Never ever buy camera gear on the spur of the moment

[h0ughy]

Well I bought a new toy today for the 350D, a new general purpose Sigma AF18-200 f3.5-6.3 DC lens. I will be going to the Dubbo zoo and wanted a single zoom lens to use rather than have to try and change lenses on the way around, so I settled on this lens because of the compactness and the weight saving. yes I know its untried and a huge comprimise and should have bought an L series one but I wanted a good cheepy. I also installed my battery grip I bought of ebay months ago, have two sets of batteries with it (2 x 1200mAH and 2 x 900mAH) and the original canon one. It takes two at a time and allows you to actuate the shutter from the sideways position. It is very comfortable and easy to use!

I shopped around on the net and even though I could have saved $40 on the price I paid for it I bought locally just because they had it there and then. Paid $529.00, and they "threw" in the UV filter after their original asking price was $699 until I said I had shopped around and had a far cheaper price. I am happy with this lens so far, the holiday happy snaps will of course be the proof.

So will the drought break while we are at Dubbo - Maybe not????

And MIKE I bought a Lowepro BAG:D :D :thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

Houghy, that camera is no good for Daylight shots (Zoo etc), but I understand that the fantastic little Kodak Easyshare pocket camera is!

Sends yours down here and I'll send you my Kodak. Just point and shoot :thumbsup:

Just trying to save you from dissappointment :D

[EzyStyles]

niceee . any test pics with it?

[RB]

:eyepop:
Awesome, I can't wait for some happysnaps Dave.
Looks like a great and versatile lens.
You don't have to get expensive gear to get good photos mate.
The photos I've seen from you are top notch, it's a talent one develops with lots of patience and practice.

Give us some test shots David.
:thumbsup:

[RB]

:lol2: Ken.

:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

not yet

[h0ughy]

OK I will post it down:P not:lol:

[Striker]

Thats the way Houghy.

Spend and keep spending..your helping the economy...thats a good thing.

Nice bag...lol

[Adrian-H]

hahah houghy you have the exact same setup as me!,

allthough my battery pack hasent been added yet its on its way through airmail, which will probly be here sometime next week, i got a friend in asia to get it for me, cheaper then here.

it can be alittle slow in low light handheld, but you can just compromise with flash, and or rase the iso lvl

it dosent have a super quiet Canon USM, but it still works..

i took it to canberra yesterday, i should have took more photos. but alot of the flowers are fried from the sun, i think next year i will go earlyer before the flowers fry.

wait i dont have the bag.. nice bag.. how much it cost you?

[joe_smith]

Houghy, have you been there before? if not you are in for a good time we did the sleepover and its a good zoo, mate.

[acropolite]

Good move Huffy, I had the same thought after taking some shots at the park recently. 18-200 is a very useable range, it will be interesting to see how the lens performs particularly with regard to CA.

[RB]

That's a beaut image Adrian, I love the blurred background and you done very well with the DOF.

[Adrian-H]

thanks andrew

[h0ughy]

OK I got a phone call to go and pick up Mr Strikers package for me, so while there I fired off the first of many shots. Testing the zoom out and the details. Note there is a UV filter on so I don't think that helps the wide fields in the vignetting effects department, but over all I am happy with it.

so a variety of zooms used, even tried it on the moon, not bad either:lol:

BTW its Alan Meehans roll off roof observatory, and the view over the swamp looking north east at 18mm and full zoom 200mm

[h0ughy]

and some more, notice the toucam in the above post..... lookout world............:rofl:


this one shows full 18mm and full 200mm zoom

[h0ughy]

Adrian, I could have waited and paid $452 delivered and an extra $35 for a UV filter, but I wanted it there and then, so I got it with the filter for $529 the Lowepro bag was $49 and I got it for $39. Bought it all locally, so I supported the local shop. they live to trade another day:lol: . Delivery for the other sources was going to be about 2 weeks:scared: , we leave Friday morning, come back Monday:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

Doing my best by following your lead Tony, as you can see the Toucam turned up, thanks:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

have a look at trhe examples and see what you think, some done with a flash too:)

[h0ughy]

back in 1992/3 but that was with a potential Mrs Hough, silly girl married me:D :lol: I suspect a lot has changed in that many years:shrug:

[Adrian-H]

i got mine for 499

thats a pretty good price on the bag, maybe ill get one.

ive never been to the dubbo zoo before, and i live fairly close, maybe ill go there one day.

[acropolite]

Looks fairly good from the last two shots especially. :thumbsup:

[UniPol]

Good luck with your Sigma lens. I bought this lens for my 350D earlier in the year and have been very pleased with its performance. I nearly bought the Tamron 18-200mm however a chance read of a comparison on the net swayed me in the direction of the Sigma. Apparently it has a better build quality than the Tamron, cheaper and is sharper, particularly in the high zoom range. The 18-55mm Canon lens supplied with the camera is very ordinary and it is still in the box used only once.

I originally had the 300D and it took around 10,000 pics before I sold it and it didn't miss a beat. My 350D has taken around 2,500 shots to date and likewise has been faultless.

Have attached three pics taken with the Sigma showing different situations. You Hunter folk probably know the Sofala bridge well. A pic of our recently departed dog and the usual short lived storm up our way. The quality has suffered by resizing the photos to 150K or less.

Cheers, Steve

[UniPol]

Whoops! In the previous reply I meant to say the Morpeth bridge not the Sofala bridge.

[Mikezoom]

Cool Houghy you got the same grip as me. From what I researched it is made by the same ppl who make the genuine canon grip but just unbadged and 1 or 2 small differences. Saved some $$$ too! :thumbsup:;)

Mike.

[h0ughy]

yep mike thATS RIGHT