December 1, 2004 I was SICK today! I was even sick yesterday when I picked up Eloise from the airport... kinda put a damper on our reunion, BUT I can't think of anyone I'd rather have trying to force feed me viatamins and hot tea.

Anyway...I got a new toy today so I'm smiling a little through all of my coughing and sniffling. I got a replacement for my old Sigma 180mm f/2.8 macro lens. I LOVED that lens...built like a brick and tack sharp. When I went all digital it wouldn't work on my new camera and it was too old to be upgraded so I was shit outta luck. I tried to sell it on Ebay, but I only got one guy interested and he wanted it shipping and all for $200. So instead of selling it for so cheap I just gave it to a friend who still shoots film and happily she is putting it to very good use.

So... I replaced it with a brand spankin' new Sigma 150mm f2.8. Yeah, they shorted me 30mm BUT this one is much lighter and smaller AND it goes all the way to 1:1 magnification (lifesize) whereas the old one only went to 1:2. Actually it's better than 1:1 because I'm using it on a 10D that has a smaller chip than a 35mm frame. If you have no idea what I'm saying don't be scared...I'm just photo-geeking out like I always do when I get new stuff:)

I'm always leary of new lenses at first. You never know what kind of lemon you might get so first thing I did was went to testing it. I'm happy to say it passed with flying colors just like I hoped it would. The first photo below is the full frame image as I shot it (that's what you see through the viewfinder). The one below it is a 100% crop of the image. A shiny dime isn't exactly the best test subject and I did test other things...who really wants to see the fine print on my cell phone box though?

Off to bed with me now. I HAVE to get better damnit!
Close-Ups of EVERYTHING coming soon!