TW Blog :: Entries for Photography
There are two kinds of truths: truths of reasoning and truths of factGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
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Test Drive Canon 50mm f/1.4 Prime Lens
This post does not relate to any other topics
Finally got the chance to do a few test photographs with my Canon D40 and 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. These photos were all taken in natural light indoors on a very dark and gloomy rainy day - off course absolutely NO FLASH was used. I was really just experimenting with the speed of the lens using AV mode (aperture priority) with the aperture at its fullest to see how dark the lens can go.
This first photo was taken with light from the doorway illuminating the surrounds. The creamy background gives an indication of the darkness of the corridor where the next photo was taken.
Benji captured at 1/30s @ f/1.4, ISO 320
This next photo was taken in the darkest part of the corridor with very little light. The AF struggled to find a focus for the shot, and due to the darkness I pumped the ISO upto 1600. But handheld still managed to come out with a workable photo at screen resolution. At higher resolution the image showed the grain inherent in the high ISO and blurriness from the slow shutter speed handheld.
Benji in the dark corridor at 1/10s @ f/1.4, ISO 1600
These last two photos were taken by the window - the first on the sill and the second underneath in the projected natural light. It was still very dark and dreary overcast drizzle outside! They were principally a test of the shallow depth of field shooting with such a wide aperture which is clearly visible in the samples.
Buzzie Bee captured on the window ledge at 1/80s @ f/1.4, ISO 320
Rattler Ball captured at 1 /20s @ f/1.4, ISO 320
In the Rattler Ball frame I tried the photo with an aperture around f/2.8 (since I had initially planned on getting the Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom lens). The shutter speed was simply to slow to get any sharpness handheld. In fact even at f/1.8 the shutter was around 1/5s, leaving the image blurry.
My final test was capturing a photo of a book in the bambino's bedroom. The room was very dark and my eyes could hardly resolve the book. Using ISO 1600 with full aperture the camera had no trouble at all setting focus on the book and capturing a very workable image.
What can I say! I am blown away by the performance of this lens. I am very much an amateur DSLR photographer at the moment but it is clear to me that the Canon 50mm f/1.4 is a very impressive piece of glass and well worth the investment.
Posted on Oct 20, 2008 at 18:13:53.
First Steps into DSLR with Canon 40D
This post does not relate to any other topics
There is so much opportunity for stunning photography in the beautiful landscape of Cornwall, that I have been tinkering with extending my repertoire to include a small amount of photographic services. Time to invest in some kit. No simple task with numerous successful DSLR bodies out there and a lot of lenses to choose from.
Once my budget was set and I had chosen to go with, Canon since it would allow me to swap and share lenses with some mates, I had to decide between the 450D and the 40D models. Finally I chose the later for its build quality and faster burst rate. (The 50D was very tempting but would have left me little budget to buy lenses and these are far more important in achieving quality images)
Now to lenses. At first I was set on the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom lens which would cover the broad range I was looking for from wide-angle landscape to portrait work. But some strange price jumping activity on Amazon saw it go up in price by £100 days before I was to part with my cash. This left me thinking and I decided it was too soon to invest so much money on a single lens - despite it being probably the single best piece of non-L glass available for the Canon cropped sensor.
So I took a radical about shift and decided to go prime. I intend on doing a lot of internal portrait work and faster would be better. I settled on:
Together these left me with £200 in pocket over the Canon 17-55mm and I thought it would be a good framing experience working with prime initially. Now I am just waiting for the kit to arrive with great excitement and will report back on my initial experiences in due course…
Posted on Oct 18, 2008 at 11:00:11.
