In 2001 I got the Sony DSC-F707 digital camera. This was a great camera for its time—the 5 megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom, f/2.0-2.4 lens, and the relatively long battery life gave you a lot to play with.
In 2003 I got the Canon EOS 10D. Although in many ways this camera is more work than the 707, the better results and the added flexibility made the upgrade very worthwhile. Although I thought I would still need the 707 for it's smaller size and "point-and-shoot" aspect, I pretty quickly switched to using the 10D at all times.
After having to fix one too many red eyes with the internal flash, in March 2004 I got the 420EX external flash for the 10D. This isn't the most powerful flash Canon makes, but it is pretty capable and several times more powerful than the internal flash. Although basic usage is pretty straightforward, some of descriptions in the manual for advanced modes and some experimentation in these modes left me rather confused. One site that helped clear up much of the confusion is the PhotoNotes article Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras—if you are thinking of getting an external flash, you might want to check it out.
Late 2004 I upgraded to the Canon EOS 20D, for its speed, higher ISO capabilities, more accurate auto-focus, and of course, the added megapixels. A fine upgrade to a fine camera.
In deciding what to use as my general purpose everyday lens, I did this comparison of the Canon 28-135mm and Sigma 18-125mm lenses. Since then I purchased the Canon 24-70mm, a high quality lens that takes great pictures. However, it's significantly more expensive, not to mention heavier, larger, and less capable. So at first I thought it would not be versatile enough to be my "single" general purpose everyday lens choice, but over time I changed my mind, since it's such a great lens.
Since the 20D, like most DSLRs, has a sensor smaller than 35mm film, the image from 35mm lenses get "cropped," giving you less than what the lens is supposed to. For instance, on the 20D, a 50mm lens gives you an image which covers the same scene that you would normally get from an 80mm lens. What this means is that you need a really wide angle lens if you want to take wide pictures. I eventually ended up with the Canon 10-22mm, which does a fine job.
Most recently I got a Canon Powershot TX1. It suffers from the usual issues most compact digitals do, plus one more (interesting ergonomics!), but it's very portable and capable of 1280x720 30fps movies. It also features 10x optical zoom with optical image stabilization, which seems to work well. Makes an interesting companion to a DSLR.
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| June 2007: Baltic Sea and Italy. All taken with the Canon TX1, using ISO range of 80-250, and in the 6.5mm-65mm focal length range. As you will probably notice the wide end of the TX1 (6.5mm, corresponding to 39mm when shooting with a 35mm camera) is not that wide at all. |
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| Sep 2005: Above Greenland. Taken on a transatlantic flight under pretty nice weather conditions and through a reasonably clean window. Canon 20D, Sigma 18-125mm. |
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| Sep 2005: Istanbul Scenes. Pictures from Istanbul Old City as well as the Bosphorus. Taken with the 20D with Canon 10-22mm and Sigma 18-125mm lenses. The Canon wide angle is nice, but I wish I had a faster and sharper lens than the 18-125mm for some of the shots. |
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| Jun 2005: Hearst Castle. 20D with the Canon 10-22mm wide angle and Sigma 18-125mm lenses. Hearst Castle really calls for a wide angle lens; so the 10-22mm turned out to be very handy. In addition, 20D's superb high ISO capability was indispensable for the indoor shots (since many of the rooms are rather dark, and flash photography isn't allowed—it wouldn't work too well anyway). |
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| Apr 2005: Filoli House and Gardens. Pictures taken with the 20D, mostly trying out the Canon 10-22mm wide angle lens. Since Filoli is a rather popular place, you have to work hard in order to avoid getting people in the wide shots. |
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| Feb 2005: Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco. Pictures taken with the 20D and Sigma 18-125mm lens; some also with the Canon 420EX. It was crowded, and rained on and off during the parade, which made the circumstances rather challenging. |
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| Nov 2004-Sept 2006: Ice Skating. Ice skating pictures of my nieces and others with the 20D and a number of different lenses. Of the lenses I have used, the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 is my favorite for ice skating, since you really need the versatility of the zoom. |
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| Sep-Oct 2004: Sculpture and garden pictures from Stanford University and Filoli Estate. Pictures taken with the 20D. Many of the photos are with the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens; there are also a few wide shots taken with the Sigma 12-24mm. |
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| Apr 2004: A few pictures from the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, mostly trying out the Sigma 12-24mm with the 10D. |
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| Feb 2004: An afternoon at the San Francisco Zoo. Pictures taken with the 10D, using the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and in some cases (where specified) the Sigma 1.4x teleconverter. I used a tripod for most of the pictures. |
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| Jan 2004: 10D portraits and people pictures, using Canon 28-135mm IS and Canon 50mm f/1.8 lenses. I really like 10D's ability to capture naturally blurred backgrounds—something that was not easy with the 707's larger depth of field. |
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| Dec 2003: 10D pictures from a Capoeira (Brazilian Martial Art) Graduation Ceremony. ISO 400 and 800 flash pictures taken with Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 HSM, Canon 28-135mm IS, and Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. Some action shots, using higher shutter speeds. I wish I had the more powerful external flash for this. |
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| Summer 2003: Some 10D pictures of animals and places. Taken with Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 HSM or Canon 28-135mm IS USM lens. |
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| May 2003: Pictures taken in Hawaii with the 707 equipped with the VCL-MHG07A 0.7a wide angle conversion lens. I like having this lens; in a place filled with great scenery like Hawaii it enables some nice shots. There is some distortion and chromatic aberration at the edges of the pictures, but that's to be expected, and in my opinion the issue is minor. |
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| May 2002: Pictures from San Francisco Carnaval 2002, all taken with the 707. |
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| Winter - Spring 2001: Some scenery pictures with the 707. |
My earlier panorama experience is with the Canon Optura Pi, a progressive scan digital camcorder with pretty good manual control. It allows you to shoot literally hundreds of images of your panorama scene within a few seconds; unfortunately the resolution is low (640 wide, or 480 high). See those images here.
I put together a simple EXIF Viewer for Mac OS X. If interested, you can download it from here. It's free and small.
You can reach me at my email address, but I might not be able to respond very quickly...
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