory in maladjusted condition, I hesitate to call it a repair and I'm kinda miffed at having to pay for it -- decent money, too! Still, it had to be done. My review on Amazon.com will reflect this experience. Report from the Factory Service Center:

We have examined the product according to your request, and, it was found that the adjustment of the part was incorrect the focus did not operate properly from time to time  Electrical adjustments were carried out on the part. Checked all, adjusted center/tilt/focus, cleaned all factory specs.

Next I'll test it the same way I did before shipping out and hope it performs to its full potential.

This weekend it looks like we get to work at Mom-In-Law's straightening up after the plumbing project. {sigh} There's a whole lot I'd like to do outside of that but I'm tired.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L

I've been uncertain about my Canon 17-40mm f/4 lens for some time. Even before I purchased the fancy glass I'd read several reports that products were shipping in less-than-perfect condition and required factory calibration. I decided that I'd order anyway, hoping Canon had resolved the issue. Since I began use of the lens it just didn't seem right. Looking at Sunday's photos from Brandywine Gorge reinforced my doubts. Test photos today proved the flaw: the lens doesn't form sharp images! Proof came in the form of a series of test images I made with the camera on a tripod: manual focus, automatic focus; 17mm, 40mm; wide-open, stopped-down. In every case the recorded images were only fair at best when examined closely on the computer screen.

Visiting Canon USA's Web site I was hard-pressed to find how to receive warranty service. Finally I found that if I registered with the site, I could then get email support. Making my complaint and request for help online, I received a response within a couple of hours inviting me to return the lens to Canon for calibration. Good handling of my situation so far! The lens ships out tomorrow.

I can hardly wait for return of the lens tuned to its optimal state; it's a beautiful piece of equipment and should create excellent pictures!

I stayed up too late last night hosting a Public Night at the Observatory. Could have used more sleep. Sunday dawned cool and beautiful. It was a good day for a hike so we decided to head down to Brandywine Falls and the Gorge Trail there, a beautiful place inside the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, northeast from Peninsula.

Brandywine Creek

Tree Rock

I shot a good number of photos and was disappointed with a great many of them. They look pretty good at smaller size but enlargements show focus problems. It looks like my fancy Canon 17-40mm, f/4, L-series lens may suffer from a deficiency I read about in reviews of that product.

The lens is too expensive to let this flaw go uncorrected so now I'll need to figure out just what to do. Maybe first some more testing.

We had a very pleasant hike, it was just challenging enough (1.1 miles, says the GPS, with one very steep climb near the end), and a nice evening at home -- the film Trekkies 2 is recommended! Back to work tomorrow.

We're holding our breath waiting to see what will happen at our fine institution when state funding details become established and known. Painful cuts are expected.

The trees will grow, the waters flow, the stars will shine, and life will go on.  Goodnight!

Evidence of Human Activity