Specs:
- Weight 385g
- Filter size 77mm
- Closest focusing distance 0.24 metres
- Max. diameter x length – 83.5 x 89.8 mm
Review
This ultra wide lens is a wonderful lens to have, but it needs to be used wisely to obtain the best from it. The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens can create impressive and dramatic photos or very dull and flat ones. The main issue is the difficulty in composition, using this range creates a lot of background. Care must be taken in understanding what works with this lens. Close up shots can have great depth with this lens.
I’d recommend the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens to suit anyone looking for an addition to their every day zoom lens as you can get very creative with it. A little feature I like about this kit is that even though its a zoom lens the actual length of the lens remains the same. The front of the lens moves within the lens casing. Build quality is solid throughout and the USM is a welcomed feature.
Image quality is generally very good. One minor issue is the distortion and sharpness at the edges. A common application I use this lens for is photographing scenic roads, I’ve notice the quality of the image at the road edges sometimes needs a little work or cropping.
Accessories
To avoid vignetting when at 10mm with a filter attached I would advise a slim profile filter Hoya 77mm Pro1 Digital UV Filter. Also the Hoya 77mm PRO1 Digital Circular PL Filter polarising low profile filter is a good investment as the filter size of the EF-S 10-22mm Lens is the same as some popular canon lenses “24-105″, 28-300, 70-200, 100-400.
The Canon EW-83E Lens Hood can reduce lens flare – but the main advantage I found with it is to protect the lens and filter. When taking photos behind glass (ie in buildings or in transit) its a nice barrier to rest on to minimise reflection and damage. A note of caution in fitting the hood – make sure it is attached correctly, because if its not 100% on the thread the hood will show in your photos and you may not spot the hood in your view finder due to the 95% view on EF-S fitting range of Canon cameras.
Pros:
- Great for creativity.
- Common filter sized lens.
- Affordable price.
- Zoom does not extend the lens length.
Cons:
- Only compatible with APS-C sized bodies.
- Greater care required for composition.
Tags: Canon, EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5, Lens, Review, Wide Angle
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Specs:
- 4 holders for compact flash cards.
- Dimensions – 23.9 x 21.3 x 14.5 cm
- Water resistant cover
- 2 comparments
- Price approx £23
Review
For my back packing trip around Australia and New Zealand I was looking for a small camera bag to hold my 400D Camera and 2 lenses (28-135mm 3.5-5.6 + 10-22mm 3.5-4.5) both with filters and lens hood. I’m glad I picked the Lowepro Rezo 160 Shoulder Bag as it did the job well. From scorching 40 Celsius Australia Outback heat to the Freezing Glaciers of New Zealand the bag protected my kit. The water resistant cover also came in useful, as to my surprise it rained a lot in Sydney (one of the wettest days of 2008!). For me this bag is an ideal travel bag as it easy to get access the camera while the bag is still on you.
Now to the limits of the bag. The largest lens I’ve managed to fit in the bag while fixed to the camera is a 200mm 2.8L Canon Lens – with filter & hood on – and this is a squeeze! I’ve recently updated my kit and replaced the 28-135mm with a 24-105mm 4L Lens. With the new lens attached to the camera with filter and hood on the equipment fits with a little room to spare – see the image below. This still leaves enough room for the 10-22mm Lens or a 430ex flash gun.
If you own a XXD model I would recommend up sizing to a Lowepro Rezo 180 Shoulder Bag. But for owners of XXXXD and XXXD Cameras this should suit your needs.
Pros:
- Water resistant cover is very useful and it works.
- Can easily hold accessories ie compact flash cards, filters, batteries.
- Very Useful for carry on luggage.
- Easy access to get the camera out while you have the bag on.
- Good padding all round the bag.
Cons:
- May become a tight squeeze for XXD models. XD models will defiantly not fit!
- The single strap used to carry the bag can dig in if you over load your bag.
Tags: Bag, kit, Lowepro Rezo 160 Shoulder Bag, Review
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This post is a collection of hits and tips of what equipment to take for backpacking trips. Below is a list of what I took around Australia and New Zealand for 5 weeks, plus some other product recommendations. These aren’t intended to be set rules but just an aid in making decision before you set off.
Cameras
If you own a SLR I’d recommend taking a compact too. My wife took a Canon PowerShot A590 IS Digital Camera (8.0 MP, 4xOptical Zoom)
on this trip, which worked fine as a backup and a more suitable camera to use when the environment was a challenge. For example when coming close to a waterfall in a tour boat – I didn’t fancy the risk with the SLR.
If you don’t own a SLR and you want to pack very light on camera equipment I would recommend the following…
I met quite a few people with this type of advance digital camera who were travelling for 6 – 12 months, and they suited their needs.
The SLR I took was a Canon 400D, this suited my needs as it’s quite light and didn’t require too much room in my bag.
Accessories for your SLR Camera
The price tag of a battery grip put me off the idea of using one, so I purchased an additional battery pack which worked out fine. I would admit that if your were travelling somewhere very remote with no wall socket for days, then a battery grip that can take AA batteries would be worth the investment.
My Remote control came in handy for long exposure photography. If you want to save a few pounds you can use the delay on the shutter to get a good night shot – however you will have to wait a few seconds every time.
Lenses
I’d recommend taking only 2-3 lenses maximum. The main lens you need to suit travel photography is a good all round zoom lens. See the recommendations below.
I took a 28-135mm IS f3.5-5.6 lens. This provided a balance on range and quality. I was especially impressed with the result from a Glacier trip.
Canon 400D, Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens – 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100
Suitable additional lenses are the following.
The other lens I took was a 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 lens. This worked great for landscape shots.
Canon 400D, Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 lens – 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 100
Lens hoods
I also took the lens hoods for both these lenses. These did aid in reducing lens flare, however they were mainly used to protect the lens. I know hoods are not cheap for what you get (a bit of plastic) but they reduced the scuffs and bumps on the filter and lens.
Filters
I took a polariser for each lens and had a standard UV filter for protection. With the weather down under been mainly sunny (we did get some rain) the polariser worked great in bringing detail and depth to the blue skies.
Canon 400D, Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 lens – 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO 100
Memory
I took 30GB of Memory with me, which I just filled in 5 weeks. Memory is so cheap now – if I had have ran out there where plenty of shops about to buy more. If you are going to see any wildlife I would recommend purchasing fast memory. I went on a dolphin trip and needed all the fps I could get, using the SanDisk CompactFlash 4GB Extreme III memory my buffer never maxed out.
Canon 400D, Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens – 1/1250 sec, f/8, ISO 400
Bag
I took a lot of time in researching this purchase and left it last on my list as I wanted to make sure everything I wanted to take would fit in.
The Lowe Pro bag was at its limit with
- Canon 400D Camera
- 28-135mm lens with lens hood
- 10-22mm lens with lens hood
- 72mm polarizing filter
- 77mm polarizing filter
- rc-5 remote
- cleaning cloth
- Spare battery
- 5 compact flash cards
Tripod
I knew I wanted to do some long exposures, so some form of stability would be required. I settled on the gorillapod in the end after reading a few reviews.
In terms of price and size its great value. It managed with the weight from the camera and lenses fine. The only negative point I have about it is that it’s frustrating to get into the right shape. To aid this I got a tripod head – Manfrotto MN-484RC2 Ball Head this made positioning a lot easier.
The gorillapod came in really useful in Sydney.
Canon 400D, Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 lens – 1.3 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100
In the 5 weeks down under I took mainly wildlife, landscape and cityscape photographs. This set up suited me fine. I support the rule that less is better when travelling – it makes you more creative to get the most of what you have.
Tags: guide, kit, Travel
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