travel | aid | photography
I am still mourning the loss of my favorite lens - my Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L - courtesy of Emirates airlines, who kindly declined to cover damages to anything 'electronic'. But, never one to become disheartened (actually, that's a lie, I like a good moan and whinge), I've decided to look at the silver lining.
I am left with my main camera body (Canon 5D), which survived its airline injuries because it's as tough as a tank. And my 16-35 is survived by two siblings; a Canon 50mm 1.8 mk II and a Canon 100mm f/2. I also have a little point-and-shoot (Canon PowerShot S90) which is now getting more use than ever.
For a couple of years now I have shot with my 16-35 for probably 80 per cent of the time, or more. But a recent visit to a camp for displaced people forced me to revive my 50mm (see some of the shots here and here). And surprisingly, I remembered why I had held on to this lens for four years. It's fantastic!
For any of you photographers out there who don't have a prime 50mm, go get one!
OK, so the autofocus is worse than useless on this plastic toy, and it seems to enjoy hunting endlessly for focus - so much so that I gave up on it entirely, choosing to manually focus for the rest of the day. Shooting at f/1.8 on manual focus led to a few poorly focused shots, and I was reminded of why I rarely shoot quite that wide. But it reminded me of those early days when I first bought an SLR and was constantly amazed at what it could do.
So I might have lost my best lens, the lens that has give me some of my favorite photographs, but I have been reminded of those early joys of photography. And in the future, that 50mm might just make it out of the bag a little more often.
Our 50mm lens is in two pieces thanks to a jump off the top of a Land Cruiser in Zambia. At least the shot was worth it.
Hoping to replace it this month.
Ah, tragedy. But, i know how you feel. That sinking feeling when I found my shattered 16-35… ;(
But on the bright side, at least the 50mm is pretty cheap to replace.
True. It was a cheap fix, relatively speaking. Wasn’t anticipating turning around 10 days later and having to replace/upgrade the body too, but I’m hovering dangerously close to the moan and whine state here myself.
I keep reminding myself how this is a hobby for the wealthy. My driver in Zambia couldn’t take up the hobby if he wanted to and it’s a privilege to have the resources to be creative, even if it is a sacrifice.
I had a discussion emerge on my husband’s facebook page when we were in the midst of this camera dilemma about Canon vs Nikon. Nice to see someone else has an affection for Canon.
Very true. I confessed to one of my colleagues how much I paid for my new lens. He couldn’t believe it – thought I was crazy (“you know you can buy 10 cameras for that price, right?” was written all over his face).
But the real danger is how addictive camera buying is. There’s no end point. There’s always a next camera and a next lens or a next accessory. It will be the financial death of us all