As much I would love to keep all of my own desires deep within my heart, slowly trying to bury it in such a way that it takes forever to claw its way out into my nervous system, especially the ones that make me buy impulsively, sooner or later, they keep clawing free! I need something new to release all that built up tension of cravings!

Of course it doesn't help that I read gadget and tech news daily but there are these few things that keep haunting me to purchase. But so far, I have been able to resist well enough and saved a little bit of cash as well (even after spending in my last trip). Anyway here are some of the items that constantly get shot about my brains.

#1 - A spiffing new Nikkor zoom lens (Nikon Nikkor 70-200mm AF-S VR F/2.8 lens)

This baby costs a whopping RM5,900 and I still can't justify it's cost yet. I need to get at least 6 confirmed wedding shoots first before getting one of these bad boys.

#2 - iPhone 3G

This baby was recently released by Apple and being a new Apple fan and having tested out the hyped-up HTC Touch Diamond yesterday (I wasn't impressed at all by the lousy touch interface and slow moving graphics), this is the phone to be lusting over. It's interface is to die for and it is still slim and sleek. No news of it being officially released yet in Malaysia but priced at USD$199, it is so cheap for a phone packed with so much features.

#3 - Nikon D700

The last craving I had for a camera body was the awesome Nikon D3. Now this camera cost RM14,500 alone just for the body but it was one of the best high ISO performer in the market. The latest round of rumours appeared to be the upcoming Nikon D700 and it is supposedly the cheaper variant of the D3. Still in the rumourmills, I am awaiting for Photokina in September for Nikon to either say that its just another hoax or something they would launch to rival that of Canon's 5D Mark II. Expected price for this baby is RM9,000 and its still within reach!

#4 - Drobo (My own storage robot)

I have been contemplating about getting Western Digital's Mybook and setting up a backup storage device for all of my work and photos until I set my eyes on Drobo. It is meant to be a highly intelligent backup device which checks the integrity of the physical hard disks inside it. Priced at USD$449, its not something cheap but how can you put a price on all the work that you have worked on, right?

Anyway I think I have had enough of my gadget lustings, looks like its time to get back to the real world and where money doesn't come in easily. Hopefully one day I might be able to afford these beauties but realistically, when that time comes, it will already be obsolete!

If any of you budding photography enthusiasts out there require a need of a good fast telephoto lens but don't have the budget to fork out large sums of money, well Sigma has the answer for you.

Sigma today announced the launch of two new telephoto lens, the APO 50-150mm F2.8 II EX DC lens and the APO 70-200mm F2.8 II EX DG MACRO HSM lens.

APO 50-150mm F2.8 II EX DC HSM

 

 

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new APO 50-150mm F2.8 II EX DC HSM lens.
This large aperture telephoto zoom lens is designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras with APS-C size sensors and its compact, lightweight body provides freedom of movement and versatility. The minimum focusing distance of 100cm/39.4in. and the high-resolution power layout have improved the strength of the lens in close-up photography. This lens offers a large aperture of F2.8 and its large depth of field offers greater freedom of creative expression. It has a maximum aperture of F2.8. Four SLD glass elements are used for maximum correction of chromatic aberrations. The super multi-layer lens coating reduce flare and ghosting and ensure sharp images throughout the entire zoom range. The lens design incorporates an inner focusing and inner zooming system. As the overall length of the lens does not change during focusing and zooming, convenient handling is ensured. The HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) system allows quiet and high-speed auto focusing with full time manual focus override by just rotating the focusing ring. The addition of the optional 1.4x EX DG APO or 2x EX DG APO Tele Converters produce a 70-210mm F4 AF tele-zoom lens and a 100-300mm F5.6 AF ultra-telephoto zoom lens respectively.

* Vignetting will occur if the lens is used with digital cameras with image sensors larger than APS-C size or 35mm SLR cameras.

 

APO 70-200mm F2.8 II EX DG MACRO HSM

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new APO 70-200mm F2.8 II EX DG MACRO HSM.This large aperture zoom lens has improved optical performance and retains close-up ability with a minimum focusing distance of 100cm/39.4in and maximum magnification ration of 1:3.5. This lens is suitable for taking all type of subjects such as portraits, landscape, and close-up pictures. Two SLD (Special Low Dispersion) and three ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass elements provide excellent correction for all types of aberrations. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. The super multi-layer coating reduces flare and ghosting. This lens incorporates HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor), which ensures a quiet and high-speed AF as well as full-time manual focusing capability. The lens design incorporates an inner focusing and inner zooming systems. The overall length of the lens does not change during focusing and zooming, ensuring convenient handling. A removable tripod collar (TS-21) is included as a standard component. When this lens is used with the optional 1.4x EX DG APO or 2x EX DG APO Tele Converters, it becomes a 98-280mm F4 AF telephoto zoom lens or a 140-400mm F5.6 AF telephoto zoom lens respectively.

For a while now, I always contemplated whether getting a telephoto lens is actually worth its pric. I guess that with the new upcoming 3rd party lens from Sigma, the expected prices for these lens should be in the range of RM3k+ and above.

What makes these lens a Christmas item wish list is that, for budding photagraphy enthusiasts (like me), who want to shoot weddings (also like me), would want a cheap alternative to shoot those up-close portrait shots of those moments under low light. The f/2.8 will definitely offer good performance without maximizing one's ISO setting.

Now that I have hinted, it is only 21 more days till Christmas and I would be more than happy to accept this *grins*.

Related links:

• Sigma Corporate website


• Dpreview's post