Photography gear can be expensive, so when you buy additional gear, you want to make sure you're not paying too much for it. Typically, camera gear is cheaper in the US than it is in Australia, even when taking into account the shipping costs, and depending on the cost, the GST and customs duty.
As a result, many people, myself included, have been buying camera gear from overseas sellers, including places such as B&H and Adorama.

However, with recent changes in the Australian exchange rate, it may not necessarily be cheaper to import items from overseas!



With the Aussie dollar having dropped against the US dollar in the last year or so, it has been cheaper to buy camera gear direct from the US, than it has been to buy it locally in Australia. In July/August 2008, the Australian dollar reached new heights of USD$0.97.

In November 2007, I bought the Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro from B&H in New York. Even when taking into account the shipping costs, I still saved approx AUD$250 compared to the local Australian prices. B&H use UPS for shipping items around the world, and the lens was delivered to my door approximately 2.5 working days after the order was placed!

Note that because the lens was worth less than AUD$1000, I didn't have to pay any GST or customs duty when the lens arrived in Australia (there's no import duty on photographic gear).

Here's a photo of my youngest daughter, while engrossed in her toys. While processing this photo, I tried converting it to black and white, but it didn't look right. However, desaturating it seemed to work better with this particular photo, so here's a desaturated version:

engrossed

(desaturated version)

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO200

For reference, here's a full colour version, with the saturation slightly boosted to highlight the colours of the wooden blocks on the left hand side.

engrossed

(full colour version)

home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO200

Which do you prefer? The full colour version, or the desaturated version, and why? Please leave a comment below indicating your preference and your reasoning.

To a snail, even blades of grass can present formidable obstacles!

a snail's viewpoint

back yard at home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/80 sec, f/10, ISO200

There are many websites out there with useful information about photography, and many photographers regularly posting great photos.
Here's some photography-related blogs that I read on a regular basis (via Google Reader). Hopefully you'll find some of the blogs on this list useful.

• A Little News
• aimee claire
• Anna Gay Photography
• Annual Report Photographer David Tejada
• Arlene Bax Photography
• Alex Wise Photography
• Chase Jarvis Blog
• chromasia.com photoblog
• Confessions of a Photographer
• David E Jackson // A Blog
• Del Sol Photography Blog
• Digital Photography School
• DIY Photography
• Flash Frog
• Jasmine Star Photography Blog
• Jessica Claire - Photographer
• Joe McNally's Blog
• Joey L: The Blog
• Lakshal Perera :: Wedding Photographer
• Mark J Reblias Blog
• Ming Thein
• No Cropping Zone
• PixSylated - Syl Arena's blog
• Simply Bloom Photography
• Strobist
• The Online Photographer
• Zack Arias - Atlanta based editorial music photographer

I've previously written a detailed review of a canvas print from RedBubble.com, and I recently obtained another canvas print from RedBubble. This time, it was a canvas print of a photo called "Grazing", taken during our holiday in Tasmania a few months ago.

Just like the previous canvas print I ordered from RedBubble, this is again the largest canvas print size available from RedBubble, measuring 610mm along its longest side.

canvas print of "Grazing" hanging on the wall

After many rumours, Canon have now announced the Canon 5D Mark II.

The key features include 21 megapixel full-frame sensor, expanded ISO range upto 25600, live view, 3.9 FPS, and HD video capability at 1920 x 1080.
I think it's a worthy successor to the three-year-old 5D, although I'm not convinced that HD video belongs on a DSLR.

For more details, see:

• Canon press release
• Canon 5D Mark II specifications
• Canon 5D Mark II product page

DPReview also have an extensive post on the features of the 5D Mark II, including additional photos of the body, and sample images and movie files, as well as a detailed hands-on preview.



In the same press release, Canon also announced an updated version of the 11 year-old 24mm f/1.4L USM lens.



Earlier this week, Zeiss announced manual-focus ZE lenses with EF mounts for Canon bodies. The first lens to be made available will be a 50mm f/1.4 lens, with an 85mm f/1.4 lens to follow later this year.

Here's a couple of photos from my brother-in-law's fancy dress party last month. All sorts of characters were present - from a Banana in Pajamas, to Little Red Riding Hood, Cleopatra, through to a (male) Little Bo Peep.
I hadn't been to a fancy dress party for many years, and it was great fun!

Where's Wally? Armadale, Western Australia Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @28mm 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO200

Captain Jack Sparrow Armadale, Western Australia Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @53mm 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO200

This is another photo tilt-shifted digitially in Photoshop to make it look like a miniature model. I've previously written about Faking Tilt-Shift - a Tutorial for Realistic Miniaturised Photos.

This photo was taken at a holiday house in Mandurah a couple of years ago.

Camry in front of house - tilt-shifted

Mandurah, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @38mm, 1/50 sec, f/10, ISO100

The HMAS Vampire is a decommissioned destroyer at the Australian National Maritime Museum, in Sydney. As one of the museum's exhibitions, visitors to the museum can wander around the 120m long HMAS Vampire.

The HMAS Vampire was launched in October 1965, commissioned in June 1959, and spent most of her career in South East Asia, and was eventually gifted to the museum in 1986.

HMAS Vampire

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @17mm, 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO100

Another insect, photographed in my back yard with one of my favourite lenses, the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens.

I believe this is a Robberfly (Neoitamus cyanurus).

Robberfly

back yard, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO400

This is the view from a boat ramp, looking back towards Rockingham Beach, with the Kwinana Grain Terminal visible at the far left of the frame.

Still Water

Rockingham Beach, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @12mm, 1/160 sec, f/10, ISO100

Brian Auer recently posted a comparison of the specifications of the recently announced Canon 50D and the Nikon D90 on his Epic Edits Weblog. The specifications of these cameras are fairly close, and both are targeting the advanced amateur photographer.

Brian then asks users to indicate which body they would choose, assuming they didn't have any existing brand loyalty or lenses suitable for either body. At the time of writing, the poll was quite close, with less than 10% difference between the 50D and the D90.



I believe Brian's approach to choosing a DSLR body is flawed. Someone buying their first DSLR shouldn't look at the specifications of camera bodies from different manufacturers to determine which one to purchase.

Instead, you should look at the lenses available for each brand (and to a lesser extent, also look at other accessories, such as flashes, etc). Once you decide which lens series you want to use (based on lens price, features, range, availability, etc), you then pick a body to suit those lenses, based on your budget at that time.

Camera manufacturers typically release updated bodies every 18 months or so (with the 50D being only 12 months after the release of the 40D). Updated bodies will have better performance and additional features that make them desirable. You can always upgrade to a higher-spec body and/or newer model of the body at a later date.

Even though one brand of DSLR body may have a minor edge over another brand at the current time, that could easily change when each manufacturer releases new versions of their bodies.

If you look after them, good quality lenses will last you for many years, and don't become obsolete. Lenses should last you through multiple camera bodies, although there are certainly situations where you may want to upgrade a lens to a better and/or faster lens.



For those readers who have an SLR (not necessarily a DSLR), how did you decide which brand to use (ie, Canon/Nikon/Pentax/etc), and how did you decide which body to purchase?

Use the comments below to submit information about your decision process when you purchased your first SLR camera body.

Here's another photo of the Penitentiary at the historic Port Arthur site in Tasmania, taken during our holiday several months ago.
It was taken from the same location as another photo of the Penitentiary that I blogged some time ago, but this time taken in landscape mode, specifically to include the tree on the left and top, to provide a natural frame.

the Penitentiary

Port Arthur, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/800 sec, f/4.5, ISO100