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04/05/2015

Zoomy zoomy lunch time life through the lens :)

Hi there to Treshnish - my newest follower, you used to follow me when I was 11am - welcome back! I have such a soft spot for Isle of Mull as we celebrated our honeymoon there and spent a few very happy (wet and windy) days there :) Treshnish  takes beautiful seascapes, windswept coastlines and farming photos - please pop over and have a look :)

 

I have been asked again about my new lens, so I thought I'd do a post about my new toy :)  As I mentioned before, it is neither super expensive or super fancy, but for me it has been a delight as well as a steep learning curve.

I'd been cogitating over my desire to have something a little more 'zoomy' than my existing lens. When my camera (Sony a230 - no longer being manufactured in this spec) needed a service, I asked the man behind the counter what he recommended at a price I could afford.

He suggested a couple of makes so I did a bit of research on the 'net.  It is a bit of a minefield of information so it did take a bit of searching to find something that fitted my requirements.
Well, today was a bank holiday and I was the only one working :(, so the boys came up for a walk and met me at lunch time - it was glorious sitting in the sunshine listening to the bumblebees working their way through hundreds of thousands of dandelion flowers. It was a perfect day mini micro-adventure.
Of course, I had my camera with me. The above photos is with my original Sony standard lens, the gloriously dandelion filled village green in Langcliffe.
After reading reviews and spec, I eventually plumped for the Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Mcro 1:2 lens, which is a  happy step up for me, however probably not grown-up or sharp enough for the professional. The difference it has made to my 'macro' and my long distance shots is definitely a huge plus. The dandelions below are the same as above.....only shot through the Tamron...... bit of a difference ?Yeah! 
And I don't mean the close ones, these flowers are in the middle distance of the original view.
Above - the Tamron lens retracted and 
Below - the lens fully extended. 
In the interest of science (well..... more for the fun of it really)  I took two more photos - Langcliffe village church, the first with my Sony camera SAL 1855 18-55mm standard zoom lens. 
 And this one - with my new zoomy lens. Neither lens was super extended - just mid-range focus and click.
On the negative side, the lens, when on AF (autofocus), constantly shifts backwards and forwards while it settles and is quite a greedy battery eater. I have started to use MF (manual focus) which is a bit slow and I certainly need loads and loads of practice. However, it is not impossible for me to take good in-focus photos but I am a lot slower at striking the right balance than the AF can do - but it is all practice.
Gratuitous picture of both lenses just for comparison purposes. The end piece of the new lens (on the right) is a sun-shield - which is great as it means I don't have to hold my hand up in front of my camera to stop unwanted sun-flares (unless I actually want them there :) )

And just to make clear, in no way am I being sponsored or have an affiliation with any of the equipment I am waffling on about.

Now - just a couple more pictures before I completely bore you..... enjoy.







8 comments:

  1. Great photos Hawthorn and you certainly seem to have a very smart camera. Mine is a Samsung and I now have 3 different size lenses. We are having intermittent internet problems, so will try and email when it is OK. Email has been so slow today, though commenting on blogs has been easier, hence sitting doing this. First time I've been able to get through in a couple of days. We move 20th of this month. Take care,

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  2. We went to our local woods and played with our cameras using the same lens as you, great photos.

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  3. Oooh, you are grave to tackle such an advanced lens. I once considered getting one but decided against its size and the brain power I would need so stayed with what I have. However I am glad you have taken the plunge as we can now all benefit from super great photos!

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  4. Beautiful photographs. Love the ones taken in one of my favourite places ......Langcliffe. Time we went back there for a picnic lunch. You are having lots of fun with your new lens, the detail is amazing. xx

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  5. OOh exciting a new camera lens. I resisted a bigger lens for my Cannon for ages, but Mr O went and bought me one and I have to say I do love it! I had the same issues the shifting backwards and forwards while it settles on AF, and mine is quite heavy so I tend to use the tripod, but it's fab for shots of wildlife in the garden especially. Love your photos, happy playing!

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  6. Fantastic pictures! I almost bought a new lens last year but couldn't make my mind up. I love taking close ups so it's something I really should treat myself to ;-)

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  7. What great photos! That lens is enormous! I'm just a beginner photographer with a Sony compact, there is so much to learn.

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  8. Absolutely stunning photos! It all sounds a bit technical to me, as I'm a compact user, but I love the results. Those close-ups are fantastic :)
    Cathy x

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Hi there...

Thank you ever so much for stopping by today - I'm really glad that you did. If you would like to leave me a comment then I would be delighted to hear from you, any one signing as anonymous or writing anything unkind, political, any form of hate or computer generated will be acknowledged as spam and deleted.

Hawthorn x

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