Tag Archives: canon

Auto-focusing a Canon EF 135mm f/2L with the Sigma MC-21 on a Panasonic S5 II

When I searched myself before getting the Sigma MC-21 EF adapter I didn’t find much information on using this particular combination, so I thought I’d report my findings. This is not a scientific test, just my impressions after using it for a while, and comparing it subjectively to a 5D mark IV. I’ve also tried it out on the original S5.

In short – it works fairly well in photo mode on the S5 II, but not as quickly as a 5D, and you should use continuous AF mode to avoid contrast-detect AF. It is basically unusable on the original S5 and thus the S1, S1H and all micro four thirds models older than the G9 mark II.

For video I wouldn’t consider it usable outside of a controlled environment – it’s too noisy and slow, and I couldn’t get it to work as well as it does in photo mode with continuous AF (C-AF).

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5 tips on travelling with a wide-angle lens

Three years ago, on a bit of a whim, I bought a Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens. The action was probably symptomatic of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, but I’ve fortunately managed to keep it under control since – I’m still using the same set of lenses I bought around that time!
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

It was a pricey item, and to this day I don’t really know what possessed me to spend such a sum on a piece of glass that I didn’t really know how to use. What’s more, I wasn’t sure I’d use it regularly. But all the pictures in this article were taken with it, and these days it hardly leaves the camera.

Others have asked me about wide angle photography, and I’ve even loaned my 10-22 out a couple of times, so I thought it was about time I put down some words about traveling with a wide angle lens.

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E-P1, and new Canons with less pixels!

I posted a while back about the then yet-to-be-released Olympus E-P1. Since then it’s been reviewed by practically every major site, and generally the reviews have been very favourable. But it takes good pictures and has no competition, so of course they would be. This is a new class of camera which clearly takes much better pictures than a point ‘n shoot but lags way behind DSLRs in many respects, particularly in speed and focusing (and to a much lesser degree image quality). Maybe my expectations were a bit high, but I did expect startup times, focusing speed and general performance to be better than bargain basement plastic fantastic cameras.

I think this class of camera will improve a lot once competition starts, and I’m particularly interested to see what Panasonic, who also make micro four thirds cameras, will release. It would also be good to see Canon and Nikon come up with similar compact non-SLR large-sensor camera systems. So for now I’ll stick with my trusty 40D.

Review links:

Canon also recently refreshed their compact lineup, and two of the new models are of particular interest.

The S90 looks like a decent competitor to the LX3, as it also has an f/2.0 lens and a similar pixel density but a larger zoom – a more conventional 28-105mm as opposed to the LX3’s 24-60mm. The reviews will be very interesting once the embargo on this one is lifted.

The G11 also looks like a big step forward. This one actually has a third less megapixels than the model it replaces, the G10. It seems marketing has finally listened to engineering, and they’ve decided to reduce the resolution in order to provide better light sensitivity instead of cramming in more noisy pixels than we need. Bravo!

So after drooling after the LX3 and then the E-P1, I now don’t have a clue what my next camera will be. But I like where things are heading.

My new toy


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Originally uploaded by Al404

I’ve been getting into my photography recently – I’ve had an SLR camera (a Canon 350D)  for a long time but haven’t really used it as much as I could have. What better way to reinvigorate my love for photography than buy new gear?

I started quite modestly, replacing the kit lens of my 350D with a Canon 17-85mm which really makes it a whole new camera as it’s a much nicer lens. Next I bought the cheapest possible prime lens, the 50mm F1.8 II. So far so good.

But then I bought a 40D. Followed by a 70-200mm F4L lens. And before you can blink I’ve spent over $3k NZD…

Ah well, it was nice having money while it lasted. You can see the results of my purchase on Flickr, although you’ll need to be a friend to see them all.