Xiao at 3.8km Above Sea

umm….. this is sketch.

Vancouver is Ummm… Very Niiiiiiice

Ummm…. Vancouver is very niiiiiiiice. Just in general, it feels cleaner and more modern. Probably…

Xiao’s First Article in China

First, sorry everyone for our slow updates. We were busy moving from city to city and didn’t really want to…

Sigma 24–70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro

Acquired used on eBay

Very beautiful!

As an EX lens, this lens is solid, very different build than the non-EX Sigma lenses. And it’s huge, and the filter won’t be cheap. Several flaws in the mechanical design though. One…

Nikon D200

Acquired new in Photo Royal, Montreal

One solid piece of rock.

First the build is very solid and doesn’t feel like a toy in the hands like lower models. The weather proofing is very well done. I haven’t submerged the camera in water yet and am not planning…

Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 24–120mm f/3.5–5.6 IF-ED

Acquired new in Xi’An, China

1. VR is first generation and don’t expect it to save the day. Use it as if there is no VR and expect only the pictures that you can previously shoot with 50% success rate to be shot now at…

Sigma 17–70mm f/2.8–4.5 DC Macro HSM

Acquired used in Camtec Photo, Montreal
HSM acquired new in Beijing, China

After trying many other lenses, I am more and more impressed by the performance of this lens and especially for its price. First note that…

Sigma 18–200mm f/3.5–6.3 DC

Acquired used at Simon’s Camera, Montreal

This lens has 3 versions, the standard version, the OS version and the OS+HSM version where OS is equivalent to VR and HSM is equivalent to silent wave motor. I will review the standard version.

Nikon D50

Acquired new in Best Buy, Montreal

The value of this camera is amazing and personally, I find it a much better camera than all models with this newer approach of making the entry level SLR merge more and more with compacts. First, D50 doesn’t feel like it’s made to be held between the…

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

Acquired new on eBay

This lens is simple and has no hidden surprises. It does simple things and do them extremely well. It’s dirt cheap but it’s cheap not because it’s shitty but because Nikon has been making it and making it the same way for the past…

Nikon D80

Acquired used in Camtec Photo, Montreal

I only used it for a week or so before getting rid of it. It’s not really an upgrade from my D50. The body’s the same but the grip is a bit less comfortable even than the D50 since the pinkie can’t be placed on the grip properly anymore (yes…