Every photographer has dreams, some more than other, but one of the most rare lens is the Canon 1200mm f/5.6. It costs a staggering 100.000 €, weighs 16.5 kg and is almost 85 cm tall. Although I don’t want this lens, I rather have the Canon 600 f/4.0, it is still really cool to look at it 
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Have a look at the next movies
Jakke
Hi,
I found these clips online and found them very interesting so I wanted to share them with you guys.
Enjoy!
Hi,
we all know that the movie mode of the Canon models is really impressive. But to achieve good results it is vital to have steady shots. Because most of you won’t work all the time with a tripod with a video head mounted on top of the tripod, other ways of stabilizing the shot become more important. One of the possibilities is working with image stabilized lenses. To show you the difference I’ve made a movie showing the difference between the shots with the IS turned on and turned off.
This all is part of a review I’m writing about the Canon 1D mark IV. It will be online in a week or two.
Jakke
Hi,
I am happy to announce that I finally took order of the 1D mark 4. I’m currently testing it and soon I will publish an article about this amazing piece of equipment! I will keep you informed!
For the moment I will show you some high iso pictures and a small video. The pictures you see below are imported into Lightroom and exported on the standard settings with sharpening and noise reduction.
Note that these pictures are taken without a tripod which may result in a less sharper image due to motion blur. I will redo these tests in a well controlled manner for the article I will write about this new top of the line Canon camera.
Iso 3200
Iso 6400
Iso 12800
Iso 25600
Iso 51200
Iso 102400
This Saturday I bought a Canon 50 f/1.4. I ordered it together with my Canon 1D Mark 4 in January but because the mark 4 still can’t be delivered here in Belgium I didn’t bother with going to the store and pick up the lens. Because I’ve could have used the lens a couple of times during a couple of the last concerts I convinced myself to go and pick it up.
I already played around with it using it in low light or to get very shallow depth of field and so far I really like it! Compared to the Canon 50 1.8 it is really worth the extra bucks because you get full time manual focus and it also sharper.
So far I’ve only found 2 things that bother me a bit and that is the minimal focussing distance and the manual focus ring. You really have to turn a lot to get something into focus.
In a couple of weeks you can expect a review and comparison of the Canon 50 f/1.4 to the Canon 50 f/1.8.
Jakke
Sorry for the crappy pic but it is taken with the Ixus 850IS.
Hi,
As you probably know the photographer of the present is obliged to edit his photos on his computer. But when you edit your photographs on your computer you have to know that the colors your screen is displaying are
correct. That’s why it is very important to calibrate your computerscreen. There are a lot of tools to calibrate your screen. You have the pure software versions and a version where you get a hardware component. I don’t have to tell you that the ones with the hardware component are much more accurate than the software versions. The product I bought is a DataColor Spyder 3 Elite. They have different versions of the DataColor. If you want an overview of the differences between there products, just follow this Link.
It works as follows: of course you install the software first before using the device. Then you attach the hardware component, actually it is a colorimeter, onto your screen and press calibrate my screen. It then displays some colors and measures how the color is being displayed by your screen. The software then knows how to adjust the output to your screen so the colors are being displayed properly. When the calibration is done you can see a before and after screen.
I must say when I calibrated my screen the difference was astonishing! I have an apple screen and they are well known for their good and accurate color reproduction so I was really amazed. Now I’m wondering what the effect would be on cheaper screens.
If you have any questions about it, you can always post a comment or sent me an email.
Like I said before I bought some PocketWizards and would write a review when I had used them a couple of times.
The PocketWizards come in 2 versions, the Plus II and the MultiMAX. The big difference is the amount of channels and the possibility to set a delay. There are a lot of other functions too but I’m not a specialist in the MultiMAX.
The PWs are not cheap. I found it a bit dissapointing that for that kind of money you only get the PocketWizards and not the necessary cables. I know that you need different cables for different equipment but you should get at least one cable with it and while ordering you should be able to choose the type of cable you want. I even believe that in the USA you get as standard a jack to pc cable that works with a lot of things.
Everything comes nicely packed in a box. Inside you find the PocketWizard, 2 AA batteries, a lanyard and a velcro-kit to attach the PW to your system.
The first time I screwed the PocketWizard on my camera I noticed that the part with the screw thread was made of cheap looking plastic. Although I have never read anything about a mishap with this part, I would like to see this on the next generation in a better material. The on and off switch is a bit cheap looking too in my opinion. You can find all the pictures at the bottom of the post.
The use of the PocketWizards is very easy and they always work! I have never had any misfires and they have a big range (about 500 meters). Although I have never used them further than 125 meters.
I also bought a cable that allows me the remote trigger my camera. It allows me to shoot a close-up and a wide-shot at the same time using 2 cameras. On this cable is a switch. When it is switched off the camera acts normal, when switched on the camera acts like the releasebutton is pressed halfway.
I just read on the site op PWs that they are releasing a new model that allows ETTL. This isn’t posible with the current models. This means that if you want to adjust the power of you flash you need to do this on your flash, which I find most annoying certainly when the flash is placed in a difficult location or a long distance away.
My conclusion: they are not cheap, some parts could have been of better quality but they just work great! If you have the budget I wouldn’t go for anything else than PWs!!
Jakke
Front view
Back view
Top view
Locking mechanism
On/Off switch
