2004 Mazdaspeed MX5 – AsianGuyWithACamera.com.

This made me think of Pedwar’s eldest brother.

The Canon 50D, as detailed in Canon 50D Milestone, as published on www.luminous-landscape.com, takes an interesting look at how that camera’s unprecedented pixel-density is revealing the short-comings of even the most highly regarded lenses.

For several years, many photographers and industry types, including the Luminous Landscape’s Michael Reichman, have been warning that this day would come and that manufacturers would have to offer better glass to keep up with sensor resolution.

I finally took the plunge and upgraded my camera. That means that as much as I’ll be sad to see it go, I have to find a new home for my faithful and flawlessly reliable 20D (virtually all of the images on this site were taken with this 20D). I’ve posted a classified ad on Craig’s List, but here are some images and additional info for anyone interested. If you know of anyone who might want it, please point them here, or to the ad. Most of the info you need is on the Craig’s List Ad. You can contact me at regs at uncommonpear dot com. (http://ottawa.craigslist.ca/pho/497471581.html) but here is some more in-depth info for any prospective buyers. If you’re looking for a robust, high-performance digital SLR at point and shoot prices, I don’t think you can do better than this 20D…

SOLD – The Camera Body and Optional Warranty

Buying a camera from a retailer provides the security of a short warranty period in case of problems. Most retailers provide a warranty of 7 to 90 days and obviously charge for this coverage. For example, Henry’s would sell my 20D for $599.99 + tax, offering a 90-day warranty. My 20D offers the best of both worlds: a tax-free private sale and a one year warranty from Henry’s, a major retailer with three Ottawa area stores, for $625. I’m able to offer this only because I got the extended warranty when I originally bought the body.

If you don’t want the Henry’s warranty, it’s only $550, $134 less than Henry’s would charge.

SOLD – The L-Plate

ReallyRightStuff makes some of the best clamping and support products you can find and their L-plates are so convenient they’re a must-have. Here’s a link to explain how they work. L-Plates are made from high-grade, machined aluminum so they don’t age and wear out. At $130, this part is a steal considering the retail price of $160USD doesn’t include nearly $30 in shipping or the Canadian taxes you’d pay when picking up the parcel.

NO LONGER FOR SALE – A Fast 50mm Prime

It’s small and light and could fit in your coat pocket. It’s also razor sharp and requires minimal light thanks to the huge fixed apeture. At retail, this Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM would command $499.99. It’s lens hood, a Canon ES-71II, adds another $57.99 and a 58mm B+W UV filter another $49.99 — now add tax. How does $400 for all three sound?

All prices are negotiable.

In addition to the technical subject matter of recognizing good and bad prints, preparing one’s own files for printing, etc., we also spent quite a bit of time critiquing participant images. Each of the 20 participants brought four prints for presentation and discussion. This part of the workshop really made me miss being a member of the photography club so I’ll be looking at joing up with the Ottawa Camera Club again, or trying out the RA Photo Club.

On the last day, we all made prints on Michael’s Epson 11880 64-inch printer. The machine was amazing and baited everyone to try and see how big they could go with a given file before image quality degraded. While one of images from NYC didn’t survive upsizing to 20×24, this image of the Heron at the family cottage printed beautifully at 16×10.

Since the workshop, I’ve taken a much harder look at my library of images with what feel like new, better-educated eyes. This resulted in a substantial cull and the adoption of the workflow tips presented at the workshop.

Also, I’ve made my first print sale to a colleague at work. I’ll be delivering it (the NYC image above in a more reasonable size), double-matted and framed, tomorrow. I’m also contributing the Heron image as a raffle item for a fund-raiser at work.

On the work front, there is a lot of activity and work across the organization and while it doesn’t affect me or my staff directly or as intensely as our subject matter experts, it gives us more balls to juggle in our discussions with our external clients. Sorry, can’t say more.

Closing thoughts… I wish Canon would announce the 5D’s successor soon — I’m getting impatient.