The auctioning of my Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens concluded today after, relative to other things I’ve previously sold on eBay, a huge amount of interest. Bidding started at just 99p in order to attract interest and minimise listing fees. Most of the time, my listing tend to stagnate for a while and only receive bids closer to the auction end, but this one received a few bids early on.

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My nearly new Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM zoom lens is being auctioned on eBay and starting at just 99 pence!

When photographers use avatars in forum profiles, why are they, more often than not, photos of themselves taking a photo of themselves in a mirror? You know, that classic hold the camera in portrait format and… Click!

Seriously… Is there anything more corny?

Flickr makes it very easy to save on bandwidth when it comes to displaying your photos on other websites. Not only do Flickr provide a robust hosting platform allowing your images to be served quickly and reliably to users all over the world, but there’s no charge for doing so even if it’s viewed a massive number of times.

In return for allowing people to do this, Flickr state, very clearly, that any images hosted by Flickr (regardless of whether it’s your image or not - that’s not relevant) and posted elsewhere should be linked back to the Flickr photo page just like this one,

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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.