Urgh, It's been a while hasn't it? I'm so sorry but I'm afraid it's another photography post, despite I normally post stuff like this on my Fotopages. Sorry!
Anyway, I've been looking into replacing my retarded "kit" lens for ages. The kit lens is really terrible in terms of poor resolution, relatively slow speed & distortion. I was considering getting the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 with Optical Stabilisation - yet to be released, unfortunately.
Lately, Puan Mama Sarah has been asking if it's okay for her to get a Nikon D40 for herself. She's been into photography too - especially taking pictures of the children & of food. I was seriously considering to get Puan Mama Sarah the Nikon D40 (around 250 pounds) and the 18-200mm VR (around 500 pounds) and the Nikon 50mm 1.8 prime (around 60 pounds) totalling to around 800 pounds.
At first, to me buying a new DSLR is okay especially to support Puan Mama Sarah's hobbies. Talking to most of my friends though, they all say that it's a waste of money to buy another DSLR, but of a different brand. We might as well buy a new lens. You could get a nice L lens for less than 800 pounds.
Well, the rest is history. For Puan Mama Sarah, I present the Canon EF 24-105mm F4L IS USM. It arrived today, only a 3 day wait. We tested the lens in Jessops and were both so impressed with it that I felt I just had to get it (word of warning Arep & Rosli, DON'T test this lens!)
The lens came supplied with a carrying pouch, a petal type lens hood and the instruction manual.
This is the new L lens compared to my old 18-55mm kit lens. Notice that the 24-105mm L is significantly bigger, wider and heavier...
... but, it is also way better constructed with weather resistance, metal mounts, metal body etc2. My kit lens is not yet obsolete though, as I still need it for the wide 18-23mm lengths.
Let's put the new lens to the test:
The 24-105mm L is sharp and has good resolution.
Colours are very nicely conveyed.
I finally have longer reach with 105 mm but I found that even at that length, it is not long enough to take good close ups of wild life. The range of 100-400mm would be better.
At 105mm F4, the background is rendered nicely blurry (also called bokeh). Having Image Stabilisation really helps as well - especially in my unsteady, caffeine perfused, hands. I find that at 105mm, a speed of 1/13 would be sufficient for sharp pictures - not bad eh?
Am I happy to have this lens? Yeah, I'm kind of happy.
I'm happy to finally get a sharp lens, with quite good zoom range from 24-105mm and with Image Stabilisation. However, I cannot help but feel the best money-to-performance ratio would be the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8:
The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 (example image above) has excellent resolution and quite fast at F2.8. It's branded as a macro lens as well and the picture above was taken at the closest focusing distance.
Compare with a shot using the 50mm F1.8 prime lens, below:
and finally the 18-55mm kit:
Anyway, can't wait to further experiment with the new lens.
11 comments:
De ja vu. Several occasions before it had been the same situation: you wanting to get Nisak something and in the end, after lots of thinking over, and the owl's advice, you'd be buying something for yourself, hehe
Is Nisak really serious into photography? Wah
mamasarah ala2 ANTM model lah! give me moody, give me passion, give me fire!
Ahhhh .... another photography-related post! Best! Making me itch to buy that D40X. Now ..... where's that pot of gold?? Hmmm ....
Ahhh....another photography-related post! And I dont know what to comment....;)
congratulations on the purchase. mamasarah, you just focus on the 5D.
Istighfar panjang baca Ikelah's comment!!! Boleh beli sebuah kereta tu!
dith
most of the pictures above, and most of the pictures in the last 1-2 months on puan mama sarah's blogs were taken by herself. Q.E.D. ('nuff said).
anne
eh tak muat hidung nanti puan mama sarah
moby
bear in mind that the D40 family requires new types of lenses - ones that requires CPU chip inside of the lenses themselves. reason is, to make the body small, the D40 doesn't have a motor to drive the lenses. Incompatibility with old lenses was what led us not to get the D40 for puan mama sarah in the end.
pycno
sorry mate! i'll lessen photo related posts in the future (and paste it on my fotopages instead).
puan
2 kereta pun boleh agaknya
Mynn, I tell you...sooner or later, this blog WILL become your Fotopages heheh...
...and the same might extend to The Puan also :P
Mynn, congratulations on the new lens purchase and sorry mama sara didn't get her D40. Good also because I think it'd be better if you give her ur 400D and buy a 30D or 5D for urself. Then you can share the lenses. I thought u bought the 28-300mm L IS. Dah terperanjat dah.
In my own opinion, there's not many difference between 350D n 400D. I got myself a telelens 75-300mm. The image stabiliser is a great help I have to agree.
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