My first camera was a Kodac Instamatic which I no longer have. My second camera was a Canon AE-1 which I still have. My third camera was Canon SX40 HS which I still have. My fourth camera is a Canon 6D.
In hindsight one might say my Instamatic was my travelling camera. I bought it in the 1960's and in 1971 to 1972 I went once around the world with it.
When my son was born in 1977 I decided to upgrade to an SLR in order to take better quality pictures of his growing up and whatever else I might have occasion to photograph. A friend of mine had a Pentax K-1000 so I thought it might make a good camera for me. A saleman in a camera store who had fifteen years experience working in a photo lab suggested my considering the AE-1. He pointed out I could use it in either automatic mode or in manual mode whereas the Pentax could only be used in manual mode. I thought his advice made sense so I bought the AE-1. In time I bought four more lenses for it and a flash that I could use as a bounce flash.
When I finally decided to get a digital camera, I just wanted digital images to view on my computer monitor or tv screen. I chose the SX40 HS because it had a wide zoom range so I didn't need to buy several lenses and it had a hot shoe so I would be able to bounce flash if I purchased an external flash. I considered a DSLR at the time but I learned I could not use my old AE-1 lenses on a modern Canon DSLR. I was also disappointed to learn I could not use my old Canon flash as it was not compatible with modern Canon cameras. After buying the camera, it took me about a year to decide which flash to buy. I bought a 430EX II to use on the SX40 HS.
With the SX40 HS I at least learned how much different digital was compared to film. I was no longer dependent on someone developing my film and someone printing photographs and I didn't need to go back later if I wanted to crop to produce a different print. After about a year with the camera I started to learn more about what the camera couldn't do. After much investigation I decided to make the jump to a full frame. I chose the 6D for its image quality and its lower price (for a full frame).
I, of course, bought the 6D with the 24-105 at the super combined price. I then added the 40mm 2.8 followed by the 200mm 2.8. I then chose to buy the 1.4x III and the 2x III to use on the 200mm instead of buying perhaps one or both of the 300mm f4 IS or the 400mm f5.6 lenses. In addition, along the way, I added the 17-40 when it was on a super deal at over a 25% discount.
So far the 40mm and the 200mm have had the most use on the camera. The 40mm has been used for taking people pictures and the 200mm for taking wildlife pictures. My standard wildlife setup is now the 200mm with the 2x III attached.
When I purchased the 6D I was planning to purchase prime lenses for their IQ and crop in post production to make the prime lens a one-way zoom lens. I was hoping I could heavily crop an image without losing IQ and I am now satisfied to crop to 100% to frame the image as I want (particularly with birds). I am using the DxO software.
Within half an hour from where I live there is an amazing area for wildlife on the shore of Lake Ontario. It's called the Leslie Spit or Tommy Thompson Park. I have spent part of a day there almost every weekend this summer. I have the camera with the 200mm and 2x III set at f8 and 1/1000 with auto ISO. When I get a picture of a new bird or butterfly, I usually need to go look it up on the internet to identify what it is. It's been fun for the outing by the lake in the summer sun, it's been fun to go home and learn from the shots I have taken as well to crop the shots that turned out well and it's been fun to learn more about the wildlife whose pictures I have captured. I have even managed to get some birds in flight in focus with this setup on the 6D.
I continue to learn and that what makes this whole experience fun for me along with the results I am getting.
I know what my next step will be. Does anyone care to take a guess?
In hindsight one might say my Instamatic was my travelling camera. I bought it in the 1960's and in 1971 to 1972 I went once around the world with it.
When my son was born in 1977 I decided to upgrade to an SLR in order to take better quality pictures of his growing up and whatever else I might have occasion to photograph. A friend of mine had a Pentax K-1000 so I thought it might make a good camera for me. A saleman in a camera store who had fifteen years experience working in a photo lab suggested my considering the AE-1. He pointed out I could use it in either automatic mode or in manual mode whereas the Pentax could only be used in manual mode. I thought his advice made sense so I bought the AE-1. In time I bought four more lenses for it and a flash that I could use as a bounce flash.
When I finally decided to get a digital camera, I just wanted digital images to view on my computer monitor or tv screen. I chose the SX40 HS because it had a wide zoom range so I didn't need to buy several lenses and it had a hot shoe so I would be able to bounce flash if I purchased an external flash. I considered a DSLR at the time but I learned I could not use my old AE-1 lenses on a modern Canon DSLR. I was also disappointed to learn I could not use my old Canon flash as it was not compatible with modern Canon cameras. After buying the camera, it took me about a year to decide which flash to buy. I bought a 430EX II to use on the SX40 HS.
With the SX40 HS I at least learned how much different digital was compared to film. I was no longer dependent on someone developing my film and someone printing photographs and I didn't need to go back later if I wanted to crop to produce a different print. After about a year with the camera I started to learn more about what the camera couldn't do. After much investigation I decided to make the jump to a full frame. I chose the 6D for its image quality and its lower price (for a full frame).
I, of course, bought the 6D with the 24-105 at the super combined price. I then added the 40mm 2.8 followed by the 200mm 2.8. I then chose to buy the 1.4x III and the 2x III to use on the 200mm instead of buying perhaps one or both of the 300mm f4 IS or the 400mm f5.6 lenses. In addition, along the way, I added the 17-40 when it was on a super deal at over a 25% discount.
So far the 40mm and the 200mm have had the most use on the camera. The 40mm has been used for taking people pictures and the 200mm for taking wildlife pictures. My standard wildlife setup is now the 200mm with the 2x III attached.
When I purchased the 6D I was planning to purchase prime lenses for their IQ and crop in post production to make the prime lens a one-way zoom lens. I was hoping I could heavily crop an image without losing IQ and I am now satisfied to crop to 100% to frame the image as I want (particularly with birds). I am using the DxO software.
Within half an hour from where I live there is an amazing area for wildlife on the shore of Lake Ontario. It's called the Leslie Spit or Tommy Thompson Park. I have spent part of a day there almost every weekend this summer. I have the camera with the 200mm and 2x III set at f8 and 1/1000 with auto ISO. When I get a picture of a new bird or butterfly, I usually need to go look it up on the internet to identify what it is. It's been fun for the outing by the lake in the summer sun, it's been fun to go home and learn from the shots I have taken as well to crop the shots that turned out well and it's been fun to learn more about the wildlife whose pictures I have captured. I have even managed to get some birds in flight in focus with this setup on the 6D.
I continue to learn and that what makes this whole experience fun for me along with the results I am getting.
I know what my next step will be. Does anyone care to take a guess?
