In January of 2004, my favorite lens (Canon 70-200 IS f2.8) and my Canon 10D met their end.
(long story involving Lance Armstrong, the Postal Team, Sheryl Crow, Robin Williams and Chris)
Canon 10D and Canon 70-200 IS f/2.8
I’ve really missed the lens but I sure haven’t miss the weight so I put off buying a new one.
Last month I finally got a replacement but I bought the non IS, f/4 version. In the old days,
non IS and a large aperture lens were considered a real negative but I figured that might
not be the case today because of the new cameras being able to perform so well at very
high ISOs and so far it hasn’t been. The weight is wonderful and I find the lens to be very
sharp. Another huge plus is the cost which is about 1/3 of the IS version. Canon specs.
Here’s a photo I took late yesterday out of my dining room window with this lens.
Settings were: ISO 400, f5.6, 1/125th sec at 200mm. Hand held, of course 🙂
Ouch! But there’s something cool, isn’t there, about seeing the “guts” of a lens! And your new 70-200 f/4? That’s the one I’ve got and I LOVE it! Not too heavy, and sharp. Now if I could just find a quail and a cactus like yours, I’d be happy . . . — Carol Leigh
Yes…I loved seeing the lens guts. I tried to make a pencil holder out of it but it wasn’t quite deep enough. I’m working on it though. Could be another photo of the day 🙂
The cholla skeleton is something I found a couple of months ago up in Cave Creek. It’s huge..about 6 feet with multiple arms and I was so excited it was for sale (very reasonable too). It’s a perfect fit in the area where I lost my granddaddy Ocotillo. That Ocotillo was a resting spot for so many varieties of birds so I’ve really missed it. So far I’ve had Quail and Flickers test the cholla out. I’m waiting for the Cardinals to give their approval 🙂
Congratulations on your new lens. It does look like a keeper. That’s a gorgeous hand held shot. wow. Thank you also for sharing the broken lens photo with us. I have never seen anything like that. I will look forward to hearing the long story, some day. I didn’t know Quail had those red hats – pretty cool. Actually looks more like he’s peeking out from a helmet. Love it.