All I got for Christmas . . .

[SWPhotoImaging]

Was the 70-200 F2.8L that I really, REALLY wanted! My wife did good!

So, I trek out into the back yard, with tripod (too small for my new setup) under my new lens, and 10-D hanging from the rear mount of my new favorite lens.

I set up to do some cool shallow DOF shots of a stalk of purple flowers and variegated green leaves, dripping with moisture from the gray mist, when I notice some movement in the unfocused background of the frame. Manually adjusting focus beyond the flower reveals a cute little bunny, not 4 feet from my lens, looking at me as if to ask me to take his picture. Just as I frame him and my finger starts to touch the shutter realease, I hear the dreaded jangling of the dog's collar as he comes running across the yard, and the rabbit instantly does a disappearing act.

Almost made my first (outdoor) shot with the new lens a real cute nature shot.

Oh well. Many more opportunities await. If I am prepared, I'm sure I can capture some of them.

Hope everyone got what THEY wanted for Christmas.

[msnow]

Ahhh! My wife got me the safe gift PLUS the Canon 2X-II extender. I've been out all morning waiting for some bird to show up or something (they were always there when I had my 16-35 hooked up). Instead I've been getting shots of my neighbors house, I'm sure they think I'm some sort of stalker by now. Lens is awesome!

[defordphoto]

ROFL! I love it. Go out for a drive into the country or something.

[SWPhotoImaging]

Yeah, I have about seventeen dozen shots of the xmas tree topper, ceiling fan light, the cat, the dog, and the xmas cards on the mantel. I gotta go outside for awhile!

Maybe that big 'ol oak on the hill out back . . . or the hawk that lives there . . .

[morenoar]

I hear all of you. When I got my 50-500 (I have returned it since) I had lots of pictures of my nieghbors roofs, trees and chimmenys.

[defordphoto]

Now yer talkin'!

[CyberDyneSystems]

Well,. It seems that luck is going to give me no less than TWO great lenses for Christmas,..

1. My "Dell" Canon 70-200 f/2.8 is scheduled for delivery on 12/29... for those who don't know the story,. we ordered these back in September I think... at an unreal low price,.. and have been told we wont get them dozens of times!

2. I wasn't even looking but a few days before Christmas I came across a used 28-70mm f/2.8 "L" for less than half the original cost. (under $600.00 :) )

It will be shipped from Canada unless I am beeing conned :D...

So I got myself these two presents.. but it is coincidence that either of them are coming at this time of year...

[Belmondo]

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
I wasn't even looking but a few days before Christmas I came across a used 28-70mm f/2.8 "L" for less than half the original cost. (under $600.00 :)

CDS: You're going to love that lens as long as it's a good copy. Maybe it's not so wonderful for your bird pictures, but for just about everything else, it's amazing. I have the 24-70 and I keep it on the one 10D body at all times. I figure it will be good for 90% of the pictures I'm ever likely to take. I do all my lens-swapping on the other body.

Good luck with it. Let us know what you think of it.

[msnow]

Clarification please...

I've been seeing a lot of comments about "good" and "bad" copies of some of these "L" lenses. Since I've got a lot invested in them I'd like to know if this is real. Is the QA process at such a point at Canon that we really need to worry about this?

It would be insane but think about this for a moment. Step one decide which lens you want/need. Step two purchase the lens and bring it home. Step three, test against your own perceived judgement as well as the measuring tools and make the determination if it's "good" or "bad". If bad you have to get it calibrated or exchanged. Someone please tell me if this is a common problem or a one off.

[Belmondo]

My only reference to good or bad was that it appeared (I am assuming) this isa used lens he is buying. As such, there is more cause, however slight, to be concerned with the condition of the lens, and therefore, the performance.

I don't think there's anything wrong with Canon's Quality Assurance. They are certainly no worse than the other big names, and vastly superior to most (if not all)of the third party lens manufacturs.

Chances are, CDS is getting a great lens. I didn't mean to suggest anything else.

[defordphoto]

Msnow: Anytime you manufacture thousands upon thousands of an item there WILL be a few that will have undetected defects. Doesn't matter if it's Kia, or Mercedes, Olympus or Canon. It will happen.

Digital cameras are much less forgiving than film, so if there is a small defect of some sort (faulty AF being the most common) it will be very apparent.

That is also one of the many reasons why we stress here on this board that you make your purchases from a reputable, known dealer.

There is not some big problem with Canon's QC that you need to be worried about, but when you do get a new piece of equipment for your camera, you should check it out thoroughly upon receipt. Just like you would do with any other product.

Make sure are all features work and check proper exposure and auto-focus.

[msnow]

I guess your right but I think I expect a little more for one of the highest quality lens systems manufactured. That's one of the reasons I purchased it...quality.

Certainly I check to make sure the features work usually right in the store but if I have to worry that it isn't QA'd and calibrated to the highest standards available then there's a problem.

RFM--to your point about mistakes in mass production. While this is true the frequency of these mistakes is much less in higher end products. From Rolex and Rolls to Kia and Kodak there's a pretty steep curve in customer satisfaction and quality among the higher end products.

I'm happy to hear from you that you don't believe this is the case with Canon.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Well, with the 28-70mm I know i am taking a risk,. I am buying a lens sight unseen,. used from a total unknown.

I am relying on my faith in fellow man that the seller is honest. I would NOT have done this without the use of an Escrow account if this had been an E-bay type thing. My confidence was higher because the seller seems to be a regular on Fred Miranda. My purchase was the second to last item to go that he was selling.

The lens is not perfect. It is an old lens,. older design and it's wear and tear has hopefully been described accurately!

We shall see! :)

[SWPhotoImaging]

Speaking of reputable sources . . .

I put B&H PhotoVideo on my xmas list specifically so that my wife could deal with professional, competent photo people who I thought would be able to help her interpret my very clear and explicit list. But when she called, she tells me that the first person she got was rude and insulting, and basicaly let her know that she didn't know what she was doing. The second person that helped her was apparently much more professional and was able to process her (my) lens order just fine.