Origin

'You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.' (Nehemiah 9:6)

When I was back in my campus, I went to my friend's apartment to share some ideas on photography while switching lenses. He has a Canon EOS 350D (he has been using it for a couple of years) and is planning to get hold of a new one, who knows, he reckoned, a 40D? or perhaps a 50D?


He has this whole set of accessories and I tried out some of his lenses as well as filters (Thanks Kiu!). That whole night was filled with shutters clicking away and shots being viewed and deleted (just for some). It was like a photography forum. The photos were beautiful. Some were rrreeaallly close-up and others were artistically captured. In short, everything was nearly explored (However, I came back home and found there were more).

The Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (I call it the 'gargantua' lens for its long extended form): Good buy for those who would like to have a all-in-one-lens. Image quality however, may slide down a little.

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens: Inexpensive and well known for its sharp images production. Good for those who love extreme blur backgrounds but a sharp target(s).

I tried out a fixed focal length, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens and a zoom lens, the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens. Both performed well. The photos below are taken by these lenses:

Me with my Canon EOS 450D (when my battery hadn't broke down yet). Trying out Kiu's Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens. The two photos above were taken by Kiu using his Canon EOS 350D with his Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens. (ISO 400)


Notice how blur the background is? As the aperture number decreases e.g. f/1.8 and below, the depth-of-field becomes shallower and less light is captured. The target will appear sharper and the background blurred.

Me taken by Bong: Canon EOS 350D (borrowed from Kiu), 8 megapixel, Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, Aperture Priority mode, focal length 50mm, shutter speed: 1/60 per sec, f/5, ISO 100, exposure compensation: 0

I got an idea one day and went to ask Kiu, and see if he agrees to it. The idea was to take moon shots by using his Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens. He agreed almost instantly.

Out of all times, my camera battery unknowingly broke down. It was only 3 1/2 weeks old! (Thanks to Canon, they later warranted me a brand new one). Thanks again to Kiu, he lent me his SLR. He took few moon shots before that. I saw the photos and was amazed. Soon after, I was outside in the night trying to capture the once-in-a 'blue moon'. These were the results:

Moon shot by Kiu: Canon EOS 350D, Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, manual mode, focal length at 200mm, f/5.6, shutter speed at 1/500 sec., ISO 100 (Courtesy of Kiu)

This is it, my moon shot. The specs are the same as Kiu's. These moon shots are sharpened. I prefer mine to be more natural coloured (brightness and contrast) to depict the moment.

Try comparing Kiu's and my shots with this. Big differences, eh? This moon was captured by using a Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6 L USM super telephoto Lens mounted on a costly camera body. (Price approx. RM400,000)

If you are planning to take a really good photo of the moon or stars or any distant objects(such as the ones shown above), then the Canon super telephoto L lenses are for you. L lenses are considered 'Luxury' (L stands for this) for photography equipments and are top-in-line (in quality) among all Canon lenses. The trademark for Canon L lenses is the red line around them. Other than having a fast autofocus, they produced beautiful and optically excellent photos. Of course, they come with handsome prices, ranging from RM 7,000++* to an overwhelming bank-draining RM400,000++*. (*Prices may differ a little, depending on the present world market) Below are the the main Canon super telephoto L lenses.

Canon super telephoto L lenses: Pictured above from left to right is the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 IS L USM Lens, Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS L USM Lens and Canon EF 500mm f/4 IS L USM Lens

The Canon EF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens: Superb image quality production comes with a pretty price tag: approx: RM50,000-RM60,000++. The camera body alone costs about RM15,000.

Finally, the longest and full autofocus lens (very rare) in the world - the Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6 L USM Lens. It boasts a price of approximately RM300,000-RM400,000. It is made through special order. Notice the handle (to carry it around like a luggage) above it and the camera hanging in mid air, supported by the lens' weight (about 16kg).

Thinking of it, we are just small living things on earth. Yet God loves and takes good care of each one of us. Jesus said: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"(Matthew 6:26)

Jim Irwin, the eighth astronaut who walked on the moon, saw earth in the distance in the midst of darkness during his moonwalk. Earth, he said, was like a colourful orb hanging in mid air. Once a non-believer, he found and believed God's existence. He witnessed the greatness of God through His creations. Back home, he became a well known discoverer in searching for places mentioned in the Bible and spreading the Word of God.

Praise God for all the things he has given to us and may we grow with deep root in His word each and everyday.