Tag: Canon

Why I said no to the NEW Canon 10-18mm IS STM and chose the OLD DOG Canon 10-22mm USM instead.

Posted on by Ryan

For the past two or three years Canon released a barrage of new lenses including an ultra-wide angle lens for APS-C bodies and it sent the Canon gear hogs and fan boys loco over it. They released new updates like the new 50mm f1.8, 18-55, 55-250, 18-105 IS lenses with STM technology. They also released brand new ones like the 24mm EF-S and 40mmEF f2.8 STM pancake lenses and of course the all-new, 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM.

With all of the reviews of the 10-18mm IS STM coming out positive one has got to drool especially since it is half the price of the older 10-22 lens. In terms of sharpness it comes at par if not better than the 10-22. It’s smaller and lighter than the old lens and the Canon 10-18 has Image Stabilization too. Yes, for an ultra-wide angle who most think don’t need IS, this lens has it.

I have been saving up money to get an ultra-wide APS-C Lens for the past 2 or 3 years… yup it took that long for me to save up boo hoo… Over those years I have been eyeing quite a few lenses including 3rd party lenses. One lens really caught my attention though. The old Canon 10-22 USM released in 2004.

This being an old lens has proven itself as a battle worthy lens. It’s not an L lens or luxury lens but it delivers the goods right to your door step. It’s sharp, quick focus and durable. The last part has got me convinced about this lens.

So why did I choose the old Canon 10-22mm USM and said no to the new 10-18mm IS STM?

I said no to the new lens for two good reasons. It may not be true for everyone but for the kind of photographer that I am these two are deal breakers.

1. The STM motor. The STM system is good, quick to focus, silent but it just kind of annoys me how you need to press the shutter button halfway to get the manual focus to work. I just could not get myself over it. There is that split second delay from pressing to responding. It is very minute but it could be felt and it’s a bit annoying for me.

2. Durability is kind of a big issue for me. I am the kind of person who does not really take good care of things. I kind of bang my camera and lenses around when they are hanging on my shoulders and that killed my 18-55 mk2 kit lens… Seeing that the new 10-18mm IS STM kinda resembles the kit lens it just drove me away from it.

My heart was captured by the Canon 10-22 lens. I had the chance to fully experience the lens for myself when a friend of mine lent me his copy of the lens. I played with it for a week. When I went to Bangkok and then went around Songkhla shooting temples, sunsets and interesting landscapes when I got back.  Also my friend told me that he has knocked the lens over more than a few times and in fact has dropped it while changing lenses and it was still AOK.

Would you go for the NEW Canon 10-18mm IS STM or the OLD DOG Canon 10-22mm USM?

You Might Also Like

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

Like & Share Me At

Why I Chose The Canon 24-105 mm IS USM L Lens

Posted on by Ryan

canon-ef-24-105mm-f4l-is-usm

Upon reading the title some of you might be confused and say “What?! An L lens is a Pauper’s Lens?” Calm down, calm down. Put down the torches and pitch forks and let me explain.

Seriously the Canon 24-105mm IS USM L Lens is by no means a pauper’s lens. In fact this is a very pricey lens in its category. But it does not mean a pauper like me can’t save up and get this lens for the proper reasons. Spending a fortune on this lens actually will save me few thousand bucks in the long run and save me the hassle of selling a camera lens I no longer can use. So, why did I choose to have this? It’s because I can use it now with my current DSLR and would still be able to use it when I go full frame in the distant future.

I needed an all around lens I can use with my current DSLR body which is the 550D. A lot of my friends were suggesting the 17-55 f2.8 or the new 15-85mm. I know these 2 are great lenses. I have tried out these two lenses and they were fantastic for the crop framed DSLR’s. Others suggested the 18-135mm and the 18-200mm lens (which were no better than my kitlens). But the thing is I won’t be able to use them when I upgrade to a full frame. So, i will have to sell them, haggle with the price, etc etc and then add some more money and get a full frame compatible lens. And that is a big hassle.

With my current DSLR body the 24-105 is a great walk around lens. Not to mention it is a very sharp lens, built like a tank, weather sealed, full time manual focus. creamy bokeh, smooth zoom and focus rings,and an f4 all through out. It is my go to lens for out of the country travels and road trips and portraiture. And during times when I want to bring only one lens this is the lens I choose to bring. Well it is not that I have much to brag in my lens arsenal but the thing is I still use my 18-55 kit lens for landscape and big group photography and my 55-250 zoom for portraiture and Zoo photography.

I chose to drop my fortune on this lens because it fits exactly the description of the lens that I need. A walk around lens that I can use now with my 550D and can still use in the near future with a full frame body. And most of all it is an L lens. Cheers!

black camera lens

The Nifty Fifty Canon 50mm 1.8 Lens Review

Posted on by Ryan

download

Being a teacher does not really rake in a lot of dough. And if you are a Photography enthusiast at the same time it would be a bit of a drag gathering all the goodies of photography.  Well, it is not really that bad I should say. Even for a family man like me.

For someone like me who is always on a tight budget(LOL), I make it a point to find something that is rather good but still within my budget. Search and research is the key.

For this review I will be talking about  the Canon’s nifty fifty. The good ole 50mm f1.8 Mk ii.

But let it be known… This review is not a professional review. This is a users review.

This lens has received a lot of very good feed backs from users.(My self included) It is quite popular in the country where I come from and very popular here in the country where I am living at present.

Let us start talking about why it is sought by many beginners and budget photographers like me. First, the price. At 3000 Thb (94 USD) this lens was really intriguing. This was the first lens I bought to boost my photography arsenal. But of course before I threw in the dough, I dug out all of the reviews of this lens in the internet. Scouring you-tube and blog sites with tags of this lens. Almost all of them had the same thing to say… “GET THIS LENS!” Second, at f1.8 this lens is really enticing. An f1.8 means a lot of light can pass through the lens and into the sensor and that is a good thing for low light photography, for blurring out back grounds, portraits, even for video this lens is awesome. And the last but not the least… it is a prime lens… no zooms.. a fixed focal length lens and this means it should be a sharp lens… and it is indeed a  very sharp lens! Well nothing comparable to an L lens but it is indeed plenty sharp.

Now nothing is ever perfect. A lot of people would be asking… “If this is such a good lens then why is it so cheap!?”

That would start me off talking about its down sides. This lens being a very cheap lens manifests its cheapness in its physical build. The first time I held it.. it felt like a toy. I had doubts when I went down to the camera store to buy it. But being in a very tight budget I had no choice. I badly needed a prime lens for portraiture at that time . The plastics it is made out of is really cheap looking. It jiggles about when you give it a shake. LOL!  The focus ring rotates when focusing. Not to mention it is quite.. I mean really loud. You would be able to hear it when focusing. Another complaint of pro-photographers is that it gives a pentagon-ish to oval-ish shape bokeh. Unlike the L-lenses. The bokeh it produces is round-ish.

images (1) images

To some photographers these downsides are deal-breakers. To some, a challenge. For me, these downsides are ignorable.(Is that even a word?) I have used this lens for a very long time. I have enjoyed the results it gives. And for me Photography is all about enjoyment.IMG_3958 aaabbbccc-2-Edit-1

If you want the best value for your money this is the lens for you.

P.S If you have the money to burn get the Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens. If you are planning of turning pro but don’t want to burn that much cash, get the Canon 50mm 1.4 USM lens. Cheers!

If I had missed out something, or  made a mistake about something please feel free to leave a comment down below!

 

Related Article

Jessica Carin Photography

 

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

Posted on by Ms. Elle

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.

_MG_2287-1-1 _MG_3656-1 _MG_4211-Edit-1

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

You Might Also Like

towering blue tower- 5 Reasons You Should Visit Rajamangala Trang Aquarium
5 Reasons You Should Visit Rajamangala Trang Aquarium
shicked kids- A Submarine in the Newest and Biggest Aquarium in Thailand
A Submarine in the Newest and Biggest Aquarium in Thailand