Unboxing: 50mm F1.8

I was pleasantly surprised to discover a package literally lying on my doorstep this morning (however, I was shocked that the postman had the nerve to just leave the package unsigned, and unattended. We didn't even hear a doorbell!)

As usual, I love to post pictures of the package being opened to bits.


Heh heh heh, can you guess what's inside? The box reads EF 50mm F1.8.


Yes, a new lens! At just £60 including postage and packaging, the EF 50mm 1.8 is probably one of the most cost effective Canon lens, and shared wisdom says it's one of the best lenses to buy. The optical quality is apparently excellent for the money (producing sharp images). Furthermore, the lens is also one of the fastest for the money, being able to catch tremendous amounts of light at F1.8.


Test image 1: I am finally able to produce very nice depth of field effects, and pleasantly blurred backgrounds as in the picture above.


Test Image 2: the 50mm 1.8 is excellent for portraits - can't wait for further experiments!

The Journey Begins: Unboxing the Canon 400D

Finally, my camera has arrived today! It was delivered by Parcelforce at around 10am. It took Play.com 10 days to deliver from the promised date. However, being 25% cheaper than high street prices I am well satisfied with the purchase :)

Let's get on with the unboxing, shall we?

I was surprised that the Parcelforce box is small and light
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The actual Canon package is wrapped in bubble wrapper. There's also an invoice from Play.com
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The package (getting more excited.....)
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The first layer inside the box contains the discs and instruction manuals (which I've already read way in advance thanks to the internet)

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All the documentations and discs
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More bubble wrap inside protecting the lens and camera body

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Close up of the insides - you could already see the shape of the camera body, as well as cables for the charger.
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Everything in the box laid out - manuals, discs, battery and cable, video cable, camera strap, camera body and kit lens.
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It deserves another angle :)

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Close up

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The front of the Canon 400D. I was immediately impressed by how light it is yet it feels solid and well crafted.

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The posterior side - notice the BIG 2.5 inch screen :)
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How the camera and lens fits into the camera compartment of the Crumpler bag (plenty of space to spare for extra lenses -- ehem!--)

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Close up of the 400D inside the Crumpler
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This is my previous camera - a 3 megapixel Sony Cybershot. Fun memories indeed and it has served us very well. It's not the end for this camera though, I still see myself using it for adverse weather conditions/places or when I couldn't bother lugging a bigger camera around.
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Can't wait to take a picture (the battery is still charging at the moment)

Thanks for the memories

Another package arrived today, only a tiny one
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It's the compact flash memory card. I got it very cheap on eBay. It's 2 Gb, but unfortunately (according to Uncle De) it's very slow as well ;( hu... probably I should have spent slightly more for a faster one, eh? I wouldn't have mind spending slightly more as I know I'd be using the card for years to come. Oh well ... (however, some studies has shown that a faster memory card doesn't really make all that much of a difference, I don't know)

ps. The memory card is here, but where's the *bleep* camera??

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On a more cheery note, Borakphoto has come up with another assignment entitled "Salam Ramadhan". What an appropriate topic eh? The cool thing ladies and gentlemen, is that Borakphoto's assignments are open to public. The rules are simple really:

1. Anyone could submit a photo, and the photo could be taken using "any kind of camera" ; point and shoot or SLRs. (mobile?)
   
2. To submit, just put a link to your contribution in the comment box.
3. If you submit three or more assignments, you're automatically promoted to a member, and a link to your site would be placed on borakphoto's sidebar.

Simple!

The assignment has really got my brain spinning and storming for ideas. Pity in this country there are not many beautiful mosques as in Malaysia ;(

I would really2 like to encourage my blog readers - especially those who are even remotely interested in photography- to submit photos as well, especially YOU GUYS : O-K (&KKL), Uncle De, Ikelah <- (show em how it's done Ikelah!), Moby, Dyanna, Xitayx, and ?Pycno? I would really like to see how you guys would interpret the assignment. Let's work on it guys! -Mynn is in brainstorm mode- (but tomorrow in weekend-oncall mode, again!) ;(

Unboxing: Crumpler The Formal Lounge Hybrid Bag

Much to my excitement, a HOOOGE box was awaiting my return from work today:

The box is towering, but surprisingly light.

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Inside, it's well padded and there is a greeting letter from the seller. I recommend him on ebay. The product arrived quickly as promised, and the price is the cheapest within all the sites I scoured on the internet (and high street).

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Meet my new bag. It's a Crumpler bag called (funnily) The Formal Lounge. Opening the pack, I was immediately surprised but how well made the bag looked. I love the colour too.

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The front. The bag exudes quality. The material feels tough and the zips feel durable. Impeccable stitches. Crumpler bags are designed to look like a normal, everyday bag to prevent people from knowing what expensive contents lie inside (no laptop and DSRL in here dude, move on!).
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The back. The recess in between the pads at the back is apparently designed to protect your spine while carrying heavy loads. The Crumpler is well padded - filled to the brim with padding.

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Crumpler. I've always wanted a Crumpler - for almost 2 years! I never thought I could afford one of these, they're mighty expensive. Having said that, I got it on eBay for almost half the price - so it really pays to do research before buying. Puan Mama Sarah have ALWAYS been offering to buy me a Crumpler, for e.g. my birthday or our anniversary. But I've never had the heart to allow Puan Mama Sarah to spend so much money on just a bag.

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Sexy (read the wacky writing!). This time however, Puan Mama Sarah insisted I get the Crumpler -- perhaps she knows how long I've been wanting this. Having bought the DSLR meant we need a proper camera bag as well.

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The camera compartment is located at the bottom of the bag, easily accessible by just unzipping the bottom half. The compartments (pictured above) are further compartmentalised by these velcro fastened straps. There's enough space for the camera body, several lenses, filters and of course film a memory card.

This is the inside of the bag. You could see the laptop pouch on the floor of the bag. Lots of padding inside. I'm surprised though, there's not that much space for stuff. Perhaps enough for a book or two, several chargers and a jumper. Definitely not enough for a medical textbook! (perhaps, a medical textbook by itself is okay).

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My Vaio fitting veeeery snuggly into the laptop pouch. Just nice.
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View of a closed laptop pouch. Notice how thick it makes the anorexic Vaio look? That's because of all the padded layers.

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The Formal Lounge

I am extremely happy with the bag, I'm glad we got it for the camera and laptop. It's very well made, (to me) beautifully designed. My laptop fits very nicely into the pouch and I'm sure the camera compartment is MORE than enough for my photography equipment (that is, once it arrives ..... huu.) A hybrid backpack like this is perfect for my needs, especially on my (previously) frequent travels - it'd be nice to carry both my laptop and camera in one bag, and for photography expeditions, I could just remove the laptop pouch and store other things instead (for example, mosquito repellents).

*beaming* One happy customer here .

Links
1. Another review of the Formal Lounge.
2. An alternative mini-review on Flickr.
2. Review of another Crumpler bag I like: Gadgeteer.

Now all I got to do is wait patiently for the freaking camera!