The "Whoo! I just got new gear!" thread

[Cjcc67]

whoo last night picked up this lovely Thanks nikon for not being able to supply the D7000.

[Boo53]

My son eldest moved out....... Yippee... I have a new office. all to myself.

Geoff have you realised how deluded you are yet.

All 3 of ours have moved out a few years ago & I thought I'd at least get the study back & hopefully 1 of the bedrooms as a studio. I haven't got either, and my wife took over the shed for garden supplies years ago.

[darylcheshire]

Hello,

Just got a Canon 5D Mk III today.

Didn't post in the Canon forums because I don't have access yet as I haven't logged in for a while.

The reviews were positive and I'm interested in bird photography and available light photography and I read that there were improvements in AF and noise reduction and I wanted to use something that doesn't have a poor reputation in AF as the 5D Mk II since Canon didn't upgrade it from the original 5D.

I do have a lot of photos which are out of focus (but I blame myself for that) but would like to see if this improves. For example, when I'm aiming at a bird hovering over branches, I switch to MF to avoid focusing on the twigs. I did some bird photography today to try it out and the only mistake I made was that the P setting was set to focus on a single point and after some time I realised that I had an AF area selection set wrong and this is set by a tiny button near the shutter button called "M-Fn" which changed the area setting. I have since changed the control of this setting to the master dial instead of this little button.

The new camera has some sort of 'tracking' parameter so I'm looking forward to some tweaking. For bird photography I'm playing with a preset which can be changed called 'Case 2' 'Continue to track subjects ignoring possible obstacles' - sounds gimmicky?
Other parameters which can be set are "Acceleration Tracking" and "AF point auto switching"

You can download the manual if you want to do some research.

The AF functions are taken from the new flagship the EOS ID-X but that camera has more brains (and a bigger price tag).

Regarding available light photography, I have the 50mm 1.2L and I'm aware that this lens has issues with AF in low light levels and I believe that there are limitations in expecting AF to work properly in low light levels and that such attempts should be manually focussed. I really think this lens has no issues and the problems people had with it are mainly self-induced. There is also something called focus shift which may be a factor. I also suspect that Canon did a 'silent upgrade' as the complaints fell away after a while. Anyway I'm sure this has been discussed elsewhere.

The few test shots at dusk look good and I might go out and take some more.

[enduro]

Whoohooo! My Nodal Ninja 3mkII arrived. Now to find the time to use it!!!

[Xebadir]

Just pulled the trigger on a Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VRII. A lavish expense, but one at a price that is kind of too good to pass up. . Can't wait to unite the trio of Nikon pro goodness. My poor 70-300 and D300 are looking for new homes lol.

[Speedway]

Just ordered my first laptop, $538 delivered.

A Lenovo
15.6" High Definition LEDWide Screen,
AMD Dual Core E-300 Processor,
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6310 Graphics,
500GB HDD,
8GB DDR3 Memory,
Dual layer DVD Burner,
Windows7 home premium 64 bit,
Numeric keyboard,
Card reader,
Also included is a case, USB optical mouse, a 4 port USB hub and a laptop riser.
Its main functions will be to show shots at an event, especially multi day shows and as I now have wireless broadband I will be able to show the past shots on my website.

[Xebadir]

Went and picked up a box from the post office today - like a really huge box. 18 inches by 9 by 9. Was totally blown away. And then I opened it.

My Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VRII Arrived YAY!

Did some tests as we always seem to do with new toys - and holy crap, compared to the 70-300 VR its a beast, but the IQ, VR are sublime and the AF is the best I have ever had the pleasure to use - very snappy. My maiden test shot was just a picture in the dark room - handheld 1/30th wide open with VR and 640 ISO - tack sharp and ridiculous detail. Absolutely loving it already, I can tell it is going to see alot of usage for my photography and I can't wait to unleash it on storms.

The other cool thing is now I have the three lenses of doom .
Can't wait to see what it will look like on my new D800 when it arrives.

[Tommo224]

I just bought a Fujifilm X100 so far happy with it! Trying to learn how to use it properly haha. It's weighted nicely, feels good to use so far and the high ISO works quite nicely!

I also received my latest and final of my Photo A Day book series. The 4th book, only 2 weeks worth of "Photo A Day" but I filled the rest with 50 other photos I took during that time period

[mugget]

Hey Tommo,

How did you go about putting together your Photo A Day books? That looks great... I've thought about doing that myself.

Cheers,

Conrad

[Tommo224]

I used www.blurb.com and their software!

Was very easy to do. Just make sure your photos are in sRGB and import the full high res copies in to the software. You can create your own page templates or use their ones, select any colours, arrangements, and have as many or as little photos as you like

Then you pay on a per page limit basis (eg: 0-20, 20-40, 40-80, etc). You can select what type of covers, etc etc. It explains it all on their website

You can even sell for profit off their website if you like! But the books can be a little pricey (mine work out at $45-50 each incl. postage). But friends and family of mine seem to be happy with that hehe.

[CarlR]

Xebadir, I know what you mean. I took delivery of both the Nikkor 24-70 f2.8 and the 70-200 f2.8 VRII.

The test shots blew me away. Getting out and about and using them both, each, in its own way has continued to impress.

[andylo]

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8...

I have previously promised myself not to spend $$ on a non-L, but this one just too good of a bargain to pass.

[mugget]

If you're happy with the lens performance, they why not go for it!
Not everyone has thousands of dollars to spend on glass, after all.

[Tommo224]

Been taking lots of photos on my Fuji X100, loving the camera so far! But it has a bit of a focus issue, that's my only gripe with it so far I'm even running the latest firmware!

[Thomp]

Just splurged on a 5dmiii, more of an impulse buy more than anything but sure has resparked my love for photography

Quite an upgrade from the old 500d

[rossmorgan]

After a few months of deciding made the decision to purchase some new gear today...Canon 60D with 18-55 IS Lens and also got a Tamron 18-200 Lens. Lots of learning to do considering my old camera was a 300D with 18-55 (non IS Lens) and the 100-300 Canon Lens. Will most likely keep the 300D as a back up, can't imagine I would get much for it anyways?

[Starman]

Woohoo I bought a Canon 60d a few weeks back and now have two as...

Not so woohoo, I'd left my existing 60d in Customs security check at Sydney airport on the way to NZ,and there were no 5dmkii s in Queenstown although I will never complain about Australian retail store prices again.
Cheers Starman

[enotoarts]

I haven't got it yet but I just ordered myself a lensbaby composer pro and some optics and I'm so excited! I can't wait until they are delivered!!

[Eberbachl]

Picked up my new Pentax K-5 last week, and should be able to pick up my K-r tomorrow or Thursday.

Woohoo!

[pgbphotographytas]

A new Canon P&S is on the way to me