Now look what the bastard got *grr*

[vvizard]

My dad works in the police in Norway, and just the other day he came home with a brand new external 250GB harddrive. He had also gotten himself an external DVD-writer. And of course he loans this stuff with him at home, to couple it up with his laptop, and surf the web wireless from his chair in the living-room while watching TV.. Prolly just to piss me off, and remind me that although I too got wlan-card, my computer is "pretty much" stationary =) He's brand new 250GB + DVD-writer was the drop that made me feel real jealous...

.. Until today.. Here I sit with a bad flu, working in photoshop, and then he slides into my room with a big grin on his face, picks my 10D off the floor, looks at it, and says. This is a 10D right? "Yes" I answer. "Oh cool. Just wanted to say that I've gotten myself one of those at work now. With a 17-40mm zoom (yeah guess which), a big Canon flash (again, guess which ;)) a Canon photoprinter, and lots of other stuff"

Sometimes I'm on the brink of bursting up in flames :-P When thinking about all the hard work-hours I've put into my camera-equipment the last months, and then thinking about what he does for a sallery now... I guess he's payd to sit around in his office, shooting his DVD-burner with his 10D, mounted with a 17-40L, lit up by a 550EX, and then all printed out on a i970 (or something). Well that wouldn't have been bad at all, unless if it wasn't for the fact that both his sallery, dvd-burner_AND_ photo-equipment are payd for by _MY_ tax-money!!!! *GRRRRR*

One good thing though. I'm sure as heck gonna borrow that lens from time to time =) And it'll be real nice to have a access to a decent photoprinter which (I love this part) got it's ink/paper-costs payd by all the other tax-payers. Oh yeah, life can smile from time to time :)

[karusel]

Err... yeah... and the point of this writing is...?

[BearSummer]

The point is that it doesnt matter where in the world you are kids dont understand their parents, are jealous of their "good fortune" and don't understand the "perks" of the job actually turn out to be part of the jobs base requirement. As time passes he will realise that the "b*****d" wasnt just good for scrounging from and has several other attributes that money couldn't buy and equipment cant replace.

Best Regards

BearSummer

[John_T]

Some our greatest citizens once started life as a kid... and then became a big kid with all the toys he maybe missed when he was a small kid.

The best strategy Viz, is to say "Wow Dad! You've got what I've always dreamed of! Can I borrow it sometimes? Wow Dad, will I grow up to be a big kid just like you? How hard do you have to work to get such toys?"

Ya know Viz, you are off to a pretty big start with a 10D. Build your own life. And try to shake off the famous Scandanavian envy. It's pure poison.

[iwatkins]

"He who dies with the most toys wins"

I try to live up to that motto. :D

Cheers

Ian

[Jesper]

Here's a solution: go and do the same job as your dad does, then you also get to play with all those toys...... :)

[billhercus]

On my last yacht I had a beautifully carved wood which was inscribed with these words of almost infinite wisdom - "The only difference between a man and a boy is simply the price of their toys"

Bill

[defordphoto]

The real key here is that it seems, from what I am reading, that Dad doesn't own ANY of these toys. The Norway Police owns them. He just gets to play with them.

Not the same thing.

[RichardtheSane]

karusel wrote:
Err... yeah... and the point of this writing is...?
And your point in replying is?
If you can't see the point in a post leave it for those who can - like us who know the poster for example. The self procalimed forum police should stay away from this forum, that way it will remain a nice an relaxed place.

Viz, ignore your dad (just a bit) and remember once day he will suffer L envy when you've got all your gear - and also remember that the 17-40 is ONLY an F4, you have a 70-200 F2.8!!!. Pointing out that your aperture is bigger than his will sort this arguement out once and for all :D
:D :D

[defordphoto]

RichardtheSane wrote:
Pointing out that your aperture is bigger than his will sort this arguement out once and for all :D
:D :D

Oh yeah! That's a most-definite gotchya there!!

[Belmondo]

RFMSports wrote:
RichardtheSane wrote:
Pointing out that your aperture is bigger than his will sort this arguement out once and for all :D
:D :D

Oh yeah! That's a most-definite gotchya there!!


Hmmmm. Wider AND longer.

Norway's future looks bright.

Hey, vvizard. Why don't you mover to California and run for governor after Arnold finishes his term in office? Charismatic Europeans seem to do well here.

Tom

[Jesper]

RFMSports wrote:
The real key here is that it seems, from what I am reading, that Dad doesn't own ANY of these toys. The Norway Police owns them. He just gets to play with them.

Not the same thing.

Not the same thing, but what's more important: owning the stuff or playing with the stuff?

Maybe not owning and playing is even better, because you don't have to pay for it..... :)

[billhercus]

Maybe not owning and playing is even better, because you don't have to pay for it..... :)

Quite wrong.
You must have the pain of shelling out the shekels before the true joy of ownership is properly experienced.

[billhercus]

Maybe not owning and playing is even better, because you don't have to pay for it..... :)

... and I forgot to add - just playing is not enough - remember playing with your friend's football/fisihing rod/roller skates etc.?

Not the same.

[karusel]

Richard (the sane), don't look down on me like that. I have few good reasons to have said what I have. First of all, vvizard's dad is just like JohnT said, likes to play with all those fancy expensive toys, so who shall throw the first stone? Furthermore, vvizard's problem is quite probably what we'd all experience if we were in similar situation - envy. Dad gets it so easily and yet vvizard knows he doesn't need it nor deserve it. But somebody does. And that somebody doesn't have all that equipment that he _really_ could use. But again, no reason here, Dad just plays with it and maybe teases vvizard a bit trying to quasi compete with him. I apologize if I'm totally wrong.

[John_T]

Hmmm, well... I have spent some years in the intelligence business, as a security "consultant", bodyguard and as a part-time deputy sheriff. I can guarantee you that line of work carries more responsibility than you are paid for, and most of the time is anything but peaches and cream. Further, you have the responsibility of knowing ALL your toys so well you can play with them in the pitch dark. Your life, other people's lives and well being, as well as the determination of someone's guilt or innocence, depend on it. Contrary to TV, half of a policeman's job is done with his competence, judgement and presence, and the other half is usually tied up in the frustration of paperwork and beaurocrasy. He deserves his toys, but he has to work with them too.

Pop is ok, and Vizard the Wizard is ok too, just don't begrudge other people their toys, otherwise somebody is going to begrudge you yours!

[Derek Smith]

Pekka, thank you for this great forum. I continue to be impressed by the range of life's aspects that impinge on the photographer and his/her art.

Vizard, I am from the 'other end' of the age spectrum, probably much nearer your fathers age so I offer this insight for you. Instead of being jealous, consider this:-

When your father was your age he did not have access to the incredible technology that you are now enjoying and utilising - he has had to wait ca 30 years for it to be invented. Doubtless he is incredibly proud of his sons achievements - your knowledge and skills and the fact that you have managed to acquire and work with this leading edge equipment.

Obviously, when he became able to access this same equipment through his work, he would be keen to 'catch up' with his clever son, and equally keen to show you that he is trying to stay in contact with your world.

Far from envy that your father gets to use this level of equipment 'for free', you could perhaps consider that you have ca 30 years to use this technology in that was denied to your father. It is he that is jealous of you - he would have loved to have had access to all this in his 'youth' - So try sharing your joint interest with him discuss the tips tricks and newly discovered 'secrets' - you never know, you might just end up enjoying it.

Derek Smith
He who's hair is thinning faster than it is graying.

[John_T]

Hmmm... I had my first gray hairs at 22...
but I guess I gave my father more 'cause his are now all white!

[defordphoto]

Jesper wrote:
RFMSports wrote:
The real key here is that it seems, from what I am reading, that Dad doesn't own ANY of these toys. The Norway Police owns them. He just gets to play with them.

Not the same thing.

Not the same thing, but what's more important: owning the stuff or playing with the stuff?

Maybe not owning and playing is even better, because you don't have to pay for it..... :)

I like Bill's comment. You need to work for it to really appreciate it. Playing with your company's stuff is fun too, but owning it is so much cooler cause then you can play with it whenever you want and no one can tell you any different.

[Belmondo]

I've known a few cops who doubled as crime scene photographers, and I've also seen a lot of the work done by 'full time' police photographers (read: professionals).

They do their best work with full-auto quasi-P&S cameras, even though the municipalities they work for often provide them with reall good high-end gear.

They're not all hacks, but a large percentage of them are.

[vvizard]

First off, yeah the post was off topic. On the other hand, I haven't seen much complaining when others post to tell they've finally gotten a new lens or so. Underneath all the sarcasm against my father, at the bitter end, all this post was meant as, was to put my happiness in words, as I now get to try the 17-40mm and the 550EX before eventually buying. Hopefully I can sneak in some prints at their printer to =)

The 17-40mm happens to be next on my list, but I can't see how to afford it in a while yet. I'm dying for some decent wide-angle, so this came very appreciated :)

Lastly I don't hate my father. Not at all. I'm not jealous either. I know he spent just as much of his hard-earned cash on photo-equipment when he was young (probably more than I do), and now on his elder years, he's carrying around this digital P&S because of size, what a shame :/ Good for him that he finally get access to some nice equipment again =) You know I feel sorry for him when we've been out shooting, and most of his shots are spoiled by noise :/ Now I won't have that advantage any more, so from now on... May the best lens win ;)

[Belmondo]

vvizard:
I don't think anybod seriously believes you hate your father. At least I didn't get that out of what you said.

You really are lucky that you'll be able to give the 17-40 a good workout before spending any of your own money on one. So many times we have to buy some seriously expensive equipment on faith alone, and every once in a while, we're disappointed. Looking at the selection of lenses I currently own, I wouldn't give any of them back, but I might have bought them in a different order. I think I'd have bought the 24-70 f/2.8L first. That is absolutely the best lens I have for everyday shooting. Then, I'd have bought the 70-200, and finally, the 17-40. Financial considerations had a lot to do with the actual order of purchase, further complicated by a couple "opportunities" that came up along the way.

A couple of the lenses I purchased, I bought without ever having even seen in person, much less had on the camera and actually shot pictures with it. This was largely due to some of the members of this forum and their 'gushing' over certain lenses like the 70-200 f/2.8L IS. If you listen to all the 'oohs and ahs,' you tend to lose your perspective (and sense of thrift), and you throw caution to the wind in the form of severe credit card abuse.
I'm not saying I wouldn't have bought one, but the anticipation of owning it was almost better than actually getting it.

I enjoy your enthusiasm. Keep it coming.

Tom.

[RichardtheSane]

karusel, I don't look down on you, or anyone.
If you saw my post as condescending then I apologise, that was not my intention at all.

But you have got to admit you were a bit harsh... :)

vvizard, enjoy trying those tools out, maybe the trying out will be 'borrowing' for a day... or two.... :D

[horqua]

iwatkins wrote:
"He who dies with the most toys wins"

I try to live up to that motto. :D

Cheers

Ian

Yeah, he may die with the most toys, but he's still dead and his wife will take all his toys and sell them at a garage sale for 1 cent on the dollar and use the proceeds to buy tunafish for the cat! Some cats have all the luck! Meow 8~)

[vvizard]

Update: I just came back from work now, and when entering the living-room, I saw my 10D with a 550EX and a 17-40mm f/4L mounted.. *schweeet* =D Unfortunatly my dad have to take it back to work tomorrow morning, and I'm working early tomorrow to, so I can't play with it through the night. Looking forward to test it for some serious stuff some day later. But from my 5-minutes of fame, I can only say this:

This is the first and only "L" I've ever tested

Boy does this thing focus fast =) I thought my Sigma 70-200 EX was fast, but this was amazing. But (yes a but), I would've been dissapointed if it didn't beat the sigma. First off, it got a shorter zoom-range (2.35x) compared to the Sigma (2.86x). The sheer length of the EX also tells even the most stupid persons around that the EX needs to move it's glass far longer when it's focusing. So conclusion: Fast, but not surprised..

Build-quality.. Well, it sure is a decent BMW, but the Sigma is a Tank! Zoom/focus-rings moved smooth, but the Sigma's move (butter)smooth. So from a build-point-of-view, I give the edge to the Sigma. Optical-quality? To be honest, I haven't tried, don't have time to process any of the shots with the L at the moment. Got to hit bed to be up for work early tomorrow. I don't think it's perfectly right to compare a wide-zoom against a tele-zoom either, since the wide-end is probably more difficult to develop. But I'm really looking forward to taking the L "out for a spin" on a later occasion :) And boy did the "widescreen-view" in my viewfinder look great! Almost made me forget how small the viewfinder is =)

My impressions of the L was overall very good. I've planned this as my next zoom-lens, and unless I find out the pics sucks when processed (something I'm pretty confident they won't ;)) I haven't changed my mind.

It was light indeed. Much more than I had expected. Even with that 550EX monted on my 10D, it was still noticable lighter than having the 70-200mm EX mounted (without any flash on top).

-------------
Well that was my two cents on the build-quality. Slaugther me if you wan't, but at least they where honest :) I also understand that comparing build-quality from one make to the other can't be based on just testing one product from each. But it was my first impression, and those usually counts quite a lot :) You more experienced guys might also point out that a tele-zoom _shall_ be more heavy built than a wide-zoom. I might accept that, cause that's something I don't have experience to know anything about (although I might guess it's true), but I would at least have hoped the rings would move as easily as the sigma's. And when it all comes to the end, probably one heck of a lens no matter how well the rings turn =)

[Belmondo]

vvizrd:
Your assessment is right on. The 17-40L is lightweight compared to other ‘L’ glass wide-angle zooms. I haven’t heard any complaints anywhere that it is flimsy in any way, and there is generally widespread agreement that optically it’s fully qualified to claim the L designation. Certainly that’s what matters most.

We look forward to seeing your pictures when you get some taken.

Tom