New gear

Can mean many things in the context of someone such as I. It can mean a new game, a new program, a new book, a new camera and so on. In this case, it means new camera gear, in the form of a SC-28 hotshoe extension cable for my Nikon D50 dSLR.

I understand completely if you have no idea what I’m babbling about at this point. Suffice to say, it’s a neat little piece of equipment that will allow me to connect my flashgun to my camera remotely via a wired link, enabling me to fire the flashgun from completely independent angles and distances.

Oh yes, D70/80/200/whatever users, don’t think I can’t hear your sniggers. So I neither have wireless flash operation with my D50 nor high-speed flash sync controls, sure. I’ll take my single command dial control any day of the week over dual command dial bullshit.

A hotshoe extension cable provides new avenues and techniques for lighting.

A test shot which goes back to my roots.

Anyway, buying it along with a Sigma 17-70mm f2.8/4.5 sure put a dent in my wallet, but I’m pretty much ecstatic at this point, and really, sometimes that’s all that really matters, right?

I’ve mentioned my purchase before, of course, but right now I’m talking about it in greater detail, so I hope you’ll allow a completely batshit crazy insane young man this one dalliance.

My old 18-55mm f4/5.6 kit lens has indeed served me exceptionally well over the course of the past 2 years of my ownership and I am immensely grateful for it. I’ve managed shots I thought impossible and taken images that took my own breath away with it, even as I expanded my collection of camera gear to include a telephoto and a 50mm f1.8 prime. I used it at events, product shots and even my random shit, though my prime steadily grew in its influence due to its faster capabilities and overall better quality.

These were the golden days of sorts, when I had assumed that these 3 lenses would be all that I would ever need for the present, knowing in the back of my mind that this unstable triumvirate would never last longer than a couple of photography events.

Oh, I managed. I avoided manual focus with the kit lens, opting for my prime when such situations called for tricky focusing. I started using auto-focus more often, preparing my camera to switch between lenses with little to no unnecessary delay in terms of transition. It worked, for a while at least.

Another test shot which hints at my innate love for architecture.

But then, try as I might, one fine day, I noted that I just couldn’t stand the lens creep that had begun to present itself as a fairly major problem with the lens. Compound this with the fact that the kit lens’ focusing ring doesn’t exactly have a large turning angle, and you can imagine what I have to go through every time I want to manually focus with that lens.

It’s time to move on. Enter the Sigma.

We were in Parkway Parade when we happened to chance upon one of these.

At almost 3 times the weight of my original kit lens, it’s a beast, with a whopping 72mm filter diameter to match. Understandable, though, given it’s f2.8 rating when wide open at 17mm, qualifying it somewhat as a wide-angle lens at that particular focal length, something I was taking into account when deciding what exactly would replace my gradually aging kit lens.

Incidentally, I was seriously considering getting the 24-70mm f2.8 instead of this, but the store I went to didn’t have it available, and while I’m pretty ok when it comes to patience, I’m also pretty fucking crazy when it comes to impulse purchases.

My sister insisted I take this shot.

The lens focuses rather nicely, with AF noise not being much of an issue, although I’d heard reports to the contrary on that matter. Maybe I’m just insensitive after being exposed to about ten kukrimillion gunshots in my childhood alone. The focusing ring is pleasantly tensioned, neither too hard nor too loose to turn, and it’s not overly sensitive either.

Not a minute later, we ran into yet another of these road devils.

I took it out and around for some test shots, and was immediately surprised by the crisp results, even when wide open at f2.8. The whole twist-clockwise-to-zoom method, which is completely opposite to to that of all lenses I’ve worked with does grate on my nerves a little, but with enough practise, I think I’ll be able to manage. It’s pretty worth it for the kind of shots I’m getting.

I have tried panning with the new lens, and though the added weight is not really a problem (I’ve done that a million times over with my telephoto), the oddity of feeling the weight but not having the range does unsettle me a little. I suppose I’m a little too used to going all out at 300mm, though.

I’ve been reading up on studio lighting recently (yes, I’ve read through Strobist for like the fifth time running now) thanks to my new purchases, and while I’m not about to head out for some white umbrellas and 500-watt bulbs, I do find some of these set-ups intriguing, to say the least. But I will, most likely, be concentrating on my upcoming F1 event before settling on anything else.

My sister decided to pick up some snacks from Breadtalk, a local bun chain.

In closing, though, it’s a pretty sweet lens, and even though the hole in my wallet is going to take a while to mend, I’m somehow strangely satisfied about the whole thing. I suspect this feeling, akin to elation of sorts, will end very shortly once I realize I’m out of cash to get Street Fighter IV when Capcom finally decides to stop dicking around and release it. Or Tekken 6, for that matter.

Entries: On your mark, gentlemen — Marathons

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