High Prices of OEM Camera Accessories -- the G1 Charger

Last time I whined about the high price of the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 pancake lens.  This time, it's the G1 charger.

I have not shot with the G1 for more than a month, why?  Well, this is an embarrassing question to answer.  For the life of me, I can not find the charger for the G1.  It's at home somewhere, but it's just nowhere to be found.

About a week ago, I decided to buy a replacement charger.

First, of course, was to check out the prices of the OEM Panasonic charger.  $95CAD plus taxes ($107.35CAD) at Vistek.  A small shock not unlike the time I wanted to buy the charger for my Canon 1Ds, which was $600CAD + taxes.  Personally, I think it's rediculous. A more reasonable price for the G1 charger would be something like $30 to $50.  I would buy one at that price.  Since I am cheap, and don't want to be ripped off, off to eBay.

Not looking very hard, I found one charger + a spare battery for $18.99USD, plus $2.00 shipping to Canada from USA.  OK, so they don't have the "Panasonic" name printed on the items, and the battery probably won't last as long as the OEM version, but by Joe, look at the price differences! 

The charger and battery is still on the way to me but I just can't help but think, who in their right mind will spend 5 times the amount of money to buy an OEM charger?  I have used cheap, generic camera battery chargers before, and never had any problems.  I have used generic camera batteries for my Canon G1, 5D, 1D/1D II/1Ds and never a problem.  In fact, the generic batteries lasted longer than the Canon equivalent.

Is there an advantage buying an OEM charger?  Sure.  Warranty, possibly better made and possibly safer.  You would have to weigh the pros and cons and decide.

In the meantime, I will have to play with my 5D until the charger arrives.   Will update on the charger/battery once I get to use it a bit.

Junk Food -- 5D & EF 85mm f1.2L @ f1.2.

Church in Silhouette

Sunset in Markham -- Canon 5D & Leica-R 90mm f2 Summicron

Was driving out of the Pacific Mall in the evening and saw this magnificent sunset.   Shot from the car at the stop sign. 

Canon 5D & EF 85mm f1.2L - Match Made In Heaven

Went to the Ontario Science Centre with the whole gang, to see the Body World exhibit. Ok, I didn't see it. Ryan and Dillon and the missus did. The rest of us went to see the Light Before Christmas short film on iMAX. While waiting in the lobby for the others to come out from the Body World, I found out that there is a perfect spot for some quick and dirty portraiture. A column located in the lobby, which is normally used for ads, is empty on one of its three sides. Essentially a nice light panel with defused light. Perfect for portrait. I posted the kids there and took some pictures for each one. The pictures turn out pretty good, at least for the black & white version. I was shooting RAW + jpeg with B&W filter, and didn't bother set a custom white balance for the fluorescent lights. Consequently, the colour version does not look as good as the black & white version.

Just want to mention that the Canon 85mm f1.2L is a perfect match for the 5D (or any full frame body). Not a lot of lenses are very sharp wide open at f1.2, but the 85mm f1.2L certainly is, if critical focus is obtained. Despite what many have said about the 5D auto focus system, I find it very accurate. It's not fast like the 1-series bodies, but accurate. The focusing speed is noticeably slower on the 5D than on the 1D III, but it's completely acceptable. I am extremely happy with the 85L. It remains one of my favourite lenses of all times, next to the 200mm f1.8L.

By the way, at the beginning of November, I wanted to see if I could post something each day of the month. I am very happy to say that I have succeeded.


Megan -- 5D & EF 85mm f1.2 @ f1.4, ISO 400. Larger Picture.


William -- Canon 5D & EF 85mm f1.2 @ f1.8, ISO 400. Larger Picture.


Dillon -- 5D & EF 85mm f1.2 @ f1.4, ISO 400. Larger Picture.


Ryan -- 5D & EF 85mm f1.2 @ f1.4, ISO 400. Larger Picture.

Bargains on Used First Generation DSLRs

I still remember my first digital camera, the 3 MP Canon G1, cost me $1150. My first DSLR, the Canon Digital Rebel 300D, cost me over $1600. Ever since the 300D, the only new digital camera I bought was the Panasonic G1. Why? Used gears are so much cheaper.

Like everyone else, I would love to buy the latest and the greatest digital gear, but let's face it. New models comes out every 1.5 years or so, and they are usually incremental updates to the model they replace, with few exceptions. Witness the Canon 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D. Other than the live view, fast frames/second, and marginally higher resolution, there is no quantum leap in feature set, and the image quality pretty much the same in the normally used ISO range.

As each model is introduced, the first and second generation DSLRs have become unwanted victims. They are not any less capable than the day they were made, but the latest and greatest have eclipsed the old, or so the marketing department would have you believe that. Old DSLRs have become dirt cheap. My $1600 Digital Rebel 300D I bought in 2003 can now be had for about $150, less than 10% of its original value. I picked up an Olympus E-300 couple months ago for $125, with the intention to modify it to shoot Infrared. Another prime example of a bargain is the Canon 5D.

Ever since the 5D was first introduced, I have been drooling over it's full frame and amazing image quality. The acquisition of the Canon 1Ds somewhat lessen that desire, but the 1Ds was very slow, good only at low ISO. But the almost $4000CAD introductory price was a big put off. Now, one can get a used 5D anywhere from $1000 to $1300. For the image quality and capabilities of the camera, this is truly one of the best bargains in DSLRs. Just over 10 years ago, my Elan II film camera plus the 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 USM lens costs me about this much. Oh, and I just bought an Elan IIe for $20, to replace the Elan II I traded in when I got my digital camera, just for old time's sake.

The point is, I make it a requirement for buying gears that I would always first consider used ones over the new, unless I want something really bad and no used alternatives are available.


St Mary's Dormition Ukrainian Catholic Church -- Olympus E-300 & Pentax SMC 50mm f2.8 Macro.

Another Streetcar Picture

Streetcar -- Canon 5D & Voigtlander Skpoar 8.3cm f4.5. Larger Picture.

I am happy to say that despite the fall I had yesterday, and the injuries on my hands/knees, I can still hold my camera and take pictures. It hurts a little when I have to turn my left wrist to focus, but it's bearable.

The Danger of Cycling as a Means of Transportation in Toronto

I have been cycling to work daily for the last seven or eight years. I do this even in the winter. During these years, I have fallen three or four times. Two times with injuries. The latest fall was today, with some nasty injuries on my wrists/palms and knees.

Cycling in downtown Toronto is especially dangerous, due to the streetcar tracks in many major streets. This is in addition to other dangers such as crazy car drivers, obnoxious pedestrians, endless street constructions, and other inconsiderate fellow cyclists. Queen street, which I use daily to commute to work by bicycle, has street car tracks. Both of my very bad falls had to do with the tracks, and in wet conditions. The tires on the bicycle just skids on shiny metal tracks when it's wet.

Today I tried to go around a fire truck that was parked on the side of the street near River & Queen. Due to the very wide width of the fire truck, I had to use the centre lane to go around it. On turning back into the right lane, the front wheel of my bike skidded the track and I lost control. I fell face down but used my hands to cushion the fall, hence the very bad bruise on my palms, and I sprained my left wrist. Large piece of skin came off the right knee but he left knee survived with just a little scrape on the skin.

There are few streets in Toronto that has dedicated bike lanes, but unfortunately Queen street is not one of them. Converting streets to have bike lanes is a two edged sword. On one hand, it's safer and better for both the cars and the bicycles, on the other hand, addition of the bike lane means the reduction or elimination of a car lane, which means traffic is restricted. Unless the street is very wide, adding a bike lane is not always feasible.

I hope I am well enough to ride my bike again on Monday. Driving to work will drive me insane.

The Red Rocket at Night

In Toronto, the Streetcar is called the Red Rocket.  Back in the olden days when the Streetcars were first introduced, they resembled a rocket with its pointy noise and slender body.  The modern Streetcars have no resemblance to a rocket, but the name remains.


Streetcar at night -- 5D & SMC Takumar 85mm f1.8 @ f2.

Gooderham Flatiron at Night

Finally managed to take a few pictures of the Gooderham Flatiron at night.  Totally unprepared, and consequently, I got unprepared results.  All shots were handheld, at ISO 1600.  Maybe next time, I will bring a tripod.  One of the undesired aspects of shooting at rush hour is that there is too much light from cars, which drown out large part of the picture.  Next time, I will do it at a later time.

Gooderham Flatiron Toronto -- Canon 5D & Tamron SP 17mm f3.5.

Lights! -- Canon 5D & Leica-R 90mm f2 @ f2.

Few Pictures from the S-M-C Takumar 35mm f2

Dusted off the S-M-C Takumar 35mm f2 and took it out for a long overdue spin. I have always liked the 35mm focal length, and that's why I have so many 35mm lenses. The S-M-C 35mm f2 is a good match for the 5D. I like it better on the 5D than the 1Ds that it was used last time.

Chinatown at Spadina & Dundas

Spadina & Dundas -- 5D & Tamron 17mm f3.5. Larger Picture.

Always a messy intersection with lots of people crossing all the time.