Equipment - Snapshot Chronicles

My telephoto lens

05.06.2008 by Susan Getgood //

I’ve alluded to it here and written about it a little on New England Mamas but today, I am going to tell you all about my new love: my Tamron telephoto lens.

For Christmas, my wonderful family (husband, son, mom and brother) gave me the Canon Digital Rebel xTi that I craved. It came with a very acceptable 18-55mm lens, and I’ve been enjoying messing around with the camera since the holidays.

My brother also recently got his first DSLR, a Nikon. We’ve always geeked out about stuff together — from Star Trek in the 60s til now and Web 2.0, so we’ve been talking cameras a lot lately. He even contributes here from time to time. He got a telephoto lens about 6 weeks ago, and from the moment I saw his, I was jonesing for my own. But trying to be fiscally responsible and all.

Then we went to San Diego on vacation. And while I wished for more proximity while watching the pandas,

it was at the beach watching Doug play in the surf that I realized I didn’t just want a telephoto lens, I absolutely needed one.

Because I am just WAY too far away.

I had to go north on business mid-week during the vacation, but when I got back, God bless my husband, he found a photo shop near Balboa Park in the Yellow Pages (remember those), George’s Camera, and we went there to talk telephoto.

While I am a big believer in online shopping, I am sooo glad we went to a good photo store for this purchase. They showed me a number of mid-price options, including official Canon lenses, but the Tamron prevailed. And not just on price, though at less than $200, it was much less expensive than either of the Canon options. What sold me? The macro function. I had it on the lens on my old Pentax film SLR, and I really like being able to shoot close-ups of flowers.

Like this one I shot on Coronado Island:

Or this one at the San Diego Wild Animal Park:

So now I can get close up on David and Douglas, when they are not paying attention to me with the camera, as well as get close-up shots of birds and animals.

Doug, Coronado

Doug and Dave, La Jolla

Doug and Dave, at the William Heath Davis House in the Gaslamp District

San Diego Wild Animal Park – Cheetah

Elephants

A one-day old giraffe and his mother

And seals, La Jolla

Worth every cent.

[tags] Tamron, telephoto lens, San Diego, La Jolla, seals, San Diego Wild Animal Park, panda, cheetah, elephant [/tags]

Nice weather for ducks

04.29.2008 by Susan Getgood //

In our backyard this morning:

Also in our backyard:

Which is why the ducks are gone.

Magic, the cat, finally started to stalk them, so I had to intervene. The ducks flew away, and I doubt they’ll be picking our yard for their nest.

Photos were taken with my new Tamron telephoto lens, through the glass window of the slider. I forgot to readjust white balance on the first shot from indoor to shade which is why the grass seems so much bluer than in the subsequent photos. More on Flickr.

[tags] ducks, Tamron, telephoto lens [/tags]

SLR nOOb, a continuing saga by the Uncle

12.18.2007 by the Uncle //

Continuing my story of learning to use my new Nikon D40…. I am still somewhat boggled by the numerous settings possible. I knew I would be, of course, but in ways it turns out even more confusing for me than I had expected. Even the “auto” settings have adjustments that can be made.

But I am actually starting to pick up a few things.

“Metering” for example. This looks at the available lighting and lets the camera choose just how to adjust for differing conditions. MOST of the time, having this set to “matrix” seems to work best, especially in low-light, outdoor shots.

“Center-weighted” takes into account the whole scene but gives the center of the frame more priority, and sometimes gets better results. I am still trying to figure out exactly WHEN this is the case- right now it is hit or miss for me.

“Spot” only looks at light level on just what is the center of focus. I have yet to get better results with this for any pictures yet, although I am sure there ARE circumstances when it will.

Part of my difficulty lies in the fact that I am so deeply OUT of practice with a good camera. So many settings, so few that I really remember what has what effect.

Spot metering MIGHT get the best results for some of the pictures I have taken if I had other settings adjusted differently. However, with the plethora of combinations available for just the AUTO settings, I am trying to isolate just a few to get the hang of at once so spot metering will have to wait.

Right now my main focus…. (sorry for the pun) has been on exposure and speed, and getting decent light levels in my photos. I am having some decent results with this although lately my subject matter has not really been picture-worthy, which is why I am posting none.

Next time!