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Upgrade

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It is my extreme pleasure
to announce these beautiful flowers


will be the last taken with
my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens


as this photographer upgrades to
a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens


which means both a better lens in the L-Series
and an image stabilizer to decrease hand shake.
~~~~

I am giving myself a complete u-haul in the photography department. I have made some really big decisions. Several. Big. Decisions. For you see it is time this photographer gives herself an upgrade.

Gathering together three lenses I am no longer using, I am selling them to B&H Photos. I consider them all to be in in excellent “like new” condition which means the estimation I was given over the phone and in writing (email), I am trusting will be the exact amount I will receive. With this money I am doing two things.

One. I am buying another camera body, a Canon EOS 7D Mark II, a camera that is used specifically for landscape and “fast motion” photography. Hint: I am expanding my photographic expertise into other areas. I am in good faith sticking with Canon. Why? I am completely sold on their picture quality and if I wait it out and believe in the “rumors” my patience will be awarded.

I chose the EOS 7D Mark II for the main reason: (there are others!)

An APS-C 20.2MP CMOS sensor + latest technology = the ability to increase my lenses’ focal length by 1.6x. Example:  400mm now becomes 640mm. That means what I am shooting comes in 140mm closer, giving me the ability to shoot very closeup. (Think birds/sports.) I had originally bought the Canon 1.4x Extender for this purpose but it was not capatible with my Canon 6D. Now I will be getting even more extension out of my 100-400mm lens with my new camera! Oh yeah Baby!

[I am keeping my Canon EOS 6D to use for landscape shots which is an excellent camera. I’ve dreamed of working with a 2-camera system when out on the field, and now I will be!]

Everyone who I’ve spoken to have all agreed that Canon is seriously dragging its feet keeping up with the competition and many people are disgruntled. Putting it mildly. Canon is loosing a lot of business. Many have sold their Canon equipment and gone to an entirely different brand of cameras and lenses.

I thought about switching over to Sony. Really. Thought. Hard. It is so frustrating to see what the competition is offering as Canon does nothing to keep up with their competition. For some reason they are deliberately lagging behind. As with all other aspects of my life, I walk in faith that Canon will kick things into high gear soon.

[I am also walking in faith that the “new” and painful back/legs/feet symptoms I have been experiencing are only a temporary phase I am going through. In the meantime, I act as if those symptoms do not exist.]

Two. I bought the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens. I received almost a $200 gift card from B&H Photos which I put towards my new macro lens (on its way to me). All these years I have been shooting macro, handholding my camera without any image stabilizer on the lens. For some of you that may seem hard to believe. The proof is in the pudding. My photographs. I have learned to not breathe, not move, and make sure my hands are rock solid. It will be like eating candy using my new macro lens.

As with the rest of my life, I wait for no one when it comes to my dreams. I make them happen regardless of the circumstances. And what usually happens with me, a door(s) open that indicate NOW is the time to leap for the dream to make it come true. As is the case here, this is exactly what I am doing with my new upgrade!

MF Handheld Macro Photography/ “Upgrade”/ May 2018©AmyRose
http://www.herladypinkrose.wordpress.com

 

73 thoughts on “Upgrade”

  2. When I saw “upgrade” in the title, I thought “either Amy bought some more storage for her blog, or she bough some new gear.” I’m happy to see you shopped at B&H and not WordPress. I look forward to seeing the results.

    I don’t think I anything about warranty – B&H offers Square Trade, and they have saved both me and our daughter a lot of money. In my case, I dropped my camera in my garage. I had the strap over my wrist, but that caused it to swing into a piece of machinery, lens first. I sent it in, they send me a new one. Faith fell while hiking, and damaged her camera and broke the mount-end of a lens. Both were covered (although she opted to upgrade, so she had to add some money to the deal).

    Have fun!

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    1. Dan, I completely trust B&H. I’ve never been disappointed in them. What they are giving me for my lenses is more then fair which in turn is helping me greatly. Always their customer service has more then gone beyond the “expected”. I do plan on having fun, believe me. It’s going to take time for me to understand the workings of this new camera because it is a big step from what I have now. I’m actually stunned how things are turning out. Everything it seems is falling into place effortlessly. How wonderful is that? Have a glorious fun-filled Sunday! 😎

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    1. Oh, Holly, I’ve poured my Heart and Soul into this blog, working so hard (yet having SO much fun) to always strive to improve my technique and editing skills. This upgrade just feels so right. Have you ever had anything like that happen where things seem to fall into place without effort? I’m actually stunned that the dominos are falling in order for me to go forward with my dream. Where I go from here I honestly don’t know BUT … that too shall just happen. I know. I’m SO excited!!! LOL (((HUGS)))! 💝💝💝

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  5. How absolutely fabulous Amy. Never let anything or anyone stand in the pursuit of your dreams, and you certainly haven’t. Enjoy your upgrade. 🙂 Your photos are always so stunning and I can’t wait to see more. Have fun xo 💕🌹🌈

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    1. Thank you, Miriam! I don’t allow anyone or anything to stop me from pursuing my dream. Yet truth be told I just did not see this coming and was OK if my dream was not doable. This is such a huge surprise for me and that I think is the main reason why I am just so excited. Ohhhhhhh …. I’ve worked so hard for this! May you have a great day, dear friend~~!! 💞🌸💞

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    1. Thank you, Cloud Walker! Hopefully I will be able to figure this new camera out quickly because it really does have a lot more bells and whistles then the one I have right now. May you have a great Sunday today! 💝

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    1. I can say in all honesty I absolutely understand why you switched over to Fuji. It is very frustrating to see the competition leap ahead will Canon more or less is just sitting. But… Like I said in my post I am sold on Canon’s picture quality and so I wait in faith. I absolutely love my f /2.8 macro lens! 💕🌹💕

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      1. It’s a great lens, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it a lot! 🙂 I always shoot handheld as well, but to be honest I’ve never noticed much difference if the lens has IS or not.. Imho, the best thing about the Canon 100mm L lens is the reach (I shoot a lot of insects) for a cheap price (roughly half the price of Fuji 80mm)…

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      2. I already have the 100 millimeter macro lens but it is not the L Series lens and it does not have an image stabilizer either. I will enjoy this upgrade in macro photography because it is really hard to be in a low crouching position hand holding a camera without any movement or handshake. Then throw in there the wind and you can be in a low crouching position for a long time and holding your breath waiting waiting waiting for that perfect moment to snap. To even make matters more challenging, I usually shoot manually, manual focus. I am happy for you that you are satisfied with Fuji. I just had another commenter on this post tell me that his dream camera is a Fuji brand camera. Best of luck to you with your camera! 💕🌹💕

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  10. Beautiful Flower Images! I take lots of flower closeups as well – usually with my Samsung 7 – which turn out surprisingly well. I really like the new mirrorless cameras – very happy with the Lumix G85 I bought last year.
    Great bright viewfinder compared to DLSRs, no macro lens but a very handy equivalent 28-280 lens. However, my dream camera is the Fuji XT2 – which would also upgrade my 16mps to 24 mps for great enlargements. It’s also weather-sealed and has great reviews.

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    1. Hi Michael, just in case you don’t know already: The X-T3 will be released at the end of this year, so that means the X-T2 will drop in price significantly.. If you’re looking to buy one you should wait for that! 🙂

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    2. Michael, I was really considering going to mirrorless but I opted to stay with my DSLR’s and with Canon. My Inner Guidance is urging me to do this, at least for now. I’m so thrilled you enjoyed my flowers …. I so do LOVE Macro photography. I hope you received the comment another person left for you regarding Fuji. Thank you again so much for stopping by and for commenting. 😁

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    1. Oh Chris, thank you from the bottom of my Heart! It’s not so much that I am looking in improving my photography but I look forward to working with a macro lens, first of all, that has an image stabilizer making my life a heck of a lot easier. I also I’m planning on making some trips down to the lake this year to photograph boats and whatnot, perhaps go to some little boys baseball games and such, and then of course my new endeavor, photographing Birds. I am expanding my photographic expertise. And then I go from there… Have a great Sunday, dear friend! 💕🌹💕

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  12. Love it! I mean really why would you wait – this is your passion and you are a great photographer – your photos bring beauty into the world!! I really enjoy your work, and if I may, I love the 3rd photo – wow!! Much love to you!! Donna

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    1. I actually was waiting, Donna, because I have to make very sure that purchases in the range of expense as these purchases are, are in fact the right move for me to make. I am not alone in that I am part of a family so there are other aspects that must be considered. My Mom actually started this process …. I was given a Gift from her and with some of that money, purchased 2 lenses. Suddenly, my Inner Guidance came alive when I received a Gift Card from B&H, and a representative from B&H as well, spoke about the EOS 7D Mark II. That conversation in turn made me know in an instant I found THE camera for me. Dominos fell, one by one, and effortlessly I knew the time had come to take action with my dream. I am SO excited! Thank you on my third photo. I LOVE the colors and composition in that one. (smile) Bless you for your wonderful comment!!! I’m like a kid right now …. I’ve waited so long and worked so hard for what I am now achieving and for what seems the Universe is doing for me. Much Love to you, dear friend!! 💖💖💖

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  13. Hi Amy 🙂 Thank you for letting me see the beautiful flowers! ❤ I hope you have fun with your new camera equipment. 🙂 I am in the state of happy calm that comes with Spring. I could stay outside all day looking for flowers and following birds and breathing in all of the delicious fresh air. I was out this morning and even though it was breezy and cool I didn't want to come home! I hope your back/knees feel better soon! Love, blessings, and happy photographing. ❤ ❤ ❤

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    1. You are so welcome, Sarah, and thank you for hoping I will have fun with my new camera and lens. I am in the state of childlike glee … and just besides myself with JOY. I am SO happy for you that you are enjoying this weather. I am mesmerized by the colors and the birdsongs and the smells …. I am SO in LOVE. Just to see GREEN glowing in every direction I look … I feel drunk on Green!! And another thank you about my “pain”. Bless you from the bottom of my Heart. That is a LONG story, one I do not talk about often. Much Love to you! (((HUGS))) 💝

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  14. I am not a photographer, but at Xmas of 2002, my sister-in-law bought me a shiny new camera, my first digital. It didn’t work. She gave me the receipt, I went to the place, the place gave me the address to mail my camera to Canon, with a little worksheet about what was wrong with it. I never got it back, never got a new camera, never got a refund of any sort, so no one in my family gives any money to Canon ever. Could be a fluke, but that was a lot of money to get back nothing. I called more than a dozen times, making inquiry about it, got the run around every time. They couldn’t even get their story straight. So upsetting.

    Anyway, good luck with your new stuffs, and keep taking those amazing shots! I love the blue in this group!

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    1. Oh, Joey!! What a terrible experience! I am shocked that Canon treated you like that. Now I feel terrible that I reminded you of this nightmarish ordeal. Dang! I don’t like dealing with Canon directly FYI because I have had some terrible interactions with idiots. I agree with you. Those that I had spoken to had no idea what they were talking about and even outright lied to me. B&H is a whole different story however. If Canon’s quality of lenses and cameras were not what they are, I would seriously contemplate going to another brand. I might still do that. I just don’t know. All I do know is that what I am doing now feels exactly right. I will keep on taking beautiful shots and showing them to you. And yeah …. that blue is amazing!!! I know it! I have one more flower which is blue that is even more blue then this one …. yep true!! Much Love to you, dear friend!! 💝

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    1. Thank you from the bottom of my Heart, dear Mark. For right now me continuing with Canon is what my Inner Guidance is telling me. The story may change sometime in the near future but I have to follow what my guidance is telling me NOW. I’ve had so many synchronous events and gifts coming my way that there is no doubt whatsoever that I follow the path the Universe is pointing me on. We all will see where I am going. For now however, it still is a mystery even to me. Much LOVE to you! 💕🌹💕

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  17. Good for you! 🤣 Some think Canon might be dragging it’s feet but their image quality is so good already, who cares about ‘the gab’? I went to Sony for size when traveling and my long lens camera is a Canon super zoom with its small sensor. Still good for blogging. Think about that 400 and 640 though, it is a crop sensor and you could get the same image from your full frame by cropping. A crop equals a crop, either way. The pixel count will be higher on the new camera, however. As for IS, Yay!! 🤗

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    1. I’m in total agreement with you about Canon’s picture quality, Robert. That is the main reason why I haven’t walked away. As for my new sensor, believe it or not, it is the same size as my full frame camera. I understand all about cropping and when shooting in RAW is easily attainable. I just received my new macro with IS so today is THE day I try it out. I couldn’t believe how sad I felt when I went to put my original macro lens into the box with the intention of selling it. Every picture on this blog was taken by that lens with the exception of the very first ones that were taken with a 60mm macro lens. Thank you so much for commenting!! Have a great day! 😎

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  18. Congrats on the new upgrade, Amy. A long time coming and it sounds like the right decision you’ve made. Now you will have a lot of exciting times ahead of you as you get acquainted with your new camera body and lenses. Good to hear you are retaining the old body too – that can be a backup and spare. I have to agree with your thoughts on Canon, that it does lag behind the competition. Many I’ve spoken to who are into photography have mentioned to me other brands are so much more intuitive and easy to use, and the one reason I keep sticking to Canon is the picture quality. That never fails to disappoint for me and I guess I am just used to navigating Canon too. Happy shooting, Amy 🙂

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    1. Yes, Mabel, this has been a long time coming but only of late I have cemented exactly what I want in my mind. And now it is happening! Plus the timing just feels perfect as everything in my life leaves zero obstacles in the way. I have every intention when out in the field to have both cameras with two different lenses attached … one for landscape and one for birds. To be truthful I don’t know if I will be able to do this because my concentration is usually one or the other. I’ll see. IMO Canon has top picture quality and I learned just today that most professional (sports) photographers use Canon cameras because no one can beat Canon’s AF technology. It is fast and extremely accurate. May you find continued happiness with your Canon! Happy shooting to you!! 😁💖☺️

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      1. It would be interesting to go out with two cameras and two different lenses… If you do, I’m sure you’ll have a story to tell and you’ll let us know 😁 To me, holding and using a camera is like an extension of myself and just resonates and sings with me 😁 Many more happy memories with Canon for you, Amy 💖

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  19. Awesome, Amy! Everything! The photos, the words which go with them, and most of all your last paragraph. I love it! If we wait for others to fulfill our dreams it will never happen. We have to take action and how much prouder can we be about the realization. Our happiness is in our own hands. What a wonderful truth!

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    1. It took me many years to figure out my happiness is up to me …. NOT on others. When depending on others to make one happy, that one tends to get hurt, disappointed, disillusioned. Nope. I make my dreams come true. Honestly, Erika, I don’t know where I am going with all this …. everything just feels right, though. Much Love to you! 💞

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      1. I hear you. Some things just feel so amazing and I believe that we don’t need to know where it takes us. But one thing is for sure, as long as we follow it, beautiful things will develop!
        Yes, if we make our happiness depending on others we are dissappointed and the pressure and expectations on the other ones is tough and actually unfair.
        Lots of love your way, Amy 💖

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  20. Great update Amy. Pictures are amazing. I love to look at that magic which is happening ahead of our eyes, but it seems that we are more aware of the magic with technology development. To be honest I know nothing about cameras, but I do know about do I love something or not, and I love your pictures . Keep writing and stay blessed

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    1. Thank you, Ben. From the looks of what I shot yesterday with my new macro lens, my macro pictures will be getting even better. I am stunned by what I shot! Comparing with my original macro, I can visibly see a huge improvement. I’m staying with Canon because I believe in them, and because IMO you just cannot beat their picture quality. Be Blessed, dear friend! 💝

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    1. Irene!! Thank you!! What is transpiring in my life has been a long time coming and a lot of work towards what is happening as well. I pray all is good with you. It’s been so long since I’ve seen your lovely gravatar around. BIG (((HUGS))) 💖💖💖

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  24. Sometimes it is good to give ourselves and our equipment a good upgrade and overhaul Amy.. ( just saw your new micro pictures too, Oh so wish I had your camera with me yesterday morning in the allotments after a heavy dew.. A tried with my phone to take pictures of dew drops on a small plant.. That cast rainbows in each bubble,, But they didnt show up when I uploaded the photos.. So your amazing photos were just breathtakingly good.

    And I know how hard it is to keep up with gardening.. and over did things yesterday,, So hubby was cross with me and made me rest today.. I sympathise with your back, legs and feet.. 😣 Big ouch!…It may be our bodies changing Amy.. as those areas have been my own trouble spots which my acupuncturist has been working through.. Our Energies systems are also upgrading so hang on in their Amy…

    Know I am sending love,, BE Well, Keep up your wonderful work.. and only sorry I have not enough hours in the day to catch up with your back dates of posts as I have been on vacation… and trying to catch up..

    Know you are loved.. But your first priority is to your Cats, your garden and to your new four-legged adopted friends for a time.. 🙂 Enjoy them all…
    Mega Hugs and love ❤ Sue xxx

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    1. No need to apologize to me, Sue. I know what busy is. After a deluge yesterday of pouring rain, I am taking the day off, as much as I can, to walk in a forest. I have yet to finish completely all gardens but they will be in due time. Good to know your hubby is insisting you rest … sometimes we women just take on too much. My hubby has no idea how hard this gardening work is for he has never done it. You as well are loved. Both of us are only one person and if we go “missing” for a while here at WP there is a reason why. I no longer attempt to “kill” myself by blogging and keeping up with the intense process of opening these gardens. I am taking breaks by blogging when I get the urge to do so. May you have a great day today, dear friend. Much Love to you! 💞💞💞

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      1. Likewise Amy, we need to nurture ourselves as much as we nurture our gardens.. We too need some Tender Loving Care.. 😀
        And I so appreciate you and all you do.. Take care and enjoy your walk in the forest.. ❤

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  25. Wow, brew me away, Amy!
    I didn’t know Canon is falling behind. I bought 7D ii a few years ago. I don’t know how to compare with others since I have’t used other brands. So 6D is good for landscape?
    Thank you for the post and information. 🙂

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    1. Hi, Amy. Many(!) people are walking away from Canon because they are not keeping up with the latest technology. You have an excellent camera because it contains the latest and best technology that Canon offers. I’ve been reading Canon reviews and rumors with hope Canon will finally get moving. I’m sticking with Canon. I’m sold on the image quality and the AF abilities. In fact, for this reason alone, professional (sports) photographers are more likely to choose Canon. No one can beat Canon’s AF technology. Yes 6D is excellent for landscape photography as well as the 7D II. I am buying a second camera body mainly to combine landscape photography and bird photography when I am out on the field, and sometime in the near future fast moving photographing. These require different lenses. That and the 6D is not a good choice for action photography. You are very welcome for the information. ☺️

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    1. Para? Hmmmm …. I assume that means paragraph. (smile) And thank you on the congratulations. I’ve worked so hard and waited so long for this dream to unfold. And it is happening in a way that I never even saw coming. Much Love to you, dear Pragalbha. 💝💝💝

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      1. haha yes paragraph …I became quite informal with you by now 🙂
        I am so very happy for you! That’s exactly how dreams come true, don’t they? We never know how …they are just certain because you went for them so dedicatedly, so lovingly, so joyfully. Wish you many more amazing dreams Amy!

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