Something Broke and Something New

It's been a cold week in southern Minnesota and getting colder still. So cold, in fact, that I broke my most expensive lens!

... or so I thought. I was out taking photos of the countryside in sub-zero (below -18 C) temperatures and it seems that some moisture made it into the switch assembly of my 70-200mm lens. The image stabilization was jerking all over the place and couldn't be disabled.

On Friday, I was already into overtime at 3:00PM, so I logged off and headed for National Camera Exchange in Golden Valley to have it sent to Canon for repair. Before sending it in, one of the employees tested it and it just started working again.

didn't get off free of charge, though. They had the new Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L in stock. It's one I have been planning to buy for months and is out of stock evereywhere. Here are some of the first shots with the new 50mm.

^{Uncooperative Model #1}

It's brutally cold out, so I have been annoying the cats with photo shoots. I'd much rather have a puppy, but that will have to wait until I move some day.

^{Uncooperative Model #2}

With such a wide aperature, it's easy to get that smooth background. It's also great for being out and about in the evening or nighttime. The lens pulls in a lot of light. Now I just need for Canon to come out with the rumored high-resolution camera body for us non-video folks.

^{Kitty Toy on Scratching Post}

National Camera Exchange let me play with the Canon R6 and, if I had saved a bit more, I might have taken one of those home instead of waiting. The ergonomics and layout are like my old camera and so much easier than the RP. Plus the stabilization is impressive.

As for the 50mm lens, it seems to make almost anything look more interesting. Here's a good example.

^{Ooh. A Doorknob.}

To test it out in low light, I went past the Oliver school house after sunset. I've taken a similar photo in the past, set up on a tripod. This time, I was able to get even better detail with a hand-held shot.

^{No School Today, Kids!}

Now I'm looking forward to warmer temperatures, so I can get out and use the new lens. Hopefully, Canon will release the high-res body before spring.

Thank you for taking a look! If you enjoy my work, please click the upvote button. Comments are also greatly appreciated.