Given the vast resource that flickr must have behind it, you’d think they’d fix whatever keeps breaking…

The rumours and reports of accidentally published official web pages have finally been ratified with the announcement of the latest Canon digital SLR; the EOS 50D.  Just a year younger than its sibling, the 40D, the new mid-range camera once again brings Canon up to speed with the latest Nikon releases with features such including:

• 15.1 MP (APS-C) CMOS sensor
• DIGIC 4 processor
• ISO range up to 12800
• 3.0″ 920,000 dot VGA LCD with Live View
• Face detection technology [on a semi-pro model?!]
• AF adjustment

I’ll leave the feature debate for others and simply say that I won’t be replacing my 40D with the new 50D.  Why?  The feature set isn’t so different from that of the 40D and the next major feature step for me would be to a full frame sensor body.  Even then, I don’t see such a purchase anywhere on my horizon.  For the time being, my 40D serves me well.  Besides, £1,200 would be better spent on a nice, shiny new 70-200 f/2.8 L IS USM lens instead.

Read a preview of the 50D at DPReview and place your pre-order at Warehouse Express.

Also in the news is the release of the Canon EF-S 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens; a lens that’s sure to be popular as a walkabout lens.

A question that I often see being asked in photography forums is

What’s a good walkabout lens for my xxxD?

Rather than it being a reference to lenses with legs, a walkabout lens is one with which you might take out on a day of walking whether it be to a park, to the shops or to your friends barbeque. The requirement being that because you don’t know what type of subject you’re going to come across you take a lens that can cover most general situations rather than lugging about a heavy bag filled with lenses.

Prime lenses don’t fall into this category very well unless you’re deliberately wanting to restrict yourself to a single focal length. As such, zoom lenses - particularly those around the ’standard’ lengths - are favoured for this role. In particular, zoom lenses that start at a wider (<= 35mm) focal length and reach up to short telephoto (=> 50mm). These ranges often provide a good balance between focal length range, image quality, cost and weight.

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Over the past few months, I’ve spent a not too small an amount of money on parking and entrance fees to various National Trust properties.  Seeing as though I plan to visit many more, it makes sense to take advantage of the benefits offered to NT members such as:

• Free entry and parking at over 300 historic sites
• Free parking at countryside and coastline locations
• A members guide book to all NT sites
• Newsletters about special events
• 3 editions of the NT magazine
• Free access to National Trust for Scotland sites as well as others around the world.

If you’re not yet a member of the National Trust and considering signing up then you might like to know that you can currently get a free pair of binoculars by using one of the many promotional links scattered around the web. To find one of these links just Read the rest of this entry »

As a photographer, there are certain times when you might want to use a relatively slow shutter speed in order to increase exposure time. An example of such an occasion is when photographing a scene containing moving water and you want the movement of the water to be captured as a milky mist for dramatic effect.

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