Plastic fantastic

flying pottery, originally uploaded by ChromaticOrb
Canon EOS 350D + Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Processed from RAW with bibble pro on ubuntu linux

This one became one of my personal favorites. It was taken using the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 and really defines the lens' nickname of 'plastic fantastic'. For less than €100 the 50mm f/1.8 is a bargain and the image quality is amazing.

The lens body is all plastic, including the mount, which means you run the risk of it becoming loose after too many times changing lenses. But the glass quality really makes up for the body and allows for sharp and colorful pictures. With an aperture of f/1.8 you can shoot in low light situations or go for shallow depth of focus. Of course this is not a very fast or precise lens and focus can be quite difficult to reach, specially in crop frame cameras, like my EOS 350D.

Kite surfing in Carcavelos

kite surfing in a postcard, originally uploaded by ChromaticOrb.
Canon EOS 350D + Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6
Processed from RAW using bibble pro and edited with gimp on opensuse linux

Took a series of photos by the beach with my old EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 and there were this two guys trying to kitesurf on a very inconstant wind. I thought "hey! this will come out great", but the low definition and contrast said otherwise. Then I remembered a photo I had seen a while ago, and decided to try something similar.