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Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2005 - 8:10 p.m. Last week, I was reading an article (online) about budget zoom lenses. I have never considered buying one of the �mirror� lenses, mainly because of the distortion (�doughnuts� is what they call the circular objects left in the unfocused background). But then I read this article on Popular Photography�s web site. In the article 9if you don�t feel like reading it), he describes how several companies make auto focus 100- 400mm zoom lenses that take pretty decent photographs at a much lower cost than the big boys (Canon or Sigma, to name a couple) charge for their low-end equipment. The author singled out the f/ 4.5-6.7 Phoenix lens made by Cosina as a real bargain, listing for under $200. I went to Cosina�s website, and read what they had to say about their lens. Yes, the f/4.5 isn�t a very wide aperture, which means this lens isn�t much good in any low light situation. Don�t even think about using a built-in flash with the lens expanded- you would end up with a half-moon of darkness on the top half of the frame. But for a lightweight (relatively speaking) long range zoom for an amateur to shoot distant nature photography (that would be me), it sounded like a good deal. I found it for sale at several online shops, all asking for the $199 list price. Then I gave Ebay a try. That turned out to be a very good idea. One seller had listed this lens with the Canon mount. He had used it with his old Rebel (film) camera, and he didn�t buy another Canon when he went digital. His auction also included a 67mm sunlight filter (a nice bonus) and a sun �cone� to attach to the end of the lens on sunny days. He had it listed for $70, or $80 if you used the �Buy it now� feature. Which I did. Including the filter and sun �cone, what he had for sale would set me back $almost $250 new. And� A few of these lenses had sold recently, none for less than $100. Here is what the lens looks like. It is sitting next to my old 32- 75mm Canon lens (extended to each of their fullest degrees) for size comparison:
Since it was raining (heavily) when I came home tonight, so I couldn�t really try this lens out properly. I did want to make sure that it worked (always a concern with a electronics purchase on Ebay), so I hooked it up to the digital Rebel and shot a few frames.
This is one taken of the U of I flag, flying on a pole attached to our front porch. I was taken from the second floor window. The Chief is about 2 foot across, and is only a small portion of the flag. And no, the photo is not blurry- that is the color showing through on the linen that gives the picture a slight bit of �fuzziness�. More from this lens down the road- The Amazing Race has just started. Yes, I am still watching this reality show with Lease every Tuesday night. It�s the only �reality� show I can stomach, and I really get into the twists and turns the teams face each week. If you have never given this show a try, I highly recommend it. Even though this �season� is now down to only 6 (I think) teams. Later�.
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