Canon Hands On Blog

Photomicrography with the Canon XT

Photomicrography is photographing through microscopes. I was barely aware of this very cool photographic niche, until I stumbled across Ian Walker's page on using a Canon XT to take pictures of microscopic slides.

Ian's page has lots of a photos a very thorough discussion of photomicrography. Especially interesting is Ian's conclusion that the Canon 350D needs to be worked on to get decent results" and his discussion of features of the XT and other cameras and how they aid or hinder focussing and taking shots through a microscopic.

He also makes a number of comparisons using the Canon XT versus / vs. a Nikon D50, having used a D50 on a number of occasions, though not owning one.

Canon XT on a Zeiss Axiostar Microscope

Ian Walker's Photomicrography with the Canon XT.

Photoshoot -My first Photos , Canon EE 135 mm 2L

Upon receiving my Canon XT and Canon EF 135mm 2L lens, I charged up the battery, inserted a Lexar compact flash card I had, and then went outside and shot pics of my beagle Happy.

Here is one of the first pics taken with the Canon XT and 135mm 2L lens - straight from the camera, using auto mode with auto white balance and jpeg not .raw file format:

And here is the same pic after levels adjustment and sharpening in Photoshop CS2:

Pics have been cropped and resized.

Canon XT vs. Olympus Evolt, Review: Why I Did Not Buy

First, let's start with the Olympus Evolt E-300, a camera I really wanted to like for the following reasons:

• SIZE: Reviews consistently cited the small size as making the camera ideal for travel and walking around. And unlike with reviews of the XT, I don't recall complaints that the small size made the Evolt difficult to use.
• DUST FREE SYSTEM: As a newbie, the idea of dust getting onto the mirror or sensor and ruining every picture is a nightmare while having to open up my camera and stick someting in it - a blower or brush - is intimidating.Still can't believe non of the other digital makers have added such technology to their cameras.
• PRICE: The Evolt can often be found at prices $100 to $200 less than . . . .

Canon XT vs. Competing Cameras, A List and Prelude

The following are all the other DSLRs I considered buying in comparison to the Canon XT before finally buying the XT:

1. Nikon D70
2. Pentax *ist DS
3. Minolta 7D
4. Olympus Evolt and Olympus E-1
5. Sigma SD9 or SD10
6. Canon G6, Sony 717, Sony CD500
7. Canon EOS 20D, EOS 10, and EOS 300 Digital Rebel.

I will discuss . . . .

Buying Criteria - What I Looked for in a Camera

I heavily considered at one time or another all the other competing DLSRs - Nikon D70; Olympus Evolt and E-10; Minolta 7D; Pentax; etc. as well as alternative Canon models - the 20D, 10D and EOS 300.

Future posts will be devoted to discussing each of the competing brands I seriously researched / reviewed but passed on for the Canon XT. To lay the groundwork for such discussion, the following are the criteria and uses that I sought to match with the best camera / best camera value . . . .

Onward n Upward - The Journey Begins

After over a year of waiting and hesitating, I finally pulled the trigger on a Canon Digital Rebel  XT EOS 350. During That time, I spent countless hours on the net reading countless articles and reviews and viewing sundry galleries and forums.

On any given day, I would read an authoritative review, wade through a torrent of forum posts, or uncover an otherworldly photo gallery that would 'settle it' for me in buying this or that  camera, only to encounter . . . .