timsdd aka Tim's Digital Darkroom

This is my main hot shoe flash, the Sigma EF-500 Super DG.

It is very versatile and of course leaps and bounds better than the pop-up flashes that come with DSLR’s. The flash is a very over looked component for many I think, myself included. There are probably 100′s of other ways I could be using it and who knows how many different settings I have not harnessed yet.
I think it’s a lot like my familiarity with Photoshop, sure I can use it and get good results but I’m probably only tapping into < 25% of the overall potential that is available to me.

I bought the Sigma model b/c they are usually a lot cheaper than Canon and for the most part I don’t think 99% of users would miss the difference (if any) that the Canon model has to offer.

And then this is my Sunpak FP38 Flat Panel flash. I use it as a slave for water drops, breaking bulbs and stuff like that. Might actually be good for portraits too…I have never tried it!

This is the most recent flash I have purchased. It is a Sigma EM-140 DG TTL Macro Ringlight Flash.

It’s stellar for macro images. The only problem is that it is so good it enables my laziness of not using a tri-pod for all of the shots seen in this backyard macro gallery.

It could also be used for portraits and product lighting, the latter of which I have done, used it as the main flash for all the lens pictures I have posted to date!

Moving on to the big gun, my Canon EF 70-200 mm F4L USM lens. They make a version that has IS (Image Stabilization) but anytime a lens has that feature tack on an additional $500 @ least.

Of course the coveted lenses are the 70-200/2.8 but those are twice as expensive and truly, I do not use this focal length often enough to warrant the additional expenditure. However, the 2.8 would be far more helpful to those that shoot sports for instance, of which I rarely do.

The lens is fast, great images and the most economical L lens that Canon offers TMK (To My Knowledge). Plus it looks impressive too :-)

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Ok, this one definitely falls under the category of being “my precious”

This is my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens. It is far and away my most versatile and therefore most used lens. Not only does it go from wide angle to a decent mid zoom but it’s also F4, a L lens, AND it has IS (Image Stabilization)….win/win/win/win. Not surprisingly it is also my most expensive lens or maybe a close 2nd to my Tilt/Shift.

In any case, I use this about 88.4% of the time, unless of course I’m doing macro shots. The only ‘drawback’ that I see with it is that it’s not 2.8. So while it does have IS (making it possible to achieve slower shutter speeds akin to a 2.8 lens), the DOF does not drop off as fast as a 2.8 lens would. While that may not seem like much, it can make a difference in a shot in my experience.

This is a lens accessory (and not a very good one :p)

I bought it mostly for shooting the moon I think.

It is a Kenko(Tokina) 3x tele converter. Both of the OEM ones (that being Canon) are only 1.4 and 2x converters. This makes them have less reach but also they have better optical quality.

The kicker is that my Canon 70-200mm/4 does not work with the 3X with my 40D. It worked perfectly with my XTi but for some reason the 40D does not communicate through it. Someone mentioned that I might have to tape some contacts in order for it to work (I almost forgot that!).

So it’s more of a fun/novelty piece than a full fledged ‘must have’ sort of thing.

Kenko 3x Tele-Converter:

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These are my Kenko extension tubes. There are 3 separate pieces, a 12mm, a 20mm, and a 36mm. They can be used separately or in any combination of the 3.

Extension tubes allow you to get even close to your subject by making the lens further away from the sensor…sorta like when you put a magnifying glass closer to an object. (How very not scientific of an explanation of me!)

The great thing about then is that they do not degrade the image quality since there is no glass.

They make an ordinary lens almost like a macro lens in terms of magnification and they make my macro lens A ‘super’ macro.

Here are some with macro + tubes (most of them anyway)