I got my new lens.... Canon 55-250 IS

Wow, it feels great to buy something... especially when its a lens... :)

So, after deliberations for few weeks, I finally ordered my new lens last weekend. Got it soon afterwards. Its a Canon 55-250 IS F/4-5.6

There are quite a few reviews ( review-1, review-2 ) available for this one, so I wont attempt at writing one, but I can point out a few things from my experience..

• The build is not so nice. The feel in hand is much more plasticky than the standard kit lens (18-55 from my EOS 350D days). Even though both are plastic, the finishing of the kit lens is much much better than this one.
  
• There is a certain whirring sound when IS is enabled, if you hear really closely. Some investigations (basically asking questions on forums) revealed that its normal due to the IS function.
• I have just taken my first batch of photos, and not completely done with processing yet. However, the first impressions are great. I have always had the problem with my hand not steady enough for a high-zoom shot, and the IS in this lens is just the life saver for me.
  
• Few photos from the first outing are posted on my flickr account.

Love this thing. Will write more when more experiences show up.... Here are some shots...

Wont it be a perfect gift for a lady..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

aha..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

Doesnt that sparkle..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

On Grayscale..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

Leaves on a sunny day...

Leaves on a sunny day..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

Greenery by the roadside in winterthur...
shot on a sunny day, just after some rain...
Everything looked fresh...

Just couldnt resist shooting...

Leaves.....2

Leaves.....2, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

altered copy, the right right part cropped...

whatsay !!!

What if...

What if..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

the sky would change its color and turned into something like this...

howz that for a change...

Leaves..

Leaves.., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

I tried to give it a black and white look using lightroom...

Night Shot @ Zurich Lake 3

Night Shot @ Zurich Lake 3, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

One of the rare times I managed to get my tripod with me to Zurich. Always wanted to capture such night time shots, especially with lights and all...

Sun through tree..

Sun through tree.., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

I wonder if someone could suggest a way to remove these wires from this shot ?

Deserted...

Deserted..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

Is this going to be the situation of our economy after the credit crunch... Lonely market streets...
Shops but no buyers...

Looking Vertically Up

Looking Vertically Up, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

In the woods again, this was one spot, where I was in the middle of these tall trees. I just looked up and when I saw what I saw, the blue sky, the green tree tops, converging tops of the trees, I knew I had to take this one.

I wonder what kind of feeling this one gives away.

Sunset bouleward...

Sunset bouleward..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

In the woods around Winterthur, it was the evening of a sunny day. The shadows were getting longer, and the walking paths were getting quiter and quiter.

This one looked like a path leading to heaven...

Thorns under Closeup...

Took this casual shot in the neighbourhood. I specially like the way the focus has shifted from the close thorn to the farther one...

Blogged with the Flock Browser

New leaves...

Another shot from my neighbourhood lawn. Spring is on the way, and sprouts are appearing everywhere here and there...

For this shot, I suffered a bit of cold, had to lay down on my side and put the camera almost on the ground.

Now that I see the shot, I feel it was worth it...

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Lake Zürich close to Sunset...

Lake Zürich close to Sunset..., originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

We were coming from Luzern by car and came across this point from where you could virtually see all of Lake Zürich.

It was around sunset time and the sky looked wonderfully colored. I took this shot also from within a moving car, through the windshield.

This photo is moving... isnt it ?

This photo is moving... isnt it ?, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

Believe me, I didnt plan this shot to come out as it has.

But it has come out really really wonderfully great. We were in a car, moving pretty fast I was enthusiastic about the possibility of shooting through the front windscreen.

The shot looks as though the road is coming over to you, all charged up and crashing...

Love the shot... :)

Bee on a flower

Bee on a flower, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

It was a photo hunting day for me, June in Switzerland, perfect time of year for spring photography.

And I found this bunch of bees hovering around this plant full of budding flowers. The colors from the flowers were great as it is, and the bees were giving the shots another dimension.

First time for me to shoot insects, though not in the macro sense. Still, I liked it very very much.

Rose

Rose, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

A wonderful rose (though not a perfect rose) I caught last spring in Winterthur.

It was a rose bush, and I had to go the max of my zoom range

Sky from a Car

Sky from a Car, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

We were travelling from Agra to Mathura, while I was in India in August 2006. The evening was stormy and yet I could find some blue sky behind the clouds... A very interesting shot altogether.

Replacing two separate lenses with a superzoom...

I have been playing around the thought of replacing my two lenses with one super zoom. And then with a next step, move into specialized lenses for special situations.

Read more about that here...

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00OaLR

New leaves

New leaves, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

It is not honestly my shot, since it was taken by my better half. :)

It was another sunny afternoon, and the new spring leaves still dominate our surroundings. She took it not far from other other locations that inspired my shots.

I did some cropping and post processing to the original shot, and I think it has come out very nicely. I really like it... already considering for my wallpaper...

Remarks ?

Violets

Violets, originally uploaded by s_raghu20.

While walking to my gym, I found this small bunch of violet flowers (dont know the exact name.. :( ) blossoming in the middle of dry leaves at the bottom of a tree.

Couldnt resist shooting since it gave me an interesting contrast. It was pretty sunny too, so the sunlight also played a role there.

Afterwards I sat down on my laptop to touch the saturation a bit before posting here.

Remarks ?