Brice Digital Photography

Highly recommend the new Lowepro Versapack 200 backpack: Very comfortable and robust, easy access to camera in bottom compartment (simply slip one strap off the shoulder and swivel backpack around as you would do with a sling case), plenty of space in top compartment for accessories, snacks, waterproof etc., and enough compartment space for an extra zoom lens and external flash. It also comes with a rain cover and securely holds up to two tripods. This backpack was perfect for a recent trip to the Lake District. Check it out on Amazon! There is also a useful YouTube presentation here which demonstrates its versatility, despite this one being in German.

Here, I was messing around with a 10x macro screw on lens adaptor. If you can’t justify purchase of a macro lens these close up lens adaptors are a cheap option to achieve a similar effect.  I could have used a tripod to obtain a sharper image and allow a greater depth of field, which would have perhaps even needed a low powered flash. Instead I had to use the widest aperture possible, in this case an f3.5 and wait for the slightest of breezes to disappear.

Here’s my superb new toy – a Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR plus Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro Digital Zoom Lens. I’ve been impressed so far with the speed and image sharpness offered by this exceptionally good value for money lens. The 40D has plenty of functionality as a top end camera and is as easy to use as my old 300D. I’ll be posting new images taken with this new gear in the near future.