Photo Sans Lens ?

That was an attempt at a pun, after San's request to try taking pictures with just the camera body!

I tried.. All I got was an overloaded CMOS sensor!

After some repeated pleading and researching, I found a lens for near 100 bucks which was

1. new
2. had some zoom as opposed to a 50mm
3. if possible a canon lens for the canon digital rebel xti
4. at least a f/3.5
5. an autofocus (EF lens)

and I got 4/5 on a New Canon EF 28-90mm f/4-5.6 III lens for <120 bucks from a local photo store!

Granted it is not a f/2.8 or a USM (ultra sonic) but the thing is great for the pictures I usually take!

Going to play with this lens over the long weekend..

and now for some pictures.

The first one is my princess photographed with the old S30 (the thing had to be taped at places to hold the battery, CF card etc. and the picture had to be cropped to get rid of the light spots, but still...)


and the second one is a photo taken today with the two of them posing for me

Some lens is better than no lens!

Just like that Cereal ad. which says "Kid tested, mother approved" why doesn't Canon come up with a nice lens that is "dad tested, mother approved"?

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Cannonites vs. Nikoneers

No we are not talking religion here, or are we?

This is a response to The Visitors question on Canon vs Nikon digital SLR's.

More specifically the EOS 400D vs the D40.

First, the EOS 400D (drool, drool, look at it on the shelf, more droooool)..

A thing of beauty and a joy for at least the next 4 years! (the only beauties that will be retained in my head longer will be the Mrs. and the little ones! There, that should improve the longevity of this blog!).

I digress, predictably. So far, the 400D has done a fantastic job of taking pictures. If the pictures are crappy, it is only because I forget to switch that little button from MF to AF or I have given the camera to someone else to take the picture. (if you are used to a slower digital camera, you better watch out.. all it takes is a feather touch to click the shutter). The pictures are coming out great (I dont use a Canon Lens but a Tamron Lens which was way cheaper than the Canon and which also happened to be a single lens that went from 18-200mm).

Now for the Nikon.

The noticeable absence of drool does not necessarily indicate a lack of love or respect for the Nikon. It is just that I have become a Canon loyalist for various reasons..

1. I am familiar with the Canon dial, the menus, the look and feel.
2. It is a coke vs. pepsi thing. On a blind test I would probably identify coke only 90% of the time but somehow I always ask for Coke. I drink Pepsi when Coke is not around. I would probably go for a Nikon if a Canon was not around. In short, if the Canon was my wife, the Nikon is like a long lost girlfriend. It is a "what if?", that is never considered (that should also improve the longevity of this blog, neh?). Once again, I ramble.

I know a lot of people who have a Nikon who are extremely happy with Nikon and would present the Visitor with a similar message with the two models reversed. The D40/D80 are definitely cost competitive and the Nikon lenses are amazing(Or so I have heard from other Daddy photographers at Daycare functions. We usually stand in a corner and talk about our cameras during fathers day, thanksgiving lunch, graduation parties for pre-kindergarten, etc. etc.).

Reviews say that the Nikon D80 has beat the next generation Canon because Canon has become somewhat complacent over the success of the Digital Rebel that it did not improve significantly on the Rebel XTi aka EOS 400D (you can read Phil Askey for the scoop. I use this site as my camera Gita, Bible and Koran.. not that I have read any of those books!)

So, dear Visitor, I can only offer you a one sided view and hence cannot give you an honest comparison, but dpreview can!

On second thought, Boo was got a D40 the same week I got my 400D. You can ask her about the D40 and compare notes!

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Oakland zoo - Revisited

After a break of two years, we visited the Oakland Zoo today. We had a really great time!

Here are the teaser photos, taken with my new love, the Digital Rebel!

of birds and...

animals, or kids trying to be animals..

I promise you, this post is not like a Jackie Chan movie trailer where the best action sequences are completely shown in the trailer and you go watch the same sequences with filler material in the movie. Brings back memories of watching First night, first show in Alankar theater a few decades ago! Boy, I am growing old..shoo shoo, you bad thoughts.. Now back to the topic! You will see some more nice pictures when I upload them tomorrow!

Home made food, great company, nice weather, cooperating kids, time well spent! All said and done, it was a great day!

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Deda Nu Cheeees

Deda Cheees -> Old canon S30

Deda Nu Cheeees -> the Digital Rebel XTi

in baby talk! The little one has creative ways of renaming electronic products.

Here is a picture of the two kids saying "Cheese"!

(now that I am fully covered in protective gear, pillows etc.)

Ever wonder why there are no video blogs on this site ? Well, EOS 400D does not have video capability.

San had mentioned something about writing a paper on "Effects of spousal complaints on rapid deterioration of female footwear" in the New England Journal of Medicine, if she ever heard a single complaint about the Digital Rebel (hence the protective gear before writing this post)!

The absence of video capability was known prior to the purchase. The goal was to go back to my old hobby and take it seriously. In short, start taking great pictures, again! The other deal was that I will use the old Camcorder to record secret videos for videoblogs. Unfortunately, the install CD that came with the camcorder to download the videos has been misplaced last year in the move to Cupertino.

Now what is a good man like me, to do in a situation like this? (the keyword here is man.. in the, "after all, I am just a man" sense)

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Stirring a..

After the mixed bag of comments on the Sexy post, this picture is apt!

This nest is under our roof line. Will try another shot with the Macro later. Was not gutsy enough to go closer (lens was 2 feet away from the nest).

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