I sold my Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens to a buyer on Craigslist. I haven’t used it regularly in a long time, and preferred it live with someone who does.
I’ll always remember our moments together, old friend. Fare thee well.
Tag: Canon
Sold my Canon EF 28-135mm lens
I finally sold an unused lens (Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM), which I bought a year ago from my friend, Noel Kleinman.
Why?
I dropped the lens last April while I was borrowing it from Noel. Fortunately, he was cool about the situation and let me buy the lens.
I haven’t really used it since then.
A few weeks ago, I went on an eBay selling streak and sold all my bass guitar pedals[1. I bought a Line 6 Bass PODxt Live pedal board, so I didn’t need them anymore.]. Those sales gave the courage to finally post the lens for auction on eBay.
After eBay and shipping fees, I broke even from when I bought the lens. Other than being a little cautious with a new eBay user with zero feedback, everything went well.
I’m glad that most camera lenses don’t depreciate like everything else[2. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens that sold for under $80 USD (two years ago) currently sells for almost $99.99 USD.].
P.S. I bought a used Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM on eBay a few weeks ago, so don’t ask me what I’ll do with this money. 🙂
Next at All Narfed Up – Tips for better sales on eBay
OEM batteries for my Canon EOS 40D
In April 2008, I bought a Canon BP-511A 1390 mAh equivalent battery from SuperMart for $5.23 + $6 shipping (USD). It held a decent charge for a year before decreasing in charge capacity, with no damage to my camera.
Now, I’m going to try buying from SterlingTek. I would’ve gotten the two-pack, but I don’t need that many batteries yet. At the moment, their Canon BP-511A e2000 mAh equivalent battery is $11.99.[1. For comparison, Canon’s BP-511A battery pack costs $49.95 at Samy’s Camera.]
The difference is that SterlingTek has a 1-year warranty, a phone number and good feedback. SuperMart has a 6-month warranty and a PriceGrabber storefront.
Side note: If you’re interested in getting the most out of your batteries, head to Battery University.
Goodie #3: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens
Since Jason Ng (appleguy on Flickr) let me try his Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens on February 28th, it was in the back of my mind. I know I rented and talked about the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens, but I think I’ll get more use out of this one.
Once my tax return got deposited, I ordered the lens. While I’ve only had it for three days, I’m pretty much in love with it.
Initial thoughts and observations
- It’s solid. My Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II feels like a toy compared to it.
- Focusing is quick, smooth and quiet.
- Taking portraits wide open (f/1.4) creates awesome bokeh.
- Lighting which would usually require ISO 1600 with my 50mm f/1.8 lens is doable at ISO 800.
- The lens and hood look slightly glittery.
- The lens cap design is better than Canon’s.
- I don’t think I have focusing issues. That’s a relief.
I’m glad I got it over the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. On a crop body (1.6x), 30mm looks good.
The first photos from my new lens
I know, right?
Time to get out of this funk and make some more awesome photos. 🙂
[amtap amazon:asin=B0007U0GZM]
Cleaned the sensor myself, baby
After being disappointed with Canon’s sensor cleaning, I finally did it myself.
I bought Sensor Swabs[1. Type 2 for my Canon EOS 40D.] and Eclipse E2 sensor cleaner. After watching a video of Thomas Hawk cleaning his sensor, I carefully followed suit.
I took a before photo, made one pass with a fresh swab, took another test photo, made a second pass, then a last test photo. Finally, I took the above photo of the box of Sensor Swabs and Eclipse E2.
There’s still a couple dust spots around the edges, but I’m 99% sure it’s because I didn’t emphasize those areas in my swabbing.
Don’t be scared. It really is simple. Just exercise caution and you’ll be awesome[2. Disclaimer: I’m not responsible for any damage you cause to your camera.].
[amtap amazon:asin=B0001HMFIC]
[amtap amazon:asin=B00104QMQ6]
Additionally
Had my sensor cleaned by Canon
While I was in Irvine yesterday, I stopped by Canon Factory Service Center to get my 40D sensor cleaned for free. (via Chris Lin)
The process was a breeze. They told me I could pick it up in two hours, which wasn’t a problem.
I returned a few hours later and it was ready to go, wrapped inside a bag with a plastic temporary body cap and a tag with the technician’s initials. Attention to detail has to mean it’s pristine, right?
When I got home to check out the sensor:
View on Flickr
50mm, 3.2 sec at f/22, ISO 100
Um, what happened? If I had to ship my camera in for this service, I would be way more upset.
It looks like I’ll be going the DIY route in the future. (Marcus recommends the Copperhill method.)
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens review
Photodoto announced that BorrowLenses would hold a lens rental giveaway for a free 2-week lens rental. I wrote:
I think I’d want to try a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 because I’m very much into street photography right now and my 50mm is too close for comfort. 🙂
Max at BorrowLenses chose me! As a cool ego boost, he liked this photo blog, too. How awesome is that?
In the course of two weeks, I took over 600 photos. As of now, 67 of them are uploaded to Flickr.
My simple review
My expectations were already high. The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 is slow. While the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II is an inexpensive, fast prime lens, it takes a long time to focus in low-light situations. It’s pretty noisy, too. (For the price, it’s still really good, though.)
When I received the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens, I was very pleased with the build and feel of the lens. I immediately took a self-portrait [above] to test it out. Awesome. Of course, since the Canon EOS 40D has 1.6x field of view crop factor, it’s like a 136mm focal length.
I don’t pixel peep, so don’t expect that analysis here. Just know that for basically all the photos I took with it, I loved the quality and bokeh it produced. At 19% the cost of the Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM, I wouldn’t even hesitate.
My picks from the two weeks using the 85mm lens
You can view all the photos I took with the Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM lens at this Flickr photoset.
Thanks to John at Photodoto and Max at BorrowLenses.com!
A new year, a "new" camera
I’m now a proud owner of a Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera. Wicked!
Review: Canon cameras rock!
I don’t think Canon has let me down yet. I bought my first digital camera sometime in 2003, and it was a Canon PowerShot A40 (2MP). This first photo was taken with that camera. I loved that camera, but I found myself not carrying it with me as much as I’d like because it was bulky.
All Narfed Up 
You must be logged in to post a comment.