So what kinda gear did Santa bring you this year?

[daveheinzel]

My fiancee got me a Canon EOS 3 as a Christmas/Wedding present. She's knows how much I love cameras. I've had a EOS 3 on my amazon wish list for about a year. I didn't get into photography until the digital age but I really think there is value in shooting with film. So I plan to go on walks and use my 30 or so exposures wisely and hopefully learn a lot about thoughtful composition. I love it!

That's awesome - I also got an EOS 3 for Christmas (a little early)! I love it. I have a 7D and love it to death, but I've been using an old AE-1 for film alongside it, and it's been a bummer to not be able to use my nice lenses with film. Now I can, and it's amazing. I'm shooting and developing Ilford HP5 film myself, then scanning in the negatives. Digital is great, and film is great. But I'd hate to have to choose just one.

My first roll (albeit not fantastic) is here: http://www.daveheinzel.com/?id=2_53

[tron]

II guess you meant the whole year (not just Christmas)

TS-E24mm L II
EF100-400mm L IS
EF70-200 2.8L IS II (this came Dec 21st, so I think of it as my Christmas present to myself!)

Nah I meant more just the month of December, but either way those are some nice choices.  Still haven't had a chance to play with a tilt shift, how are they?

It is a sharp lens. Up to now I have used only the Shift function. It is much much better than trying to fix converging verticals in software. I have tried to fix converging verticals in my Zeiss 21mm and I would say that the resulting lines were NOT 100% straight afterwards!!! You have to take a metering before shift and then use manual metering and look at the histogram. Exposure compensation is of little use as we are talking of a 4 stops difference !

As far as the Christmas lens it was the 70-200 2.8L IS II.  I have just used it inside at 2.8 to photograph a
friend's baby. The light was so low that I used my 50mm 1.8  a lot.

So no opinion yet. I suspect however that IS is not that great as on my 70-200 f/4L IS but this may be because it is a heavy lens. I will have to check on this...

[AcinonyxJG]

Canon EOS 60D with a 18-55mm kit lens, I absolutely love it, my first camera (I strongly dislike compact cameras and the 60D is the easiest-to-understand and best layed out camera I have ever used) I am getting the hang of the more basic functions, starting to have a look at more advanced settings.  I'm also going to get a Crumpler cupcake 7500 camera bag (don't let the cupcake part fool you, it's very good)

My birthday in February, hopefully a tripod (among a few cheaper things) on the way...

[scrappydog]

I just treated myself to the 70-200 f/2.8 IS L II.  I already have the 70-200 f/4 IS L, which is amazing.  I hope the 2.8 is everything I have imagined it will be.

[AcinonyxJG]

I just treated myself to the 70-200 f/2.8 IS L II.  I already have the 70-200 f/4 IS L, which is amazing.  I hope the 2.8 is everything I have imagined it will be.

One lens I will almost definately want to buy...a lot of money saving to do I think

[crjiro]

I had a good year, so I spoiled myself a bit:
14mm f/2.8L II
27" iMac 3.1, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD 6gb/s
1TB Lacie Thunderbolt drive
Dynamic Perception motorized dolly

I highly recommend that anyone with a 2010 or 2011 imac do Other World Computing's imac turnkey program.  Solid states make such an insane difference i cant even describe it, but i guarantee it will speed up your workflow tremendously.  Happy holidays

Wow. That is a major haul. Happy for you.
I hope you share your experiences with the DP. I would like to jump to motorized someday.
Since you have most of the L primes, was getting the 14L pretty much 'might as well get the whole line-up' or 'i really am needing it since the 16-35 lacks something'?

I received a 24L/1.4 II for the holidays. I am very happy with it.

Well I've had the 16-35 II for a while (last zoom I have left, had 24-70 and 70-200 f/2.8 IS).  I only got the 14mm because it was an exceptionally good deal, $1100 in mint condition with the box and everything.  It's an awesome lens, I just never could bring myself to pay $1800-$2000 for such a wide lens, especially since I already had the 16-35mm. 

I think I'm going to end up getting rid of the 16-35mm for the 24 1.4 II or the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8, as much as I love it I just dont see myself using it much with the 14 on hand.  I rarely used the 35mm end of the 16-35mm, usually just 16-20.  The 24mm is a gorgeous lens, congrats!

As for the DP dolly, I'm looking forward to traveling with it, my goal is to do time lapses at as many of the wonders of the world as I can (great pyramids, stonehenge, etc.).  It was backordered for 3 weeks and I ordered it December 9th, hopefully it will be here soon.  I'll let you know how it works out.

Oh yeah, you have to jump on that deal (14mm). The best TLs i've seen with that ultra clarity have been with the 14L and 24L. The concern i have with DP or any of the others dollys is the mobility.

[Axilrod]

I had a good year, so I spoiled myself a bit:
14mm f/2.8L II
27" iMac 3.1, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD 6gb/s
1TB Lacie Thunderbolt drive
Dynamic Perception motorized dolly

I highly recommend that anyone with a 2010 or 2011 imac do Other World Computing's imac turnkey program.  Solid states make such an insane difference i cant even describe it, but i guarantee it will speed up your workflow tremendously.  Happy holidays

Wow. That is a major haul. Happy for you.
I hope you share your experiences with the DP. I would like to jump to motorized someday.
Since you have most of the L primes, was getting the 14L pretty much 'might as well get the whole line-up' or 'i really am needing it since the 16-35 lacks something'?

I received a 24L/1.4 II for the holidays. I am very happy with it.

Well I've had the 16-35 II for a while (last zoom I have left, had 24-70 and 70-200 f/2.8 IS).  I only got the 14mm because it was an exceptionally good deal, $1100 in mint condition with the box and everything.  It's an awesome lens, I just never could bring myself to pay $1800-$2000 for such a wide lens, especially since I already had the 16-35mm. 

I think I'm going to end up getting rid of the 16-35mm for the 24 1.4 II or the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8, as much as I love it I just dont see myself using it much with the 14 on hand.  I rarely used the 35mm end of the 16-35mm, usually just 16-20.  The 24mm is a gorgeous lens, congrats!

As for the DP dolly, I'm looking forward to traveling with it, my goal is to do time lapses at as many of the wonders of the world as I can (great pyramids, stonehenge, etc.).  It was backordered for 3 weeks and I ordered it December 9th, hopefully it will be here soon.  I'll let you know how it works out.

Oh yeah, you have to jump on that deal (14mm). The best TLs i've seen with that ultra clarity have been with the 14L and 24L. The concern i have with DP or any of the others dollys is the mobility.

I've heard that the DP is not bad at all and pretty easy to carry along on hikes.  I'm pretty sure it comes apart to make transportation easier.  I'm still curious, they said they'd send me the other $500 of the bill when it was ready to ship but I haven't heard anything yet.

[Axilrod]

Santa gave me a IOU for two new L lenses.  I now have to decide which one I get at least one of them before the Jan 7th rebate season is over.  First I am hoping to get a 35 1.4L II assuming it is announced in January.

Next I am debating to get either the 100L IS Macro or the 135L.  I had the 135L in my collection for a breif moment until I decided to swap it for the 70-200 2.8L ISII zoom.  However I miss the 135 and regret parting with it.

I know the 100 and the 135 are two different lenses, but just looking to expand the type of lenses I have.

I remember shooting at an event with the 70-200 2.8 IS (v1) and the 135mm and when I was going through the pictures there were some that I thought were from the 135mm for sure and ended up being from the 70-200.  And considering how much better V2 is of that lens I think you would be better off with the 100mm Macro is a lot of fun....one of the few lenses I regret selling.  IS works incredibly well (only one with hybrid IS), its super sharp and the bokeh is beautiful. 

At the same time, that Zeiss 100mm is sick, I think it would be worth taking a look at if you can live without AF.

[JR]

Santa gave me a IOU for two new L lenses.  I now have to decide which one I get at least one of them before the Jan 7th rebate season is over.  First I am hoping to get a 35 1.4L II assuming it is announced in January.

Next I am debating to get either the 100L IS Macro or the 135L.  I had the 135L in my collection for a breif moment until I decided to swap it for the 70-200 2.8L ISII zoom.  However I miss the 135 and regret parting with it.

I know the 100 and the 135 are two different lenses, but just looking to expand the type of lenses I have.

I remember shooting at an event with the 70-200 2.8 IS (v1) and the 135mm and when I was going through the pictures there were some that I thought were from the 135mm for sure and ended up being from the 70-200.  And considering how much better V2 is of that lens I think you would be better off with the 100mm Macro is a lot of fun....one of the few lenses I regret selling.  IS works incredibly well (only one with hybrid IS), its super sharp and the bokeh is beautiful. 

At the same time, that Zeiss 100mm is sick, I think it would be worth taking a look at if you can live without AF.

Thanks I will have a look at the Zeiss.  I was leaning toward the 100 macro as well for the fun factor and also for getting different.  For the 135. I agree with you that the 70-200 2.8IS II zoom is almost on par with the 135, but my motivation here is to get something lighter when I have to carry it a bit.  I was even considerign adding the 70-200 f$ at one point just for the weight factor.  I love the 70-200 2.8IS II but was only looking for something lighter for some occation.

However while I dont yet do macro, I think I would enjoy doing some from time to time so the 100 macro lenses might get the first vote indeed!

 

[hoousi]

Merry Xmas to everybody, my 1st post as a canon follower.

Santa was awesome this year:
- 5D mkII (couldn't resist the deal and traded my Nikon D90, wasn't heavily invested in lenses), finally FF
- Sigma 50 1.4 with good focus
- 16-35 L II (was debating this vs 24 1.4 as first wide option, will get the 24 for my bday in march)
- Hoya pro UV Filter

I got fed up waiting for the next gen FF (mk3 and d800) and after reading they may be over 30 mpix I got scared about high iso and took the plunge, though actually I could be labeled as Nikon fanboy usually, but only because of the 14-24...

[scrappydog]

One lens I will almost definately want to buy...a lot of money saving to do I think

I spent more on the 2.8 (plus UV filter) than I did on my first car.     Good luck with the 60D!  You will enjoy it.

[Axilrod]

Santa gave me a IOU for two new L lenses.  I now have to decide which one I get at least one of them before the Jan 7th rebate season is over.  First I am hoping to get a 35 1.4L II assuming it is announced in January.

Next I am debating to get either the 100L IS Macro or the 135L.  I had the 135L in my collection for a breif moment until I decided to swap it for the 70-200 2.8L ISII zoom.  However I miss the 135 and regret parting with it.

I know the 100 and the 135 are two different lenses, but just looking to expand the type of lenses I have.

I remember shooting at an event with the 70-200 2.8 IS (v1) and the 135mm and when I was going through the pictures there were some that I thought were from the 135mm for sure and ended up being from the 70-200.  And considering how much better V2 is of that lens I think you would be better off with the 100mm Macro is a lot of fun....one of the few lenses I regret selling.  IS works incredibly well (only one with hybrid IS), its super sharp and the bokeh is beautiful. 

At the same time, that Zeiss 100mm is sick, I think it would be worth taking a look at if you can live without AF.

Thanks I will have a look at the Zeiss.  I was leaning toward the 100 macro as well for the fun factor and also for getting different.  For the 135. I agree with you that the 70-200 2.8IS II zoom is almost on par with the 135, but my motivation here is to get something lighter when I have to carry it a bit.  I was even considerign adding the 70-200 f$ at one point just for the weight factor.  I love the 70-200 2.8IS II but was only looking for something lighter for some occation.

However while I dont yet do macro, I think I would enjoy doing some from time to time so the 100 macro lenses might get the first vote indeed!

 

Ahh I forgot about the size of the 135mm, this is a very good point.  As soon as you bust out the 70-200 everyone starts fixing their hair/looking nervous, but the 135mm doesn't look that long at all : ). 

I think you'll have fun with the 100L Macro or the Zeiss 100mm.  The Zeiss 100mm is significantly more expensive, but it's the only ZE lens with Master Prime optics (Master primes are cinema lenses that are like $20k/each).  It separates the subject from the background so well that it almost gives the picture a 3D effect. 

[Mendolera]

Santa (aka wife) upgraded my 50mm F1.8 to the 1.4 and also got the 85mm F1.8.. with a pair of B+W UVs for each.. Probably see if I can get a few bucks for the 1.8 on Craigslist now

Hoping my late January b-day will bring the 35mm F1.4 II if released

[jasonsim]

Hi,  Santa was great to me this year (I really bought all of these for me self):

5D MKII
14mm II
24mm TS-E II
16-35mm II
Sigma 50mm 1.4
B+W 82mm XS-Pro MRC nano circular polarizer
Thinktank Airport Addicted

Sold a 300mm f/2.8L IS to help get some of the above and now selling a 200mm f/2L IS.  I might want an 85mm f/1.2L II instead of that big white beast.

Earlier in the year I got the 200mm f/2L IS, 500mm f/4L IS, 135mm f/2L and 35mm f/1.4L
--Jason

And with some of the money I received for Xmas and my b-day (12/24), I ordered the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II from BH.  Cannot wait for it to arrive!  The 200mm f/2L IS is on Ebay now.

[RonQ]

A price increase on the 5D mkII