I've Got A Big One!

Today I got the delivery of my brand, spanking new Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM. Bit of a mouthful so from now on I'll just refer to it as "The Big One".

If you have been following my journal recently then you might remember that I had originally bought this lens second hand for a very nice price, about $400 off the retail price. Unfortunately the lens's IS (Image Stabilisation) was broken and had to be replace at a cost of more than $300. The seller kindly returned my money but I was bitterly disappointed not to have the lens after waiting so long.

I thought I would just wait till another good deal came round but the experience of the broken lens made me rethink. If the IS had happened to fail a few weeks after I bought the lens then I would have been stuck with the big repair bill. Add to this the fact that Canon were having an instant rebate of $100 for this lens, it made sense to buy the lens new and get the full warranty. Also, I doubt I would get as good a deal as I did without waiting a very long time, and that's a lot of pictures that'll never get taken.

And for those thinking about moving up in to the DSLR world, just remember that there is no end to the money you can spend. You've been warned. Blipping isn't the only addiction...

Also, the title of this blip is "In The Style Of...". Can you guess of whom? [Hint: It's someone I subscribe too - this makes it way too easy]

[edit]

I thought I would append this joke someone posted on another forum. It's quite apropos me thinks.

Canon Joke...


The Smiths were unable to conceive children and decided to use a
surrogate father to start their family.

On the day the proxy father
was to arrive, Mr. Smith kissed his wife goodbye and said,
'Well, I'm off now. The man should be here soon.'

Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby
photographer happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale.

'Good morning, Ma'am', he said, 'I've come to...'

'Oh, no need to explain,' Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, 'I've

been expecting you.'

'Have you really?' said the photographer. 'Well, that's good.
Did you know babies are my specialty?'

'Well that's what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and
have a seat'.

After a moment she asked, blushing, 'Well, where do we start?'

'Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on
the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the
living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there.'

'Bathtub, living room floor? No wonder it didn't work out for Harry
and me!'

'Well, Ma'am, none of us can guarantee a good one every time. But
if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven
angles, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results.'

'My, that's a lot!', gasped Mrs. Smith .

'Ma'am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I'd love to
be In and out in five minutes, but I'm sure you'd be disappointed
with that.'

'Don't I know it,' said Mrs. Smith quietly

The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of
his baby pictures. 'This was done on the top of a bus,' he said .

'Oh, my word!' Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.
'And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider
their mother was so difficult to work with.'

'She was difficult?' asked Mrs. Smith .

'Yes, I'm afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get
the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep
to get a good look'

'Four and five deep?' said Mrs. Smith , her eyes wide with amazement.

'Yes', the photographer replied. 'And for more than three hours,
too. The mother was constantly squealing and yelling - I could
hardly concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my
shots. Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment,
I just had to pack it all in.'

Mrs. Smith leaned forward. 'Do you mean they actually chewed on
your, uh...equipment?'

'It's true, Ma'am, yes.. Well, if you're ready, I'll set-up
my
tripod and we can get to work right away.'

'Tripod?'

'Oh yes, Ma'am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It's
much too big to be held in the hand very long.'

Mrs. Smith fainted