I've always believed that glass (ie, camera lenses) is more important than the camera body. When I bought my first DSLR, a Canon 350D, rather than buy the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II kit lens, I opted for the more expensive Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS lens. I didn't see the point in putting a ~AUD$150 lens onto a ~AUD$1000 body!

Bill Wadman recently wrote about this in a blog post titled Glass (part one). He introduces the subject by saying: Bill also goes on to discuss the benefits of prime lenses instead of zoom lenses.

Read Bill's article to see what else he has to say about choosing lenses.

I recently went on an overseas holiday to Phuket, Thailand, and had a hard time deciding which lenses to take. On the one hand, I wanted to ensure I had lenses to cover the focal lengths and lighting conditions I might encounter, but on the other hand, I didn't want to have to carry around all my lenses all the time.

In this post, I discuss the camera gear I took, and provide details on why I decided to take that gear.
I also provide the results of some quick analysis of the photos I took, determining how I used the lenses I took, and which focal lengths were the most popular. This allows me to then review the choice of lenses, and provide some recommendations for other travelling photographers.

With Australians being forced to switch from incandescent globes to compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), it's important to be aware of the fact that CFLs contain mercury. Breaking a CFL will release this mercury, and there are some significant health and safety issues associated with cleaning up this mercury, as well as disposing of CFLs.

On February 2007, the Australian Federal Government announced that incandescent light bulbs would be banned in Australia by the year 2010. Apparently that makes Australia the first country in the world to announce such a ban (ref 1, ref 2).

The primary reason for this ban is to encourage the use of compact fluorescent lamps instead of incandescent globes, as CFLs use approximately 80% less electricity, thus reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.
Apparently by 2015, the switch to CFLs will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by up to four million tonnes per year.

For anyone who has a set of extension tubes, here's a cheap and easy way to protect them in your camera bag. Just slide the extension tubes into a neoprene stubby/can holder.

extension tubes securely protected inside a stubby holder

The thick neoprene provides a very thick and robust holder, protecting your extension tubes from getting scratched in your camera bag.
A stubby holder is also significantly cheaper than a lens case designed specifically for photographic gear, particularly if you can get the stubby holders for nothing, as many companies give stubby holders away as promotional items, or alternatively, they can be purchased cheaply at many retail outlets as souvenir items.