It's Raining Again

We started this morning with cloudy skies and a nice steady drizzle on and off which makes my pasture very happy and also makes it bearable to be outside for a change. Abraham asked about my 80-400 Tokina lens. I will never part with this lens it has done good work for me for maybe 12 years or more and was all I could afford when I needed this type of zoom lens. I dont know how they make them today but it is a metal lens, unlike all of the lower end lenses that they make with plastic casings etc. these days, so is pretty heavy. If the quality is as good as the one I have I would call it a bargain at $600. My only problem is that in low light with slower shutter speeds and bigger f stops the camera shake is more visible so it is hard to keep things in focus. Also I found that if I wanted to use it at the longest end of the zoom I couldnt get good pics unless it was on a tripod. My hands shake these days so that doesnt help.

I have a beautiful Manfrotto monopod and tripod in England with my "friend" who has dissappeared with all my stuff, and a swivel ball head with pistol grip which I would love to get my hands on, it swivels whichever way you want when you squeeze the handle in with the camera mounted on top of it. This lens has shot literally tens of thousands of perfectly acceptable pictures for me on both film cameras and on digital, and yes it may not be as sharp as the top of the line Canons but it is a quarter of the price. I never had any quality problems but there again I dont photograph for billboards LOL.

Most of the photo stock agencies want these huge digital files before they will accept them and then they have to be pin sharp etc. and the D30 files are a bit small for the main agency that I work with which is a shame because I have a lot of pictures that I could use there. I am going to have to try to set up my own stock page on my site, just dont know how to go about it, will have to get Larry to figure it out for me, he is the computer guru LOL.

I also have the 100mm 2.8 macro Tokina lens which what I shoot all my macros and some of my portraits with which I bought at about the same time as the zoom and also a 20-35 3.5 - 4.5 Tokina (Wide angle) which I dont use much but have never had problems with. They were all bought at about the same time and are still going strong. The two flower pics today were shot this morning with the Tokina 2.8 100mm macro and as you can see it is pin sharp.

As I say I dont know if the manufacturing is the same today so can only vouch for the ones I have. I definitely need to get all of my kit in for service sometime but I just know that I will be miserable without a camera for the weeks it will take for them to be cleaned and serviced!!! Two other places I would recommend for used and new equipment to purchase online is KEH and B&H both based in New York. I havent bought much from B&H but have purchased most of my new and used equipment from KEH and would highly recommend them.

My horse photo today is one I snapped of Wiggle a few days ago when I was walking down to get the mail. I am starting to carry my camera with me, you just never know what you are going to see. The passion is starting to come back a little at a time.

It has rained lightly all day on and off and it is just the type of rain we need to try to get the grass established in the field, although I suspect I am going to have to send soil samples in to see what nutrients I need for the soil to get a better growth.

Have a great weekend all. ((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx