A Bit of Good News

Early this week I emailed Sun Camera in Vaughn and asked if they still repair the Canon EF 200mm f1.8L, and they said they still repair this lens.  So, today I packed the lens and was ready to drop it off at their repair centre.  On my way out, I thought, let's try it one more time.  Mounted the lens on the 1D III and when I turned the focus ring, it moved!  I then tested the AF and it also worked.  I don't know how the lens just healed itself but I don't care.  This has really made my day.  I can use my favourite lens again.

Sally - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f1.8. Click for larger.

Why I Slow Down Camera Body Upgrades

For a lot of people, they would upgrade to the latest camera bodies as soon as they are available.  I am guilty of this in the past to some degree, but I have now slowed down the upgrade intervals.  There are a couple of reasons for this.

In just a bit longer than a decade, the sensor in the consumer digital camera has matured with frightening speed.  It's unimaginable just a decade ago that today's sensor is capable of such high resolution and low noise.  But, the last couple of years, advances in image quality has been incremental.  The resolution of around 16MP is more than high enough for most uses, and ISO 6400 is surprisingly usable.  Cameras now can last two to three years and are still very usable compared to the new cameras. So, where do you spend the money allocated for photography?  I would suggest lenses.

In film days, we would say that cameras are just a light tight box.  It's the lenses that make the images. It's still true today.  Camera bodies retire at a much faster rate than lenses.  How many 10-year-old digital cameras do you see people use?  Hardly any.  Lenses are entirely different. I see lenses as an investment, though not entirely in financial sense.  I have gone through many Canon bodies, but my Canon lens collection has hardly changed; some of the lenses are more than 20 years old.

True, many people buy cameras not based on image quality, but other factors, such as size, weight, and other features.  Manufacturers know this, and will never make a "perfect" camera.  there are always features that you want, but lacking in the latest camera, and one of these features will be in the next iteration.

Reflection - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f3.2.

Guildwood Park - October 2012

Yesterday, Sally, Lisa, Dillon and I went to Guildwood Park to shoot the autumn colours.  Guildwood Park is one of my favourite places photograph in the fall.  We also went there last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.  In addition to the 200mm f1.8L, I brought a lot more equipment this year, including the 70-200mm f4L IS that I traded the 70-200mm f2.8L IS for, and never really used it, and the NEX-5N with the Wollensak 209mm f4.5 copy lens.

As usual, the 200mm f1.8L did not disappoint, but sadly, it's now broken, and may never be working again. The 70-200mm f4L IS is fantastic.  I actually like it more than the 70-200mm f2.8L IS version.  It's a lot sharper wide open and the IS is very effective.  Due to the dim lights in the woods, I shot most pictures either wide open or 1/2 a stop down.  If you don't need f2.8 for the popular zoom range of 70-200mm, I would suggest the f4L IS.  Well worth the money, and much lighter and easier on your body (and wallet).

More interesting is the comparison of the Wollensak 209mm f4.5 and the Canon 70-200mm f4L IS at 200mm.  The Wollensak was shot on the NEX-5N and you can see the very significant colour and rendering differences between the two lenses.  The NEX-5N and the Wollensak has a lot less saturation and contrast, where the Canon is the opposite.  I can't remember, but the lighting might be slightly different as the sun was doing hide and seek.  Aside from the colours, the bokeh is night and day too.  This shows how, despite the similar focal length, pictures can be vastly different between lenses; each has its own characters.  Which one you like is a personal preference.  For black & white photography, I think the Wollensak will be excellent.  

Young Tree - NEX-5N & Wollensak Raptar 209mm f4.5 Copy Lens. Click for larger.

Young Tree - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 70-200mm f4L IS @ 200mm f4. Click for larger

Bokeh - NEX-5N & Wollensak Raptar 209mm f4.5 Copy Lens. Click for larger.

Bokeh - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 70-200mm f4L IS @ 200mm f4. Click for larger

Fallen Leaf - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 70-200mm f4L IS @ 200mm f4. Click for larger

Reflection - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 70-200mm f4L IS.

A Sad Note

Today my worst fear has come true - my most loved lens, the Canon EF 200mm f1.8 has stopped working.  I have had this lens for many years, and used it with all sorts of Canon cameras from the original 1Ds to the 1D Mark III and always gave me fantastic image quality.  We went to Guildwood Park today and everything was fine and I even took some pictures with it on our way home, but it's now dead.  No AF or even manual focus.

I am so sad, because the most likely case will be that there is no part to fix it.  Canon no longer has parts for this 24 year old lens.  It remains the fastest auto focus 200mm consumer lens in the world.  I will try the repair shops, but my hope is not too high.

Dillon Getting the shot - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 200mm f1.8 @ f1.8. Click for larger.

Autumn Colours - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 200mm f1.8 @ f1.8. Click for larger.

Sally with the wrong camera :) - Canon 1D Mark III & EF 200mm f1.8 @ f1.8. Click for larger.

Guildwood Park -- October 2011

Guildwood Park in Scarborough is one of the favourite venues for wedding photography.  In fact, our wedding pictures were taken there, so it's kind of a special place for me.  We try to visit it at least once a year, but because it's quite far from where we live, this has not happened.  We did visit it last year, but unfortunately didn't stay long enough to take many pictures.

The Bluff -- Canon 1D Mark III & EF 200mm f1.8L. Click for larger.

The park is beautiful in the autumn, if you can catch the right time when the leaves are changing colours.  Last year it was perfect timing, but when we got there today, there wasn't much colour.  I think the strong wind in the last two days has blown off most of the leaves, as many branches are bare.  Still, walking in the woods through the very large park is a nice change from sitting in the office all week.  

Fall Leaves -- 1D III & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f2.8. Click for larger.

I decided to bring my Canon 200mm f1.8L with me, since I have not used it on the 1D III since I got the camera.  I was not disappointed with the lens, nor the 1D III. They are perfect together, other than being very heavy.  I shot handheld and carried the combo for about an hour, and it was bearable.  The image quality of the lens makes carrying all the weight worthwhile.  The 200mm f1.8L has one of the nicest bokeh of any lens I have used.  Even stopped down, the bokeh is still amazing.  At wide open, the razor thin depth of field makes any object in focus like it's cut out from thin air.

Dillon -- 1D III & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f1.8. Click for larger.

The nicest thing about the lens is that it's perfectly usable wide open at f1.8.  From f2.0 on, it won't get any sharper stopping down, just more depth of field.  My only worry is that if the lens needs service, there are no longer parts available to fix it.  Hopefully mine will work until the day I can no longer handle its weight.

A rose on tree -- 1D III & EF 200mm f1.8L @ f1.8. 

You might be wondering why there is a rose on a tree in the park, as pictured above.  Guildwood Park seems to have a lot of trees planted in memory of people, and this was one of them.  

It was a nice visit.  I certainly enjoyed myself.  Well worth the drive.