01 December 2008

new toy for a grownup boy...

Realizing it has been a long time since I've posted here, I'll skip the apologies and move straight on to why I shattered my silence. I have had my eye on upgrading lenses ever since I upgraded from the D50 to D80 about this time two years ago. I realized right away the extra technical capabilities were over matched for the stock lens and the 55-200mm lens I originally purchased with the D50. Still, I knew I was looking at anywhere from 400-1000 or more for each type of lens and that would take a while to save up for!

I'll admit that lately I've been less than excited about taking pictures, partly because I don't go anywhere new very often but mostly because the camera just doesn't get enough light in a variety of situations where I would prefer to NOT have to use a flash (the sales lady is trying to change my mind on that by the way, but I'll cave in on an external flash some other day). So I finally made it down to Robi's in Lakewood and after staying a couple hours past my bedtime, I made up my mind between an ultra-wide angle and a telephoto (or both... hey, I considered it!) and picked up a Tamron AF 28-300mm f1.3-6.3 with vibration control. Neither of my old lenses were VR, so this will take some getting used to, but I already think I like it since I rarely use a tripod (the cheap one I bought a few years ago wobbles too much, hey maybe the VC will fix that too).

What sealed the deal? Well, I originally thought the ultra-wide angle lens would be the best addition to my camera bag without making either of my others feel neglected, but this lens covers such a large range that it seemed best suited to solve one of my other dilemmas--switching lenses every time I cross the magical 55mm threshold. Also, these shots taken with my 55-200 and the 28-300 made the increased capabilities of the Tamron glaringly obvious. Bear in mind this is inside the store, but it isn't exactly poorly lit either. The 300 is almost at maximum zoom, still so much more light gets through.

So I'll have to wait a little longer before I get that ultra-wide angle lens. Of course, I know exactly which one that will be. The Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 Di II is a pretty stellar compliment to the one I just purchased. Of course it leaves a gap from 24-28 but the stock lens will be quite happy to still have a reason to stay out of retirement!

I'm pretty excited about winter low-light situations--indoors and out--and I'm hoping this might finally motivate me to go take a class so I can pretend to know what I'm doing with this gizmo. Oh boy.

Peace,

b

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home