Lightstream
4th of August 2006 (Fri), 05:51
OH YEAH!!!!! It's here!
UPS came while I was out, so I requested they hold the package. They did, at some out-of-the way depot that was disguised and tucked away in the middle of nowhere. So after the drive from Hell accompanied by the Headache from Hell worsened by the blinding sun (I'm beginning to hate this 'sun' thing, that's why I want f/1.8 ), I finally get there, got grilled by them "Who called you about the package and what did they say" - well, wouldn't you people know, this company called UPS called me about the damn package.. they didn't know what was going on either!
Eventually they did find the package, because I was about to raise hell for the anonymous phone call making me drive all the way down for nothing, because the UPS guy on the phone did suggest I collect it in the evening and told me they would leave it there for me. They did not leave a note to the front desk however.
I got the package, but I went back in a bad mood anyway. Having the Headache from Hell did not help matters any, so I did not open up the package. Now that I'm feeling better...
Welcome the 28mm f/1.8 USM!!
http://pix.lightrefineries.org/albums/photos/abz.sized.jpg
I believe that just about every Canon's a sharp copy apart from the obviously defective or damaged, I have seen a 50 f/1.8 that was worthless and a 50 macro that looked like someone had vaselined it. Call me biased, I AM.
And I'm in love - (100% crop focused on the image stabilizer. You can see DOF at point blank range is so shallow that even the zoom markings fall away out of focus)
http://pix.lightrefineries.org/albums/photos/aby.sized.jpg
I have a criteria for my favorite lenses. They have to impress me within the first few frames I shoot with them. The 28 continues that beautiful tradition. This was the FIRST frame out of the lens, and nothing special - just popped it on the 5D and dialed in Av f/1.8 and let it blast away. I have NEVER seen f/1.8 look that sharp. This is a beast of a lens.
Build quality is excellent, I would rank this lens up there with my 60 macro and L zooms. Feels like the proverbial brick outhouse. The only difference is that the 60 and the L's have a textured plastic exterior, the 28 has a smooth exterior. But the plastic feels similarly solid, so I'll overlook the cosmetics. I have no preference either way.
Focus drive is everything I have come to expect of USM. The lens zips into focus just like what I'm used to from my L zooms. The 60 macro is currently my fastest-focusing lens, but that lens has already acquired a reputation for being unusually fast (at normal working ranges). The 60 beats it, but that's the only lens in the lot that can do it. The 28 runs neck and neck with the best. It sounds like it has a lot more glass to move around too.
And of course, wonderful on the 350D as well. Fast AF, a near-normal field of view, and the aperture. I wish I had this with me at an event I shot a few months ago, in 'available darkness'. We had official, hired-for-money professionals shooting, and I was a sideline shooter, so that ruled out flash since I did not want to interfere with the working pros. I was sufficiently far away from them that they didn't even hear my shutter click, and I took my quietest camera, the 350D. Wish I could say I was fond of the 50 f/1.8, which was the only thing I had back then. An 80mm equivalent is not the nicest of things to shoot with.
And with ISO 3200 on a 5D, plus a minimum requirement of 1/30 shutter speed to combat handshake blur (I can get people to stay still enough for 1/15, so that is not a worry), it's hard to imagine what I CAN'T do with this lens. :)
UPS came while I was out, so I requested they hold the package. They did, at some out-of-the way depot that was disguised and tucked away in the middle of nowhere. So after the drive from Hell accompanied by the Headache from Hell worsened by the blinding sun (I'm beginning to hate this 'sun' thing, that's why I want f/1.8 ), I finally get there, got grilled by them "Who called you about the package and what did they say" - well, wouldn't you people know, this company called UPS called me about the damn package.. they didn't know what was going on either!
Eventually they did find the package, because I was about to raise hell for the anonymous phone call making me drive all the way down for nothing, because the UPS guy on the phone did suggest I collect it in the evening and told me they would leave it there for me. They did not leave a note to the front desk however.
I got the package, but I went back in a bad mood anyway. Having the Headache from Hell did not help matters any, so I did not open up the package. Now that I'm feeling better...
Welcome the 28mm f/1.8 USM!!
http://pix.lightrefineries.org/albums/photos/abz.sized.jpg
I believe that just about every Canon's a sharp copy apart from the obviously defective or damaged, I have seen a 50 f/1.8 that was worthless and a 50 macro that looked like someone had vaselined it. Call me biased, I AM.
And I'm in love - (100% crop focused on the image stabilizer. You can see DOF at point blank range is so shallow that even the zoom markings fall away out of focus)
http://pix.lightrefineries.org/albums/photos/aby.sized.jpg
I have a criteria for my favorite lenses. They have to impress me within the first few frames I shoot with them. The 28 continues that beautiful tradition. This was the FIRST frame out of the lens, and nothing special - just popped it on the 5D and dialed in Av f/1.8 and let it blast away. I have NEVER seen f/1.8 look that sharp. This is a beast of a lens.
Build quality is excellent, I would rank this lens up there with my 60 macro and L zooms. Feels like the proverbial brick outhouse. The only difference is that the 60 and the L's have a textured plastic exterior, the 28 has a smooth exterior. But the plastic feels similarly solid, so I'll overlook the cosmetics. I have no preference either way.
Focus drive is everything I have come to expect of USM. The lens zips into focus just like what I'm used to from my L zooms. The 60 macro is currently my fastest-focusing lens, but that lens has already acquired a reputation for being unusually fast (at normal working ranges). The 60 beats it, but that's the only lens in the lot that can do it. The 28 runs neck and neck with the best. It sounds like it has a lot more glass to move around too.
And of course, wonderful on the 350D as well. Fast AF, a near-normal field of view, and the aperture. I wish I had this with me at an event I shot a few months ago, in 'available darkness'. We had official, hired-for-money professionals shooting, and I was a sideline shooter, so that ruled out flash since I did not want to interfere with the working pros. I was sufficiently far away from them that they didn't even hear my shutter click, and I took my quietest camera, the 350D. Wish I could say I was fond of the 50 f/1.8, which was the only thing I had back then. An 80mm equivalent is not the nicest of things to shoot with.
And with ISO 3200 on a 5D, plus a minimum requirement of 1/30 shutter speed to combat handshake blur (I can get people to stay still enough for 1/15, so that is not a worry), it's hard to imagine what I CAN'T do with this lens. :)