Cameras-n- Stuff

Guess what?
Canon’s Rebel T1i (aka Rebel 500D) is gaining popularity among buyers. I just checked the Amazon.com user ratings and found that the T1i has risen to about 4.46 out of 5 stars (had to use my trusty calculator to figure this out). Could it be that Canon’s sales hype isn’t hype at all?
Buyers sometimes wait to see what the final verdict will be after the release of a camera, then they jump in with both feet. This seems to be the case with the Canon EOS Rebel T1i 15.1 MP SLR Camera.
Sooo…. if you have been waiting to see how the T1i stacks up in the reviews, wait no longer… it’s good – real good!
By the way, you might want to think twice about getting the kit lens that is offered with the T1i. With 15.1 megapixels image sensor, in order to take full advantage of that much information, you should consider getting better glass (quality lens). Check out the new Sigma 18-250mm all purpose walk around lens before you make your final purchase.

Today was a beautiful day in our neck of the woods (Woodstock, GA). It was a bit cool at 38, but the sun was gloriously shining after a few days of hiding.
So, as I was making breakfast, I took a few pictures of the birds that were dining at my feeders. With my new Sigma 18-250 all purpose walk around lens, of course.
Shot at about 8:30 AM using f/6.3 at ISO 400… hope you think the lens is as good as I do.

Carolina Wren fluffing because of the cool air.

Female Cardinal with the stare down (she won)

A Rather Large Spider

Another Female Dining

More about this excellent lens at http://www.squidoo.com/sigma18-250

Lens Comparison for Sigma 18-250

I got my Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Zoom Lens a few days ago, but it has been really raining here.

So I did a really crude lens test. I have what I consider to be some excellent lenses in my arsenal. My normal walk around lens is a Tamron 28-75 f2.8. I bought this lens when I got my first Digital Rebel 300D, and it has proven to be all that I hoped for. It gives me wonderful photos.

I also have a Canon 70-200mm f/4 L that I got for doing telephoto work. I am just an amateur, and I can’t afford the really expensive glass that professional photographers use, but these lenses, as I said, are very good.

So, I took some pictures in my house using all three lenses, hand-held, in a dimly lit room. As I mentioned, this is a crude test, but the results surprised me. I was hoping that the new Sigma lens would do as well as the other two, but the new lens was head and shoulders better than either of the other lenses as you can see from the image on the right.

I attribute the success of the new Sigma lens to the Optical Stabilization, which neither of the other lenses has. These photos were taken at 1/4 second exposure time.. a fairly impossible shutter speed for me to avoid blurry pictures due to my inability to hold the camera steady.

I have taken a few other photos – displayed below. They are not contest winners, but a quick selection of unedited images to demonstrate that the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Zoom Lens is fully capable of being your every day walk around lens. I am hoping to get some more comparison shots in the next few days to see how the Sigma matches up to my macro lens.

f16 1/10sec 18mm ISO 100

f10, 1/50sec ISO 200

I was hesitant about ordering this lens, thinking I might be sending it back, but it is a keeper. I highly recommend it as an excellent all purpose walk around lens.
More about the Sigma 18-250 at www.digital-photographic-resources.