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May 21, 2013, 01:25:38 PM
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Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
« on: February 22, 2013, 01:55:16 AM »
Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Roadster at the Toronto International Auto Show by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
Click the image for my Toronto International Car Show Review
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Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
« on: February 19, 2013, 11:27:48 PM »
Solar Wind by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
Orange Tree by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
The Crystaline Entity by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
Burlington Skyway by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
Tree of Solitude by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
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Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Is it hard not to buy 3rd party lenses now?
« on: December 27, 2012, 10:10:27 PM »Being from Canada, Canon has now blocked my ability to purchase in the USA. Stores in the USA are not free to sell to purchasers with Canadian credit cards. I really resent this attack on my freedom. So I may switch to Sigma for some purchases. I may pick up the new 35 mm and keep my eye on their new Art line offerings.
I realize this does not work for all Canadians BUT if you live near the border there is a workaround. Rent a US mailbox at somewhere like Mailboxes Etc. It costs about $100 a year. Now that you've done that you have an American mailing address. Guess what that makes you eligible for? An American credit card! Oh, and you also have an American address to claim warranty work too. Plus there are a lot of sellers on big forums like POTN that will only ship CONUS (lazy buggers), now you have a CONUS address. If you do enough shopping the mailbox can easily pay for itself. If I've bought something that I want to keep the packaging for, the retail box of a camera for example, I just fold it down and take it to the USPS and have the packaging shipped home. The gear is packed as if it's mine. Cause it is. Yeah the hassle of the drive blah blah blah-make a day of it. For example, I live about 45 minutes from the Buffalo/Niagara border. In an evening after work I can go down pick up my stuff at the mailbox and then hit the Anchor Bar for much better wings than I'm gonna get this side of the border and be home in bed by 9. Sometimes I'll hit the Galleria for some shoes and wear them back across with the old ones in the trunk. Shoes are WAY more in Canada than they are in the US. That's just one additional way of making the trip worthwhile with very little risk at the border, there are several more - many grocery items are cheaper (diapers) so pick up one or two things. When at the border and you're asked what you did - "took pics of the kids on the US side of the falls (thus the camera gear), had dinner at the Anchor Bar(wherever) and bought some diapers." They'll wave you through. Remember to fill the gas tank on the US side. Between the principle of being screwed around by retailers/manufacturers and their greedy distribution practices that I do not agree with, plus saving a considerable amount of money and making it an enjoyable day in grand ol' Buffalo it's well worth it to me.
That said, camera prices are getting better in Canada as retailers/distributors/manufacturers appear to be realizing people are wising up up here. Plus Sigma's Canada warranty is great and Gentec is a peach to deal with.
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Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Is it hard not to buy 3rd party lenses now?
« on: December 23, 2012, 01:57:02 PM »
It's an interesting position to be in as a consumer, lots of good points on both sides have been made here making that position all the more complicated/better. It's complicated because when we buy something many of us like to feel we are buying "the best" whatever that happens to mean. It's better because as consumers it is a win win the majority of the time.
I had all Sigma EX gear. If I'm honest it was adequate for my needs, sort of. I pushed my needs by wanting that little bit more that the comparable Canon models offered. This comparison was unfair of me for a reason I've seen come up here a few times. I compared my old Sigmas to the new Canon stuff. How well is a Sigma 70-200 from the late 90s going to fare against the new MkII? Exactly. Will the new 35L, when it comes, be better than Sigma's? I'm gonna say probably.
I do think the majority of times, as a whole, the first party equivalent lens is the better choice but there are exceptions for sure. Oh, also, an earlier poster mentioned Zeiss in this lot. I don't think they're an example that fits the intended discussion.
Lastly, Tokina 11-16 over the Canon 10-22 under most circumstances, specifically sharpness.
I had all Sigma EX gear. If I'm honest it was adequate for my needs, sort of. I pushed my needs by wanting that little bit more that the comparable Canon models offered. This comparison was unfair of me for a reason I've seen come up here a few times. I compared my old Sigmas to the new Canon stuff. How well is a Sigma 70-200 from the late 90s going to fare against the new MkII? Exactly. Will the new 35L, when it comes, be better than Sigma's? I'm gonna say probably.
I do think the majority of times, as a whole, the first party equivalent lens is the better choice but there are exceptions for sure. Oh, also, an earlier poster mentioned Zeiss in this lot. I don't think they're an example that fits the intended discussion.
Lastly, Tokina 11-16 over the Canon 10-22 under most circumstances, specifically sharpness.
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Animal Kingdom / Re: MY dog
« on: November 26, 2012, 10:53:42 PM »My GSD olga. She is no longer with us.Love the B&W of Olga, RL... Great image, her eyes are epic!
Agreed, gorgeous picture of a beautiful dog. Sorry to hear of your loss RLPhoto.
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Animal Kingdom / Re: Red Squirrels and other Scottish Wildlife
« on: November 20, 2012, 05:43:21 PM »
Very nice! Well done, thank you for sharing.
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Animal Kingdom / Re: MY dog
« on: November 20, 2012, 05:42:10 PM »
An update:
Kimi in the Yard, Again [Explored June 11th, 2012 #10] by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
Kimi in the Yard, Again [Explored June 11th, 2012 #10] by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
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Animal Kingdom / Re: Wild grizzly bear, Glacier National Park
« on: November 20, 2012, 05:29:05 PM »
It was either another bear or a new species - Bearapillar! Looking forward to seeing more from the series.
Looking forward to seeing more from the series.
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Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
« on: November 17, 2012, 03:12:56 PM »the Canon 10-22 is likely the best ef-s lens they have made... even though one it was one of the first ..... solid, sharp...accurate, repeatable focus
the 16-35 II on a 5D II was a little better....
but the 10-22 is the best Canon wide for the 1.6 crop cameras
I'm not sure about that. And I mean that literally, I am undecided. I sold the Tokina 11-16 to get this lens and I do miss the Tokina's sharpness. It was, by no small margin, sharper than the 10-22. I also found the 2.8 of the Tokina occasionally handy, yeah not a landscape feature but still, I did use it a couple times for other types of shots. There were two major reasons I switched to the Canon 10-22, the first was that the Tokina is a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE flare monster. I got moon flare from it. Not kidding, moon flare. Bad moon flare. I had intended to do more wide night shooting in urban environments and the Tokina is not up to that. Maybe the new version with coated element(s)? will solve that. The other problem I had the Tokina is that it's as near a prime as a zoom can get. The 10-22 has much better flare control and the zoom range on the is much more versatile. I still haven't got around to that night shooting. Anyway, this post is not to nitpick at either lens but to say that one or the other is a very viable alternative depending on what you shoot and what you want. Now if the 10-22 was as sharp as the Tokina and had a fixed aperture, even f4 would be cool, I wouldn't miss the Tokina for a second.
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Lens Gallery / Re: Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
« on: November 14, 2012, 10:16:31 PM »
Holy crap extremeinstability! Great stuff!!
I feel silly posting this now but I'm here so I may as well...
Peck Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
I feel silly posting this now but I'm here so I may as well...
Peck Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr