Haad Kaew Resort

One of the beautiful hotels in Songkhla is Haad Kaew Resort.  For a photographer like me, this seaside resort with a 10 kilometer stretch of powdery white sand and overlooking the gulf of Thailand is surely picturesque.  Due to its location, Haad Kaew Resort is a great place to shoot sunrise.  Unfortunately though, the sun was a bit shy and hid from me in those days I was there (I hope to go back soon.). So, I took some shots of the hotel grounds instead. For review and information about Haad Kaew Resort, check this out.

The Bungalows:

(Taken with a Canon 7D + Canon 24-105 IS USM  L Lens)

 

The Pool and the Hotel Building

(Taken with a Canon 550D + Canon 24mm F2.8 STM)

The Hotel

A view from the Beach

Photos were taken with:

  • Canon 550D+ 24mm f2.8 STM
  • Canon 7D + 24-105mm f4 IS USM L

 

For more information about Haad Kaew, CLICK HERE.

 

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Is Lugging Around a DSLR Worth the Hassle?

Is lugging around a huge DSLR camera with a tri-pod worth the hassle?
I have been asked by a lot of people directly and indirectly about the worth of lugging around my huge DSLR with a fairly heavy tripod. And my answer has always been a huge YES!
Note: My camera set up is NOT even remotely close to what professionals use. Imagine carrying a semi pro or a pro DSLR camera on your walk-around with your family.
I use a Canon 550D with a battery grip and a 24-105 mm L Lens and a Nissin external flash onboard which makes my camera weigh more or less 1 kilogram. My tri-pod is almost half a kilogram, give-or-take. So I am lugging around a camera set-up of almost a kilo and a half which may not seem a lot. But after an hour or so… you get to feel the weight.
A lot of people with I-phones and androids or powerful digital cameras would say modern gadgets take very good pictures now-a-days. And I would agree. But man you just don’t know what kind of picture quality a fairly decent DSLR(in the right hands) can produce compared to the best compact camera. ^_^ Far out!
Looking like a dweeb walking around with a DSLR mounted on a fully extended tripod on my shoulder looking for a sweet spot to take pictures with my family is worth the hassle and the embarrassment.(you’d get used to it though LOL!)  but hey… Let me show you what I mean.
So this is how I look:

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Ending the year with a BANG!

I have been dormant for the past few months both from photography and blogging due to a very hectic schedule. I moved to a University just recently leaving my beloved Anubans(Kindergarten) and Pratom(Graders) students with a heavy heart. That also meant moving to another city. Although my new city is not that far from the previous one but the new work took a lot of my time adjusting to the new work schedule of the University and of course the transition from teaching primary students to tertiary.

December came in a flash, and before I knew it Christmas day was over. Being in a Buddhist country that’s how it is but they do celebrate the New Year with a BANG! And that places fireworks in the equation.

So I opened some YouTube tutorials on how to photograph fireworks. It’s a first time for me so I really needed some information/idea on how to do it. I came upon Fro Knows Photo’s tutorial and God knows how I tried so hard to do what he did. So here are the better shots I got.

HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone!

My first Blog for 2014! Hurrah!

 

Ending the year with a BANG!

Taken with a Canon 550D with an 18-55mm IS kit lens

 

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How did you celebrate your New Year?  Do share, and get a free 2014 calendar featuring my picture of a Buddhist Temple. Include in the comment your email address.

 

 

 

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The Most Under Rated Canon Lens: Canon 18-55mm IS Kit Lens

The Canon 18-55mm IS kit lens is perhaps the most under rated lens in the canon line up. You would hear a lot of newbies ranting about how bad this lens is… why they have not gotten the optional 18-135 mm lens etc etc… with out even giving this lens a proper and or a fair use. Most of the common complaints would be the lack of focus ring, poor build quality and last would be the rotating barrel tip. Other subjective complaints would be… it’s size… just because it’s small most newbies think it is uncool or unmanly.(yep even in photography some people think size matters LOL!) And they would often shy away from other photographers with bigger lenses. Others would think; because this lens is cheap it equates to poor image quality. I have used this lens for a year and i would say i have given it a fair share of use and learned photography using it. Experience wise this lens has given me good quality pictures. It is fairly sharp though with a slight distortion at its widest focal length(but it’s not something a PS can’t correct). While it may not have a stellar performance as an L lens (Luxury Lens) would but i would say that it does give an excellent photo for its price.

The Canon 18-55mm IS kit lens produces better IQ than the favored Canon 18-135mm and the  Canon 18-200mm IS. This lens also does not fall that far behind in terms of IQ from the more expensive Canon 17-85mm IS USM and the new Canon 15-85mm IS USM Canon lenses.

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The three most common problems raised by most people/critique (who most probably have not used this lens) is not actually a big problem in actual practice.

1. The absence of the focus ring may sound atrocious when read in a review or when mentioned in video reviews. But,  it is not really a big problem in actual practice. A lens hood can be used as an alternate focus ring. But the thing is, as a beginner my personal experience was that I used AF(auto Focus) all the time.

2. The poor build quality they have been complaining about is actually unfair to say to this lens. It is fairly made out of nice plastics that is even textured to mimic the alloy body of some premium lenses. OK,  I know that will not equate to a good build quality but comparing it to other third party lens in its price range this lens is better built.  The absence of a metal mount, well, the lens is so light that having a metal mount would be an over-kill.

3. The rotating barrel tip has always been a major issue with photographers. Yes this is true if you are already into filters and what not. But, for the beginners, in actual practice, very few go into filters right away. Most beginners would be so preoccupied with rule of thirds and framing and just taking pictures of whatever they see around them thus making this claim null and void.

I highly recommend the 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens most especially to beginners who just got their first DSLR and to hobbyists who are on a tight budget. For beginners this is the best lens there is… it is light and has image stabilization. The reach may not be long but there is a complimenting lens.. the 55-250mm IS telephoto lens which is also an excellent lens for its price. But that would be another review.

Hope this review helps newbies like me out there confusing themselves with what lens to buy to immediately replace their kit lens with.. I suggest you try this lens out first, make the most out of it, learn from it.

Pros:

Image Stabilization

Light weight

Very Cheap

IQ is better than most 3rd party lens in its price range

IQ is better than the more sought and more expensive Canon 18-135mm IS and the 18-200mm IS walk around lenses.

IQ does not fall that far behind from other more expensive Canon lens in its category (eg. 17-85mm IS USM and the 15-85mm IS USM).

Cons:

No focus ring

Poor build quality

Rotating barrel tip

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