Saturday, November 13, 2010

Handheld at night: Canon's EF-S 15-85mm IS Zoom

Canon EOS 7D - EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM - ISO 1600 - 1/6 sec at f / 4.0 - handheld


When I tell people what a great lens Canon's EF-S 15-85mm "kit" zoom is (introduced along with the EOS-7D in 2009), I often times get some pretty skeptical looks. After all, while Canon makes many superb 'L' lenses, they don't necessarily have a reputation for high quality kit lenses. Well people... take my word for it, the 15-85mm zoom rocks! The above gallery contains all images taken with this lens the other evening, all handheld and most are wide-open at f/3.5.  I did some perspective correction on several shots in Adobe Lightroom v3.3RC to square up the buildings when I wasn't quite shooting level and please note that LR v3 now does do some automatic distortion corrections for many lenses too, although even without correction it really is not bad. I have included 2000 pixel images as well so you can better see how sharp this lens can be. Images were shot raw with my EOS-7D, all at ISO 1600 and at shutter speeds ranging from a very long 0.4 seconds, to an 1/8 of a second with a handful being slightly higher. EXIF data shows below each enlarged image, so you can see the camera settings.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Rebates, more rebates and promos!

Starting November 1st, there are tons of rebates available when buying gear from Beau Photo! Not only are there a whole slew of new Canon rebates on DSLRs, lenses and flashes, but for the first time in quite some time, there are also Nikon lens rebates! Add to this some great new Hasselblad promos and you've got plenty of stuff to consider, especially if needing to start your (generous!) Christmas shopping early for a loved one.

Lastly, there are also some Lexar specials running through until November 7th.  Of interest might be instant rebates on the following pro cards...

  • Lexar Pro UDMA 8GB 400x CF - $14.00
  • Lexar Pro UDMA 16GB 400x CF - $23.50
  • Lexar Pro 16GB 133x SDHC - $26.00

Nov. 2010: Hasselblad Year-End Promos






Hasselblad has announced some aggressive promotions, starting November 1st and running through to December 31st. Call me for current CDN pricing if you are interested in one of the H4D or lens offers!

15% off Lens Promotion:
Endusers may purchase an HC(D) lens or HTS1.5 tilt-shift adapter at a 15% discount.

H4D-40 Lens Bundle
Enduser may purchase an H4D-40 with a HC(D) lens of their choice for a
promotional price of $19,995 US.

H4D-50 Free Lens
Enduser may purchase an H4D-50 for $28,995 US and receive a
FREE HC(D) lens of their choice.

Note: Promotions do not include the new HC-II lenses. Choice of HC-50 and HC-120 are subject to availability while supplies last.

November 2010: Nikon Lens Rebates



Nikon Lens Rebates: Nov 1st to Jan 6th!



Nikon has announced some generous lens rebates on some of their best selling lenses! These are instant rebates we give to you directly, so you don't have to mail anything in...
  • AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8 - $100
  • AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8 - $100
  • AF-S NIKKOR VRII 70-200mm f/2.8G - $100
  • AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G VR - $75
  • AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G VR - $75
  • AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR - $75
  • AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4 IF ED - $75
  • AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8 - $50
  • AF-S Micro NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8 VR II - $50

Nov. 2010: Canon Rebates


November 2010 Rebates


For November, Canon has continued on with numerous lens rebates and has added flash and DSLR rebates as well. Remember, these are instant rebates which means we do the work to get the money from Canon so you don't have to.  These rebates are taken off right when you buy the items, so instant savings for you!  I have not included some rebates on this page as they are more to do with consumer products and P&S cameras and we do not stock those at Beau, although we can order them in if desired.  If a P&S is what you are after, you can call us for more details on those rebates.

Click the read-more link below for the long list of pro-oriented rebates...