430EX II

Typical. Weeks after I buy myself a Canon Speedlite 430EX, Canon announce its replacement; the 430EX II. Still, from an initial read of the announcement, it doesn’t look like I’ve missed out on much. New features are said to be:

• 20% reduction in recycle times meaning it’s ready to fire quicker than the model it replaces.
• The high-pitched whine normally associated with a charging flash has been eliminated and it’s now silent to minimise distraction. Can’t say I ever found it distracting.
• The mounting foot is now metal constructed for a more robust connection with a camera body.
• A new quick release and locking mechanism has also been incorporated.
• In Manual mode, the Speedlite 430EX II allows the light output to be altered in 1/3 stop increments for increased precision of operation, bringing it into line with the 580EX.
• All on-flash settings can be controlled using the camera menu system.

I haven’t seen any prices yet, though.

EOS 1000D

Canon also announced a new entry level DSLR in the form of the EOS 1000D, this week. Supposedly pegged lower than the 450D, the 1000D is available at £499 (body only) and the 450D at £459 (body only). I can’t quite figure Canon’s logic on the price point since the 450D is better specified, cheaper and itself was only announced 5 months ago.

Many people are suggesting that the 1000D is aimed at those looking to replace their point and shoot cameras, but even Canon’s own fantastic G9 is a whole £200 cheaper than just the body so it’s not such an easy decision to fall into.

Back when I was first thinking about buying my 40D, I thought about the first lens I wanted to go with it. I considered the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, but decided against it due to the relatively high cost. Then, after a couple of months with the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM I settled upon, I decided I wanted, no, needed the 17-55mm!

The pull of the f/2.8 was just too strong and so last week I took delivery of the lens (and am now looking to re-home my 17-85mm) and it was just how I expected it to be; the fast aperture and IS resulted in an excellent low light performance and the autofocus is blazingly fast.

A couple of aspects which I’d read about, but weren’t expecting were:
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What’s a nicer way to start off my new photography blog than with a post on how I’ve just received my Canon Cashback cheque through the post today?

Canon having been running their Cashback promotions for quite some time now, but I was always going to buy Canon when I once again became a SLR user however, it’s a certainly a nice sweetener to receive a cheque in the mail.

When I purchased my EOS 40D body and EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM standard zoom, Canon were offering £100 cashback on the body and £40 on the lens. I went on to purchase another two Canon lenses in Hong Kong, but they weren’t eligible for the Cashback offer. That doesn’t bother me too much since I saved well more than the £85 I’d have received if I’d bought them in an eligible country.

If you’re wondering how long it took to process my Cashback claim it was received into the system on 20/03/2008 and I’ve just received my cheque for £140 today (14/04/2008).