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Holiday Gift Guide: Telephoto Zoom Lens

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Okay, okay, this really isn’t a recommended gift, but I’d surely like one of these fantastic Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM lenses. So if you’re feeling really generous this year, gift one my way. That’ll guarantee put you on Santa’s Nice List. Otherwise, you’ll be on Santa’s Naughty List and get a lump of coal as a gift. We don’t want that to happen right?

Who’s Adding a Lytro to their Photo Gear?

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Now this is cool. The Lytro is a camera that doesn’t care about focus when snapping a pic. You can focus your image after it’s captured. I don’t know how it works, but it is really a point and shoot camera. Check out the interactive sample below. Click on different parts of the image to change focus.

Flip Cameras No More

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So Cisco is ending its Flip line of point and shoot video recorders. I’m sorta not surprised after owning a Flip camera.

The Flip is nice and easy to use, but… it isn’t the greatest thing either. It’s portable, and the video quality is good. But you really need to be within a few feet of the subject for good video, and even then, audio is not good. Compared to the video recording of the iPhone 4, I can see how the Flip became expendable. Instead of carrying a Flip and an iPhone, I’d prefer a single device, the iPhone, that has more functionality. That and I much prefer the audio quality of the iPhone recordings.

The moment of change for me was at the ArtSpree event. Granted this hula dancer started doing his thing adjacent to me, but after watching the captured HD video from the iPhone 4, I knew my Filp camera was no more.

Managing Names of Pictures?

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I’m looking for a better way to manage the file names of pictures and images imported into iPhoto. Seems like once imported, it’s too late, and you don’t want to change file names since you’ll mess around with the metadata that iPhoto relies on.

You’d have to change the names of the images before importing to iPhoto (or after exporting from iPhoto, but this defeats my intent). I found this blog post explaining how to import pictures using a workflow with Image Capture and A Better Finder Rename.

Sounds promising for new pictures, but my already-imported pictures are best left the way they are.

Still Looking for Lenses

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Changeable lenses in the DSLR world is evil.  You start with the basic included lens then start wanting more.  Faster, sharper, longer reach – it’s endless.

I’ve been looking for a general purpose lens to replace the 18-55mm kit lens that came with the Canon T1i.  Something with a bit more zoom that I can use for everyday situations.  Here are some popular ones I’ve read about.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens. Takes awesome pictures since it’s top of the line “L” class but costs a bunch. Reviews say this lens is heavy and kind of a weight burden for everyday use.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens. Has a wide range and is relatively cheap at $350. Here’s a review by Ken Rockwell, and he likes this as a do-it-all lens.

Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM UD Wide Angle Zoom Lens. A relatively new lens that is getting solid reviews. For a comparison to similar lenses, read this review. Less zoom than the 28-135 but better pictures, solidly built, and that ultra wide zoom is appealing to me.

Continuing to Covet Crumpler

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After looking a more camera bags from Lowepro, Kata, and Crumpler, I keep coming back to the styling of Crumpler.

Yes, all the bags I’ve looked at are perfectly functional, but it’s that bit of pizazz that makes Crumpler coveted (but I’m not talking about their confusing Flash-based web site). Lots of good reviews and recommendations too for Crumpler products and after witnessing the Industry Disgrace, I’m poised to buy an “everyday” bag for my basic camera gear.

Don’t forget that I did get the Lowepro FastPack 250, but with its carrying capacity, it’s not the ideal take everywhere pack. Great for traveling, sure, but not so much for grab and run. I need something smaller and more portable, and Crumpler keeps coming to mind.

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