Browsing all posts in lens.

Image Stabilization and Vibration Reduction Explained

I have pretty much arrived at the point where, with just a few exceptions, I will only purchase a lens if it has image stabilization capabilities. Image Stabilization (IS in Canon lenses) or Vibration Reduction (VR in Nikon lenses) greatly improves your chances of getting a sharp photograph at long focal distances, or in dim [...]

Review – First Gen Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS

Back in July I rented the Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L II IS telephoto lens, for our Maine vacation. Then, a couple of weeks ago I rented the first generation of this lens, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L, to use when we attended the MotoGP race in Indianapolis. I wanted to see if the performance differences [...]

Upcoming and Elsewhere

My next project in the process of self-education is the use of off-camera flash. With that in mind I began my perusal of the internet for good sources of information, and discovered Strobist. The site contains a wealth of information and takes a complete newbie to flash-photography through the entire learning curve; beginner education leads [...]

Lens Review: Canon EF 16-35 f/2.8L II

The second lens that I rented for our Maine vacation was the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens (the first was the telephoto I wrote about in this article). I have nothing but positive things to say about this lens – probably because it felt and acted very similarly to [...]

Lens Review: Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS

I rented a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for my trip to Maine. Let me tell you, WHAT a beast this lens is! Attached to my Canon Digital Rebel XTi, with the lens hood, AND my battery grip, the whole setup certainly looked impressive. The lens by itself is 52.6 [...]

Maine Photo Highlights

Hello friends! I am back from our ten day vacation in Maine, with over a thousand pictures now safely loaded onto my hard drive, and a million memories to look back upon when homesickness hits me. As evidenced by the shot above, we cannot go back without taking the obligatory shot of the Portland Head [...]

Upcoming and Elsewhere

Upcoming: Look for the following article topics soon to be published here on Beyond Megapixels: – What to look for in a new laptop, geared toward digital photography and photo editing. – Software Review: Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 (and future tutorials featuring Paintshop Pro Photo!) – Software Review: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 (and future [...]

Review – Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens

(Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30), Aperture: f/2.8, Focal Length: 100 mm, ISO Speed: 200) The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens is a good starter lens for folks new to macro photography. While macro lenses get quite a bit more extreme with respect to focal length and magnification, not to mention size and weight (and [...]

Review – LensPen

You have GOT to get you one of these babies. This is a LensPEN Lens Cleaning System, and it is probably one of the handiest photography tools I have purchased in a long, long time. Certainly it’s the best ten bucks I’ve spend on gear. The LensPen is the size of a small magic marker. [...]

Macro Photography Without a Macro Lens

Love macro photography, but can’t afford a macro lens? These nifty little gadgets may be for you! A reverse mount adapter, or “reversing ring”, like this one from Fotodiox, is an adapter that attaches to the filter thread on the front of a lens and makes it possible to attach the lens in reverse. The [...]