Tamron 18-270mm lens (reprise)
I ordered up a new Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 DI II PZD for the Sony SLT-A35 today, along with a few other things. I wrote previously that I was pretty happy with the Sony lenses that I purchased with the camera, and I still am. But having all that range in one lens is really liberating. And, while some have complained that it’s not a sharp lens, I never had any problem in that regard with the Canon version. You can see images I made with Canon version here and here.
I also ordered a new, high-quality polarizing filter and an 8-stop variable neutral density filter sized for the 18-270, and a new camera strap and camera bag.
The bag is a messenger style bag from Tenba. I’ve found over the years (and many bags) that I really prefer a shoulder bag, but want something that doesn’t look like a camera bag. If it can be a multi-purpose bag, so much the better. Tenba’s large messenger looks like it will fill that bill nicely, with space for my big laptop along with my camera gear. It has a “hidden entrance” on the top, so the inside is accessible without revealing the contents. And, it doesn’t look like a camera bag.
The strap is one that I was introduced to recently (BlackRapid RS-7), and it’s a bit of a departure as far as camera straps go. Instead of attaching to the sides of the camera, as most straps do, this one attaches to the tripod socket. There are two “stops” that control where the camera rests when it’s not in use. And the should pad is specially shaped to keep the strap from strangling the user. Hopefully, it will work as well for me as it does for the folks I’ve talked to about it.
All this fun stuff should arrive early in the week.
My next acquisitions will include a Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 and an appropriate variable neutral density filter (I already have a perfect polarizer for it). I’m also going to be on the lookout for some good values on used Minolta Maxxum prime lenses.
Lens Sale
With new stuff coming in, a few things are going out. Donna’s keeping the Canon-mount 18-270 (at this point, I doubt I could pry it from her hands!), and a couple of lenses have already been sold. Still up for grabs are a Canon 17-85 IS, a Canon 70-300 IS and a Tokina 12-24mm f/4. Here are links to the adverts:
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM: http://baltimore.craigslist.org/pho/3058406966.html
Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM: http://baltimore.craigslist.org/pho/3058413360.html
Tokina 12-24mm f4: http://baltimore.craigslist.org/pho/3058422386.html
Software Surprise
I’ve been telling anyone who will listen about Adobe’s Creative Cloud, and the excellent value it represents. I won’t belabor that here.
Adobe has been claiming that they’ve made the CS6 versions of their software much more efficient and much less “machine hungry”, and I’ve been impressed with the performance on both my Acer laptop with an Intel CORE i3 processor and even happier with how snappy all the applications are on my 27″ iMac with it’s i5 chip.
For giggles and grins, I thought I might try installing Photoshop CS6 on a more modest machine. I chose the most basic machine in the house, an Acer AspireOne AO722-0825 netbook. The little machine is about as minimal as you can get: 1GHz AMD C-60 dual-core processor, RadeonHD 6290 embedded video, 4GB RAM and a 320G hard drive and a 64-bit version of Windows7.
Guess what? It RUNS! Not only does it run, but it actually runs well. I haven’t loaded my various Topaz Photoshop plugins, nor have I added Photomatix yet, but at this point I’m really impressed, both with the little Acer and with Adobe’s improvements to Photoshop. This opens up the door for having “proper” image processing almost anywhere!
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