Version II of EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Lens

I received my other copy of the lens I blogged about here. This copy is designated "II" and was made in Taiwan. It is in better condition and still only cost $105. Interestingly, despite supposedly having identical optical formulas these two lenses have different lens profiles in Canon's DPP software.

I grabbed the lens for a quick walk down to the Hudson River last evening hoping for a decent sunset as chicken breasts marinated in my fridge. I bracketed as usual for HDR purposes but in addition to the five +/- 1 EV bracketing I added +1 EV exposure compensation. The resulting images then were normal, -1 and +1, +2 and +3 EV.

The first three images are HDR processed composites while the last image is a single file as the ducks were moving.

A Poorly Lit Athletic Field

Alfred University met Union College in an NCAA Division III men's soccer match last evening. Union College's soccer field has to be one of the poorer lit pitches, college or high school, I've shot at.

With lighting only on the corners of the field, the darkest portion of the pitch is in the midfield. I positioned myself in a corner of the field in order to take advantage of the best lighting but still had to use ISO 4000 at f/2.8 and 1/750th of a second and still was underexposing a bit on most shots. Between the high ISO and having to increase exposure a bit in post processing, the images are noisier than I am usually comfortable with.

While I used my EOS 7D and 70-200mm f/2.8L USM for reach and frames per second, if I were to shoot at this field at night again I'd consider using my EOS 5D Mark III and concentrate on action closer to my location. ISO 6400 on the full frame 5D Mark III should have noise characteristics similar to ISO 3200 on the 7D.

Here are some examples. Obviously, images reduced in size will not show the noise as obviously as when looking at the files at 100%.

Birthday Hike on Peebles Island

What better way to spend a birthday morning in sub freezing temperatures than hiking at one of my favorite location, Peebles Island State Park in Waterford, New York. I brought my 5D Mark III and my soon to be replaced EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens. Replaced, that is, by a slightly more recent version without (hopefully) the physical issues my $65 version has. Details to come.

It was a delightful morning with the leaves dropping like snowflakes after the first freeze of the season. These are all five file HDR composites made during my walk around the island.

Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens

I bought one of these lenses on eBay for $65. It was advertised as in excellent condition but it is missing the covering for the distance scale window and the zoom ring is a bit stiff to turn. That said, it's a really nice lens and I'll be on the lookout for a better copy at some point.

There are four or five versions of this lens which can be difficult to differentiate. When I first learned that this lens existed I did some research but all of the reviews had conflicting information about the different versions. Here a few of the sites I visited:

http://www.photozone.de/reviews/189-canon-ef-28-105mm-f35-45-usm-test-report--review

http://www.ebay.com/gds/WARNING-BUYERS-Canon-EF-28-105mm-USM-Lens-CONFUSION-/10000000003434191/g.html

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-28-105mm-f-3.5-4.5-II-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

http://kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/28-105mm.htm

The Ken Rockwell review is the one that motivated me to seriously consider this lens.

The one I obtained has the MACRO designation but is not labeled "II" and was made in Japan. It has a seven blade aperture. This should be mechanically identical to the lenses labeled "II" but Canon's DPP software identifies the lens as the original not the "II". The software has, however, a lens profile for the original as well as the "II" so all the corrections of the Digital Lens Optimizer function can be applied.

When I look for a better copy of the lens I will probably stick to the "II" version as they will be newer and more likely to be in better physical  condition. Although made in Taiwan, there shouldn't be a quality difference.

It's a small lens compared to my faster L zooms. Here it is with, the barrel extended at 105mm, along side 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses.

My first foray with the lens was at Cohoes Falls where the shot of the walkway in my last post was made. Here are some images made with a 5D Mark III showing the extremes of the zoom range along with some HDR images of the falls.

28mm

105mm

A Sunny Fall Morning Perfect for HDR

I did some HDR bracketing at two different locations this morning. First, on my walk up the canal trail North of Waterford, NY with my EOS 5D Mark III and EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens.

The colors are starting to turn and the mix of Fall colors with green is quite nice. Here are three shots from that morning walk, organized from South to North along the trail.

Field of Cattails between canal and RR tracks.

Old Champlain Canal lock

Momentive silicone plant's backside

A bit later I made a stop to check out a very cheap inexpensive piece of newly acquired gear. A lens, to be more specific. This shot was made with that lens. The next blog will provide details about that lens and reveal the location.

Before and After

After a pretty dry September, water levels on area bodies of water were quite low so when a few days of potentially heavy rains were forecast I decided to document the before and after.

The before shots were made Monday morning, September 28th. 3.85 inches of rain fell at the nearby Albany International Airport on Tuesday and Wednesday. The after shots were made either the evening of September 30th or the morning of October 1st.

Mohawk River, 9/28/15

Mohawk River, 9/30/15

Mohawk River, 9/28/15

Mohawk River, 10/1/15

Mohawk River, 9/28/15

Mohawk River, 10//1/15

Peebles Island Bog, 9/28/15

Peebles Island Bog, 10/1/15