Parallel Imported Lenses?

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dman

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#760387 12-Feb-2013 20:58

timmmay: I have a lot of camera gear. Seriously, a lot. My walkabout kit is a Sony RX-100. Big sensor, raw, good to ISO3200 ok at 6400, fits in my pocket and cost $930. Love it.

If a person wanted a cheaper walk about kit from Sony I might suggest this instead as a better option:

http://rungunshoot.com/the-350-docu-filmmaking-kit-depreciation-is-wonderful/

Although yes, the RX-100 is very nice too and I wish I had one!

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da5id

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#762515 14-Feb-2013 17:25

OK, well I eventually went and made a purchase.
Ended up getting the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS.

I was originally aiming to get an 18-200MM, but I think I read that the bigger the zoom, the less quality it will be? Not sure, but the 18-200 was almost twice the price.
I got it from Digi Parallel Imports from one of the Westfields. I hope it was OK because it was the display one (the last one they had) and didn't have a box.

Still cost me $460 though.
I just took a few shots and it seems pretty good - not that I am a very good judge of what is good in a lens or not.

ObidiahSlope

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#762542 14-Feb-2013 18:21

+1 on Timmays recommendation of the smifu.com guy.

I just rang him about a replacement charger for a camera battery and he was really helpfull.

Obsequious hypocrite

Camden

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#762545 14-Feb-2013 18:22

Congrates on your new purchase. You will most probally find that you will have that lens on the camera most of the time and the two kit lens will not be used much.
The price you paid seems to be a bargin as other camera shops with NZ imported ones are advertised at
$895.00. My Nikon lens came off a body that was higher up the range and diddn't have a box either.That should not be an issue.
One thing with the Image stabilization turned on I beleive it sucks up another F stop ,so you have to watch it a bit in low light.With it turned on,an exposure of say F8 would open up a stop to F5.6 or go to a slower shutter speed to compensate.I generally have it off when taking photos on wide to mid angle range then flick it on when on full zoom.

da5id

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#762596 14-Feb-2013 19:40

Thanks, all good info :)
I love the IS, as I have a bit of a shaky hand sometimes.

alasta

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#763568 16-Feb-2013 20:19

Camden: One thing with the Image stabilization turned on I beleive it sucks up another F stop ,so you have to watch it a bit in low light.With it turned on,an exposure of say F8 would open up a stop to F5.6 or go to a slower shutter speed to compensate.I generally have it off when taking photos on wide to mid angle range then flick it on when on full zoom.

This is certainly not the case with Nikon's VR system. You will have the same F value and shutter speeds available regardless of whether you have VR on or off. However obviously if you have it on then it will allow the use of shutter speeds that would produce blurred results without VR.

You should always switch VR off when using a tripod though.

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RileyB

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#763586 16-Feb-2013 21:24

Camden: e.
One thing with the Image stabilization turned on I beleive it sucks up another F stop ,so you have to watch it a bit in low light.With it turned on,an exposure of say F8 would open up a stop to F5.6 or go to a slower shutter speed to compensate.

Not true in the slightest.

Batman

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#763587 16-Feb-2013 21:26

Lol

timmmay

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#763634 17-Feb-2013 00:51

I'm not even sure what Camden is trying to say. Two of my lenses (16-35 F4 VR and 70-200 F2.8 VR II) are image stabilized. With VR on I basically ignore camera movement blur below 1/20th or so, and subject blur is all I consider.

I use a lot of lighting, portable strobes and power packs and such for most things, so VR is almost irrelevant. Ambient light is rarely good quality, I like to control the size of the light source, direction, quantity, color, etc of the light on my subjects.

Batman

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#763666 17-Feb-2013 09:18

what he thought he was saying was -

the whole idea of image stabilisation is so that it allows the photographer to shoot at lower shutter speeds and minor "shakes" are largely compensated so you don't get a blur image which you would normally when shooting at lower shutter speeds.

and one would need lower shutter speeds in low light OR normal shutter speeds in telescopic lenses

BUT image stabilisation does NOT freeze your subject. you can have best the image stabilization , shoot at lower shutter speeds, but if your subject moves you will get a blur picture - you need higher shutter speeds to freeze moving subjects

i hope i have made it clear ...

Camden

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#763812 17-Feb-2013 15:41

I stand corrected.Thankyou for correcting me and providing the correct information.

I was taking some scenic photos recently,hand held, in lowish light and I turned the VR switch to on. Obiously I was mistaken in that the shutter speed had altered to compensate.Trouble is that I can see ok through the Viewfinder to frame the photos ok but to read the info or view the LCD screen I need my reading glasses on which is a bit of a pain sometimes. Old age creeping up fast !

Obviously the system must work very well as it is a very rare event to get a poor image regardless of the taking conditions.

From what has been said there appears to be no down side to leaving the VR turned on permantly unless using on a tripod. Any comment on that statement please. Though what is the reason behind turning off if on a tripod.Why would it matter? I don't have the booklet that should have come with the lens,to read up on it.

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RileyB

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#763823 17-Feb-2013 16:07

With a really crappy $20 tripod using VR/OS is still ok, but with any good Tripod the VR/OS can get stuck in a feedback loop, causing it to compensate for vibrations that are not really there, causing the image to "drift".

alasta

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#763877 17-Feb-2013 20:17

Camden: From what has been said there appears to be no down side to leaving the VR turned on permantly unless using on a tripod. Any comment on that statement please.

It may be prudent to switch VR off when panning, too. I think Nikon's system is designed to detect panning and disable VR for the axis on which the panning is occurring (e.g. if you're panning horizontally then the VR would only stabilise vertically) but I'm not sure how well this works or whether it works on all lenses, so it may be safer to just switch it off.

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