Now I (theoretically) have spare time, I decided to get back into photography which is another way of saying I'm managed to convince Laura it's okay to shell out hundreds of euros on expensive toys.
Actually it's not as bad as that. For years now I've been
angsting over what type of camera / technology I should invest in. I nearly bought digital SLR before we left NZ, but Laura talked me out of it and found me my
Leica D-
LUX 3 which as proved a very capable little camera.
But yet I long for more. While in NZ, I bought a Canon
AE1-P from Trade Me. It's in mint condition and could be brand new (even though it's well over 20 years old). It came with two lenses, a 28mm 2.8 and a 50mm 1.8. In
Hong Kong I bought a 135mm 2.8 which is the focal length I came to know and love as a kid playing with my dad's camera.
So I've made the brave decision to keep my old Canon FD kit and augment it rather than buying an expensive digital SLR + new
auto focus lenses. Why? First off, unlike a film camera, the digital SLR camera body becomes
obsolete every 3 years as technology improves. This is no reason not to buy one, but for me they are not a collectible thing of beauty. Also the professional
EOS lenses are _so_ expensive - in the thousands of dollars. I really don't need (or even like)
auto focus.
Annnnyway so I decided to get some _real_ FD lenses and I've made my first purchase. A fool and his money are soon parted, and mine was when I won an auction on eBay for a Canon 85mm 1.2L lens. I was then stung 80 euro in duty/VAT by Irish Customs (thanks guys). I'd taken a gamble on this lens as the pictures on the auction were not very clear and the seller didn't really know, or pretended not to know, how to examine the lens for
nasties.
Anyway, it turned up and I wasn't too happy. The whole thing looked dirty, the rear lens cap didn't fit and upon close inspection I could see moisture inside the lens. I had decided to try and send it back.
But by the time I got home, the moisture / condensation had gone (and hasn't come back). I found that the rear lens cap was just not of the correct sort, so I swapped it at the camera shop for a correct one and, on the positive side, the lens has no scratches, no fungus, and no oil on the blades (as far as I can tell). And it cleaned up pretty good!
The 85mm 1.2L has to be one of the sexiest looking camera lenses I've ever seen, so I present it to you here: the 85mm 1.2L - the death of the kit lens:
Labels: cameras, david
