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A friend has asked me about my camera bag, and which one would I recommend. I have several so it is very hard to explain which I think is the best. I guess it depends on where I am going and what lens I need to take with me that determines which bag I use. I have 3 camera bags ranging from small shoulder strap to big backpack.
My first camera bag is a shoulder bag. It is very small and only fit my camera. This is the one that I took to Laos with me, and since I didn’t have extra lens at the time it was perfect for the trip. When I use this bag I have to carry a big plastic bag with me in case it rain.
The camera bag that I use the most is my backpack. I can fit all my lenses, charger, filters, and camera in here. The camera would fit right in the middle empty slot below. I use this backpack when I have to do a lot of walking, the gear doesn’t seem as heavy because the weight is distributed evenly across my back and shoulders.
It also comes with a rain hood and I had to use it several times while I was out and it started to rain. I bought this from Best Buy. I actually went and tried it out to see if I would like it and it’s the perfect size for me.
This one is an over- the-shoulder Sling Bag. I got this one for free when I purchased my lens. It is not the most comfortable camera bag in my opinion. It’s a midsize and I could bring an extra lens with me.
I took this to the local temple in the past, but really didn’t care for the look so I asked my sister Bee to make a bag for me that’s large enough to house my camera bag. She came up with this design, very western and one of a kind.
You can’t tell that I have my camera inside, and it looks more like me.
As for the memory card, I’m the last minute type of person and don’t always get the best deal when I buy my memory card or the battery. I bought mine at Best Buy and paid quiet a bit for them. The first one I bought was the 8GB ScanDisk Extreme. I would have also gotten the 16GB ScanDisk Extreme but when I saw the price I had to buy the 16GB ScanDisk Ultra instead. It’s a lot cheaper and it works okay for me, the picture below was taken with the 16GB ScanDisk Ultra. If I have to buy some more I would get it from Amazon.com, they have a very reasonable price on the 16GB ScanDisk Extreme, and also the 8GB ScanDisk Extreme. I do a lot of video so the 16GB comes in handy for me, otherwise I would use the 8GB for normal shooting.
Click here to view this video on YouTube
This is going into the twelve week of rice planting. The rice paddy sits near a busy road and the sound of cars passing by was real loud that I had to mute the video clips this time. I was on my way to work Friday morning and saw that they were already out there harvesting and worked late into the evening.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/100sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering
It is the second week of harvesting, and the aroma of the rice crops are so nice.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/200sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 400, focal length 109mm, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO 400, focal length 159mm, evaluative metering
Some sections are still too young to harvest.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 94mm, evaluative metering
They have a huge garden in their backyard and also raise their own chicken.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 70mm, evaluative metering
The rice paddy is a healthy habitat for the little critters and it’s a bug life out there.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/6.3, 1/400sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, closeup cropped, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/7.1, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, closeup cropped, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/7.1, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, closeup cropped, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering
This one is a strange looking grasshopper.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering
The garden spider is still there from last week.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering
The damselflies normally come out late evening and they are so tiny and could easily be missed.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering
I almost didn’t see this one.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 400, focal length 118mm, evaluative metering
I Google for the name of this moth and couldn’t find any that would ID it. I think it is an orange leopard moth and has a beautiful burnt orange color.
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 180mm, cropped, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, closeup cropped, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering
Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering
A friend has asked me to compare the image quality between my two cameras. My first camera was a Canon XTi and I bought this for my Laos trip, it has 10.1 megapixels. The camera came with a kit lens and the image below was taken on April 24, 2008. I was standing right below the nest and even on top of a chair to get closer. This was not a good idea and the mommy and daddy robins came to chase me away, I almost fell of a chair. I knew then that this was not going to work for me.
I was so unhappy with the quality of the image, the clarity was not there and I couldn’t zoom in close enough to get the image that I want and that’s when I decided to buy a walk around wide angle lens EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. Notice I didn’t waste any time, this image below was taken on May 2, 2008 standing from the inside of my house shooting through my window. This is exactly what I’m looking for, but sadly the lens cost more than my camera.
The image below of Lee was taken on July 2008 with my old XTi at Wat Lao Buddhavong in VA.
Then this image below of Lee was taken on April 2010 with the T2i, it has 18.0 megapixel, and note that I’m still using the same lens. I was actually very happy with my old camera and the only reason that I upgraded was because I was looking for a better video camera. The point and shoot didn’t do a good job as the image was too small and I didn’t have the ability to adjust the focus like the way I wanted, here is a video of The Exhibition, Torn From Home: My Life as a Refugee that I shot with my Nikon CoolPix S630. The T2i video feature seems to work better for me, less gear to carry around also and I’m very happy with the video quality that the T2i has to offer. This video of Lyra Shines shows the true 1080HD that the T2i has to offer, note again that this is not the kit lens.
July 2009 at Wat Lao Buddhavong taken with my old XTi
July 2010 taken with T2i, notice that the image is a lot sharper.
July 2008 at Wat Lao Buddhavong taken with my old XTi
July 2010 taken with the T2i
July 2008 at Wat Lao Buddavong taken with my old XTi
July 2010 taken with the T2i
I’m very happy with the image quality of the T2i, and now learning to use the manual setting on my camera.
If I have a choice and can do it all over again, I would choose the Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD and 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens. This has everything that I need, whether it be the 1080HD movie feature and the price is about the price of my camera plus the lens.
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