About my “hobby”
I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures. While I’ve never been that person with the camera at every party, I can not go on vacation without a camera. About a year ago, I decided I wanted to do more than “point and shoot” but I wasn’t ready for an SLR yet. I decided to get the Canon Powershot S2, because while technically it is a point-and-shoot camera, it also has some optional lens converters and filters. So over the past year, I have been experimenting with wide-angle/fisheye shots, and have learned to love my polarizing filter. The telephoto converter never really did much good, and I didn’t need the UV filter to protect the lens so I never used it. That camera took some great pictures on bright sunny days. However, my fishtanks are one of my primary subjects, and the S2 just was not fast enough to avoid blur. Plus, it was starting to have focusing issues, it had never liked low light but now the problem was happening in daylight. So Friday Sep 22, I put my Amazon prime membership to good use and ordered a Canon Digital Rebel XTi with the kit 18-55 lens, as well as a 50mm f/1.8 fixed-length “prime” lens that I hope will work out well with my tanks. I used the same-day delivery for the camera, and on Saturday I packed an overnight bag and hit the road for a friend’s wedding, stopping along the way at Snoqualmie Falls, Lake Easton State park, and river overlooks on Highway 10 in Kittitas County to start learning how to use the camera. It’s a good thing I picked up a spare battery, because I took about 400 pictures that day, then stopped at the waterfront park in Des Moines at sunset the next day and took about 200 more.
I love this camera, and in the 6 months I’ve owned it I’m amazed how much I’ve learned about photography, and how much more there is to learn. The 28-105 is my most used lens, although I’ll eventually be upgrading that to the IS 28-135, since I’ve found myself switching to the 75-300mm a lot to cover the 105-135 range. I’ve recently added a 10-22mm Ultra-Wide lens to my collection, and while the 28-105mm is used more often, I think the 10-22mm is my favorite.
Next on the list, an upgraded zoom lens! I just can’t decide between the 70-300mm compact zoom, or the 100-400mm L class. I guess I’ll have to hit the lens rental shop to figure it out.