"Project 365" Day 35 - Small Town... Large City

Day 35 - Small Town... Large City


I live in Burbank, CA some of you may have heard of it. It’s the heart of Hollywood. We have more large studios and the 2nd largest Airport in the Los Angeles area. Walt Disney is here, Warner Brothers, ABC, Nickalodean, Cartoon Network, DIC (VR Troopers man), NBC, and more I can’t even think of right now! Lockheed who built many of the aircraft that helped us to win WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam was here for many many years. It’s a town full of history and admiration.

From what I just said, one would be believed that I live in a Large City. Yet I don’t. There’s something about Burbank, CA… Many people in Southern California call Burbank, weird and different. They don’t like it here because it’s way different than all the other towns across Southern California. Maybe it’s our rich history, but this town has the personality of a Small Town. From the local business owners who’s shops line our city streets. To the school district which is a far scale better than Los Angeles. Everybody is more friendly. It’s a special something. It’s Burbank….

Today I wanted to show you something I go to quiet often. It is the local Handy Market. A fine small, general grocery store located in the heart of this town (a.k.a. Magnolia Park) It is a unique place… Sure we have our Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions markets, but the Handy Market is the spot for Produce and Meat. They have the best prices on vegetables and fruits, and a full butcher with “Fresh” cut meats. It’s a totally different experience than your Super Market. Just today I went in to find something to do for dinner. I ended up buying 3 Artichokes for 99c each! I also got Hamburger meat for $1.29 LB. They sometimes have a special where you get 78% hamburger (yes it’s the fatty stuff) for 99c LB for 3LB max / min But tonight they had just ran out of the cheap stuff and they substituted the Ground Sirloin for the same $1.29 LB price…. You don’t get that kind of service at the Super Market. In total I ended up walking out of there spending around $6… usually it’s way less.

So if your ever in Burbank, stop by and visit the Handy Market. You may recognize is from many feature films where it has been used. The most recent one I can think of was “He’s Just Not That Into You”

Enjoy!
-Steven

Tamron = New Competition

My Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. It's my workhorse lens

I just noticed the other day that Tamron has come out with a couple of exciting and more competing lenses to Canon and Nikon. First of all they have a new version of their 17-50mm f2.8 lens featuring Image Stabilization. Although the 17-50mm is for APS-C (canon), DX (nikon) cropped sensor cameras, that lens has been a workhorse for 3rd Party lenses have wonderful optical quality rivaling the Canon 17-55 2.8 IS which happens to retail for about $600 more than the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 without VC (Image Stabilization). This is very exciting to see for a 3rd Party lens, especially with the cropped sensor Canon 7D just around the corner. When shooting Video with a DSLR having Image Stabilization (VC= Vibration Control) is essential for getting a cleaner and not so jumpy shot.

The new SP AF17-50 F/2.8 XR Di-II VC LD Aspherical (IF) will be available in Nikon Mount early October. Canon mount will follow. Initial pricing is set for $729 for both.

Pre-Order yours today at Canoga Camera

Click here to see all of Tamron's fast zoom lenses including the 28-75 f2.8 that is my workhorse.


As some of you know already, and some are about to find out, I am a big supporter of using 3rd Party Lenses to get the job done. There are a few advantages to 3rd party, and a few disadvantages. For one, 3rd Party is typically a considerable amount of money cheaper for comparable glass. Unfortunately, they tend to have quality control issues greater than Canon or Nikon, though this seems to be getting better in recent times. I personally shoot with a Tamron 28-75 f2.8, Sigma 70-200 f2.8, and Tokina 12-24 f4. All of those lenses have a constant aperture (I don't think I could go back to a variable aperture, it can be very annoying) and 2 of my lenses are F2.8 which is generally the fastest available light zoom lenses you can pick up.

Price wise if I were to pick up comparable lenses from Canon I would be looking at the Canon 24-70 f/2.8L $1300, Canon 70-200 f/2.8L (non-IS) $1200, Canon 17-40 f/4L $750 totaling $3250. That is a lot of money considering when I bought my Tamron and Sigma lenses used from reputable sellers and got the Tokina from Adorama all for a little more than $1000.

I've actually tested these lenses against the Canon equivalence. The Tamron is slightly sharper than the Canon, but low light focusing is much better on the 24-70. Build Quality on the Canon glass will always be much much higher as they are weather sealed professional lenses. Color / Contrast appears to be slightly better on the Canon. For the Sigma 70-200 it is pretty much on par with the Canon 70-200 in build quality (non-weather sealing) and image quality. (I have literally dropped this lens by falling out of my several times with no issues. It's built like a tank. The Tokina is about the same as the Canon 17-40, but the Canon has better color and similar Image Quality.

So when you are on a tight budget and can't afford the best, get what you can afford and learn your craft better. Remember that what matters in taking the photos is between your ears and eyes. Camera's and lenses are just better tools, but do not have to stand in your way of taking beautiful photographs.

Just my 2-Cents

Thanks
-Steven


My daughter Madison. Taken with Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 it has a pretty nice close up distance